Is it possible for the QLD parks to grow?

[POP]

Each of the big parks averages roughly 1 million guests per year, but is it possible for them to grow? It seems like our parks have plateau'd and really have no interest in putting up money for big expansions like the parks in the UK (Thorpe and Alton Towers) are continually putting up trying to grow their attendance. Imo they're really only interested in putting the bare minimum of capital to maintain their current attendance because 1. it turns a profit and 2. there is no risk factor because they're more than likely not going to grow attendance any more by putting in a $30 million B&M over say a $10 loco or a $7 circular thingy.

[CruiseSF]

Dreamworld could grow, while SW, MW & WNW would have a lot of trouble due to having not much more room left to build on. Unless the studios are removed while will not happen.

[POP]

Dreamworld could grow, while SW, MW & WNW would have a lot of trouble due to having not much more room left to build on. Unless the studios are removed while will not happen.

Dreamworld definitely has the most potential to grow but I don't think they're interested considering they've sold off a LOT of their land around the park. I also think Dreamworld has gone the wrong way in the last decade with some really bad choices in investments (Motocoaster is simply *awful* and Buzzsaw definitely isn't the type of ride to get people rushing into the park to try out). Out of all the parks, Dreamworld is the one that would most benefit from a large scale rollercoaster because that's what their demographic goes there for.

[CruiseSF]

I could see MW doing a Dark ride and maybe an indoor roller coaster (apart from the LT and BM replacements), I couldn't see DW ever doing a indoor ride, but I could see them ending up like Knott's Berry Farm (a cross between themed and thrills), as that's the path they seem to be taking, they only need more roller coasters to get there, but they need to spend the money to do that.

[POP]

^ They NEED a big investment in the next 5 years if they're ever going to get out of the 1 million lull they can't seem to escape. I'm talking $20 million for a world class rollercoaster. Then market it to EVERY state in Australia and they'll increase attendance by 50% and easily recover the cost in the long run. They just don't seem to be motivated about growing the park though. They take the safe way out every single time and it bugs me to no end. The person in charge of their investments in ride, should really be shot (not literally )

[pin142]

It is still possible for the parks to grow. As said above it it a matter of them putting in a high cost major attraction. The main park for growth is Dreamworld and the attractions they are putting in are only good as a filler in between major additions. Looking at everything the major park operators world wide have done or are doing recently our additions are small. Even smaller parks like Dollywood are putting in huge attractions. Our parks need to look at this and to have any chance of major growth do something similar. A decent ride will get guests coming back for years to come. I say it will be interesting to see which ride maintains popularity amongst guests, Green Lantern or Buzzsaw.

Edited October 10, 2011 by pin142

[POP]

It is still possible for the parks to grow. As said above it it a matter of them putting in a high cost major attraction. The main park for growth is Dreamworld and the attractions they are putting in are only good as a filler in between major additions. Looking at everything the major park operators world wide have done or are doing recently our additions are small. Even smaller parks like Dollywood are putting in huge attractions. Our parks need to look at this and to have any chance of major growth do something similar. A decent ride will get guests coming back for years to come. I say it will be interesting to see which ride maintains popularity amongst guests, Green Lantern or Buzzsaw.

IKR! Dollywood is spending some serious moolah. First Mystery Mine ($17 mill) and now the new B&M ($20+ mill). Dollywood is such a pretty park as well, I'd really like to visit it one day.

[Gazza]

Even smaller parks like Dollywood are putting in huge attractions.

I wouldn't consider Dollywood a smaller park!

[POP]

I wouldn't consider Dollywood a smaller park!

I think there is a misconception about it being a smaller park because its not in the Six Flags / Disney / Universal brands. But apparently attendance is over 1.5 million a year which is certainly bigger than any of our parks.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I couldn't see DW ever doing a indoor ride, but I could see them ending up like Knott's Berry Farm

It isn't exactly a ride - more of an attraction or show - but Mystery Lodge at KBF was one of the best experiences I had at KBF (in 1996)

[Theme Park Girl]

I could see MW doing a Dark ride and maybe an indoor roller coaster (apart from the LT and BM replacements)

Movieworld already has an indoor roller coaster... Scooby Doo I dunno if they would ever consider adding a second one.

[CruiseSF]

It isn't exactly a ride - more of an attraction or show - but Mystery Lodge at KBF was one of the best experiences I had at KBF (in 1996)

I didn't actually find the ML that good it was alright but nothing spectacular. I can see how people like it though.

Movieworld already has an indoor roller coaster... Scooby Doo I dunno if they would ever consider adding a second one.

Well an indoor roller coaster is their best bet for a themed roller coaster and the path they are taking seems to include a lot of roller coasters. So to have a fully themed roller coaster it normally needs to be indoors. An example of something they could do is Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Parks. Also they don't really have that much room left but they have plenty of space for a building where the stage over near WWF and Scooby is (not sure if its used for anything apart from fright nights or events). They could only build another roller coaster in the park indoors as it would take away from the themed areas. Unless its out the front again. An idea would be to make a ROTM style ride but themed to the wild west to make a second major attraction in the area to give it a bit more life down there.

[rappa]

I thought Mystery Lodge was actually incredibly well done. It's not your heart stopping thrill ride granted, but it's a pretty damn good little show that you don't expect to be there.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

...that you don't expect to be there.

That is for sure. There is a lot of space within MW to accommodate that type of attraction, it would soak up large numbers per hour, would showcase more "movie magic" effects, and wouldn't be subject to the same restrictions that the big-scream attractions do. Maybe fit it into an aboriginal theme?

[Gazza]

What dreamtime related films are there though?

[jjuttp]

Australia Bran Nu Dae (?) Mad Bastards Or an Aboriginal culture based game, like the Ty The Tasmanian Tiger series? Or even Mad Max, There's a new movie coming out in i don't know when; an indoor to either of these would be nice..... But also doesn't an Aboriginal themed anything seem a bit out of place for anything that isn't ardent or Jamboroo?

Edited October 12, 2011 by jjuttp

[MickeyD]

I liked Mystery lodge but it was very much a one time visit IMO. The show looked like a carbon copy of the Aboriginal Dreamtime show (for those ancient ones out there old enough to remember!) from World Expo 88 that was hosted in the Australian Pavillion. Both show's had a lot of oooh and arrrh moments but truthfully it's good for 1 visit only.. Movie Magic's biggest problem was it had little repeatability and the last thing MW needs is to go down the road of spending millions on a show that people are going to want to see once. If they are to build a new show I think it needs to be dynamic enough to captivate the audience for more than a few visits and have that true "WOW" factor. I loved what Disney did with Alien Encounter a few years ago, bringing elemental effects into the room and creating a new kind of thrill. Shame the screaming children and worried Parent's didn't agree because it truly was awesome!! I have said this over and over again, we need a type of "Soarin" over Australia attraction for Movieworld. The park is screaming out for such a repeatable family attraction and this ride system surely fits the bill. Vekoma have even designed their own version that's practical for a MW sized budget. It would fit perfectly at the site of the defunct western show stage and perhaps feature in the corner that would digrees into an Outback/Australiana theme. Just on attendance and growth. The park's were achiveing annual figures around the one million mark 20 years ago. I think you'll find that figure has grown to at around 1.5 million today and since the arrival of cheap annual passes but concurrently, per capita spending has also dropped in line with this. The parks will continue to grow but more importantly right now they have been evolving to meet the needs of a changing market

[Slick]

Is it possible for the QLD parks to grow?

The thought of more Facebook Fan Pages makes me say no.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I liked Mystery lodge but it was very much a one time visit IMO... but truthfully it's good for 1 visit only..

Batman Adventure - The Ride, and the Police Academy Stunt Show changed very little in their time in the park, and yet, were some of the most popular and loved attractions at the park for many years. Nothing says the show would need to be related to a movie to showcase movie magic, the western stunt shows in many movie related parks rarely relate to a specific movie, and they still pull it off well. And I wasn't specifically talking about a "movie magic special effects show" such as what used to be on the current site of superman escape, but a 'mystery lodge' type attraction, which by it's nature contains special effects, and therein lies the tie-in to the movie themed park.

[rappa]

The beauty of Movie world is the Indian theme of mystery lodge would fit into western town perfectly, without any change. And at a million bucks it's very cheap! I also agree a soarin ride in the showstage area would be a PERFECT attraction for movie world.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

decision makers take note: Rappa thinks ML installed into Wild West would fit perfectly, and be very cheap. I'm inclined to agree and I can see this resolving quite a few issues that have been raised previously: *Alleviating the boredom of enthusiasts waiting for the 'next attraction' *giving them something new to advertise (eg: not advertising scooby doo as new, 4 years down the track) *A great filler after a year of large expenditures *A good capacity, relieving queues at other attractions - they can easily increase capacity by increasing the theatre size *a show that can practically run 'all day long' *finally having a 'themed land' with more than one attraction *making use of space in the wild west area without pissing off the neighbours *small setup costs win-win-win-win-win! for those naysayers who argue it wouldn't have staying power, the theatre can also be multi-purpose. *with the addition of a roll down screen, the theatre can be another "out of hours" venue for corporate events *the projection can be modified from time to time, with little expense in the age of digital projectors. *rappa could probably do a lot of the technical design in house without needing to hire in expensive outside help (if his workload on the bazillion other projects allows) *see my previous argument re: police academy, BA-TR, and to add to it - Shrek 4d and LTRR.