What will replace Looney Tunes River Ride?

[rappa]

I don't think you can say they closed gremlins and replaced it with a lesser dark attraction though.

I hear there are new lasers in Scooby. Anyone seen them?

[JeffreyMoore]

scooby doo is a great ride

i think the great gremins adventure was better but thats my personal prefrance im not meaning to upset anyone here

Edited May 1, 2014 by JeffreyMoore

[themagician]

I would also class Scooby Doo as a family ride. I always see plenty of people of all ages on it. And yes it is a dark ride. It's indoors and it's pretty dark in most sections

[GoGoBoy]

Scooby Doo is an indoor wild mouse coaster with some dark ride elements. Its still a coaster regardless

^ This is the best and most accurate categorisation of the ride type. It is not a traditional dark ride. Much like Superman Escape and Storm Coaster, it is a roller coaster (although in this case indoor roller coaster) with dark ride elements. And yes it is also a family ride (although a fairly thrilling one).

[MickeyD]

GoGoGoBoy, you know I am with you 100% on the LTRR and that the atmosphere and surprises that this attraction featured were an integral part of the overnight success of WBMW. This ride, ABOVE ALL rides in Australia at the time promised a piece of Disney Magic for Australian Theme Parks.

For those not aware the "Looney Tunes Studio - Journey into Fantasy" (originally named) was the Sentimental Favourite attraction of the original WBMW project, headed by creative Theme Park legend CV Wood, back in 1989.

As wonderfully ambitious as this ride was for it's time, sadly it was plagued with the reality of the financial backing that it was built on. Despite such financial pressure, this is one ride that didn't really suffer too much from the "show" side of things and featured most of the magic as intended. SW's creative that built "Lassiter's Lost Mine" lent alot of their knowledge and expertise this ride.

At a time when saving money for Warner Bros. was Paramount;), our Aussie Theme Park pioneers from SW came up with numerous cost effective solutions for the MW project. The finale for LTRR was a big such one. They came up with an ingenious approach that would save a fortune on operating costs, creating a totally unique pumping system that was driven by the ride's unique boat lift system. The lift was designed to work basically like a gigantic Toilet. When a boat would arrive into the area, enough pressure would have accumulated in the reservoir beneath the down shoot to power the lift upward. Once dispatched as the lift would lower,compressed water would be flushed into the reservoir, assisting current for the ride. It was an ingenious idea that due to it being a water ride had to be rebuilt a few times during the rides lifetime.

It was also potentially the most dangerous feature of any Aussie Park for it's guests. When unsuspecting rider's reached the 'dead end' part and were foolish enough to try and step out of the boat thinking the ride was over. A big ugly log was eventually placed on the platform. Pretty much from opening day, a Lift Attendant sat behind a wall holding a button with a Supervisor overseeing the ride from a control room, located behind the 'Customer Relations' door, by the load dock. Ultimately, one could not predict the actions of individuals and despite millions of riders doing as they were told (remain seated) as welk as many attempts to make the area 'safe', it would just be a matter of time that someone would do something foolish and possibly killed.

It would be my bet this is the number one reason the ride was eventually closed

Edited May 2, 2014 by MickeyD

[rappa]

Seriously? The lift was powered from water?

I'm not sure if it was hydraulic or pneumatic, big the lift cylinders were not powered by the water from the down shoot.

And numerous submersible pumps pushed the boats along throigh the dark ride.

The lift was definitely not the reason the use was closed.

[MickeyD]

The lift pressure was assisted by the filling of water in the reservoir and it's downward plunging flushed water into the tank each time. Yes the ride had main pumps and bilge pumps throughout but whilst in show mode, this process saved a lot of energy. I'm not an engineer so explained that in lamens I guess - also in a way that it was explained to me by one of the ppl involved in it's original design ..

Saying that the lift area had nothing to do with the ride's ultimate closure also has no substance unless you're willing to back it

Anyway

[rappa]

So how did you get from "number one reason" to something to do with the closure.

The entire ride was reason for the closure, the lift is part of the entire ride so I 'guess' yeah it had something to do with it.

The lift did displace water from the lift pit when coming down. But water spilled from that area to the rides holding reservoir, where water had to be pumped to the water through following the down chute. No real different to how say Wild West Works.

Not trying to be an ass but when incorrect information is posted as fact, it should be corrected.

[MickeyD]

All good^ I am still of the belief that the lift drive (neumatic) was powered by a build of pressure in the reservoir, or something like that. I was explained the process in some detail, like I said many years ago by one of the ride's designers who was very proud of the unique design and it's somewhat self-perpetuating operation.

As Supervisor of this ride for a few years you could say I had a strong knowledge of it's workings and show elements to keep it looking and running as well as possible. It was particularly difficult to spot show lighting or speakers faulty as there was just so many of them and many in very hard to reach places. How do u fix something if you don't even know it's there?

For the ride to continue, it would have taken a massive rebuild and the lift area replaced entirely with a safer and more reliable standard chain pull assent. Far too expensive a solution for little or no return on investment perhaps?

I believe that there may have been some consideration surrounding the ride's revitalisation but for sure, millions would have had to be wagered on it. No way would a Lift in the same incarnation pass modern safety protocols - not without restraints that could not be built without new boats, and the list goes on..

Yeah I get why it had to go, at least the way it was anyway. It would be a shame though if something equally as ambitious not be considered as a worthy replacement

[rappa]

The lift did get safety upgrades in modern times though to address some design flaws.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

Headed over to MW to see some work on LTRR this is what I saw. I got another picture which I will when I'm at Hollywood Stunt Driver..

[Reanimated35]

Justice League 2 - you heard it here first!

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

Justice League 2 - you heard it here first!

haha that's clever! instead of Movie World they should call it Superworld..

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

So it would seem they may have commenced some actual work inside now... and the constant 'shots of an empty warehouse on social media' have led them to cover up...

Whatever we get - it's good to see them working on it again.

[Reanimated35]

Or they just got sick of people taking photos inside and wanted to stir things up a bit

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^...wouldn't be the first time they've done something like that...

[GoGoBoy]

Back to topic, and considering it seems work has started, my idea is probably moot at this point, but considering the sheer size of the shed, i've always thought having a Mermaid Lagoon-esque (Tokyo Disneysea) type indoors family area would be brilliant. You could pick and choose two or three kiddies rides from the Zamperla ride catalogue, integrate some neat merch and food/bev options, and theme the whole lot like a mini Looney Tunes land/village, thus filling the "compete with Dreamworld for time-consuming attractions that pad out a family day" quota while offering a new unique venue that has massive marketing potential (and would be awesome for private events).

I've been meaning to comment on this ^. I think it is a spectacular idea and would be a brilliant use of the show building. It could essentially be marketed as a whole new (indoor) kids/family precinct at Movie World. If they were to put in plenty of theming and atmosphere (as in the above pic) I think it'd be an absolute hit with families. If only...

[Richard]

No question it looks great. I just don't think it's a great use of the space considering it's surrounded by a children's area that is about due for a facelift or overhaul anyway. The space really should be utilised for a major family attraction as a centrepiece of the entire area -- like Looney Tunes River Ride was. I definitely agree that what Movie World -- really, Australian parks in general -- lack is true family rides. Children's rides are't family rides; I'd think of rides like Thunder River Rapids that offer thrills yet can genuinely be enjoyable for any age without restrictive height limits.

Also it's probably worth clarifying that a ride in the dark isn't necessarily a dark ride. Dark ride is an ambiguous term for a specific storyline driven and scene based style of ride. Storm and Scooby-Doo don't really qualify, yet Wild West Falls comes close despite being largely outdoors. As it stands the only one really left in Australia would be Justice League; two great dark ride attractions in Bermuda Triangle and Looney Tunes have disappeared in recent years and while the thrill rides are getting better, there's really not been a great dark ride to fill the void.

[MaxxTheMonster]

So it would seem they may have commenced some actual work inside now... and the constant 'shots of an empty warehouse on social media' have led them to cover up...

Whatever we get - it's good to see them working on it again.

Was there yesterday and they had the fire doors open. Quite a few people walking around inside in high vis clothing and hard hats so here is hoping something is beginning.

[westical]

No question it looks great. I just don't think it's a great use of the space considering it's surrounded by a children's area that is about due for a facelift or overhaul anyway. The space really should be utilised for a major family attraction as a centrepiece of the entire area -- like Looney Tunes River Ride was. I definitely agree that what Movie World -- really, Australian parks in general -- lack is true family rides. Children's rides are't family rides; I'd think of rides like Thunder River Rapids that offer thrills yet can genuinely be enjoyable for any age without restrictive height limits.

Also it's probably worth clarifying that a ride in the dark isn't necessarily a dark ride. Dark ride is an ambiguous term for a specific storyline driven and scene based style of ride. Storm and Scooby-Doo don't really qualify, yet Wild West Falls comes close despite being largely outdoors. As it stands the only one really left in Australia would be Justice League; two great dark ride attractions in Bermuda Triangle and Looney Tunes have disappeared in recent years and while the thrill rides are getting better, there's really not been a great dark ride to fill the void.

I know quoting like this is bad etiquette, but IAWR.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

took me 10 minutes to figure out what the hell you just said!

[Reanimated35]

I know quoting like this is bad etiquette, but IAWR.

I'm going to need some help here....

International Association of Waterworks in the Rhine Catchment Area

Institute for Air Weapons Research

International Association of Women Runners

Inter American Water Resources

[westical]

I Agree With Richard

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

YR... ITMAWtfiot - bidwtsifeesidsi. jswootwhdyo2s!

Yeah Reanimated... it took me a while to figure it out too - but i didn't want to spoil it for everyone else so I didn't say it. Just shows we're out of touch wth hw d yooth ov 2dai speek!

[Reanimated35]