Ride stories and theming

[reggie]

Growing up my parents would take me to the Gold Coast for holidays every year and we always ended up going to all the parks. I haven't been to the parks for a number of years, and finally this past week I have done it all again. One thing that really stood out to me (and I half chalk this down to being older) was the lack of rides that take you on an experience. It is all thrills and no substance. It's depressing. Being a kid and going on the Looney Tunes River Ride is something I will never forget, it really took you there. Same with the Bermuda Triangle, Gremlins, Batman Ride etc. etc.. The rides usually had employees that loved their job and were enthusiastic every single time. They had stories that were fun/interesting, they took you away! There is barely any of it now. And there is barely anything ever going on, the parks feel dead apart from the boring rides. Even Police Academy vs Stunt Show; pretty much all of the magic is gone. I rewatched the Police Academy on Youtube just to see if it was nostalgia talking, but it still holds up. Stunt Show is just... weak. Do not get me wrong there seems to be good talent behind it all, but it all just falls flat. Basically what I'm getting at is that the magic feels like it's gone. As already stated I half expected this with myself being older, but even then it was much worse then expected. Maybe managment needs someone more passionate, but as of right now, it's depressing to think of what it once was and what it is now. They feel soulless. Waiting in long lines only to be greeted by boring employees who look like they hate their job only to go on a boring 10 second thrill ride is not what I'm looking for when I go to Movie World, Sea World, or even Dreamworld. All the parks feel dead to me, and a shadow of their former selves. All I can say is thank god I got to experience them in their prime. It's just seriously depressing to see where they are now. And the parks are over crowded. I can't believe they let this many people in.

Edited December 18, 2012 by reggie

[alex_1]

When exactly did Dreamworld ever have rides that "took you on a journey"? Also, Movieworld's rides are quite well themed - with the exception of Batwing and Green Lantern - Wild West Falls, Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster and Justice League 3D all take you "on a journey". As for the parks being overcrowded, you clearly haven't been to a properly busy park in the US or UK. Just because there's 1 hour queues doesn't mean they're going to stop admitting visitors to the park.

[reggie]

Sir, I've been to multiple parks in the US, including Disneyland and Universal, but even with the long wait times those parks still take you on a journey. As for Dreamworld, ever been on the boat ride (now long gone)? That took you on a journey. As little as it was.

Edited December 18, 2012 by reggie

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I've experienced a 3 hour journey at six flags... and that was just a queue house with little theming at all. Just because Disney and Universal can pull it off, doesn't make our parks 'poor' by comparison. Most parks around the world would be 'poor' by comparison to these two. I agree that a lot of the magic has gone out of the parks, but at the end of the day - they had to do this to survive. Although Gremlins and Bermuda and Looney Tunes were a great story with great magic, the general population wanted thrill rides - roller coasters and the like. In order to survive this is what the parks give them. It was too costly to maintain the nostalgic greats of yesteryear when the ridership was slowly dwindling into nothingness. Simplistic theming that is cheap to maintain is the way of the future for these parks. they cannot afford to spend so much on annual refurbs as they used to. As for the people in the park, if they capped the numbers lower than they do, they could not afford to offer the attractions that they do now. Would you rather all attractions ran on a 1 hour on, 1 hour off cycle to save on staff and running costs, but have less people in the park? No - because although there would be less people, there would be less rides to soak them up too. I'm with Alex on this one.

[reggie]

I understand some rides become too costly to maintain and they have to be replaced. It's just what they are replaced with. Scooby Doo is... ok, but comparatively to the Gremlins ride it's dog shit. I can only hope the Bermuda Triangle replacement lives up to it's legacy. I doubt it though. Also, I used to love Wild West Falls, but it feels like they've kept it maintained to the bare minimum. The audio is barely audible, and some of the effects stuff don't even work anymore. Feels so cheap. If this is what I can expect from the parks going into the future; AKA cheap theming and cheap maintaince, then they are all dead to me.

Edited December 18, 2012 by reggie

[liz.wis]

I agree to some extent as well - I do miss the experiences you can immerse yourself in, particularly like Looney Tunes and Bermuda. I still think the parks (excluding Dreamworld, who I can't comment on as I haven't been there for 10 years), are giving the public what they want in terms of thrills - I'm pretty happy with what Movieworld in particular has to offer in that department - love Green Latern, SE, Scooby, Arkham, etc. The crowds don't bother me - I'm liking MW in particularly now that it's busier - a couple of years ago, it didn't have the atmosphere it does now. I think one area the "magic" is missing may be partly from annual passes - in my entire childhood I went to each of the theme parks only once or twice. It was a huge deal at the time, and talked about for months. I have children myself now, and my 4 year old says "can we go to MW today", just as if she'd say "can we go to the playground" or similar. Going to the theme parks now is something we do every month or so, so not quite as special as it was for me.

[WED99]

I'm obsessed with theming and detail to the point where it ruins my days sometimes, so please believe me when I say a know a bit about this subject. I went to movieworld yesterday and have to admit, didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised, especially with the new attractions! Arkham and Justice League have amazing theming and their queues are entertaining enough to keep me from getting bored. The facades are nice too! LTRR was my old favourite ride because of it's great story, but Arkham has taken the cake! In my opinion, MW has only got better lately and are finally in the right path! But then again, I never rode Gremlins.

[reggie]

You missed out. Wasn't so much a ride as it was an experience. Really amazing stuff. You sit in a cinema and watch 10 mintures of film only to have gremlins start taking over the projector and an employee running in screaming saying that gremlins are running wild. They escort you out a back entrance on a cart were you see the gremlins have taken over everything. The animatronics were awesome. I miss it so much.

[WED99]

You missed out. Wasn't so much a ride as it was an experience. Really amazing stuff. You sit in a cinema and watch 10 mintures of film only to have gremlins start taking over the projector and an employee running in screaming saying that gremlins are running wild. They escort you out a back entrance on a cart were you see the gremlins have taken over everything. The animatronics were awesome. I miss it so much.

10 minute pre-show? Must have been pretty low capacity per hour.

[rac2703]

10 minute pre-show? Must have been pretty low capacity per hour.

I believe there was 4 or 5 theatres running at a time with a fairly large group in each

Edited December 19, 2012 by rac2703

[WED99]

I believe there was 4 or 5 theatres running at a time with a fairly large group in each

Sounds good, but I think Scooby is a worthy replacement. Thanks for the link!

[MacPark]

It really depends on the ride type. Looney Tunes was a story by nature so thats a given. Scooby they have done a good job for what is just a coaster and same for superman. I bet kids on these rides these days see they as big amazing stories with rides attacted to them. Its harder when your an adult. Disney do an amazing job because they are in the buisness of telling a story and have the budget to boot. The original DCA was a mess for exactly the reason that it was just a bunch of rides with no story. They have even fixed this and given it the Disney touch. I think our parks do a good job for the money they spend. Our parks really do hold up well in my opinion.