Adventure World 2015 - 'Mi2' Kraken Tornado slide

[xRazzBerryx]

53 minutes ago, grrofunger said:

Not what the park needs

That's terrible for AW ? Totally agree. 

Maybe they need to start putting these around the entrance to the chairlift? ?

 

 

[iwerks]

Agree, grrofunger.. that's terrible news.

Didn't something similar happen to Dreamworld's chairlift?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

No - Pretty sure a tree fell onto the Dreamworld chairlift requiring evac... but I only have a vague recollection so could be wrong.

As for the AW incident - as the quote from Mark points out - the woman wasn't following operator's directions... i'm also not sure which to take:

Quote

“She was hanging off the chair lift and hit the concrete below with her son watching.

Quote

“It is believed a guest failed to understand and follow the operator’s instructions and despite a safety net at the end of the platform, fell to a grass bank below,” he said.

Also - seems like they might have some gold coast journalists on staff at the West Australian:

Quote

“It was completely horrendous.”

After the woman fell, the witness said she heard her complain of back pain and was unable to move.

“She was in a lot of shock,” the witness said.

“She was screaming for her son.”

“She would be traumatised,” she said.

“I know I certainly am.”

 

I do feel for the operator, and hope the woman is alright.

I do have a critique, and I mean no offence, but does the operator not have an E-stop? Could they not have hit stop when they noticed the woman nearing the edge with little time to board safely? Although I feel that this, like most incidents is a result of the guest not following directions, once it was clear the woman wasn't following directions and had entered the danger zone (most of these rides have a painted stripe boundary near the edge to demarcate when the ride must be stopped), shouldn't the operator have E-stopped immediately?

 

 

[GoGoBoy]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

No - Pretty sure a tree fell onto the Dreamworld chairlift requiring evac... but I only have a vague recollection so could be wrong.

 

Actually iwerks is right, I remember a woman did indeed fall out of the Dreamworld chairlift, and I believe suffered severe injuries at the very least.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yes, Asian woman tried to get off, operator tried to stop her, instead of pressing the E-stop, both ended up falling, operator got a pretty badly damaged wrist... The guest had cracked ribs and broken shoulder.

Good memory.

My thinking was along the lines of what lead to it's closure - as this incident wasn't the cause - it was in fact a fallen tree (and hence my own confusion):

On 20/7/2014 at 7:24 PM, Gary86 said:

once a freak storm went through Dreamworld and knocked tree branches onto the chairlift. No one died but it was very hard to get everyone off. It never opened again after that. The Kodak Skylink Chairlift was the scariest ride in the park and very unsafe. I'm glad it closed. They should replace it with a system like at Sea World eher it can stop at the stations.

 

On 20/7/2014 at 8:05 PM, Gary86 said:

They closed the chairlift after a tree branch fell on it. Getting everyone off was very difficult and it never reopened.

 

On 20/7/2014 at 8:14 PM, Gary86 said:

It was unsafe too. But I'm positive that it never reopened after the storm.

 

On 20/7/2014 at 8:53 PM, MickeyD said:

 

Regarding the chairlift accident, I can tell you step by step what happened but I won't bore you. Surfice it to say the accident involved 2 people (attendant & female guest from Singapore) which were not killed, but both hospitalised. They fell a fair height onto a rather hard surface - the kangaroo enclosure after an alarmed tourist alerted a nearby shop keeper who ran up and pressed the estop. The ride attendant, sighting the passenger trying to get off barely two metres before the end of the platform, left her post, ran to the chair and grabbed her from behind, attempting to restrain her by grappling her arms around the riders chest. They both fell shortly after the estop was pressed and the attendant lost her grip. The Attendant broke her wrist I believe while the passenger had a few broken ribs and shoulder. I am sure she has vivid memories of her Dreamworld one day holiday experience as no doubt does the injured staff member

 

Now Class, would somebody like to tell me how this whole messy accident could have been avoided?

 

[grrofunger]

you have ample warning to sit down when starting that ride before it gets anywhere near the ledge, its not like its hard either

walk over , sit down, pull lever thingy down and away you go

i understand the distraction of making sure your kid is in and safe but again ample time and just sit down !!

i cant quite remember/picture where the e-stop button would be but if the operator was trying to help her in the chair the entire time and it got too close to the edge it would have been impossible to make it back to any e-stop button before she fell.

its a fair drop too, would be concrete or bush from memory , not grass bank

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It was Mark's words that it was a grass bank.... so this is getting interesting...

When you have a mechanical ride moving, with guests on board, you should always have an operator within arms length of the E-stop. That employee should never leave that position unless relieved by another staff member, or until they have themselves stopped the ride.

No question, no excuses, ever.

[iwerks]

56 minutes ago, grrofunger said:

you have ample warning to sit down when starting that ride before it gets anywhere near the ledge, its not like its hard either

walk over , sit down, pull lever thingy down and away you go

i understand the distraction of making sure your kid is in and safe but again ample time and just sit down !!

i cant quite remember/picture where the e-stop button would be but if the operator was trying to help her in the chair the entire time and it got too close to the edge it would have been impossible to make it back to any e-stop button before she fell.

its a fair drop too, would be concrete or bush from memory , not grass bank

The grass bank would imply it's the top chairlift station, which doesn't have the netting.

The e-stop is the red button in the middle.  The chairlift can also reverse its direction quite quickly too.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Still contradicting information. Mark himself said:

Quote

“It is believed a guest failed to understand and follow the operator’s instructions and despite a safety net at the end of the platform, fell to a grass bank below,” he said.

So this suggests either there is a net on the top station, or Mark has his wires crossed...

@Mark Shaw - little help?

[grrofunger]

i assumed it was the bottom station due to the netting, i don't want to add to any confusion etc - just going on memory of the location as i dont ride the chairlift often or walk around the lower 'takeoff' part often as its a dead area behind the pool. but i cant think of a grassbank at the bottom or top , there is no netting at the top location from memory also.

Just thinking of when i have ridden i can kind of picture the e-stop locations - still if the operator is loading people right up to the edge the e-stop isnt exactly right there i dont think. it would be a split second thing and you wouldnt be expecting someone to fall - not making excuses but for the operator to hit the e-stop the way the ride is setup and how the loading takes place wouldnt be easy for them i dont think. 

I feel for the operator and the park

[iwerks]

Yeah, you would be more likely to sustain an injury from the DK station.  There might be garden below the netting, then concrete, then the pump room.

The e-stop is quite a distance from the edge, so is the reverse, from memory.

I have seen a few problems with some chairs locking, but they're usually recorded and dealt with long before the end of the station.  I saw a problem with the top e-stop being re-set (restarting from a stop), but it doesn't sound like this was the case.

[grrofunger]

good mnews !

chairlift re-opened !

http://adventureworld.net.au/#/what's-on/chair-lift-reopened/

Quote

WorkSafe has given Adventure World approval to re-open the chair lift today (Tuesday 5 January 2016).

The ride was temporarily closed following an incident which occurred yesterday (4 January 2016) at 2.09pm.

It is understood a guest did not follow the accredited ride operator’s instructions to seat herself and a child on the chair lift and the woman fell from the loading platform approximately three metres onto a slopped grass bank.

Adventure World CEO Mark Shaw said that staff responded quickly to stop the chair lift, administer first-aid to the woman who was responsive and safely retrieve the child from the ride.

“We are concerned for the woman’s welfare and have been in touch with the family to offer our full assistance,” he said.

“The ride was closed while WorkSafe carried out their investigation and have now given their permission to reopen the ride today. 

“Safety of our guests is our number one priority and our staff are fully trained and accredited to safely operate our rides. It is important that all guests follow the instructions of our team members at all times.

“The chair lift, along with all our rides, undergoes stringent daily, weekly and monthly maintenance checks and are signed off by an independent Engineer as “safe to operate” on an annual basis,” Mr Shaw said.

• The chair lift has been in operation at Adventure World since October 1992.
• In the last 10 years at least one million guests have ridden the chair lift.
• More than 400 thousand guests visit Adventure World during the warmer months each year.

 

[Mark Shaw]

5 hours ago, AlexB said:

Still contradicting information. Mark himself said:

So this suggests either there is a net on the top station, or Mark has his wires crossed...

@Mark Shaw - little help?

The incident occurred at the bottom loading platform. Immediately beyond the safety net is a grass/sand slope before block paving.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Thanks @Mark Shaw! Glad to hear all is back up and running...

[iwerks]

People seem to be happy about the water proof bag solution. They even commented that they could put their necklaces in it (there seems to have been a crack down on them recently).

[Tim Dasco]

I found this on Facebook. Thought it was pretty intresting.

 

[grrofunger]

Went today, busy again which is good, so got fast passes.

Saw the backpacks in action on the kraken, they are like drawstring backpacks and people can just wear them on their fronts as they go down the slide. the operator at the bottom quickly ties them back onto the raft after the rider takes it off and empties it and then sends it up, doesn't take long at all for the operator at the top to get the bag off the raft, also they were quick to fill with riders thongs etc- 

Overall , good idea and was executed very efficiently, i dont think it slowed down the ride time at all. the double loading was done well too.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

sounds like a great idea. something for WnW to keep an eye on.

[grrofunger]

Question for Mark if possible:

What is the sell thru of fast passes like? Do they regularly sell out?

Would you ever consider offering a season long fast pass option? perhaps as part of a platinum season pass?

I guess the challenge would be finding the sweet spot price point to ensure no loss of profit on the fast passes depending on the current sell thru over the season.

I am a regular fast pass purchaser but admittedly not every time i go.

I'd happily pay around $200 per person maybe a bit more for an upfront season fast pass which is the equivalent of just under 6 fast passes.

.....It's probably not worth it for the park..

Was just thinking about it the other day and preferring not to pay individually each time (budgeting reasons) and sometimes missing out in peak periods when arriving at the park later in the day.

I'd be inclined to attend more (we already attend heaps) over the season if i knew i had fast pass each time, meaning i would spend more in the park on food over the season also.

I quite often like to take the kids to the park after school and even during peak holidays times somedays just for the afternoon for a few hours.... we get donuts,ice cream etc - would be good knowing we could hit the park up anytime and not have to line up, do a couple of slides, a quick swim, get a snack and leave - i'd definitely attend more than the heaps we already do.

I think i am living in fantasy land (just hating queues as i get older lol, yes even regular length queues)

I believe fast passes are made available on 3% of the estimated attendance for the day so a season long option would only be able to be available for like 0.5% of estimated season attendance to allow for ongoing daily purchases of say 2.5% of estimated attendances. 

It may mean you still generate the profit but also piss less non purchasing people off as potentially on any given day you would have less people using fast pass (as the daily % on sale is less) and the season holders may not be there every day

[iwerks]

Fast pass is great, but I prefer to attend AW during the quiet periods when it's not required. I thought it was interesting that season members are allowed to use their 40% off tickets, already. I thought the email was a little negative about AW's attendance not being as high as expected.

[joz]

The thing with the season long fast pass is there's nothing stopping lots of them all turning up on the same day.  So if you get a busy day (say around a long weekend where every man and his dog are pass holders) and all of a sudden you've got more fast pass holders in the park than what you may have wanted to sell anyway, and you get this effect of pass holders complaining that they're queuing despite paying extra, and all the day guests are complaining that the queues barely move.  

 

We know this because Wet 'n' Wild Sydney accidentally did season long fast passes last season.

[grrofunger]

 

1 hour ago, joz said:

The thing with the season long fast pass is there's nothing stopping lots of them all turning up on the same day.  So if you get a busy day (say around a long weekend where every man and his dog are pass holders) and all of a sudden you've got more fast pass holders in the park than what you may have wanted to sell anyway, and you get this effect of pass holders complaining that they're queuing despite paying extra, and all the day guests are complaining that the queues barely move.  

 

We know this because Wet 'n' Wild Sydney accidentally did season long fast passes last season.

Judging from what i have read about wet n wild sydney they probably sold way too many of those season long fast passes contributing to the problem.

The amount available would have to be very limited , along the lines of the %'s i mentioned before.

If you got the amounts right the odds of them all turning up on the same day and causing fast pass chaos would be pretty slim i reckon.

I think you would have just as much chance of having a positive effect for the non fast pass people like i mentioned.

2 hours ago, iwerks said:

Fast pass is great, but I prefer to attend AW during the quiet periods when it's not required. I thought it was interesting that season members are allowed to use their 40% off tickets, already. I thought the email was a little negative about AW's attendance not being as high as expected.

I was surprised with that too. attendances haven't seemed low to me, the park has been quite busy.

I didn't think the term of not being able to use them in January was very clear upfront and have noticed some complaints about that too. Is the lower than expected attendance a 'cover up' excuse for backtracking on this 'unclear term'? Either way the negativity as you state was quite glaring. 

[iwerks]

7 hours ago, grrofunger said:

 

Judging from what i have read about wet n wild sydney they probably sold way too many of those season long fast passes contributing to the problem.

The amount available would have to be very limited , along the lines of the %'s i mentioned before.

If you got the amounts right the odds of them all turning up on the same day and causing fast pass chaos would be pretty slim i reckon.

I think you would have just as much chance of having a positive effect for the non fast pass people like i mentioned.

I was surprised with that too. attendances haven't seemed low to me, the park has been quite busy.

I didn't think the term of not being able to use them in January was very clear upfront and have noticed some complaints about that too. Is the lower than expected attendance a 'cover up' excuse for backtracking on this 'unclear term'? Either way the negativity as you state was quite glaring. 

Yeah, they could have phrased that email better. I thought they advertised the fact that you had to use your passes up before January too well. They always let people use their mates' rates passes before the end of January.

With regards to the platinum pass there were probably a couple of reasons why I didn't get one - the lack of a season long fast might be one (just one or two wasn't enough); I didn't want the merchandise; you couldn't do it online and it didn't have 8 discounted passes like the early bird special had.

I do think most people would turn up to AW to use their fast passes - AW doesn't exist for a lot of people until it hits the magic 27 degrees.

[downunder]

I'm going there on the 17th, got the fastpass, and going with a local mate who used to work there. Should be a good day.

The back pack thing looks like a good idea for Kraken.

 

[grrofunger]

The new website is up , It's a massive massive improvement ! looks good.

www.adventureworld.net.au