Eureka Mountain Mine Ride reopening discussion

[Twilight Zone]

2 hours ago, Slick said:

but it quietly yells "back off @Andrewh".

Probably

[Santa07]

5 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

Maybe I'm just overly suspicious, but, @Twilight Zone just joined, started following @Andrewh and tried to stir up discussion on the events surrounding him despite all the discussion being done and dusted ages ago......

You convinced me after the "started following Andrewh" bit. You have to be a certain kind of person to follow him.

[Whombex]

As Eureka discussion keeps popping up in other threads, I thought I'd revive this thread.

My interpretation of DW's CEO mentioning they're "looking at" bringing back the "mine ride" as: that they're looking at a new ride. I agree with others who have said it's tied too much into TRRR's infrastructure; the track and interior is likely not salvageable; and might not be insurable.

If the replacement mine ride goes into the same site, in or around a new mountain, there's now more height to work with. Going by the picture by Parkz below, if the lake is removed with TRRR, the Mine ride could go all the way down to even below the current waterline.

Image from Parkz - Original use here.

 

For posterity, here's recent threads that mention Eureka/'Mine Ride':

- Dreamworld Focuses on Iconic, Memorable Experiences in 2017

- Storm damage of Eureka Mountain (loosely related).

[Jessicajealousy]

On 6/13/2017 at 7:50 PM, Glubbo said:

As Eureka discussion keeps popping up in other threads, I thought I'd revive this thread.

My interpretation of DW's CEO mentioning they're "looking at" bringing back the "mine ride" as: that they're looking at a new ride. I agree with others who have said it's tied too much into TRRR's infrastructure; the track and interior is likely not salvageable; and might not be insurable.

If the replacement mine ride goes into the same site, in or around a new mountain, there's now more height to work with. Going by the picture by Parkz below, if the lake is removed with TRRR, the Mine ride could go all the way down to even below the current waterline.

Image from Parkz - Original use here.

 

For posterity, here's recent threads that mention Eureka/'Mine Ride':

- Dreamworld Focuses on Iconic, Memorable Experiences in 2017

- Storm damage of Eureka Mountain (loosely related).

I check Parkz everyday to one day see that they have started work on re-opening Eureka. Fingers crossed that they choose to keep it rather than demolish it with TRRR. Although it does sit on a large, prime piece of land along with TRRR - keeping it would allow them to expand it and make it into a truly memorable, family dark ride which I feel is something Dreamworld is sorely lacking.

[Jdude95]

Funny you should mention that...
Only partially Eureka related but this seemed the best thread to post this in. I was at DW today and noticed surveyors and maintenance guys all through the gold rush area. I went on the buzzsaw and noticed surveyors doing some work around the TRRR station as well.

Completely unrelated I think I also spotted a wild @Slick roaming around the park today.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Jdude95

[pazzap]

demolish and put a great hyper/multilooper as the centrepiece of gold rush, to replace both eureka and TRR

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Even if it's bigger, i think if they were to put a hyper in, it would just scream copycat. they need something that really says 'i'm different to whats down the road' without being a one-trick pony. A really nice woodie or hybrid would suit this perfectly.

[mission]

15 minutes ago, AlexB said:

A really nice woodie or hybrid would suit this perfectly.

Are wooden roller coasters really financially viable, surely they'd cost more to build and maintain?

Edited June 22, 2017 by mission

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

less to build, but more to maintain. I'll be honest - Dreamworld's record on maintaining things after they're built isn't that great - so its probably not the best way to go for them, but if they could keep the upkeep on it, it'd be a no-brainer.

You've got to remember, Wonderland had two wooden rollercoasters, and they were the only coasters they had for almost a decade. They operated Bush Beast for almost 20 years before they closed - and no, coaster maintenance wasn't the reason for their demise.

[Whombex]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

less to build, but more to maintain. I'll be honest - Dreamworld's record on maintaining things after they're built isn't that great - so its probably not the best way to go for them, but if they could keep the upkeep on it, it'd be a no-brainer.

You've got to remember, Wonderland had two wooden rollercoasters, and they were the only coasters they had for almost a decade. They operated Bush Beast for almost 20 years before they closed - and no, coaster maintenance wasn't the reason for their demise.

...building a Woodie/Hybrid would be fine, DW will have new owners by the time major maintenance would be required.

[pin142]

Gravity group look to do a steel support with wooden track so can't see why that wouldn't be an option to lower costs associated with maintenance.

[mission]

I would have thought more to build as well, the labour would be huge putting one of those together.  Given that wooden roller coasters are somewhat rare these days, design would also be costly - no economies of scale here, design or construction.

 

As we're seeing with Rivals, steel can be fabricated off-site (probably high automation using robots) and then bolted together onsite without huge labour requirements.

 

Some of the wooden ones do look cool though.

 

But that's only my thoughts a subject I don't really know much about!

 

Edited June 22, 2017 by mission

[Slick]

42 minutes ago, mission said:

I would have thought more to build as well, the labour would be huge putting one of those together.  Given that wooden roller coasters are somewhat rare these days, design would also be costly - no economies of scale here, design or construction.

 

As we're seeing with Rivals, steel can be fabricated off-site (probably high automation using robots) and then bolted together onsite without huge labour requirements.

 

Some of the wooden ones do look cool though.

 

But that's only my thoughts a subject I don't really know much about!

 

Actually modern wooden roller-coasters are having a huge resurgence right now in the Western world.

Also @Jdude95 you might not have seen me, but you may have seen that OurWorlds blogger dude. If he had a beer in his hand, it was definitely him.

Also, can second the surveyors out and about assessing the grade between Giant Drop and the closed half of Gold Rush. Maybe this is finally the end of all those elevated walkways Sanderson Group put in when they opened Giant Drop?

[Joshw84]

Word from staff is that the mountain will go in favour of a new steel shed structure, with same track. I am at Dreamworld now and have asked a couple of different staff.

[Jessicajealousy]

19 minutes ago, Joshw84 said:

Word from staff is that the mountain will go in favour of a new steel shed structure, with same track. I am at Dreamworld now and have asked a couple of different staff.

I know that having it in a shed/studio means they could theme really well inside (similar to Scooby or River Ride), I still think getting rid of the mountain in its entirety detracts from the point of "bringing back Eureka" as that's the focal point of the attraction - its the bit everyone sees, regardless of whether they choose to ride it or not. I think removing the mountain themei will give them the reverse effect they are hoping reopening Eureka will give

[New display name]

Come on people let's be honest here, the ride was poo.  For the people that haven’t ridden it before I will tell you for free, the ride was poo.   I’m willing to put it out there if DW ever reopen the ride everybody in Parkz will say the ride is poo.   Poo, poo & more poo.     DW save your money because nobody likes riding poo. 

[mission]

^ yeah I don't remember it being great, but probably not bad as a kids ride and the mountain thing is pretty cool.

 

Theme parks are still installing crap rides so it's not like it would be out of place

[Theme Park Girl]

To be honest the only real factor I can recall of riding Eureka as a kid was the sore neck it left me with post ride, as it had some very sharp and sudden turns. 

That said, I'm still excited over the concept of it coming back, but I think that's mainly due to nostalgia since I wasn't really a huge fan of the ride itself. At least not that I remember lol.

21 hours ago, AlexB said:

less to build, but more to maintain. I'll be honest - Dreamworld's record on maintaining things after they're built isn't that great - so its probably not the best way to go for them, but if they could keep the upkeep on it, it'd be a no-brainer.

I think the upkeep (or lack thereof) of the Thunderbolt was a prime example of this. I recall reading many rumours (no idea if they were true or not, but the speculation was there) claiming that Dreamworld's lack of effort to maintain it was a major factor to its closure. The condition of the track was definitely a bit of an eyesore in its final years of operation, it's really no surprise that they failed to find a buyer for it before it was scrapped.

But yeah, despite their past history and reputation, who knows... they have since had a major wake-up call toward ride maintenance and care as a whole, so they may very well turn over a new leaf now with the overall upkeep of a major steel or wooden coaster?

[Brad2912]

A 

6 hours ago, Joshw84 said:

Word from staff is that the mountain will go in favour of a new steel shed structure, with same track. I am at Dreamworld now and have asked a couple of different staff.

If DW demolish the mountain and then go to the expense of building a 'shed' (your words) to enclose the existing ride structure, they are more stupid than I thought..

if you are going to the expense of building a purpose-build indoor arena, you'd utilise it for a great new ride, not for a ride that will wear off the feeling of nostalgia after one ride.. and that's all this ride has going for it, nostalgia. The trains were uncomfortably small unless riding solo or  anorexic twins, and the track layout was rough and jolty... and that was before it sat rusting for over a decade...

Edited June 23, 2017 by Brad2912

[iwerks]

Wild mice are jolty, but they do seem to last forever. Plenty of carnie rides have survived in worse locations. The wild mouse at the PRS went on to have another life at Aussie World, so if you get rid of 'asbestos' mountain and build a new show building/shed you'd probably be able to get it going again.

Having said that, I agree with @Skeeta, the ride is poo.

[Tim Dasco]

I would rather they keep the mountain to an extent (as it doesn't have asbestos due to the fact that there is a hole in it and the park has not been closed to deal with it) and put a new coaster like a eurofighter in their using Gazzas suggestion a few years ago.

[Gazza]

I don't think its feasible to slot track into the existing mountain sadlt

I mean Scooby was one thing because there was a nice clear spanning shed to work inside, but this mountain would be very hard to lift into.

 

 

[iwerks]

Totally buy the Eurofighter concept, even if it was only partly indoors. In fact, I'd rather they buy the remains of the old wild mouse from Aussie World than restart Andrew H's track. Plus the old Eureka ride did actually use mine carts that were very small.

[rappa]

1 minute ago, Gazza said:

I don't think its feasible to slot track into the existing mountain sadlt

I mean Scooby was one thing because there was a nice clear spanning shed to work inside, but this mountain would be very hard to lift into.

 

 

Well even that isn't totally true given they raised the existing structure to accommodate the coaster. 

[Gazza]

AFAIK they raised the roof first then worked inside....

Have fun doing that with the Eureka structure