WNW Sydney - issues

[Ranger Dude]

Is anyone wondering what is going on with WNW Sydney?

Not even two seasons in, and they have been discounting both the season passes for both seasons (already excellent value at their usual RRP) and this season they have discounted the one day entry price (not so excellent value), and also offering free or highly discounted admission promotions since the end of January.

From the reviews I have read online, it appears that there is a lot of discontent in the market about the park. It seems the overcrowding this discounting is causing is leaving people with a poor impression about the park. It looks like it’s on a downward spiral.

Surely for a brand new park in the west Sydney market there is no need for them to be discounting it so heavily at this early stage? In my view they are pursuing a short term strategy for quick $$$ at the expense of the park’s long term future.

What are everyone’s thoughts on the matter…?

[iwerks]

If it's below 27 degrees it's time to discount. Too many parks give away the gate to stay in competition with the Gold Coast.

[Chubu]

The shareholder report from February shows the park recorded a loss this year.

Attendance was higher for this year, but it was spread over a longer period. (12th December opening 2014 vs 24 September opening 2015)

The park priced themselves pretty high, especially with the day passes. Lots of complaints about the food price and quality.

And finally the issues they've had with Bombora (its been closed most the season) can't be helping.

[Ranger Dude]

How they've managed to achieve such a poor result in only their second season is a bit of a worry. And I would have thought that the operating period up to end of December would be when they generate most of their revenue. The question is: can they discount their way out of this one? Or is an alternate strategy required?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The park priced themselves pretty high, especially with the day passes.

Actually, for a brand new park with the quality level of attractions they have, I'm surprised at how low their ticketing was.

I don't want to start a big discussion on WNWS ticketing - it's been done - but the simple fact is that despite half of western Sydney proclaiming 'we won't go at that price - we'll go to Jamberoo' the park's debut season was an oversold success... and thats because the park panicked, and started offering Buy 3 get one free (including to people who had already bought and paid for it!).

They've had their introductory season. it's time for them to put the price up a little (and pick up their game on food price and quality - they've got to improve on one or the other at the least). It's time they recognised that they are not on the gold coast fighting for market share with 5 other parks.

They're in a league of their own and Jamberoo does not compete purely because of distance. They can set the rules.

They can charge whatever they want and people will pay it (Regardless of what the Shalvey Mother's Club Association has to say about it)... they can have a 'coupon day' or something. Doing this solves the 'overcrowding' issues they've experienced as well.

[Chubu]

I only think the day passes where priced too high at $79.99 which has since dropped to $49.99, which I do think is too low.

The season passes were pretty good value starting at $109.99, I wouldn't advocate for a drop in season pass prices, and wouldn't argue against a modest rise.

I think its more the overall value than just the price, the food is just plan bad, park signage is still wrong/inadequate, poor operations at times, Bombora hasn't been open most of the season, they rarely run all four Aqua Loops. They even had a day where they simply didn't have enough tubes on the towers.

People wont pay $79.99 if they feel they are being ripped off, and that's been reflected in this years attendance so far. I think the place to start is by increasing quality, rather than decreasing price.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Chubu

[Monkeypie]

I didn't get to go this year for SDA union half price ticket day but it was a great day last year!! ( we went to Big Splash instead and I'll tell you the twister slide still packs a punch)...

[GoGoBoy]

The Village Roadshow directors attribute the drop in revenue to 'the wettest Summer in Sydney in 50 years' over the key trading period. I'm not sure if this is an exaggeration or not. Revenue and attendance at all the parks were down (weather blamed again), with the exception of MW which received a boost from themed events and Junior Driving School.

I am not surprised in the least that WnW Syd has seen a drop in revenue from the PCP. Of course the park was going to go gangbusters when it first opened and everybody wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, many people were underwhelmed by their first experience and obviously weren't keen to return (I don't entirely buy the weather excuse). I absolutely think WnW Syd can fix this if they really want to. It is essential they improve the visitor experience, and they can do this by:

1. Installing new slides for the next season -- the park gets unbearably busy and it is no fun waiting an hour for a waterslide, there just isn't enough to soak up the crowds.

2. Do whatever it takes to ensure major attractions (hello Bombora!) are not down for an extended period. This just makes the queues for other slides worse. The lazy river also needs to be fully opened up, with more tubes added.

3. Significantly improve landscaping, signage and presentation. The park feels so sparse and the signage and presentation is virtually non-existent compared to somewhere like WhiteWater World (I suggest WnW Syd management pay a trip to WWW). The park also seriously lacks atmosphere due to the lack of theming & landscaping -- it just doesn't feel like you're visiting a theme park.

4. I agree with the other suggestions in this thread -- increase the seasonal pass price to make crowd numbers more bearable, but this should be tied to new slides and attractions as a selling point.

5. Better food, because apparently it's gross (I wouldn't know because when we were there the line was too long so we weren't going to wait).

6. Open during the week. Even if they have to rotate attractions. So many of my friends have suggested visiting during the week to avoid the crowds and when I tell them it isn't open they lose interest. Lots of comments about this on WnW's social media pages too.

Edited April 1, 2015 by GoGoBoy

[Flea]

Couldn't agree more GoGoBoy, nailed it. Despite buying a platinum VIP pass with WnW Sydney entry included I didn't have any real desire to visit this season. My first couple of visits were underwhelming and I think it all came down (for me, anyway) to point #3. The purpose of a theme park is to feel like you're stepping out of the real world and into fantasy. All of the GC parks manage to do this very well, WnW Sydney feels like a bunch of slides next to Eastern Creek.

It's a shame because the original concept images for the park showed that their intention was to create something truly special. From a fantastically themed park-wide lazy river/transporter to moving it to an irrelevant corner of the park with some trees...

The general public consensus seems to be that WNW GC is the better park, despite it having far inferior slides. Anyone not in the 13-18 age bracket appreciates theming and the overall feel and atmosphere of the park.

[Chubu]

What new slides would you like to see at the park?

[AUSTHEMEPARKS]

What new slides would you like to see at the park?

Really, I would only want them to add existing slides just to increase capacity for a ride.

[Jobe]

The Village Roadshow directors attribute the drop in revenue to 'the wettest Summer in Sydney in 50 years' over the key trading period. I'm not sure if this is an exaggeration or not. Revenue and attendance at all the parks were down (weather blamed again), with the exception of MW which received a boost from themed events and Junior Driving School.

I am not surprised in the least that WnW Syd has seen a drop in revenue from the PCP. Of course the park was going to go gangbusters when it first opened and everybody wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, many people were underwhelmed by their first experience and obviously weren't keen to return (I don't entirely buy the weather excuse). I absolutely think WnW Syd can fix this if they really want to. It is essential they improve the visitor experience, and they can do this by:

1. Installing new slides for the next season -- the park gets unbearably busy and it is no fun waiting an hour for a waterslide, there just isn't enough to soak up the crowds.

2. Do whatever it takes to ensure major attractions (hello Bombora!) are not down for an extended period. This just makes the queues for other slides worse. The lazy river also needs to be fully opened up, with more tubes added.

3. Significantly improve landscaping, signage and presentation. The park feels so sparse and the signage and presentation is virtually non-existent compared to somewhere like WhiteWater World (I suggest WnW Syd management pay a trip to WWW). The park also seriously lacks atmosphere due to the lack of theming & landscaping -- it just doesn't feel like you're visiting a theme park.

4. I agree with the other suggestions in this thread -- increase the seasonal pass price to make crowd numbers more bearable, but this should be tied to new slides and attractions as a selling point.

5. Better food, because apparently it's gross (I wouldn't know because when we were there the line was too long so we weren't going to wait).

6. Open during the week. Even if they have to rotate attractions. So many of my friends have suggested visiting during the week to avoid the crowds and when I tell them it isn't open they lose interest. Lots of comments about this on WnW's social media pages too.

Brilliant post GoGoBoy I echo your every sentiment!.

I visited Wet and Wild for the first time 2 weekends ago and everything you have stated I noted in my time there.

The day we visited was overcast and drizzily and was subsequently not overly busy. However, I would hate to be at this park in peak times- there is a distinct lack of crowd soaker attractions to cope with large amounts of people. This was noted by 2 of my friends who are not theme park enthusiasts

The Lazy River, IMHO, is poorly designed and placed and could have been far better integrated with the other attractions.

The quality of the slides cannot be ignored, but the park really lacks overall theming, atmosphere and quality landscaping- things which can lift an average park into a "good" park.

Now that I have been to Wet and Wild Sydney, its interesting to contrast it to Jamberoo. Although Jamberoo does not have the amount or quality of slides that WW Sydney has, it has the advantage of being well established for over 30 years. Jamberoo has far greater atmosphere, is much more user friendly and is much more pleasing aesthetically, in my mind. Once Jamberoo gets on with its expansion plans, the difference in attractions will gain far closer parity, making Jamberoo to me, a much more attractive destination.

[joz]

From the sounds of the comments here it almost sounds as if instead of building the best water park in Australia, they built the worlds best Local Swimming Complex.

I think apart from that, Wet n Wild Sydney's issues are that is that they have a host of policies that are are guest unfriendly. You've just got to look at all the complaints and see there are some pretty consistent themes there. People don't like paying for parking, people want to bring food into the park, (particularly when the capacity of the f&b outlets can't keep up), the shuttle busses are inconsistent, pricing is all over the shop, the whole concept of fast passes run people the wrong way, and not enough trading days out of the peak season. And that's just scratching the surface.

I think when you have the contempt for your guests that Wet 'n' Wild seems to have, it's not surprising that the repeat business has been sluggish at best.

[Monkeypie]

IMO the lazy river at Wet n Wild Sydney is just horrible! no theming whatsoever and I scraped a big chunk of skin off my toe on a vent thing on the bottom. It just didn't do anything for us but warm us up a bit on a cold day!

[AUSTHEMEPARKS]

IMO the lazy river at Wet n Wild Sydney is just horrible! no theming whatsoever and I scraped a big chunk of skin off my toe on a vent thing on the bottom. It just didn't do anything for us but warm us up a bit on a cold day!

Why couldn't they just make some waterfalls on it that's in the center. The one waterfall they have is on the side so you might even miss it.

[GoGoBoy]

Why couldn't they just make some waterfalls on it that's in the center. The one waterfall they have is on the side so you might even miss it.

And that 'waterfall' is the most basic and pathetic lazy river adornment in the history of the world. It's basically just a pile of bricks with a pipe coming out of the top with some water spilling from it. And you can see the pipe clearly.

Edited April 5, 2015 by GoGoBoy

[AUSTHEMEPARKS]

+ that waterfall barely gets you wet. Also there are always teenagers pushing everyone out of their tubes and blocking the waterfall.