Movieworld trip report

[Santa07]

So I came back from movieworld today. I spent the morning there, and got a good deal of rides in.

On arriving, superman escape was experiencing 'technical difficulties', and arkham and batwing both had fairly big lineups even though the park only opened 20 minutes ago, so we headed over to the other area of the park where we assumed it might have been quiet. Scooby doo was a big lineup, but wwf was a walk-on so we did two laps on that. I noticed that they had smoke effects coming out of the exploding bridge, and I'm not sure if I've just never noticed it before or it hasn't been on before.

We then headed back over to superman which was now open. Sadly, the water effects still weren't working. I've noticed that some days on the ride superman says the full 'I'll get you out of here, fast, superman fast' thing, but on other days he ends at the first fast and it launches without him saying superman fast. They had both trains running so the queue was pretty quick. Fastrack was running, and the superman queue had been modified to build in a set of stairs for the fastrack riders. I saw a few riders use it over the day, but the queues remained short for most of the day so it wasn't really needed.

We then headed over to batwing. I was surprised that they had a single rider queue there - I have never seen this before and me and my brother decided to split up and save time by going in that queue. We were on in 5 minutes, despite the 30 minute wait that the other people were waiting. The staff on the batwing today were exceptionally friendly, and even chatted to people in the queue just before loading the ride. Just the simple 'thanks' or 'awesome' they gave after checking each person's haness was also great. Big 10/10 for these guys today.

Arkham asylum then had a pretty short queue so we did that. Yet again, the harness gets way to tight by the end of the ride and you just want to get out and save your poor legs. We then did superman, which was a really short wait, and arkham once more before leaving.

I also saw the hollywood stunt driver 2 show for the first time today, and it was just too corny for me. The explosion at the end was cool, but it wasn't really part of anything, it was just an explosion out of no-where...

It was a good day, and shortish queues and friendly staff really made it even better.

[Noxegon]

For what it's worth, I think the new trains on Arkham are a massive improvement. I'll take sore legs over a migraine any day.

[themagician]

The smoke at the train part of the WWF, has been there for a couple of years now, but it I a good touch. I also think that the water on SE hasn't been working for a while, which is a shame. Despite the AA Barnes setting tight on the legs, I'd much rather have sore legs for a minute than a headache. I'm fairly sure that single rider queue was added during the maintenance period. And I definitely agree about HWSD2. It's corny, and explosion is pointless. The stunts are good, but there is no real story to the show, and the theming is all out of place. And even though they have removed the jumps, in the trailer part of the show, the bikes and jumps are visible at some points. I think the park need to refresh the show, and really sit down, sort the theme out, get a good story line, which has good stunts, comedy and crowd interaction.

[pushbutton]

I was at Movie World today and noticed some welcome repair work has been done very recently.

1. The campfire in the Indian Reservation within Wild West Falls was smoking. I've never seen that before and at first I wondered whether some guests had somehow managed to get to it and light a fire. I almost thought about reporting it to staff but thought if it was a fire the worst that could happen is the tents get burnt. They would be easy to replace so no big deal. After going on again twice more I realised it was obviously an intentional (and clearly very realistic) effect!

2. Not so exciting, but useful to know that the clock outside Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster now works!

[nitromefans]

Back in 2012 the campfire had smoke working. It sadly broke and never got fixed after that however.

[pushbutton]

Back in 2012 the campfire had smoke working. It sadly broke and never got fixed after that however.

Good to see it working again now.

[Zanstabar]

The smoke effects have been very temperamental. I rode after rehab last year and the campfire and train tracks were both smoking. It looked great, but I can't say the same about their reliability...

[pushbutton]

Just comes down to maintenance.

If the maintenance budget needs increasing, they simply need to increase the price of VIP passes a little, and stop giving them away, and problem solved!

[AllegroCrab]

I hadn't heard of these smoke effects, it's been way too long!

One thing that's always been a bit corny for me on WWF was the TNT explosion on the bridge. Just a sound clip as you go past the boxes of TNT, I assume they still haven't done anything to spice that up. That kind of thing works for the TNT before the drop, where you are busy worrying about the drop and it's just the sound of hissing fuses, but the explosion on the bridge is just pointless and lacklustre.

I can't think of much they could do to spice it up other than remove it altogether and not get your hopes up about a cool effect in the first place.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It'd be a lot of work, and probably not worth it - but i'd like to see a hydraulic element installed on the bridge to have it 'partially' collapse as you approached... a la the old Universal collapsing bridge in LA.

Don't know whether they could achieve that as it is 'overhead' the ride path and may have issues unless it could be made completely 'failsafe'.

All we can hope for in such well themed rides in AUS is that they maintain the current theming and not let it deteriorate like Bermuda and LTRR.

[Richard]

You would assume that the bridge collapsing as boats went under -- possibly with some Bermuda Triangle-esque fire -- was the original plan, but budget/design/timeframe/safety considerations turned that idea into the thoroughly unconvincing speaker explosion we ended up with.

[Gazza]

AlexB, Escape from Pompeii has full 3x scale roman statues dropping over the ride path overhead at high speed, so it's fully possible.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^in a Park (and country) where rides like Verbolten have only lap restraints and no OTSRs though...

I didn't mean whether they COULD do it, moreso whether our risk-averse safety regime would permit it.

[pushbutton]

There is some smoke above the bridge, which gives the effect of the TNT fuse burning.

I agree though it's not quite enough to be convincing unless you're 5 years old (and then it's just terrifying judging by the reaction I saw last weekend from one young girl)!

Would be nice if it partially collapsed.

That said, the whole ride really does feel like it's in very good order and well maintained overall, especially considering its age.

[Gazza]

^in a Park (and country) where rides like Verbolten have only lap restraints and no OTSRs though...

I didn't mean whether they COULD do it, moreso whether our risk-averse safety regime would permit it.

Why would Verbolten need OTSRs? It has no inversions.

[rappa]

You mean like superman?

[Gazza]

As far as I know Intamin accelerators have the shoulder straps because of the heavy braking (Stopping guests from lurching forward)

Verbolten is very much a family thrill coaster, say on par with Jet Rescue, Storm or Scooby.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Rappa hit the nail on the head with what I was getting at. The better example of an unnecessary OTSR would be abyss... of course it does have inversions... and of course the exception to the rule in Buzzsaw... but what i meant was the unnecessary 'extra' systems employed on Aus rides that other countries show are unnecessary.

Cue the response about the lower incident rate in Australia... but my point is we're very much nanny state when it comes to rides.

[JacobSibbald]

I think you need some better examples, AlexB. However there might not be a need as we all know that Australia's safety standards are incredibly higher than other countries around the world.

[WCE87]

Just got back from a 3 week holiday to the Gold Coast.

I still don't think very much of the MDMC. Jet Rescue is a way better ride.

Must say that the staff that I dealt with at all the parks were very good.

Justice League was a good bit of fun for all ages, it took until Monday just gone for the hologram of Star Lord to be working.

I liked the storm coaster.

Still hate the fact that 2 people could be standing in line for a 4 person ride and 4 people skip the line to stand next to them 'so they can ride together'

[Brad2912]

Star Lord??

You'll be waiting a long time to see him in a DC justice league ride given he's a Marvel character

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I'm assuming he meant Starro

[WCE87]

Yes did mean Starro.

[Theme Park Girl]

So I went to Movieworld today for the first time in over two years. Thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences as well on some of the new stuff, and also some of the older stuff

The good stuff:

DRIVING SCHOOL: The Driving School is really great, such a good idea for the little ones, especially the little bonus of printing them a "drivers licence" for free before riding. My 5 & 10 year old loved it! Although I though the session was a little short, much like bumper car time. Can understand this is to keep the queue moving, though. The whole mini-MW theming is great, too.

ROAD RUNNER RC: Not bad for a kiddy coaster, have to admit it was the first time I've ever been on it. Was the first coaster my 10 year old ever rode a few years ago. Was actually surprised with the G's it pulled after the initial drop lol.

ARKHAM ASYLUM: I know the Arkham Asylum is not exactly new, but it sorta was for me today, since the last time I visited MW it was closed for annual maintenance.

Now can I just say, I have a LOT of history and somewhat of an emotional attachment to this ride. My best friend and I bought annual passes for MW not long after it opened back on the early 90's, and (no joke) we used to ride the Lethal Weapon up to 10x a day. We knew the opening video word for word. Yes, she was a rough girl, but we LOVED this coaster to bits.

So yeah, today was the first time I had ridden it since it's conversion to Arkham Asylum. And can I just say, what has been done with it is AWESOME and I totally commend Movieworld on such fantastic upgrades to an old ride. The new train is so much more comfortable to sit in, no more head banging issues, and a lot more freedom to move around whilst in the harness. The ride seems a lot smoother as well now, and gosh, it's either gotten faster or I had just forgotten exactly how fast it was!!! The new asylum/joker theming is fantastic, too.

Either way, I was so impressed and very happy to ride LW/Arkham again after all these years, brought back so many memories and I would have gone right back on it again, had there not been a 40 minute queue lol.

It's definitely my favourite rollercoaster still

SCOOBY DOO: Still an old favourite, my 10 year old loved it as well. Only had a 10 minute queue. Good to see they fixed some stuff too which people previously had been complaining about (ie. swinging axes not working, no lasers etc). But did notice she is getting a little rough with age.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Been on it once before and my kids loved it, especially my 5 year old son. Another -10 minute wait. Great theming inside Obviously a lot tamer ride than it's brothers and sisters, but hey, it's a great family ride and lots of fun for the young at heart. Oh, and I got the highest score, hahaha. Go me

GREEN LANTERN: still closed. No updates. Meh.

SUPERMAN: didn't get to go on it this time round, queue was too big. Meh. Next time

WILD WEST FALLS: also didn't get to go on it this visit round, but my husband and daughter did and loved it.

Ok, now onto the bad stuff....

STUNT DRIVER 2: The new Stunt Driver show sucked. Sorry but we were really, really disappointed with this one!

As someone said in another thread, it really was just 5 minutes of utes doing burnouts. Don't get me wrong, the stunts were clever, but there was very little variety in them. No comedy (what happened to the dude in the red hat and blue overalls? Can't remember his name, but he was great!!) No real storyline. Very bland and no heart to it at all.

Oh, also... the clips shown on the big screen that the director supposedly filmed during the live show didn't match (for example, it showed jumps and ramps in the footage that weren't actually there in reality, there was footage of a car up on it's side on two wheels, yet no cars did that stunt either during our show session, car colours were different etc) which just seemed lazy and sloppy on movieworld's part, as they were obviously filmed at another time and they didn't bother to even *try* to make it look consistent.

The fireball at the end was completely random. Was better when it was related to a helicopter crashing/exploding.

And then it was over, just like that. We walked out fairly bitter, complaining about how bad it had become and feeling like we had just wasted quality ride time.

Seriously... just bring back the Police Academy stunt show. At least that was entertaining!

PARK THEMING: great as always around the main areas of the park, however when ARE they going to do something with the old maverick show area? It was completely empty and deserted, and most visitors looked awkward walking through it. Such wasted opportunity. Would love to see the western show make a comeback, especially since they only have the one show offering now.

Also noticed they have closed off the Chinatown alley, since obviously it was the old entrance to lethal weapon. But also another wasted opportunity. Would have been nice to see them add some street/food markets or something along there like Dreamworld recently had for the Chinese New Year. Or change it to something else to match the Arkham Asylum's theme and reopen that walkway for peeps to use.

Noticed the tombstones in the graveyard no longer snore, move etc. It may be trivial, but sometimes it's the little things that make it so much more enjoyable as a whole.

Got pounced on by the time share people on the way to Wild West falls, and they were persistent, despite us initially declining. Have had similar issues with the ones at Dreamworld & Seaworld. Seriously, they need to get rid of these fools :/

Overall, despite some of the disappointments. we had a good morning, were only able to stay a few hours due to hubby's evening work commitments, but still had fun nonetheless... look forward to going back on Wednesday when hubby & I have the day off work and the kids are at school lol. More quality coaster time

Edited May 16, 2015 by OceanGirl

[pushbutton]

So I went to Movieworld today for the first time in over two years. Thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences as well on some of the new stuff, and also some of the older stuff

The good stuff:

DRIVING SCHOOL: The Driving School is really great, such a good idea for the little ones, especially the little bonus of printing them a "drivers licence" for free before riding. My 5 & 10 year old loved it! Although I though the session was a little short, much like bumper car time. Can understand this is to keep the queue moving, though. The whole mini-MW theming is great, too.

ROAD RUNNER RC: Not bad for a kiddy coaster, have to admit it was the first time I've ever been on it. Was the first coaster my 10 year old ever rode a few years ago. Was actually surprised with the G's it pulled after the initial drop lol.

ARKHAM ASYLUM: I know the Arkham Asylum is not exactly new, but it sorta was for me today, since the last time I visited MW it was closed for annual maintenance.

Now can I just say, I have a LOT of history and somewhat of an emotional attachment to this ride. My best friend and I bought annual passes for MW not long after it opened back on the early 90's, and (no joke) we used to ride the Lethal Weapon up to 10x a day. We knew the opening video word for word. Yes, she was a rough girl, but we LOVED this coaster to bits.

So yeah, today was the first time I had ridden it since it's conversion to Arkham Asylum. And can I just say, what has been done with it is AWESOME and I totally commend Movieworld on such fantastic upgrades to an old ride. The new train is so much more comfortable to sit in, no more head banging issues, and a lot more freedom to move around whilst in the harness. The ride seems a lot smoother as well now, and gosh, it's either gotten faster or I had just forgotten exactly how fast it was!!! The new asylum/joker theming is fantastic, too.

Either way, I was so impressed and very happy to ride LW/Arkham again after all these years, brought back so many memories and I would have gone right back on it again, had there not been a 40 minute queue lol.

SCOOBY DOO: Still an old favourite, my 10 year old loved it as well. Only had a 10 minute queue. Good to see they fixed some stuff too which people previously had been complaining about (ie. swinging axes not working, no lasers etc). But did notice she is getting a little rough with age.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Been on it once before and my kids loved it, especially my 5 year old son. Another -10 minute wait. Great theming inside Obviously a lot tamer ride than it's brothers and sisters, but hey, it's a great family ride and lots of fun for the young at heart. Oh, and I got the highest score, hahaha. Go me

GREEN LANTERN: still closed. No updates. Meh.

SUPERMAN: didn't get to go on it this time round, queue was too big. Meh. Next time

WILD WEST FALLS: also didn't get to go on it this visit round, but my husband and daughter did and loved it.

Ok, now onto the bad stuff....

STUNT DRIVER 2: The new Stunt Driver show sucked. Sorry but we were really, really disappointed with this one!

As someone said in another thread, it really was just 5 minutes of utes doing burnouts. Don't get me wrong, the stunts were clever, but there was very little variety in them. No comedy (what happened to the dude in the red hat and blue overalls? He was great!!) No real storyline. Very bland and no heart at all.

Oh, also... the clips shown on the big screen that the director supposedly filmed during the live show didn't match (for example, it showed jumps and ramps in the footage that weren't actually there in reality, there was footage of a car up on it's side on two wheels, yet no cars did that either during our session, car colours were different etc) which just seemed lazy and sloppy on movieworld' part, as they were obviously filmed at another time and they didn't bother to even *try* to make it look consistent.

The fireball at the end was completely random. Was better when it was related to a helicopter crashing/exploding.

And then it was over, just like that. We walked out fairly bitter, complaining about how bad it had become and feeling like we had just wasted quality ride time.

Seriously... just bring back the Police Academy stunt show :/

PARK THEMING: great as always around the main areas of the park, however when ARE they going to do something with the old maverick show area? It was completely empty and deserted, and most visitors looked awkward walking through it. Such wasted opportunity. Would love to see the western show make a comeback, especially since they only have the one show offering now.

Also noticed they have closed off the Chinatown alley, since obviously it was the old entrance to lethal weapon. But also another wasted opportunity. Would have been nice to see them add some street/food markets or something along there like Dreamworld recently had for the Chinese New Year. Or change it to something else to match the Arkham Asylum's theme and reopen that walkway for peeps to use.

Noticed the tombstones in the graveyard no longer snore, move etc. It may be trivial, but sometimes it's the little things that make it so much more enjoyable as a whole.

Got pounced on by the time share people on the way to Wild West falls, and they were persistent, despite us initially declining. Have had similar issues with the ones at Dreamworld & Seaworld. Seriously, they need to get rid of these fools :/

Overall, despite some of the disappointments. we had a good morning, were only able to stay a few hours due to hubby's evening work commitments, but still had fun nonetheless... look forward to going back on Wednesday when hubby & I have the day off work and the kids are at school lol. More quality coaster time

A great trip report there Oceangirl, and I agree with pretty much all of it. However I don't think much of the driving school myself, given that it replaced a pretty good dark ride.