MLE Dreamworld Information

[Obstructure]

As I said in another thread (i'll stay true to my word), I found out some information about Dreamworld's further plans. Apparently these are the new features that MLE announced at their latest shareholder meeting of upgrades to Dreamworld: New ride opening later this year (September) - as everyone now knows this is the gyroswing, no new news here. Area at the back is to be a town centre, shopping area type thing, which will serve Coomera's population well (no new news here either) Now for the new news: Thunderbolt Area: well unfortunately the chance of a new age roller coaster isn't on the cards, it looks as though it will be a themed area with a number of thrill rides. Don't know anything about what rides or what theme but it'll be a new area. It was a little unclear what they have confirmed but it is either going to be the whole area opened probably late next year, or open it up in stages with a couple of rides at a time over a couple of years. Upgrades: Other than the regular park upgrades (paint jobs, new paths etc), there are plans to make changes to the entrance. It is pretty old and it could do with some modernisation anyway and I think it is a positive move in the right direction, seeing it is one of the outstanding features you can see from the road. Don't be surprised if they replace it with a brand new entrance, which is important if the park wants to grow, it will cater for the inflow of guests much easier. Blue Lagoon: It's not a bad area seeing it's not Dreamworld's focus, but they said further down the track (Next 10 years or so) Blue Lagoon is facing a huge facelift and expansion. They said this in respect to Big Brother being over and not using the land down there anymore, which would result in Blue Lagoon using the land it occupies, as well as some other areas. They suggested there may also be an option to make it a seperate "park" where you can pay admission just to go there. Sounds like it could be quite big. So that is all the news I had to share.

[Richard]

The Master Plan doesn't make mention of specific rides. "Thrill rides" doesn't mean "flat rides". This plan isn't meant to give an exact play-by-play of every major development at Dreamworld over the next however many years. It's a general and purposely vague list of what's to happen. Don't cross off roller coasters too soon. They come under the category of thrill ride, do they not? The fact is that research for specific rides won't begun until a year or two before they debut. How could anyone possibly predict what teenages ten years from now will enjoy, or what will even be available out there in terms of rides? I'm not saying that they're getting a coaster, but I'm saying don't cross it off the list because RCT calls flat rides thrill rides or whatever the thinking might be. It's funny that most of the things you mentioned were mentioned by us six months ago in a thread about what we thought Dreamworld should do. Are we just so in-tune with what Dreamworld needs, or did Dreamworld just find a way to get development ideas for free?

[Obstructure]

I wasn't here 6 months ago and didn't read those threads, but updating the thunderbolt and the front entry are pretty obvious things. As for roller coasters being a thrill ride, didn't write off the chance of there being a roller coaster, just next to no chance of there being something massive and world class, seeing they are planning like 5-6 thrill rides in that section, add to that other necessities like shops, amenities etc to cater for the themed area and theres not much room to create something massive. However the plans are for this area to be opened up with at least something new by the end of next year. So you've got the gyroswing project this year, and then something new next year. The Blue Lagoon expansion is looking like they may include Big Brother, and some of the top carpark as well, which is one large water area. But again, who knows what could happen in 10 years, I'm sure 10 years before Big Brother they weren't planning on using that area for a reality TV show. Anyway I just thought I would share what I heard, but yes, very vague and no specifics.

[scott]

I do hope that dreamworld gets a coaster coz im dying of boredom here theres only the corcscrew left for me to try and after that im going to have to sit tight, coz my parents are'nt taking me to NSW (not that theres much there anyway,after wonderland closed down(pretty dissapointed about that.Maybe dreamworld will extend Ocean Parade because that area is getting pretty crowded.If not, what sort of theme do you think they would make for those flat rides?I guess they could copy off Wonderland and make a bush theme for a wooden coaster,but that would probably be too big.By the way,what's up with scenic world,are they a theme park or what?What's the deal with this ORPHAN ROCKER ?

[Richard]

If you want to discuss Scenic World or Orphan Rocker, do a search for those things and find an appropriate thread to talk about it. Here in the Dreamworld forum isn't the place.

[GoGoBoy]

That all sounds very positive for Dreamworld. Glad to hear they seem to be heading in the right direction. A new and improved water park would be an excellent and logical addition (as we have all discussed previously). I am happy to hear that it may actually be quite large... it will help to soak up some of the crowds. Looking forward to the new themed land too. Hopefully it will be a whole new area rather than an expansion of Ocean Parade as that area is already quite big as it is. I think it would be great if certain theme park execs read over these boards and picked up an idea or too. It is the perfect site to gather honest opinions from people who are passionate about the Aussie industry. I personally hope most theme park management teams are aware of this site

[rappa]

I don't necessarily think that replacing the entrance plaza is a good thing. Dreamworld has a good history and a part of that is what you still see today in the entrance plaza, bakery, imax and main fountain. Simply knocking these over for a new modern look would be a terrible shame. It would be quite nice to simply do a bit of repainting and touch up work as opposed to moving in with the bulldozers. I still have a very good book on Dreamworld which they used to sell, perhaps it would be good for some of the younger ones to look up the history of the park being built...

[willsy]

I don't necessarily think that replacing the entrance plaza is a good thing. Dreamworld has a good history and a part of that is what you still see today in the entrance plaza, bakery, imax and main fountain. Simply knocking these over for a new modern look would be a terrible shame. It would be quite nice to simply do a bit of repainting and touch up work as opposed to moving in with the bulldozers. I still have a very good book on Dreamworld which they used to sell, perhaps it would be good for some of the younger ones to look up the history of the park being built...

Same here, The Entrance should be left the same. Thats the look of Dreamworld. Just fix a threw things up and paint some stuff. But dont change it.

[Nightshifter]

is anyone 100% sure that dreamworld is opening this gyro swing in time for the september holidays?

[Richard]

Thats the look of Dreamworld.

No it's not, it's the look of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It's a stolen design and totally unoriginal. As much nostalgia or childhood memories it evokes for anyone, the fact is it's stolen. That to me is enough to warrant a completely new, original entrance. I'd love to see the Main Street area redone to be original. It's also largely stolen from Disney, but it's been Dreamworldised over the past 20+ years enough to make it relatively unique, so to me it's not as much of an issue.

[willsy]

No it's not, it's the look of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It's a stolen design and totally unoriginal. As much nostalgia or childhood memories it evokes for anyone, the fact is it's stolen. That to me is enough to warrant a completely new, original entrance.   I'd love to see the Main Street area redone to be original. It's also largely stolen from Disney, but it's been Dreamworldised over the past 20+ years enough to make it relatively unique, so to me it's not as much of an issue.

It is the look of Dreamworld, So what if they got ideas from other parks or it looks the same as others, its Dreamworld and that how it should stay.

[thunder001]

Still think that within the next 5 years, the next ride to either go or be re-vamped will be the log ride. Sure it is a family fav with visitors to the park, but having this style of ride so close to the River Rapids seems a bit of an overkill. If you think about the park expanding the water park side then the removal of the log ride will open up the area to the rear of the park where the Big Brother area is. This will allow a flow through area from the water park around to the animal display area and add the room for at least another 2000 ppl in the park per day. The land that the parks owns out there would also allow for a new water park to be opened with the entry to come from the Town Square side of the park in the future. If the park wants to seperate the water side from the main park, then this area allows the park to move all the water rides to a new location and opens up land on that side of the park for future use. Remember that this is only my thoughts on what COULD happen. I am more than likely to be completly wrong, but it is a thought.

[Obstructure]

Log ride definately needs to be done up, it is going under annual maintenance for like a month according to their website so who knows how much could be done in that time? I don't think theres been a public official announcement regarding a new ride, but it does seem pretty certain something new is coming later this year.

[GoGoBoy]

I sure hope so. There is so much talk in Dreamworld's releases and financial reports suggesting that they are doing their best not to spend any capital. They are making it sound like their future direction is to continue drawing crowds with cheap attractions like the Tomb Raider walk-thru and Farmyard Friends. It is getting me worried. Come on DW, bring on the serious capital expenditure!

[Richard]

What they've said is that there will be greater emphasis on low-capital attractions in future. This is not at the cost of major attractions coming every few years. They've also made it quite clear that they will still keep their title as a "thrill park". Don't be worried, but at the same time don't expect rides ever year. One major ride ever three or four years is sensible from both the park's perspective and our own. As for Rocky Hollow Log Ride being removed, I'd have to disagree. It's a very different ride from Thunder River Rapids in terms of how it acts. Most parks have multple water rides - Movie World has Wild West Falls and Looney Tunes, Sea World has Viking's Revenge and Bermuda Triangle, and I can't think of any major parks elsewhere that don't have multiple water rides, aside from Disney parks (no Disney parks have more than one true water ride for some reason). The log flume/river rapids combo is so common around the world, clearly some people out there believe that the two rides are different enough. The fact is, Rocky Hollow is a reasonably high capacity ride and needs minimal staff (it can be operated at full capacity with one person). It remains popular year-round and isn't a half bad ride.

[thunder001]

I can see your point Rich, however it is one of the oldest rides in the park and by removing it, opens up a lot of land that could be used for other reasons. This could be a ride or a hole new land, the only things to consider is the size of the land behind the ride that the park owns and the flow of the park also should be taken into consideration. We all know that MW stuffed up a bit there and it is something that DW has avoided to this point. However much we disagree, it is an option for the park to remove it for the above reasons. But as you said, it is an easy ride for the park to operate and a family based ride. Only time will tell if it is to remain. Perhaps this should be made into it's own fourm to allow others to comment on it and not to stray from the original topic?

[joz]

Keep it. If Big Brother and the other wise under utilised Amphitheatre are to go, then there's a few big spaces to worry about before thinking about getting rid of the log ride. By the time they get around too it, then it'll be nearer its use by date.

[Obstructure]

I think completely getting rid of the log ride is a silly idea, but perhaps upgrading it would be better. There aren't many real family rides at Dreamworld and the log ride is a family favourite so they need to keep it. Dreamworld has no problems with a lack of land for further attractions, especially at this point. I would expect Dreamworld to do as they've done in the past - a new major ride every 2 or so years, so expect one this year, then 2006, 2008 etc, with other smaller attractions along the way, perhaps each year or 6 months, like tomb raider, farmyard friends etc. However from what I have heard, the thunderbolt area sounds like it will be developed earlier then 2006, and so it should because otherwise that will just be wasted space for 2 years. My only worry is that Dreamworld is becoming very heavy at the front of the park, particularly the front right, and developing a new theme in the old thunderbolt area will make it even heavier. I am sure this is their plan though and perhaps the left hand side then will turn into a water park to even things out like MLE suggested. When they do eventually run out of room, expanding the park at the back will seem out of place if they keep AWE.

[Richard]

Maybe if we do want to continue to talk specifically about Rocky Hollow, someone should create a new topic in the Dreamworld forum as per thunder001's suggestion. I'm happy to keep talking about it, but if we go much further with it, we'll have taken this topic well off track.

[joz]

I thought that was what we were meant to do? What time does DW open ANZAC day?