Doomsday Destroyer - 2016 Movie World construction

[Levithian]

the photos of the crashed cars is actually taken from the part looking away from the roller door area. That is the show stage you can see in the background before the sides were closed in. All those trees you can see in the photo behind the container would have been roughly where the rear of the western town was. I think if you walked there now, to your left there is one of those staff/crew doors which is where you used to come out from gremlins, straight ahead is another door that allowed you to travel along the back of the western town set. I think it even had a few trees there until recently?. Might have even been some of the ones seen in the photo. The brick wall is between scooby and the western set, i think you are right, there is a services building for power or something behind the wall. I could imagine it was erected to cordon off whatever is in that corner now. 

From memory, there is virtually nothing left of the theatres now. If you look at the current photo of scooby, i think the hall way you walked ou into from each theatre was about where the smaller door is between the gift shop and the roller door. It used to be raised in the middle and ran off in each direction. You exited the show which was just a kind of documentary with classic wb films, filed out doors either side of the screen when the gremlins took over and ended up in that hallway. That would put the actual theatre rooms where the inside of the castle is used for the entry queue. In the middle of the hallway was a big opening that lead on to the load dock to head out through the vaults. That was the reasoning for all the different themes, you were supposed to be actually heading through the film vaults. I remember there was basically no waiting once you reached the load dock, you were sorted into lines for each row of seating and pretty much jumped in cars and made you way through different scenes.

As for beetlejuice, I remember the carousel looking beetlejuice, the one with the little things hanging from each corner on his hat. Cant remember where he was though, but I do remember he appeared more than a few times. There were all kinds of scenes in the vaults with the gremlins wreaking havoc. At the end, he appeared again thanking everyone for riding. He was suspended above the entry door to the unload dock. He was electrocuted as you passed under, could hear him sizzle.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Levithian

[Levithian]

I was just rummaged around trying to find some old photos of visits, and the building that houses the coaster section of scooby doo had always been there. It just looked more like one of the studios buildings. To visualise, take the existing building, follow the roof line as it rises to a peak in the middle, then falls away towards the show stage end. It was the same back in 1998 when I found a few photo from a visit. It looks like they simply cut through the sides for exits, then added on box sections in the roof for the high rise parts. The building itself doesnt appear to have changed, always ended a bit behind the front of the show stage.

[GoGoBoy]

15 hours ago, joz said:

Excuse the crudeness, I just did this on an iPhone but you can see the layout of the building is the same.  Just the height for the wild mouse part is different

*photos not the same scale

Nice one, Joz. All sorted once and for all. Regarding the low yellow brick wall that some have mentioned, it looks like you can see it in the video of the Gremlins ride Jeffrey posted, it appears to surround the final 'car crash' courtyard at the ride exit.

Gremlins was amazing, as the vid shows. So much going on and so much atmosphere. It must have been a massive job to maintain all of the effects and animatronics. I remember the final big room with the Gremlins spraying water, you would actually get a bit wet and the room was just filled with the sound of hundreds of Gremlins cackling. I would have been around 10 or so when I first went on it and I can tell you it was definitely creepy. Not terrifying, but it did get the heart going a bit. Part of that was the sense of panic and urgency when the ushers burst back into the theatre and tried to hurry you onto the ride to 'evacuate' the building. Then going underneath that first Gremlin swinging on the lamp above in the hallway. Really well done.

[Gary86]

I know at least 1 theater from Gremlins is used as the "Scooby Training Room". Located to the left of the entry, through a door, and at the end of a hall to the right. 

I've been in the room on 2 days. Whn e I had a seasonal job on my first day and during a Future of Fun event.

[pin142]

1 hour ago, Gary86 said:

I know at least 1 theater from Gremlins is used as the "Scooby Training Room". Located to the left of the entry, through a door, and at the end of a hall to the right. 

I've been in the room on 2 days. Whn e I had a seasonal job on my first day and during a Future of Fun event.

It is even listed on the fire map for the building in the queue line. Goes to show why remove something when you don't have to and it can be re-purposed after.

[Whombex]

5 hours ago, pushbutton said:

I don't remember ever going on the Gremlins ride, although it's possible that I did on one occasion the very first time I went to Movie World. 

The staff participation (being actors rather than mere processors) is precisely what made Gremlins an even better experience than Scooby Doo.

Likewise there were actors on Bermuda Triangle at Sea World and it was a vital part of the experience. 

That's what made me feel like I was in a Movie World in the 90s. Actors as part of the rides/attractions.

As seen in the video on Page 15, Gremlins ride had three: One Actor to welcome you to the viewing cinemas, one to save you and get you to the ride and the one dressed as a cop at the unload point (ride op sometimes acted too - my toddler brother was upset at the Gremlins and the ride op said "we'll get you to safety kid!").

Most of us know LTRR had a minimum of 3 (ride ops acted too).

For example, Police Academy recruiting audience members before the show began. My mum was approached by "Captain Harris" (wearing a microphone) who asked her:
"Ma'am, are you enjoying your visit to the Police Academy?"

"Yes."

[chuckle] "Not for long. Proctor! Recruit this woman!"

 

One part of the Park I terribly miss, and the last time we spoke about this on the forum was what prompted me to post after returning to Parkz.

 

The video on P15 has in the final few seconds the walkway, confirming what @djrappasaid, the unload/container/cop car area was to the south of the roller door, where the generator is now (behind the 2 men in the photos on P14). You can clearly see the discoloured corrugated iron wall covering the old Gremlins exit.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Glubbo
clarification

[grrofunger]

I love the scooby ride....... I never got to go on gremlins 

the theming of gremlins looks awesome , the actresses... horrendous and the ride itself seems bland.

i think scooby is a more than adequate replacement.

[iwerks]

Scooby was an okay replacement, although Gremlins appealed more to those people not seeking thrills.  There's probably a lot of visitors to the park who got more out of Movie World in 1999 than they would now.

I think many Australian parks are now just ordering out of the Zamperla catalogue than coming up with their own rides.

[red dragin]

Two different experiences. 

Gremlins, immersive with a story line albeit not an exciting ride. Wouldn't work without the Gremlins themselves. 

Scooby a fun ride with not a strong story line. Would still work without scooby (just a haunted ride) 

[JeffreyMoore]

5 hours ago, Levithian said:

the photos of the crashed cars is actually taken from the part looking away from the roller door area. That is the show stage you can see in the background before the sides were closed in. All those trees you can see in the photo behind the container would have been roughly where the rear of the western town was. I think if you walked there now, to your left there is one of those staff/crew doors which is where you used to come out from gremlins, straight ahead is another door that allowed you to travel along the back of the western town set. I think it even had a few trees there until recently?. Might have even been some of the ones seen in the photo. The brick wall is between scooby and the western set, i think you are right, there is a services building for power or something behind the wall. I could imagine it was erected to cordon off whatever is in that corner now. 

From memory, there is virtually nothing left of the theatres now. If you look at the current photo of scooby, i think the hall way you walked ou into from each theatre was about where the smaller door is between the gift shop and the roller door. It used to be raised in the middle and ran off in each direction. You exited the show which was just a kind of documentary with classic wb films, filed out doors either side of the screen when the gremlins took over and ended up in that hallway. That would put the actual theatre rooms where the inside of the castle is used for the entry queue. In the middle of the hallway was a big opening that lead on to the load dock to head out through the vaults. That was the reasoning for all the different themes, you were supposed to be actually heading through the film vaults. I remember there was basically no waiting once you reached the load dock, you were sorted into lines for each row of seating and pretty much jumped in cars and made you way through different scenes.

As for beetle juice, I remember the carousel looking beetlejuice, the one with the little things hanging from each corner on his hat. Cant remember where he was though, but I do remember he appeared more than a few times. There were all kinds of scenes in the vaults with the gremlins wreaking havoc. At the end, he appeared again thanking everyone for riding. He was suspended above the entry door to the unload dock. He was electrocuted as you passed under, could hear him sizzle.

beetle juice, was sitting in a control room setting as you got into the ride cars he would turn around and talk sort of like batman in the batcave he was controlling your evac

[Zanstabar]

But seriously, why the hell is Beetlejuice in this ride? I just can't wrap my head around the connection. 

Beetlejuice and the Universal Monsters I can understand, but why Gremlins? Was it because they were supernatural comedies with some dark themes? 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Warner. Brothers. Classics... & the great gremlin adventure.

Anything out of the catalogue \ film vault was suitable... beetlejuice and gremlins are both in there... Gizmo used to be a regular character in the park, as was beetlejuice. The park opened in 1991. Beetlejuice premiered in 88 and Gremlins 2 in 1990. Both were extremely current and popular to the guests of the day. its the perfect mix.

[JeffreyMoore]

4 minutes ago, Zanstabar said:

But seriously, why the hell is Beetlejuice in this ride? I just can't wrap my head around the connection. 

Beetlejuice and the Universal Monsters I can understand, but why Gremlins? Was it because they were supernatural comedies with some dark themes? 

the german version of the ride had ALF instead of Beetlejuice - it may have been becourse Beetlejuice was still a newer movie in 1991 and gremlins 2 was also still not that old at the time

[Zanstabar]

2 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Warner. Brothers. Classics... & the great gremlin adventure.

Anything out of the catalogue \ film vault was suitable... beetlejuice and gremlins are both in there... Gizmo used to be a regular character in the park, as was beetlejuice. The park opened in 1991. Beetlejuice premiered in 88 and Gremlins 2 in 1990. Both were extremely current and popular to the guests of the day. its the perfect mix.

It might have been the perfect mix for the 90's, but looking back on it without having experienced it, the whole set-up with Beetlejuice and the Gremlins seems unnatural.

On that note, why didn't they call it Warner. Brothers Classics & the great gremlin adventure starring Beetlejuice? If he's a frequent character in the ride, why didn't they mention him in the title?

Maybe this is just me being an idiot, but I really think it was a crazy idea to put them together. 

[JeffreyMoore]

the 1990's movie world was just that a theme park themed to the magic of movie makeing

today's movie world is a theme park of roller coasters and dc comic's

i much prefer the 1990's movie world and miss it very much

[red dragin]

For me as a kid it's was like "Gremlins are attacking, but if that is not bad enough,  Beetlejuice is saving us!" 

It was a bit WTF before WTF existed. 

[Levithian]

Why? Because it's IP and he was popular at the time? I imagine it's why the other one has alf, Germans had a thing for alf.

lets not forget that beetlejuice was essentially a guide. Obviously haven't seen or paid enough attention to the movie if you missed that. Not a long step to having him guide you out through their film faults to safety. Hey, he's the host with the most afterall!

100% right about him being at the console too. Had a spiel about gremlins opening vaults and film canisters, opened up a bunch of them so never know what they let out.

it wasn't stupid, it worked. You're just forgetting the whole deal of moveiworlD back then. Once you walked through the arch you actually entered the movies. So in a ride like gremlins, them opening film canisters released beetlejuice and a whole host of other film property that basically made up the ride. It wasn't themed like the gremlins movie, it was themed like the gremlins opened up all these rolls of film and released all kinds of chaos from within. Kind of like last action hero with the gold movie ticket.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Levithian

[GoGoBoy]

5 hours ago, Gary86 said:

I know at least 1 theater from Gremlins is used as the "Scooby Training Room". Located to the left of the entry, through a door, and at the end of a hall to the right. 

I've been in the room on 2 days. Whn e I had a seasonal job on my first day and during a Future of Fun event.

That's so cool. I had no idea there was still a theatre left over. The first Scooby queuing room is so large I thought they must have gutted them all. It looks like they actually left most of the theatres in the Van Helsing's Factory conversion of the German Gremlins ride too, judging by this model -

[Levithian]

I think they ran 4 theatres wide each side with, at a guess, maybe 40 people capacity per room. So given the entry steps were roughly the middle, it gives you a bit of an idea how much space is on either side before you reach the end of the building. I imagine the original corridor is possibly still there behind doors. If I get a chance to visit on the weekend, I'll see if I can get a feel for placement. I think the corridor might have been about where the current load/unload docks are. Might be used as an emergency exit now as it used to be pretty wide.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Levithian

[JeffreyMoore]

7 minutes ago, GoGoBoy said:

7 minutes ago, GoGoBoy said:

That's so cool. I had no idea there was still a theatre left over. The first Scooby queuing room is so large I thought they must have gutted them all. It looks like they actually left most of the theatres in the Van Helsing's Factory conversion of the German Gremlins ride too, judging by this model -

That's so cool. I had no idea there was still a theatre left over. The first Scooby queuing room is so large I thought they must have gutted them all. It looks like they actually left most of the theatres in the Van Helsing's Factory conversion of the German Gremlins ride too, judging by this model -

it is cool to know that the gremlins facade is still there behind the scooby doo castle and 1 of the theatres is still in tact .

 

[rappa]

They weren't actors!

They were just attractions cast members acting in character just like you'd see at Disney, and was the same with Bermuda. 

 

And yes as mentioned, that's how the exit worked, which is why I said so in the first place

[dmh]

I can confirm officially the NEW attraction is opening in September & is NOT a roller coaster but affiliated with intimin & definitely not S&S. The new ride will have 88% theming in the western area and be a High Guest Turnover High Thrill Ride.

 

I can also confirm WWF is getting a mountain repaint in June 2016 & complete special effect overhaul!

 

 

[Brad2912]

Welcome dmh and please respect our hesitation in taking your word 100% as a first time poster here.

out of interest, how does a ride have a 88% theming? Where's the other 12%. 

88% western, 12% not themed at all??

its a churro tower, but the top of it is missing the sugar? 

[Levithian]

Given the ride that I suspect is going in there (read back pages, intamin is nothing new), I cant see a good way to link it to a western theme. I suspect it will probably be tied into something else in the park and the western area will simply be the burgers place and the town leading up to the entry for Wild West.

[themagician]

Despite dmh being new to the forums, I 100% believe the part about WWF. It's closed 13th June to 28th August which is a large amount of time to get a mountain repaint and special effects overhaul done. I'm hoping they introduce some new ones, and put them in the places where some have been removed and are now kind of dead space.

And September opening and it not being a roller coaster I believe. Since they are opening a coaster as well, I'm going to say that not long as this new ride opens, they will begin construction for the coaster, which will use the sound stage (for the queue and station) and then the main section of track would be behind it and it would open in either September or December (depending on how big of project it is) next year.

Edited February 17, 2016 by themagician