What parks do you like best

[Bailz]

What parks do you like best. Be honest!

[Theme Park Girl]

Dreamworld for its size and abundance of rides. Although I also do like Movieworld for its theming and coasters as well. The only thing that goes against it is its smaller size, which makes the existing rides pack out fast and long queues as a result.

I prefer Whitewater World over Wet 'N Wild, purely because they don't expect you to lug heavy rafts and tubes up hundreds of stairs in order to use half of their slides! They were smart enough to consider conveyed belts instead?

Edited February 15, 2016 by OceanGirl

[Bailz]

I agree with you!

[pin142]

Agree with OceanGirl for both things. Do prefer Wet'n'Wild Sydney over the Gold Coast parks for range of slides.

[New display name]

17 hours ago, OceanGirl said:

Dreamworld for its size and abundance of rides. Although I also do like Movieworld for its theming and coasters as well. The only thing that goes against it is its smaller size, which makes the existing rides pack out fast and long queues as a result.

I prefer Whitewater World over Wet 'N Wild, purely because they don't expect you to lug heavy rafts and tubes up hundreds of stairs in order to use half of their slides! They were smart enough to consider conveyed belts instead?

Agree but I would also add that WWW has better shade then WnW.  Photo supplied of last time I went to WnW.

 

[liz.wis]

95% of my theme park trips are with my kids (4 and 7), so going by that, I would pick Dreamworld and WWW.  Sea World would be a close second.  

 

Having spent most of their lives going to all the parks, they're a bit over the kids rides at MW, but not tall enough for any of the coasters, and won't be for some time.  Scooby is fine, but usually has an excessive wait line.   We love seeing the seals and dolphins at SW, but they're definitely lacking a few rides to keep us coming back frequently.  The new kids area is an improvement on what they had, but seriously lacking in shade on hot summer days.  

 

DW has the best selection of rides in the Dreamworks area, for kids that are past Wiggle World, but not yet up for Tower of Terror or Buzz-Saw, plus there's the log ride and rapids, or having a look at the wild life.  It's also a bit more spread out.

 

I like the kids play area in WWW better than in WnW, as there's better visibility all the way around, there's too many exits at WnW that they can wander out.  I don't think I've ever been to WnW without it being hugely crowded with long waits, it just didn't seem as bad at WWW (though admittedly I haven't spent that much time there).  

 

To be fair on MW, it does have the best coasters IMO.  

[MaxxTheMonster]

We used to frequent Dreamworld for the Vintage cars, train, Wiggles area, Dreamworks areas with our son.

As he got a little older he got over these attractions and now will race to Looney Tunes area to go on all the rides there, as well as WWF, JL3D, and as soon as he is tall enough will be on SDSC.

My wife is a thrill ride junkie so is happy with whatever park but does have some issue with extreme heights so not as big a fan of DW for that reason.

Personally, due to medical conditions, I am not big on thrill rides and prefer themeing, shows and other attractions.

Therefore overall MW is a much better draw card for us and we can (with my son going on each ride multiple times) fill a whole day, whereas with non operating or infrequently operating rides, non interest or inability to ride DW is done in a matter of hours for us.

 

Not big on water parks, never have been, but do prefer WnW over WWW.

[Brad2912]

As much as a love MW, DW would probably be my choice as it has a full day of offerings for a family as opposed to MW which in not peak times you can get completely done in 2-3 hours. 

 

WWW hands down over WnW, more shade, more chairs/lounges etc, better set up, and better location with direct access to DW

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

looking at nearmap overheads, the chairs \ lounges thing doesn't appear to be too different at each park - although WnW has reduced it's lounge space a while back when they started building bars and upcharges on the astroturf.

The thing about the two parks is that at WnW, there is plenty of space to spread out a blanket on the grass... so in the case of not enough lounges - there is still soft ground to lie down on - whereas WWW is mostly concrete, so if they're out of lounges - there isn't much you can do to find a comfy spot to lie down.

I feel WnW is a better park - but you are correct - it falls down against WWW in two areas - Shade and location.

[Theme Park Girl]

44 minutes ago, AlexB said:

I feel WnW is a better park - but you are correct - it falls down against WWW in two areas - Shade and location.

You forgot the third - convenience. Unless you prefer having to lug your heavy slide tube up numerous flights of stairs, as opposed to having them conveyed up to you. This is the one of the biggest reasons in my books why WWW is so much better! 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I know it's a pain, but Tornado is really the only one where that bothers me.

[Santa07]

Movieworld is good, but I definitely prefer Dreamworld just because there's enough things to do in a full day, while you can get everything done in movie-world within half a day. I also feel that the ambience at DW has recently taken over MW's, especially around the recently re-developed areas such as Ocean Parade. And I generally find DW to have better queues too.

I like both water parks, I don't really have a favourite. WnW's slides are more fun for me, but I agree with OceanGirl on it being a pain to carry up your tubes on Tornado and Constrictor. WnW also has a better ambience for me, the extra grass and vegetation gives it a really relaxing vibe. But the lack of shade is a problem. I voted WnW in the poll, but both water parks are really close.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Santa07

[MaxxTheMonster]

I don't understand everyone saying MW is a half day park...

Wait for Superman and Scooby is always 30-45 minutes when we are there, Green Lantern, Batwing Spaceshot and Arkham are usually 20-30 minutes, Wild West Falls and Dogems about 15 minutes, RRRC about 10 minutes.  Add in Road Runner 4D, HWSD2...  (And for us all the kids rides)...

 

Waiting about 4 hours if not more to go on rides plus ride times, plus Roxy and HWSD2 is at least 5 hours plus lunch (and for us the kids rides)...

 

Meanwhile DW half of it is shut or operates short hours, and almost everything is walk on...  Done in 3 hrs or less everytime we have been...

[Brad2912]

In OFF peak (weekdays) which is when I visit the park:

Scooby 10 mins tops

GL 10mins

Superman 15-20mins

Arkham 15-20 mins

batwing 10mins

wild west 5mins

justice league 5mins

thats why it's a half day park. 

[MaxxTheMonster]

We only go during the week as I get one weekday off every three weeks...

[downunder]

Movie World for me, I prefer quality over quantity.  

I've only been to Wet and Wild, so I can't make a comparison on the waterpark front.

[themagician]

But if there aren't any queues at MW then you can get it done in a morning. And even with small queues. My sister and I could go to MW for the opening and get all the rides done about 12. For people have been to the park, then MW is a half day park, but if you don't have a pass or have never been before, you can make it a full day.

Its the same with DW, we'd go on what we want, and go home at lunch time. But if we did all the rides then we'd probably get it done by 2. But then there is Tiger Island and Corrobee. 

I like all the parks because they all off something different. MW does have some better qualities rides (theming), but DW has some great rides also. Something I'd wish DW would get is a big show. Maybe something like a Gold Rush/Western stunt show to go in the area where the Big Brother stage is. The same style as Police Academy, that comedy stunt show, but to fit the appropriate theme. I feel like that is the one thing DW is missing, besides another major coaster.

[Santa07]

Dreamworld needs a good show, a big rollercoaster, and a good dark ride.

Movieworld needs more things in general, but in particular more flats.

[JeffreyMoore]

1 hour ago, Santa07 said:

Dreamworld needs a good show, a big rollercoaster, and a good dark ride.

Movieworld needs more things in general, but in particular more flats.

yay santa07 i thought i and push were the only ones on the gold coast who like and wont new dark rides

[Santa07]

I think there are a lot more people than you think...

(although major rollercoaster is at the top of my list, followed by the dark ride  )

[BigKev]

Concur with the sentiments expressed by many thus far.

DW the stand out park for me, a multitude of different ride experiences and a good, full day of activity, as well as having a nice range of 'other' experiences; animals, Tiger show, Outback show etc.....

Of the other parks I rate SW higher than MW because of the variety on offer and I am probably harder on MW because I usually find their shows to be quite mediocre. 

Water park wise, I see WnW as being a superior park, I must admit I look at WWW as being more of a nice add-on to DW rather than a park in its own right. 

[pushbutton]

No votes at all so far (as of the time I am writing this) for Sea World.

I personally would have voted Sea World as the best theme park in the Gold Coast a few years ago (when Bermuda Triangle was still open and it had the chairlifts and miniature railway).

I wonder how their visitor numbers now compare with those of back then.

[Brad2912]

I'd say they would have increased.

mini trains, a chairlift and a dark ride are not to the to priorities of Asian tourists, which make up an ever increasingly share of the SW market

[joz]

You do know that across the board the international market is utterly dwarfed by the local and interstate market right?  You also know that Sea World doesn't have a sit down restaurant anymore, something that is of great value to tour groups?  I mean just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you can say 'I'd guess attendance is up because a portion of the market don't care for those attractions'.  Utter nonsense, check Trip advisor to see if  the general public have noticed how far backwards the park has gone and think that removing rides is fine.

 

I don't know what attendance is doing, but I'd suggest it's probably flat or slightly up, which would be based almost entirely off cheap VIP passes flooding the market.

[iwerks]

Yeah, it's pretty depressing when you can say most parks in SE Qld were better 5, 10 or 15 years ago.

I also found it odd that this is just a list of Gold Coast theme parks. For us in the West, it's about as easy to get to USS as it is MW. Plus it's great to nip down the road and ride Abyss whenever we want to.