the name was to be........."Cliff Hanger".........however after the branding (putting stickers on it) of the ride and advertising ads etc were underway Dreamworld had been told by the owners Macquarie Leisure Operations that the name pretty much sucks and are to come up with a new one. i cant qutie remember what Macquarie Leisure came up with but it wasnt any better then cliff hanger.

Haha, looks like you ruined Obstructure's name guessing game Thanks for the info tho. I don't mind the name Cliff Hanger, altho there probably are better names out there. (I can't think of any tho )

It would be crazy to call the thing 'Cliff Hanger' for 2 reasons - 1. There is already a portable flat ride called Cliff Hanger which was heavily advertised as one of the new attractions at this years Easter Show. I assume it will now be travelling around the country 2. It doesn't really have anything to do with the Ocean Parade theme and from the pictures I have seen of the construction area there is no denying the new attraction is part of Ocean Parade I'm sure Neil Balnaves (Maquarie Leisure director) will have some better ideas up his sleeve. He is the theme park man so they should leave it up to him rather than letting DW's management do an in-house job of it

Haha, looks like you ruined Obstructure's name guessing game Thanks for the info tho. I don't mind the name Cliff Hanger, altho there probably are better names out there. (I can't think of any tho )

Read over the past few pages, there are some real gems in there.

I'm sure the Chairman of the Trust has better things to do than to think up names for rides. Balnaves was really only involved with Wonderland on a strategic level. I seriously doubt he had much, if anything to do with creative work for the place. It's evident that he knows what makes a theme park tick, but I wouldn't say that makes him a creative expert, certainly no more than Dreamworld's own creative team, which would comprise of graphic artists, designers etc. who on the whole might have a better idea of what works. I'd go out on a limb and suggest that probably Dreamworld's in-house efforts are better than anything that can be done at the Trust's level, which deals exclusively with the financials of their operations rather than the research, marketing or creative efforts. Dreamworld's proven that if they don't try to do an all-out themed job on rides (see Nick Central) then they are capable of delivering some very quality looking attractions. Regarding your second point - my argument to the contrary would be Cyclone. Absolutely nothing to do with the Ocean Parade theme they've got going. Similarly, Dreamworld's never been shy about chopping and changing the boundaries for their themed areas - see the way they chopped and changed the area surrounding what was formerly Avalanche prior to it becoming Nick Central.

I am fairly sure that Neil Balnaves is involved with Dreamworld on a number of levels other than just financial. As an example, here is an extract from an article on the Macquarie Leisure website - 'Mr Balnaves was active in securing Big Brother for Dreamworld three years ago, making the Australian franchise the only one in the world with a theme park setting. (Edit) "I suppose with my experience, I've come to see how theme parks work and how TV works; and I've seen how they can work together." While I do agree that his role would not be to focus on the day to day operations of Dreamworld, he obviously does play a part in the various aspects of researching and installing new attractions. He would be a wasted resource otherwise. I would imagine that when it comes to major new projects it would and should be a collaborative effort between a number of people involved with the park. I don't think the whole creative process would work as well if it was just left up to the staff in the admin office (ofcourse, this does depend on who they have working for them). Also, it is my experience that when it comes to creative work such as graphic design and concepts, most theme parks outsource to individuals and other companies to assist. No theme park I have been involved with has ever had their own in-house graphic design/creative team (besides maybe someone that knows how to update the website). However, they all have their own marketing managers, assistants and associated administrative staff. In my experience, most of these staff normally do not have large degrees of creative experience or expertise. Regarding the new ride name and Ocean Parade theming - I do agree that Dreamworld has always had inconsistent theming. I would never argue that point. That doesn't mean that I think it's a good thing though which is why I was saying it would be crazy to give the ride a totally unrelated name. It would not surprise me however. On the point of Cyclone - I actually think it fits in quite okay with the ocean theming. Afterall, you do often find Cyclones in coastal areas and the storm usually comes from out at sea. I'll agree it's a little sketchy, but I still think it works

I can tell you that Dreamworld does a lot more of their graphic design etc. in-house than you'd think, and employ no less than one graphic artist. I think Dreamworld, once they've reached their own conclusion, would then pitch it to Macquarie to get the budget. There are definitely round-table discussions etc., but they'd be pretty much limited to Dreamworld's own staff. I'd also put forward that Niel Balnaves is more of a savvy business man rather than the next Walt Disney. I don't doubt for one second that he is quite involved with Dreamworld due to his background, but again I think his role is more strategic (such as securing Big Brother, which was done before Dreamworld actually had the position of CEO, which when Tony came in replaced the slightly smaller position of general manager) rather than creative or design. To add to that, his position as chairman doesn't make him a part of the management team (those that essentially run the show), but a member of the Board of Directors. He's the chairman of about three or so other companies, so I can't see him as having that much time to join in on brainstorm sessions at Dreamworld. While on Cyclone, given that the premise for the ride is that the cyclone has been caused by a bizarre large turbine, the whole coastal thing with cyclones is thrown out the window as a suitable explanation for the ride's location. My point with the example is I guess that rides don't necessarily have to be explicitly themed to the general area's theme to fit in. Cyclone really does fit in reasonably nicely, even if most of the ride is tucked away, back behind maintenance buildings.

I would certainly agree with that last point Richard. I think as long as a new attraction complements the existing themed area and makes some effort to fit in then that's fine. With Cylcone, although it may not be perfect, as you said it works well enough. It's certainly not as odd a match as the Tower of Terror in Gum Tree Gully for example. So in summary, if Dreamworld's new ride is themed as a giant power tool or something else totally out of context then I will be disappointed. If, however, there is some kind of link (even if slightly vague) between the theme of the ride and it's corresponding area then it could work fine

the other name instead of Cliff Hanger was " The Claw"...............cant see that its just dumb.

" The Claw"...............cant see that its just dumb.

It's not is it? :eek:

Good work tailsnosthings you found all the full stops that Shifty can't find. "The Bus is now leaving for Mount Fullstop, Queensland"

hi people, i was at Dreamworld today, it was very empty. Update on the gyro name..........It is now believed that after a meeting at dreamworld the ride will be called ----*THE CLAW* like tailsnosthings said it was to be named cliffhanger but it has got the chop....so unless i hear anything else, the world around DW is THE CLAW. see u soon! p.s- they have started pouring concrete into a footer ( its a suare about 2mX2m) i seen it from cyclones lift. Its coming along nicely.

Am I the only one here who can see a problem with not even deciding the rides concept until after construction starts? I get the impression that Dreamworld have gone about this the same way most people do when playing RCT: build the ride, then worry about designing the queue and whatnot. I'd be surprised if they'll have enough time to do a quality job on theming (like Wipeout for example) paretically since they've only just figured out what too call the thing. BTW, excellent call Wonderbuss

That is pathetic. So basically Dreamworld can only come up with names by stealing them from mobile amusement rides. Both the names Cliff Hanger and The Claw are already being used for flat rides on the Aussie travelling circuit. If this really is going to be the name of the ride then there goes all hope of relevant theming out the window. If they keep this up then DW will continue to evolve as more of an 'amusement' park than a THEME park with unrelated rides just scattered around. I hope the info is wrong

I don't know about that Goboi, they can also steal names from Paramount (Reptar and pretty much every ride in Nick Central) Six Flags New England (Cyclone, Thunderbolt), Disney (Tower of Terror) Chance Morgan (Wipeout). That's not even going into actual generic names like Enterprise and Giant Drop. Why would Dreamworld do something creative and original name wise now? I mean what was their latest effort? Angry Beaver's Spooty Spin? No wonder they're going for crap stolen names these days.

Yeah it is pretty poor that they hadn't even locked in a theme/name before they started building, but as we all know, Dreamworld isn't exactly the best at theming so it really comes as no surprise to me. I've always thought of Dreamworld as an amusement park rather than a theme park anyway.

Dreamworld didn't. They once claimed that they were the best theme park in the country. They rebutted similar claims by Seaworld by saying that SW wasn't a theme park, but was a marine park with rides (why they didn't just say "We're better" is sill a mystery). Dreamworld was once proud of being a 'theme park' and was well, strict on its definition. Sadly the park has let that slide more and more in the past few years along with originality.

This comes up just when I thought Dreamworld was starting to make a concerted effort towards theming with all of the touch-ups and theming additions they've spent money on lately. Good point re the names Joz. Although, at least most of those other names were stolen from overseas parks. The Claw is a well known travelling ride that has been on the circuit for a few years now I believe. Every time I hear that name now I will think of a 2nd hand carnival ride. Let's hope Macq Leisure rejects this latest name aswell thereby forcing DW management into another one of their creative (???) brainstorm sessions

This comes up just when I thought Dreamworld was starting to make a concerted effort towards theming with all of the touch-ups and theming additions they've spent money on lately. Good point re the names Joz. Although, at least most of those other names were stolen from overseas parks. The Claw is a well known travelling ride that has been on the Australian circuit for a few years now I believe. Every time I hear that name now I will think of a 2nd hand carnival ride. Let's hope Macq Leisure rejects this latest name aswell thereby forcing DW management into another one of their creative (???) brainstorm sessions.

I was talking to DW management today at MW yes at MW anyway a Male and Female were doing a tour of our rides this morning but I wont give you there names because its not you business anyway. I asked them about the new ride at first they were like what ride? but after I told them I knew the industry as I worked at MW and knew the American parks really well they opened a bit more specially after I mention the LOTTE WORLD GYRO SWING which bought a shocked look. Anyway what she did say was September and name isnt 100% yet. P.S The 10:30 to 11:30 period in winter at MW is so much better then DW due to Police Acamedy because you get more ride time at MW. Durning the winter all parks do around the 2000 mark well today there was about 2000 in police acamedy at 10:30 to 11:45 and the attendance was 2100 so there was only 100 people in the rest of the park so I got WWF,Lethal, Scobby and Batman done in the same time it would probably take someone to board Cyclone at DW

And next year's season pass will be brought from..... Movie World! No i'm sticking my gun with Dreamworld here mates, they try hard, and the guys who work at the park and suggest themeing ideas are almost better off talking to Big Brother's armpit than talking to management sometimes, and it gets funnier when management suggest ideas to the directors, oh what a stupid system of events.... ..... sorry if that makes "ZERO" sense, but i can PM you what i mean if you like!

Howcome you could explain it in a PM but not here?

If you would like anymore information, please PM Me!

I'm not totally sure what that has to do with the topic at hand. You're more than welcome to post it as a new thread, but don't clog up other threads with completely off-topic posts.

Yeah,good point,but a name adds to the theming of the ride,which in turn improves the ride for some reason.I agree with an Ocean Parade theme,and something like Riptide or Tidal wave would be good.What is it's excact location?