2016 for Movie World

[Zanstabar]

Theme Parks.com.au have just launched the new Hunger Buster and Fast Photo theme park add ons.

Quote

Satisfy a super hero appetite, a titanic craving or a wild hunger with the new Village Theme Parks Hunger Buster.

Enjoy one meal per day at select in park food outlets at Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast.

Plus, you can now capture and save your thrills with a Fast Photo Ride Pass and enjoy unlimited downloads of your ride photos at Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast.

It's interesting to note that the new additions are available for the 7 day pass, 21 day pass, VIP pass and the Unlimited Membership. It seems like a great deal to me, and I'll definitely be adding it onto my pass.

I wonder whether this was what I saw in the park the other day?

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

update on Arkham, 

[Theme Park Girl]

33 minutes ago, Zanstabar said:

Theme Parks.com.au have just launched the new Hunger Buster and Fast Photo theme park add ons.

It's interesting to note that the new additions are available for the 7 day pass, 21 day pass, VIP pass and the Unlimited Membership. It seems like a great deal to me, and I'll definitely be adding it onto my pass.

I wonder whether this was what I saw in the park the other day?

I don't quite understand this... there isn't much information provided about how this works, no T&C or anything So you pay the $149, and that entitles you to one meal for every single day you visit any of the parks until end of June 2017? Is that what that means?

What if you visit numerous times a week? Say, if I drop into Movie World 4 times a week (like I have over the past couple of weeks to get Doomsday pics) I am entitled to a meal every time I go? 

ETA: Is it just me, or is the "see available food outlets" link not working for this either?

Edited May 29, 2016 by Theme Park Girl

[westical]

Yes. Yes. Doesn't matter. Yes.

Just you.

"A pass entitles the holder to one (1) over-the-counter meal per day at selected outlets at Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild for the duration of the pass. Applicable outlets include: Warner Bos. Movie World's Gotham City Café, Bakery, Village Bean and Wild West Roadhouse. Sea World's Lakeside, Fresh Focus, Plaza Food Court and Castaway Bay Kiosk. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast's Bombora Burger Bar and Village Bean. Meals and food offerings subject to change. Applicable meals and food offerings have Hunger Buster logo shown next to them on menu boards."

Edited May 29, 2016 by westical

[Reanimated35]

13 minutes ago, Theme Park Girl said:

I don't quite understand this... there isn't much information provided about how this works, no T&C or anything So you pay the $149, and that entitles you to one meal for every single day you visit any of the parks until end of June 2017? Is that what that means?

What if you visit numerous times a week? Say, if I drop into Movie World 4 times a week (like I have over the past couple of weeks to get Doomsday pics) I am entitled to a meal every time I go? 

ETA: Is it just me, or is the "see available food outlets" link not working for this either?

It's not a link. It's just alt-text. Point to the words and you'll get the pop up which pretty much says what you posted anyway. 

[Hypermarket Hero]

It does sound rather lucrative for repeat visitors like myself but I’m sure there would have to be some form of fair use clause to stop people abusing the system.

I thought the link was broken too but it turns out if you hover your mouse over the top the information pops up.

No real surprise in the choice of food outlets, I may have just dreamed it but previously did they offer a similar deal but for only ricks cafe? How did that turn out?

[westical]

One meal per day is the fair use clause.

[Reanimated35]

It confuses me slightly as this means you only need to make 10-12 trips per year to cover the cost of the meal (assuming VIP). Surely it's not unexpected for a passholder to go at least once a month.

 

Actually no, typing it out makes me realise that's where they make the money. Realistically to make the pass worthwhile, you need to visit twice in 12 months. If you visit once per month you make use of the meal voucher. If you don't go the other 10 times, the park makes a healthy profit. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I guess they'd have the average attendance stats for these passes to know they'd make money on it, but realistically I would imagine most people would do that simple math and work it out - if you're like TPG for example, sure you will, but I can imagine there would be many who wouldn't get this for the simple reason it needs you to go more.

I guess even those who do go 12 times in 12 months - they're likely to make more money off you by the simple reason that even if you are a regular visitor, you're likely to buy SOMETHING else whilst you're there at least once or twice...

[Reanimated35]

What though? I mean the souvenirs don't change all that often, all the ride photos start to look the same, you've already got lunch sorted. Drinks/ice cream is pretty much all that's left. 

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I mean obviously the park has thought this through and can make it work. 

[westical]

I'm guessing the meals won't come with drinks.

[Brad2912]

a meal without a drink isn't a meal, it's just food. 

 

I work 10mins from Movieworld. 

I should just buy this and go there for Lunch everyday! Would save me a fortune!

[Park Addict 93]

I think it's a great idea, I am surprised that they haven't put a hard limit on the number of meals for circumstances such as Brad where it is potentially open for abuse.

I purchased the previous Season Dining Pass for ricks at $99 and thought it was good value. That had a hard limit of 30.

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Jordan M.

[jake_hunt]

Woah woah woah hold the phone though. Didn't they say that VRTP announced this system? Is this just for WBMW, or will SW and WnW get in on the act too? I would assume so, in which case, that's 3 parks giving out free meals to every passholder every visit.

I live a bit too far away to be a regular visitor, but if I did have a VIP Pass and lived on the GC, I would probably visit 1 or 2 a month. That could take it up to 24 meals a year, maybe 36 for the extreme park junkies who ignore Dreamworld totally... How are they profiting from this?

[themagician]

^Yes it says that it's for all 3 parks, but it doesn't include all pass members, only if you upgrade your pass.

I think this idea is great, particularly for holiday makers who get the 7 and 21 day pass, will make things a lot cheaper. When I go to the parks, I very rarely get food or drink there, but for those who do, this is a great idea. And I like really like the fast photos idea too, for the same reasons as I said above. Good thinking VRTP.

[joz]

Or they could price their f&b reasonably from the start?

[Theme Park Girl]

I bet this pass idea came about as a possible solution to the amount of locals who openly admit to eating outside of the parks, (possibly even leaving them early to do so) in order to save having to spend $$ on food at them. Like this....

Pre hunger buster pass = $0 (or a very minimal amount) made per person on F&B, since peeps leave the park for cheaper meal alternatives

With hunger buster pass option = $149 per person made per year on F&B, which would add up overall. Encourages peeps to stay in the parks for lunch, visit on more days to make the most of this offer, and consequently would give them a better opp at making extra food and merch sales too.

Makes total sense to me that way. Very clever if you ask me!

[joz]

These dining plans are pretty industry standard now.  They know how much on average a pass holder spends on food.  They then charge a bit more than that and they've increased their f&b takings wether people eat the extra or not, and if the guests eat more than what the extra charge was, then they are still ahead because the margins are so high to start with.  I'm not saying it's a bad idea by any stretch, I'm just saying if you want to encourage spending and you don't mind if the margins take a hit, lower the price to more acceptable levels, and give pass holders an arbitrary discount so they think they're getting a deal.  But what they're doing works too!

 

I think the reason I don't like this is because I'm pessimistic in nature (surprise!) and I don't trust Village will put this revenue into extra capacity at the outlets to cope with the increased demand they've created.  They didn't do it with the parks more broadly so why would they with the outlets?  

[RossL]

F&B pass looks great-I went looking for this just yesterday  (I knew they previously did it for Rick's), although I probably won't sign up to it-not a permanent GC resident!

PhotoPass-it is a shame they separate out ride and character photos.  I don't value ride photos highly at all though, so yeah.

 

Having visited a few times in the last couple of months, I have a few other comments about Movie World too.  Some bad, some good.

-Their credit card surcharge is ridiculous!  And they don't account for GST correctly at least on some receipts.  And if you say debit and then accidentally charge to credit they miss the surcharge anyway.  So just get rid of the surcharge, in fact I have not spent money at the parks over the ridiculousness of the surcharge.

-Do they advertise character photo times?  Maybe I've missed it somewhere, if not they should advise the times.  I think they under-rate it and the $20 sessions are silly-although I would pay for a character experience lunch/show, although maybe there is not the demand for it.  Overall though I believe they offer some good character photo opportunities, just they undervalue it.  Not sure how much they rotate characters either-might be better for attracting regular visitors if they did.

-The parade is no Disneyland Parade although I think it is a bit more interactive and fun than a Disneyland one too though.  And it not being so crowded is great!

-To be honest, the place never feels crowded to me but this is coming from doing Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea and FujiQ twice each in the last year-those places have queues!  You can walk straight on after 4pm at MovieWorld to any ride in my experience. And I've been on Saturday and Sundays only this year.

-Hollywood Stunt Driver is better than when I saw it a year ago.  It has some storyline but still a bit pointless-have seen it three times this year.  Probably wouldn't watch it again anytime soon.

-Overall good for what exists but a 4 hour visit every 6 months would probably do me.  The rides are fine, just I've done them all multiple times now and want to do some new stuff overseas!  WWF is great when you get a good splash!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

What though? I mean the souvenirs don't change all that often, all the ride photos start to look the same, you've already got lunch sorted. Drinks/ice cream is pretty much all that's left. 

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I mean obviously the park has thought this through and can make it work. 

• You take an out-of-town friend to the park for the day, you get the photo. (Actually you probably get two)
• You don't get a drink with the meal, you buy a drink.
• Park shops have season clearance on merchandise and clear t-shirts for $10. Looks like a bargain despite still being way above cost - you buy a t-shirt.
• You're in the park so often and looking for something 'new', so eventually you spend on premium upcharge experiences like HWSDX or Animal Encounters - once or twice. Compared to people who may have only one or two days in the park a year - they want to make the most of their money so premium experiences are usually not an option
• You smell the popcorn as you queue for stunt driver. you buy popcorn
• The park introduces some other bulk buying upcharge - you do the math and figure if you can make it to the park 4 times a day for a year it will be worth it, so you buy that too.

13 hours ago, westical said:

I'm guessing the meals won't come with drinks.

This was my first thought - I don't think they do presently (for the most part) so this is also a way to get more out of you because you're wanting a drink to wash down the 3 day old burger bun.

10 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

a meal without a drink isn't a meal, it's just food. 

 

I work 10mins from Movieworld. 

I should just buy this and go there for Lunch everyday! Would save me a fortune!

I disagree - googles definition says "any of the regular occasions in a day when a reasonably large amount of food is eaten." - Says nothing about a drink. It may be your opinion if that is the case, but I attribute that to the fast food burger chains of the world that introduced the "McValue Meals" or the upcharge "Would you like to make it a meal today?" By considering the addition of fries and coke to be a 'meal'.

Your statement - "meal without drink isn't meal, it's food" - so that means if I have a cookie with a glass of milk (a cookie is food) that counts as a meal? If I have a bar of chocolate, and a popper, that counts as a meal? No.

Go fine dining, and listen to the sommelier recommend a wine to go "with your meal". No - the only places that consider a drink is required to make it a meal are fast food joints who just want to upsell you to a combo that includes a cup of soda that costs them 9 cents.

9 hours ago, joz said:

Or they could price their f&b reasonably from the start?

Wash your mouth @joz , you heretic.

On the photo pass idea...

I've used this at Disneyland California and Hong Kong. I found them to be spectacular value, so long as you were proactive in seeking out the locations.

What VRTP need to do with this though is precisely what Disney do - stage photographers at key locations - such as the fountain \ superman at MW, and then MARK IT on the map. Do it daily (or at least use one of the many A-frames to advise if the photographer is not there, or when they will be there). If I'm going to buy a photopass at village, I don't just want ride photos and character photos - Nice scene shots of the park, with everyone in my group IN the photo is important to me (as the usual photographer, its usually me that isn't in them), and having a professional means you're more likely to get a great shot, rather than one taken by a passerby who probably thinks their iPhone takes the best shots in the world.

As for character photos, I like the idea, but every time i see a character on Main Street, the queue snakes across the street and back again, so I pass on it every time. This may be an unpopular suggestion, but if you're going to have photopass-like access at characters, then you need to actually ensure that the passholder actually gets to use it, which for me means that the Photopass needs a separate queue, or a separate 'holder only' meeting place \ time.

I'm sure VRTP won't do it, and they'll expect their existing operations to cover off these new upcharges without spending any more money on them, which for me means they might get someone's money the first visit, but once they realise how much value they DIDN'T get out of it, they'll never buy it again, losing the repeat customer for something that really doesn't cost that much to provide, and makes a shit-tonne of profit when done right.

7 hours ago, RossL said:

they don't account for GST correctly at least on some receipts. 

Welcome to the forums @RossL - as you're new, I just want to mention (not in any armchair moderation perspective, but just a friendly member-to-member chat) that bold statements, especially where you're claiming the park is doing something illegal, generally need to be supported with a little more (any) evidence.

Can you explain to me how you believe they aren't accounting correctly for GST? Have you reported this fraud to the ATO?

Do you have copies of receipts you can show us?

The reason I ask is that:

• GST has been around for 16 years now, and we've known about it for longer than that
• Point of Sale systems are generally programmed and set, so it's hard for them to screw around with that sort of thing (unless of course they've just moved to a new system)
• If a very large company like this is not obeying the law, there could be very serious consequences, so they usually have people who check things like this, and i'd be very surprised if this had somehow been missed.
• Not everything you purchase attracts GST (although most things in-park do) so there may be certain things on your receipt that don't attract GST and this is why the GST doesn't equal 1/11 of the total bill - look for things like asterix's or other symbols against each item or price and then look for an explanation and the bottom where that symbol is displayed with comments such as "@denotes GST applicable item".

 

I look forward to seeing further evidence of this... (in my own personal capacity and in no way related to anything else I do.)

[Reanimated35]

Fair point @AlexB I'd never really considered it as I too feel a meal should include a drink and the only other thing that has applied to me was the animal encounters up charges.

[RossL]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

•  

Welcome to the forums @RossL - as you're new, I just want to mention (not in any armchair moderation perspective, but just a friendly member-to-member chat) that bold statements, especially where you're claiming the park is doing something illegal, generally need to be supported with a little more (any) evidence.

Can you explain to me how you believe they aren't accounting correctly for GST? Have you reported this fraud to the ATO?

Do you have copies of receipts you can show us?

The reason I ask is that:

• GST has been around for 16 years now, and we've known about it for longer than that
• Point of Sale systems are generally programmed and set, so it's hard for them to screw around with that sort of thing (unless of course they've just moved to a new system)
• If a very large company like this is not obeying the law, there could be very serious consequences, so they usually have people who check things like this, and i'd be very surprised if this had somehow been missed.
• Not everything you purchase attracts GST (although most things in-park do) so there may be certain things on your receipt that don't attract GST and this is why the GST doesn't equal 1/11 of the total bill - look for things like asterix's or other symbols against each item or price and then look for an explanation and the bottom where that symbol is displayed with comments such as "@denotes GST applicable item".

 

I look forward to seeing further evidence of this... (in my own personal capacity and in no way related to anything else I do.)

Thanks Alex!  Sure, happy to attach evidence.  (Sorry it is a little faded now.)

Purchase $20 plus $0.32 Service Charge plus $0.05 for GST on Service Charge.  That is not a typo, $0.05 not $0.03 as it should be.  So total of $20.37 including the service charge.  If the charge is 1.75% as they state it should be $20.35.

Then the receipt says GST on Total is $1.82!  This is so wrong.  On $20.37 total, GST is $1.85.  I think they've probably registered it as $1.87 though.  With their ridiculous charge it should be $1.85 GST and a $20.35 total-I know I'm arguing over 2c.  But the way they've done it is weird and wrong.

I haven't reported it anywhere.  If I've got this wrong do let me know.

 

 

 

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

This is perfect, and I must admit, on face value, it seems you might be right. It is a little perplexing though. My first thought is that rounding issues may be at play here, considering the GST on $20.37 would be $1.851818, and the GST on $20.35 would be $1.8500.

But that still doesn't explain how they get to $20.37 in the first place. It still seems to indicate at the bottom of the receipt that GST included in the order is only $1.82

I've had a look at the ruling for GST applicability on Credit Card surcharges (GSTR 2014/2) and can't seem to see anything in there that would suggest why it's happened.

Your two cents may come about depending on which way you work it too.

The GST on $20 is $1.82, but $1.82 x 11 = $20.02 - this is because of rounding.

This doesn't explain it though, as the extra 2 cents on your receipt seems to be part of GST on the surcharge rather than on the base price, but I guess it depends on how their system is set up. Something does seem wrong, but i'm not 100% confident as to where the problem lies. It'd be interesting if someone else has a similar example on a different receipt...

Although as you say it's only 2 cents, but it'd be something i'd be asking about in case it were a wider problem. I should think though that bigger purchases might not have the same issue as there is less issues with rounding.

Hopefully village identifies and fixes the problem before someone complains to the ATO though.

The above is my own personal opinion and does not constitute financial or tax agent advice. I have received no remuneration for this opinion and it is only my own personal view based on the facts available.
I do not purport to represent myself as an official representative of my employer, agent or otherwise in making the above personal comments.

[pin142]

Season dining passes are heavily advertised in the Six Flags parks. Pricing isn't too bad (From $74) with the basic getting you a meal and a snack at one park per visit to the top level ($200, on sale currently for $85) giving you lunch, dinner and a snack at any Six Flags park plus a free refills all season sports bottle. Average meal cost is around $15 so it would be easier to get the value back out of their passes.

One area our parks have priced stupidly high is the refills. I like the Six Flags option of two different bottles, one all season refills and the other single day unlimited refills with $1 per refill on subsequent visits. The way the parks are priced (WnW Sydney excluded) it is just as cheap to buy a new bottle each time over paying to reactivate it.

[RossL]

15 minutes ago, AlexB said:

This is perfect, and I must admit, on face value, it seems you might be right. It is a little perplexing though. My first thought is that rounding issues may be at play here, considering the GST on $20.37 would be $1.851818, and the GST on $20.35 would be $1.8500.

But that still doesn't explain how they get to $20.37 in the first place. It still seems to indicate at the bottom of the receipt that GST included in the order is only $1.82

I've had a look at the ruling for GST applicability on Credit Card surcharges (GSTR 2014/2) and can't seem to see anything in there that would suggest why it's happened.

Your two cents may come about depending on which way you work it too.

The GST on $20 is $1.82, but $1.82 x 11 = $20.02 - this is because of rounding.

This doesn't explain it though, as the extra 2 cents on your receipt seems to be part of GST on the surcharge rather than on the base price, but I guess it depends on how their system is set up. Something does seem wrong, but i'm not 100% confident as to where the problem lies. It'd be interesting if someone else has a similar example on a different receipt...

Although as you say it's only 2 cents, but it'd be something i'd be asking about in case it were a wider problem. I should think though that bigger purchases might not have the same issue as there is less issues with rounding.

Hopefully village identifies and fixes the problem before someone complains to the ATO though.

The above is my own personal opinion and does not constitute financial or tax agent advice. I have received no remuneration for this opinion and it is only my own personal view based on the facts available.
I do not purport to represent myself as an official representative of my employer, agent or otherwise in making the above personal comments.

GST applies on merchant charges, and is included in normal prices.  So it is legitimate for it to be included in the service charge as far as I'm concerned (better if it did not exist in the first place).  The $1.82 comes from the $20 and this is correct for without GST it is $18.18 plus the $1.82 to make it $20.  No problems there.

The problem then comes from their service charge, that then allows multiple errors in the receipt.  GST on service charge of $0.32 is $0.03.  So a total of $0.35 as service charge which is 1.75%, instead they're $0.37 which is 1.85% (false advertising?).  The only way I get 5c is by applying a 15% GST on $0.32.

The next problem is the GST Amount $1.82 at the bottom.  I think this is just calculated off the subtotal.  But it is not the total GST they've claimed to charge me.  It is the $1.82 on $20 plus their $0.05 that comes from nowhere.

To me it should be:

Subtotal            $20.00
Service Charge   $0.35

Total                  $20.35

GST Amount       $1.85

But the problem with this is when they sell items that do not include GST calculating the GST on their silly surcharge is more difficult-hence the separate GST on service charge because if you buy some food subject to GST and others not then.  Now I am paying GST on food that is GST free because I've used a credit card??

So the whole mess is because they have a silly service charge that does not calculate correctly.  The easiest way for them to fix their mess is not to have a service charge.

I wonder if others have receipts showing a similar problem?  GST on S/charge is the line where the problem is introduced.