Why did the Blacklot at Fox Studios Close Down

[seaboi]

Does anyone know why they closed the 'Backlot' at Fox Studios in Sydney? I didn't get to go to it, what was there? What happened to everything that was in it? (like the titanic ride) Anyone know? (geez i ask a lot)

[Richard]

I remember when it first opened (1998?), they advertised it a lot on Foxtel. Tickets were around $80-$100 for adults, not much less for children. Abysmal attendance made them rethink their entrance prices and they got smaller and smaller. A few years ago they were dropped completely, I guess the few rides they had were made pay-per-ride (and probably some absurdly high price). I guess they sold/dumped what they could of Titanic, unless it is all sitting there right now. It was mostly film/studio related stuff - think most of Movie World when it first opened (before Batman). Walkthrough 'behind-the-scenes' things and whatnot. Its currently being used as more of a cultural/social venue. They've got cinemas, cafés and all that. People from Brisbane would compare it to Southbank. Channels: [V], Nickelodeon, Fox 8 and others use filming facilities there. [V] and Fox 8 use the streets for filming of shows (V is always doing live gigs in the place, Fox 8 has their new show Chain Reaction). From what I heard, the place was originally meant to be Fox's debut in the 'proper' theme park market, with thrill rides and all that, but went for a more 'filmy' approach. Maybe that's one of those rumours that everyone believes is true because its easy to believe - who knows. 8) I never went there. It's the sort of thing I'd go to if I were in Sydney and saw and ad for it, and had the time to go.

[Jaggie]

Yer i went there a few times it wasnt bad. The titanic ride was well done i think there was two ways you could take. You stand on the ship while the water bursts thru some doors in front of you. You then run and you can go down with the ship or go on the lifeboats. Fox Studios closed because of attendences and it wasnt all that much only about 2 hours worth of stuff. Most people went to wonderland instead.

[Psycho]

Even when prices were dropped, they were still around the $30-$40 mark. Why would the public pay to go into Fox, with a limited number of attractions (and an even less number of actual ride style attractions) when you could get into Wonderland? I think it needed to try and compete on the actual theme park level, like Movieworld is doing now if it was to survive......Obviously it didnt..... Shame though, I never got to go either :-(

[B&Mfan]

Wow now that place was lame. The only half decent attraction in the place was the Titanic ride which was quite well done, albeit very short in duration for the 2 hour wait we had at the time. I remember paying something like $75 to get in and another $12 for a burger meal. To all the lucky ones that have said that they never got there count your blessings (BTW hello everyone, i've been lurking on the boards for a while and decided i should register . I'm really not a whiner honest, it's just i'm still angry about Lame Studios LOL).

[DisneyDoll]

I think I can sum it up in two words...NO ROLLERCOASTER. People expect thrills at the these places & this place was very boring & expensive to boot!

[Chaos-Maniac]

Firstly, SORRY to bring up a REALLY old topic. But, do you ever think Fox would try another hit at this? And, would it work? I'd love to see them have another go at it.

[Gold Coaster]

Hopefully. I think they would have learnt from their mistakes with the Backlot and come up with something better. And we need something closer to Universal Studios - though something in the vein of Islands of Adventure hopefully. I don't know where they'd build though.

Firstly, SORRY to bring up a REALLY old topic. But, do you ever think Fox would try another hit at this? And, would it work? I'd love to see them have another go at it.

Titanic was pretty cool. When I went with my stepsister, we had virtually no queue. So each of us experienced the complete attraction -- you could only do the attraction once -- she went in the line to go down with the ship and I was to be the survivor. The first room had both queue lines and we were told we were Irish people off to a new life in America. Irish music played as we set sail. Then as I recall we had the impact and were seperated. I went through some random hallways and we went up a staircase to reach a locked door. As the water rose, we tried another hallway and stairway and got another locked door but a Cast Member playing a ship steward saw us from the other side and let us through. As we scrambled up the deck, we passed through the gymnasium from the movie with the old equipment and 'outside'. we were led down the gangplank and into lifeboats which were lowered into the water. as we started to pull away, we watched as the ship sank beneath the waves. my stepsister's experience was more as a third class passenger. she saw the underbelly of the ship, the boiler rooms, which were apparently really hot, then somehow the third class passengers ended up in that really nice room from the movie with the staircase/clocks . Suddenly a massive tearing noise filled the room and a projection screen showed water coming in. My sister and the rest of her group were led out past a ghostly sunken wreck version of the staircase. A ghostly cast member advised everyone: 'Sorry, you're all dead now!'. Apparently he played it for laughs -- kinda ****ty if you ask me considering that the attraction/movie is based on a real life tragedy. and we found each other at the exit. I still have my photo somewhere taken overhead of me in the lifeboats, will try to track it down the rest was very touristy, there was some musical show with emus and kangaroos and crap and elements of priscilla and all that... a cool room of props , clothing and outfits from Saving Private Ryan, Predator etc...a few sets to wander through like a police station toilet (from NYPD Blue I think?), various others ... and one of the old Home & Away diner sets (the one before the current diner I think) i think that's all there was to the place really, don't remember any other rides. attendance was low and remember the place was expensive but my stepsister took me so i'd have to ask her if she remembers how much the place cost. Edited November 22, 2006 by Tony Teulan

[tom]

They also had this dark theatre, with all these speakers in it, which put you in the path of a steam train and gave you the feeling people were running around you. And some other fun sound things, which I can't remeber. There was a the special effects makeup show, I remeber I was picked for it and got a massive fake cut up my arm which looked quite real! I'm not sure if they were all part of the one attraction but there was also a sound stage where audience members got to create the sound effects for a movie, I got picked for that aswell... I was the foot steps and the knock at the door.

[Chaos-Maniac]

Sounds fun! I seriously hope they have another shot at the industry. The Titanic ride sounds pretty low budget'ed, does anyone have photos?

[jcgoldcoast]

There was also a Simpsons "show" where some cool live 3D animation stuff was shown as well as an eposode of the simpsons that was made only for Fox studios (it was a variation of the eposode where Bart rings Downunder to see if the water really does go down the toilet the other way). And I remember one of the characters in the corney show was called Leonardo DeKangaroo

[andrewm]

My friends visited the backlot when it was a gated attraction and you could go through attractions repeatedly if you wanted, but I didn't get there until after they took the gates away and made it a public area, but you needed to get a card stamped at each attraction so you could only enter once, meaning you could not do both journeys through the Titanic "ride". I loved the Titanic ride. I also got my photo taken on the forced-perspective replica they had of the bow of the ship in the exit shop. It looks really good. Was not low budget at all. I also got chosen for the makeup show. I got a big wig and collar thing put on me. Unfortunately I went after the Simpsons exhibit was forced to close due to licencing issues. They also had a really big hall full of movie props from Alien, Something About Mary, X Files, Titanic, and heaps more. The replica sets were pretty bad. The X Files office looked like it could have been the office of one of the admin staff at the backlot (LOL), but it had perspex covers over the desk and blocking off access to most of the set which made it look so phony. I'm trying to remember what other stuff they had there. Was there a 3D movie of some kind or something?

[D.C.]

Sets look crap at the best of time - it's usually the lighting that sells the illusion.

[mickey_079]

I unfortunatly never got to experience it, and I never had any idea of what the Titanic attractive was. From what I have read it was pretty much an interactive walk thru? Almost like a simulator? If anyone could clarify that for me, thanks.

[tom]

I unfortunatly never got to experience it, and I never had any idea of what the Titanic attractive was. From what I have read it was pretty much an interactive walk thru? Almost like a simulator? If anyone could clarify that for me, thanks.

Tony has described it fairly well above. But yes, it was pretty much an interactive walk through. The first room you went into was like a working movie set with a cutrin infront of you. It had props and stuff from the movie, then the curtain lifted (When the tour guide said action!) and you boarded through a facade of the side of the ship, with working cranes and what not lifting cargo into the ship. The next room you went into, you stood in rows facing the hull of the ship from the inside. An actor came to a podium and welcomed you, and told you that we were all on our way and we should kick back and 'party'. Then the ship is struck by the ice berg and the wall you are facing buckles and water starts pouring in. You got splashed if you were standing in the front row, but nothing major. Then the group splits into the live and die situations. The die group walks through the engine room. As far as i can remeber there were some fire effects. And then you came to the grand staircase, and got your photo taken. The live side, you walk up to the top deck of the ship, down into the life boats and you were pushed off into the water (in the boats). The actual ship moved up and down as you were trying to get down into the life boats. Then the lights go dim and a movie screen came on infront of you which projected the scene from the movie where you can see the Props, and the ship comes crashing down and makes a big wave. Acouple of water canons fire off in sync with the movie and that was pretty much it. You got your photos taken in the life boats and you were returned to the 'dock' where you boarded the life boats and out the exit. Thats pretty brief, but thats as much as I can remeber. So yes, in short (HAHA!) it was a interactive walk through with some moving, simulator type effects.

[mickey_079]

Cool, sounds pretty fun. Thanks for that tom

[Chaos-Maniac]

Sounds a fairly low budgeted ride/attraction. I believe, if it was to be re-created, they could do a lot better with WBMW setting the Australian bench mark for themeing higher and higher since then.

[tom]

Oh, in response to Richards earlier post about 'selling or dumping the Titanic ride parts'... I always thought that there was a fire that ripped through that particular building and destroyed it... I dont know, maybe I'm wrong.

[Swanny]

People who didn't go to the backlot, don't worry, it wasn't all that great.

[PattieBoi]

I remember when I visited for the first and last time. It was crap as hell!

[Gold Coaster]

I am so pissed off that I didn't get to do the 'die' situation (due to that limitation).

[Wazza1]

And sucked in to all the people who left Wonderland to go and work at Fox Studios when Sunway took over Wonderland. What a great career move that was. Mind you, Wonderland didn't really do much better in the end now did it.