Dreamworld Q&A

[Jamberoo Fan]

Hi @The Original Belinda Brown! It's great to see another theme park representative on Parkz. I got a few questions that hopefully have answers that aren't commercial-in-confidence:

1. How much notice does Dreamworld take of what other non-Gold Coast Australian theme parks are doing (including Wet 'n' Wild Sydney)?

Given smaller parks like Jamberoo Action Park, Adventure World, Luna Park Sydney & Aussie World have made significant investments in new rides in the past few years, I'm curious as to how much a Gold Coast theme park takes note of this as it shows the theme park industry of Australia may be beginning to slowly lose it's Gold Coast focus (particularly with the return of a major Sydney theme park).

2. What is the 'day in the life' of the average Dreamworld visitor? Like what rides/attractions/shops do they head to first? What is the most popular place to eat lunch? What is the last ride/attractions/shops do they head to (excluding the Marketplace)? Is there a particular route around the park visitors just happen to take?

I remember old Dreamworld park maps had 'suggested itineraries' but it has always got my curiosity as to where visitors actually head to - do they follow the suggested itineraries? I thought this question might be interesting too for theme park enthusiasts as the opposite of the answer is clearly the best time to visit a ride/attraction/shop as there would be less queues.

3. Is there any tricks as to get the best experience on any of the Dreamworld rides?

Like, for example, which is the best seat to sit on the Rocky Hollow Log Ride, the Hot Wheels SideWinder or even the Mick Doohan Motocoaster? Happy for answers on other rides - those are just examples. It would be interesting if a particular seat on the Mick Doohan Motocoaster provided a better experience of the ride to the rest (as you know, it isn't the most thrilling ride according to Parkz forum members) but for that ride, I think it is unlikely that any seat is superior to the rest.

4. How far back in time does Dreamworld keep it's park maps for archival reasons?

It would be interesting to see a park map from the opening day in 1981 as well as to see the precise history of Dreamworld.

5. Who designed the Dreamworld park maps in the early 2000's? 

They were an iconic design which nearly all Gold Coast theme parks used...even Jamberoo Action Park used it at one point.

On 17/06/2016 at 5:06 PM, The Original Belinda Brown said:

We were built from a dream to have an Australian style Disney inspired park. The direction is to remain an Australian Celebration...

5. If it is meant to be an "Australian Celebration", why were 'worlds' themed, for example, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks & Hot Wheels (all American) & Big Brother (Dutch) over the years?

I understand it was done for commercial reasons (though I dislike the increasingly licensed theming of non-media theme parks) and that Big Brother had an Australian edition of the show but in terms of keeping it to an Australian theme, why?

7. Lastly, would Dreamworld ever contribute to the Parkz ride database/photo collection?

It would be interesting to see a detailed history/technical ride entries for Dreamworld and also photos of old rides that no longer operate at Dreamworld that no one on here has photos of.

On 16/06/2016 at 4:08 PM, The Original Belinda Brown said:

Once a stand alone park, we like to think of it as part of Dreamworld now and that is something that helps make us unique.

When Whitewater World was first announced, I feared one day the above would happen as I thought visitors would consider it part of Dreamworld due to it's proximity. When I first visited Whitewater World a year or so after opening, to see the park promoted on the back of a Dreamworld brochure combined with seeing comparably lower visitation than Dreamworld made me think what I thought came true but I didn't realise Dreamworld also now 'considers' Whitewater World part of Dreamworld too.

In my opinion, I'd prefer if Whitewater World was officially added into Dreamworld but it disappoints me that Blue Lagoon no longer operates as a result - Krakatoa's Revenge, to me, was a unique ride as I figured out that depending on which side of the slide you entered, you can cause your inflatable ring to turn around 180 degrees halfway through the ride resulting in a backward-facing trip. That brought some good thrills.

I also thought of a few more questions but they can be saved for another time.

And a question to any Parkz forum member - can someone tell me why the island in the middle of Dreamworld is called Ibis Island?

I have only seen the island being called 'Ibis Island' on the Parkz forums and only recently so the origin of the name I'd like to know.

[Reanimated35]

2 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

And a question to any Parkz forum member - can someone tell me why the island in the middle of Dreamworld is called Ibis Island?

I have only seen the island being called 'Ibis Island' on the Parkz forums and only recently so the origin of the name I'd like to know.

[Theme Park Girl]

^^^ pretty much 

[Jamberoo Fan]

Oh, yeah! I should have realised  I didn't bother researching the name's origin as I took an assumption, which I thought was odd, that Dreamworld sold naming rights to the island to Ibis Hotels  Well, at least, I'll remember the name's origin now!

[Brad2912]

2 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

I'd read that as "it's M9's thing" so why should they compete with themselves. As in, why pay for M9 if you have a dreamworld pass and can do it for free while you're doing a bunch of other fun stuff?

Correct, as I stated a few pages back, as well as the technology's persistent maintenance issues

[Reanimated35]

Quote

5. If it is meant to be an "Australian Celebration", why were 'worlds' themed, for example, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks & Hot Wheels (all American) & Big Brother (Dutch) over the years?

[/Quote]

you have two 5's by the way, but to answer that, how profitable and enjoyable do you really think a park themed to nothing but Australia would be? They have the animals and Corroboree area now which are distinctly Australian. 

If you don't move with the times, you get left behind. 

@Jamberoo Fan

Edited June 21, 2016 by reanimated35
Quoting is super broken on phones

[Theme Park Girl]

Here you go @UpperCoomera... As promised. 

I may have more on my laptop, will have a look tomorrow when it's not 1.30am ??

 

[UpperCoomera]

Thank you @Theme Park Girl !!!

Great pics. I can't get out of my head that a walk through of a dry River Rapids would be tremendous. I don't know why, it's just there and won't go away! :-D Add the Mine Ride into that too.

Thanks again. The theme parks should give you a job doing this.

[The Original Belinda Brown]

2 hours ago, The_Ninja_59 said:

It is too!!! I give up. 

[The Original Belinda Brown]

Morning, 

Just popped in quickly before heading out to greet our guests today, so I will answer a few questions left overnight that other forum users have not already answered for me :-)

@reanimated35 - We wanted used a different coating which should be a higher grade of the non-slip varnish originally on the stage.

@AlexB  - Much of your query has been answered already. 7 years is a long time for anything tech-based. There are also many components to running a themed attraction such as licensing, visitation, and staffing- all needs to be considered when choosing new directions. 

@Jamberoo Fan - 

1. Contrary to popular belief, our industry is as supportive of each other as it is competitive. We all have interests in each other on a multitude of levels. Ideas, technology (not just rides but POS systems etc), tourism, of course some competition however all Theme parks strive to have a slice of the market appropriate to their style of park. We often talk and share.

2. This is a completely subjective response, you see each group is different. Young families enter and head straight, Teens often turn right, groups of mixed ages tend to negotiate or split. AS you would imagine the back of the park i.e. Corroboree is the last to fill as guests stop along the way to experience what they come across, and it is the first to empty as guests naturally migrate back towards the exit. If we have a major ride down then the whole pattern of the guests changes, as does having a certain promotion in park. Thus the reason to move away from suggested itineraries and move more towards build your own experience itinerary. A, because guests get to structure their experience around their personal interests, and this would allow us to collect better data on the who, how and when. 

3. I will let the forum guys get that for you, because again the experience is subjective i.e. I prefer Giant Drop at night west side, but I am sure this will be wildly contested. 

4. We've kept 1 or 2 of them all and we do hope to have the time to go through our archives at some point to display some of the really fun items. It is a task though, we've had a long time to hoard. 

5. I have no idea. I will ask around. 

5.a See @reanimated35 reply.

7. No, as it would be seen to be commercial content for which we are not allowed to provide within this forum. Good rule, as I also would not have time :-) 

Of course we consider WhiteWater World part of Dreamworld, but it is WhiteWater World. Just as I would consider SkyPoint as part of Dreamworld but it is most definitely standing alone. A water park is its own entity during hotter months and during the winter months it is a bonus. Around the world many water parks only open for a portion of the year, we keep our guy going. But Ibis Island... well that is not its name, it was what I called it. My apologies if it seemed "official". 

 

[Ashley]

Hi @The Original Belinda Brown

 

1. This question might seem a bit strange but if the TOT2 and Giant Drop ever closed down do you think you would demolish the Dreamworld tower or keep it built so I would act. as just a landmark for the park instead of a ride tower ?
2. As White Water World is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year are there any plans for a new water slide or expansion    on the park planned at all ?

Thanks

Edited June 22, 2016 by Ashley

[The Original Belinda Brown]

Hi

@Ashley - No plans for either ride to go anywhere. Can't see it being left just as a big Tower landmark, it would have to become something. 

No new rides planned for WhiteWater World this year due to current project list but we might do something special to mark the birthday occasion. 

[Reanimated35]

1 hour ago, The Original Belinda Brown said:

Hi

@Ashley - No plans for either ride to go anywhere. Can't see it being left just as a big Tower landmark, it would have to become something. 

No new rides planned for WhiteWater World this year due to current project list but we might do something special to mark the birthday occasion. 

Now what if you "accidentally" left this "project list" on a table, and just happened to "accidentally" take a photo of it, then by some amazing coincidence just happened to "accidentally" send me said photo.......

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

4 hours ago, The Original Belinda Brown said:

 Much of your query has been answered already. 7 years is a long time for anything tech-based. There are also many components to running a themed attraction such as licensing, visitation, and staffing- all needs to be considered when choosing new directions.

 

Ok - so M9's technology is dated. Got it.

[Reanimated35]

Think of it more like Australia's internet, it gets the job done, but there's always something better on the market or just around the corner. In saying that, the AvP kits weren't actually that bad compared to some other places. 

[Theme Park Girl]

Look, @reanimated35. They fixed the patch ????

[Reanimated35]

@Theme Park Girl

Shit. I actually took some photos of that yesterday but forgot to show you haha

[The Original Belinda Brown]

57 minutes ago, reanimated35 said:

Now what if you "accidentally" left this "project list" on a table, and just happened to "accidentally" take a photo of it, then by some amazing coincidence just happened to "accidentally" send me said photo.......

I like my job. :-)

[New display name]

What do people think about Australian parks not releasing new attractions information like the USA parks do?  For me it could cost a park receiving no money from me.   Nearly every year I travel to the USA to visit family so I normally only buy one season pass for an Aussie park each year.  When I buy a pass I can only go on what I already know.  For example I know next year that MW is getting a new coaster and I don’t know what DW is getting, if anything.  What makes Australian parks so different that they don’t market a new ride before they get it?

[webslave]

40 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Ok - so M9's technology is dated. Got it.

You may well find that's not the case.  Most of the manufacturers have kits at a couple of price-points, and the more expensive kit is often quite upgradable, whereas the cheaper is not.  If they happened to have purchased something that was nearing end-of-life and was not the top model it's quite conceivable that it was aging rapidly, whereas the rest of the M9 fleet may not be.  This will vary anyhow, since different outlets have been seen running different gear.

 

@The Original Belinda Brown - you're doing a great job on your responses.  Really, quite impressive.

[Reanimated35]

35 minutes ago, skeetafly said:

What do people think about Australian parks not releasing new attractions information like the USA parks do?  For me it could cost a park receiving no money from me.   Nearly every year I travel to the USA to visit family so I normally only buy one season pass for an Aussie park each year.  When I buy a pass I can only go on what I already know.  For example I know next year that MW is getting a new coaster and I don’t know what DW is getting, if anything.  What makes Australian parks so different that they don’t market a new ride before they get it?

IMO that would be because the US parks have the money to throw at a bunch of stuff at once and get them all confirmed. It wouldn't surprise me if all our parks had attractions lined up for the next 5-10 years but change the plans every month when something pops up unexpectedly and pushes the budget out a bit. We'd probably be hearing about a new coaster in 2020 or something if they were able to confirm it was going ahead. Look what happened when Sea World tried to advertise 'wild' too early. 

[New display name]

16 minutes ago, reanimated35 said:

IMO that would be because the US parks have the money to throw at a bunch of stuff at once and get them all confirmed. It wouldn't surprise me if all our parks had attractions lined up for the next 5-10 years but change the plans every month when something pops up unexpectedly and pushes the budget out a bit. We'd probably be hearing about a new coaster in 2020 or something if they were able to confirm it was going ahead. Look what happened when Sea World tried to advertise 'wild' too early. 

 Not talking about 10 years ahead.  I’m not talking about a parks dreams or wishes.  A new coaster would be ordered a long time ahead of any construction happening on site.

[BNErider]

Are we going to see a bit more Halloween stuff going on this year? For example, mazes and scare zones? Last year seemed more similar to a Screamworld event than anything else.

[themagician]

In regards to the MDMC, I think the main issue I have with it is ride comfort. I know it would be costly, but I think it would definitely be worth while, not just in ride comfort, but loading speed. New trains like the one shown below seems to be a lot simpler and more comfortable. It would be nice to seem some modifications to the track to provide more drops, but I don't think that would be feasible now. 

 

 

[ClassyDaedra]

Have you guys considered a Halloween style event on the scale of fright nights? Movie world has been unchallenged for so long. Would be awesome to see what you guys could come up with.