Dreamworld Memorial & Reopening discussion

[Brad2912]

I don't think they'd purposely keep the park closed due to a ride in maintenance closure. 

Remembering there was figures be bandied about of $300k loss per day of closure, both in terms of park revenue, employment costs (which are not being offset by anything) and market losses. 

Im sure the final decision on re-opening won't be effected by a scheduled maintenance period, but based on the readiness of staff to begin operations, legislative/audit/council finalisations and the general feeling of the families effected.  

[TomiJ]

Do you think the memorial will be up in time for the opening 

Edited December 1, 2016 by TomiJ

[diesal11]

20 minutes ago, TomiJ said:

Do you think the memorial will be up in time for the opening 

I think the Memorial will have it's own opening when it's ready. I don't think it would be ready that quick. From what they've said it sounds like they want to do a proper, respectful memorial. 

Edited December 1, 2016 by diesal11

[themagician]

I don't think we will see a memorial appear until after the summer holidays. Not being disrespectful to the victims or their families, as I think a memorial is essential, but they need to spend time figuring it out to get it right. I think DW need to focus on getting the park up and fully running so its ready for the big rush and then afterwards put their focus to other things like the memorial, removal of river rapids, etc.

[New display name]

Craig Davidson said on the radio today DW hasn't made any plans for the memorial.   He also said when they talk to the family about and if the families don’t want one than DW will not build it

[wipeout94]

On 22/11/2016 at 5:51 PM, reanimated35 said:

This was sent to me today by a friend of a friend of a sisters dogs cousin I know. Looks like some new signage has gone up at Dreamworld. Personally I'm not a fan. 

 

I drove up to the front of Dreamworld yesterday to see how it was progressing.

I don't have the exact words to describe what I think about the green signage but I can say it looks a lot worse in person.

When you walk towards the front stairs this is all your eyes will fixed on. I hope with feedback it will be moved or altered.

Good news is once not focussing on the signage you will see the area fenced off for the lego store.

This area is much bigger then I imagined and I can't wait till it opens. I did not observe any diffences to warrant a photo of the construction.

Looking forward to the reopening.

Definately missing this park.

[themagician]

DW have now updated their FB profile picture and have removed the 'Happiness' banner.

[Theme Park Girl]

5 hours ago, themagician said:

DW have now updated their FB profile picture and have removed the 'Happiness' banner.

One can only assume that this was a decision made on a psychological level ie. by removing any marketing campaign/material being used at the time of the incident (aka visual associations which may remind them of that particular dark period for the park) it will subsequently help guests to mentally heal and move on. 

That's the way I see it, anyway ? 

[joz]

I don't know now, this time of year freshening up their park signage and campaign make sense too.  Also I think the lead in times would preclude this from being a reaction to what happened, so without any basis in fact, I think it was probably planned before last month.  Dreamworld alone know, so they may now sit and judge and say 'this idiot has no idea what he's on about' 

[Park Addict 93]

I heard (and this could be bollocks, but I heard it from an employee higher than a ride op) that "Hapiness" was due for retirement after summer and with the incident/prolonged closure they decided they would accelerate the timeline.

Think of all the retail stock/merchandise that had TRR that has had to be refreshed, makes sense for them to go a little sooner.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Jordan M.

[themagician]

Christmas decorations have been installed out the front, new sign and don't know if it's me, but it seems the road lines have been repainted too. And there were also a couple of guys on the gondolas of the GD at the top of the tower.

[Slick]

I freakin' love that "Jingeri" is one of the biggest and most prominent welcomes at the front entrance (it means greetings in the local Yugambeh language for those of you playing at home) and that they've dedicated a huge banner to DWF. Can't wait to checkout what other changes the park has made.

[Jamberoo Fan]

16 hours ago, Jordan M. said:

Think of all the retail stock/merchandise that had TRR that has had to be refreshed, makes sense for them to go a little sooner.

I'd think they would have just immediately stopped production on the previous merchandise & immediately begin producing new merchandise but continue selling the existing merchandise until it's sold out regardless if Thunder River Rapids is on it. Otherwise, they will be losing money from investing in merchandise that will never be purchased. It might take a while for the new merchandise to appear on the shelves too - I got DW souvenirs that feature Thunderbolt on it and I visited the park for the 1st time 9 months after it closed (and 2 months after it got removed).

Edited December 7, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[Brad2912]

There is ZERO chance of them selling Merch with TRR on it, zero. Making sure they don't make a loss on a few t-shirts means jack compared to brand damage of (more) people waking around with TRR advertised, and would be microscopic compared to the losses they've already felt 

[Park Addict 93]

^ This, but not only the issue of people wearing a tshirt with sensitive imagery but the media will have a field day on the "disrespect" shown to the families.

Prior to the incident all plastic passes (unsure on laminate) and the membership cups/bags have TRR. All new activations will get different stock now.

 

[Whombex]

I agree with Brad. There's going to be no merchandise with TRR on it, the only exception would be reference/history books of DW's past. The stock removed would only cost in the tens of thousands at most, a fraction of losses since park closure. TBH, a lot of it was cheap foreign made stuff anyway, such as rulers, key rings, stickers, & knickknacks. TRR hasn't been a lead attraction to have featured on any recent clothing, from memory?

[jake_hunt]

Aside from ride photos and the odd item of clothing from WAYYY back, I can't really think of anything I've seen with TRR on it. The thrill rides and the tigers are the poster-boys nowadays, so I can't see it costing them too much.

A tiny sacrifice compared to the absolute media shit-storm if they continue to sell TRR merch.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Was this an official image or just something someone mocked up? it does seem to fit with their branding at the time...

Nope - found an official photo with that imagery here:

 

So TRRR was featured on their 'happiness' and 'australia's biggest theme park' branding, which is potentially why we saw that message ditched completely.

I also think this is a little in bad taste:

From :https://www.redbubble.com/shop/dreamworld

Clearly it's not an official shop, but it has lots of park imagery there and up for sale, which I daresay would be against the terms and conditions of entry.

[Jamberoo Fan]

22 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

There is ZERO chance of them selling Merch with TRR on it, zero. Making sure they don't make a loss on a few t-shirts means jack compared to brand damage of (more) people waking around with TRR advertised, and would be microscopic compared to the losses they've already felt 

Yeah if merchandise losses are insignificant then they might as well start selling completely new merchandise. I just thought merchandise would be a bit expensive particularly if sales are slow (but it's definitely not the most expensive thing in the park to manage).

[Brad2912]

Even if they had to bin $100k worth of merch, it flails into insignificance in the overall cost to the business in what has occurred. 

[Cactus_Matt]

Sorry for resurrecting an old post but figured it was relevant given the circumstances. Am I the only one who thinks it's weird to have a memorial? I know everyone probably has their own complex feelings about this whole situation but I'm finding it hard to reconcile the idea of 'family theme park' and 'memorial' and it not feel a bit ~weird~. I'm kind of having trouble articulating my opinion further than just "weird" but yeah that's my two cents anyway.

[Jdude95]

Some of the family members aren't keen on a memorial, some are. It's a tricky situation but i'm sure they will work closely with the family to have something thoughtful but low impact on the surrounding area. 

[T-bone]

We must also remember that Luna Park in Sydney has had a memorial for many years now, it’s tasteful, and there for those who want to see it, but for those who don’t, then they wouldn’t even know it’s there. 
 

There are a couple of ways this could proceed. Considering how hard this would be for all parties involved, it’s understandable that it might take a bit of time. 

[Brad2912]

53 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

Am I the only one who thinks it's weird to have a memorial?

I don't think it's weird at all. 

If it is done right, it should be respectful, sincere, fitting and tasteful.

[Cactus_Matt]

11 minutes ago, T-bone said:

We must also remember that Luna Park in Sydney has had a memorial for many years now, it’s tasteful, and there for those who want to see it, but for those who don’t, then they wouldn’t even know it’s there. 
 

There are a couple of ways this could proceed. Considering how hard this would be for all parties involved, it’s understandable that it might take a bit of time. 

I forgot about Luna Park Sydney, fair enough then.