Dreamworld Memorial & Reopening discussion

[pushbutton]

Keep in mind we've already been told by someone who I believe is a very reliable source that there were plans to redevelop the Gold Rush area of Dreamworld. Those plans existed long before the recent incident.

I'm referring to a comment in the thread below:

http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/topic/7223-dreamworld-qa/

This might just mean they happen sooner than they had planned.

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by pushbutton

[Theme Park Girl]

14 minutes ago, JeffreyMoore said:

Im sure it will lead to big $$$ needing to be spent witch is why i feel a decision to not reopen the ride likely

Maybe. Someone suggested on here (can't remember who, please feel free to pipe up!) what I thought to be an excellent modification idea for the ride to make it significantly safer... relocating the ride exit to the other side of the bridge, so that guests disembark before the raft mounts the conveyor belt. 

I can't imagine too much $$ would need to go into such a change, basically they just need to build a ride stop point and enclosed jetty, followed by a flight of steps up to ground level - which I am sure already exists in some form, given that staff currently have access to the boat in the reservoir. 

As I said on my blog earlier, I would totally understand and accept if they did close down and remove the ride in respect to the Kate, Luke, Roozi & Cindy. I think that would be a fair and justified decision. But I can't help but think that, emotions aside, it would be a missed oopportunity to allow what has been a popular and incident free ride for the past three decades a second chance. 

Rides that have been given this chance in the past have gone on to become the safest and incident free rides in the world, and a perfect example to amusement worldwide as to the best way to secure and maintain an attraction to the absolute highest safety standards possible. 

Once again it does all come down to the cause of the accident, but if the ride itself is at no fault (ie. Operator fault, freak accident etc) then it would just be a shame to close it when essentially it wasn't to blame. That ride has brought 30 years of happiness and memories to millions of peeps.  I think that alone makes it worthwhile to consider alternative options other than its iimmediate closure/removal. 

 

[Slick]

If we're looking ahead as to the future of that area, here's what i'd do.

Firstly, we're presuming that indeed, River Rapids isn't coming back. For all intents and purposes then, there's nothing beyond Buzzsaw really holding the area to a theme, and i'd imagine Buzzsaw would be rethemed out of respect at some point anyway.

What i've thought Movie World & Sea World have always done really well is putting on big crowd pulling shows. Stunt Driver, Main Street Parade, the Jet Ski Show, the Dolphin Stadium etc. etc. etc. and yet to this day there's still not a unified large auditorium/stadium/space for people to go to see unique shows beyond the stage in front of the globe. This has meant entertainment has ended up in weird spots like out of the front of the ice-cream parlour or just sporatically in the most of random of places, which has drawed at best, a passing crowd, and not the thousands Village pull in their respective stages & environment.

With this in mind, i'd go back to basics and redevelop Gold Rush into old school Dreamworld Village Green, and here's how:

• Redevelop the cinema into a soarin' attraction and build into the Eureka space.
• Open up the pathway to allow for a parade to run all the way from the fountain right up to the Dreamworld Auditorium
• Redevelop the Dreamworld Auditorium, modernise it onto a much more useable daily space, rename it in memory of the four that tragically lost their lives, and create a gorgeous entrance space with four, tall, distinct palm trees at the entrance roughly where the Hollywood House is now.
• Re-theme Buzzsaw to the Thunderbolt, essentially repaint the ride to look like one of Thunderbolt's signature loops
• Re-develop the horrid pathway systems that the Sandersons Group put in when they built The Giant Drop and create a more accessible, open & green thoroughfare through that entire corridor of the park.
• Add more Main Street style facades in and around the Soarin' Style attraction and create new retail experiences and spaces for people to enjoy
• I've always thought @Gazza was right on the money with some kind of Gerstlauer Eurofighter into that space, and I think given the tremendous value you get from them (just look at Abyss) not to mention how great they are in a tight space, this would be more then ideal. Combine that with a Star Flyer and you'd have a revitalised area that would honour the past, be a worthy response to what Movie World's doing next year (if done right), would be able to manage the capacity lost from River Rapids and offer guests new retail and show experiences that can be refreshed often. And to top this all off, this would then open up a clear and open path to expanding out into where Blue Lagoon was, and also give Dreamworld a clear and appropriate corridor to expand into should they build a second gate in the future to link to the Coomera Town Centre.

Thoughts?

I'm going to mood board you guys while i'm here.

Above - Buzzsaw paint job inspiration

Above - Look and feel for the new buildings that would wrap around the other three sides of the Soarin' theatre.

Above - Blue Lagoon could be redeveloped to look like this in the future.

Above - Inspiration for some of the gardens and pathways that could interconnect the area between Rocky Hollow, Giant Drop and Village Oval.

Above - super rough idea of what the entrance could look like for the Dreamworld Auditorium.

[Ashley]

Whether or not DW cancelled all upgrades and development for next year it shouldn't be expected.

As hard as it is the families of the victims and Dreamworld for that mater need to move on and not let such a tragic incident change your plans, you can't stop living life and cancel all plans for future out of such a situation.

Sure respect is required but there comes a stage where you need to move on and live everyday in that persons name, shamefully life goes on no matter what you do it will not stop for you the sun will continue to rise and set the world will spin and clock keeps ticking.    

[Brad2912]

I doubt you'll ever get a job writing cards for Hallmark @Ashley..

[Park Addict 93]

Very much like your idea @Slick, have any friends in senior positions at Ardent?

I agree with @Ashley. Someone told me lego construction is currently on hold (unsure if true) but I think you can't stop progress and I personally think that the park should reopen this weekend. I expect it to reopen prior to schoolies.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Jordan M.

[Tim Dasco]

2 things. @Slick awesome idea. Remember Mark Shaw told us about a month ago that the CEO of DW and his family were at AW for the day. (Potentially viewing Abyss)

@Ashley I posted this on page 4. 

"Keep in mind theme parks plan years in advanced. (5-10 year plans) MW might already be planning their next roller coaster for let's say 6 years in the future. Most likely 2017 and 2018 plans would have been finalised and contracts signed. Remember ride manufacturers want a deposit at least a year + before the ride opens. So if the rumours of a new slide tower at WWW or other changes at DW were planned for next year than they would have been signed and already had deposits paid for. Meaning it's to late to back out without losing a MAJOR deposit. Keep in mind AW paid their deposit and signed the contract for MI3 in September a year in advanced of the ride opening. MW new roller coaster would have been signed of maybe 1-2 years ago."

[Brad2912]

47 minutes ago, Jordan M. said:

Very much like your idea @Slick, have any friends in senior positions at Ardent?

I agree with @Ashley. Someone told me lego construction is currently on hold (unsure if true) but I think you can't stop progress and I personally think that the park should reopen this weekend. I expect it to reopen prior to schoolies.

The park is officially closed, it would be somewhat insensitive if construction is going ahead at the front of the park whilst people were paying their respects at the memorial. It would also result in a ridiculous amount of negative publicity, something DW/ME cannot afford. 

We'll get an announcement today of staged re-openings in line with the rides being signed off by the safety audit team. 

No doubt once visitors are back in the park, Lego Store construction will ramp up again. 

[Tim Dasco]

When was the Lego store originally planned to open?

[Park Addict 93]

4 hours ago, Tim Dasco said:

When was the Lego store originally planned to open?

Quote

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/things-to-do/lego

4 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

The park is officially closed, it would be somewhat insensitive if construction is going ahead at the front of the park whilst people were paying their respects at the memorial. It would also result in a ridiculous amount of negative publicity, something DW/ME cannot afford. 

We'll get an announcement today of staged re-openings in line with the rides being signed off by the safety audit team. 

No doubt once visitors are back in the park, Lego Store construction will ramp up again. 

True, Dreamworld will be walking on eggshells for the next year in regards to the media.

[dodge53]

Dreamworld has announced the Thunder River Rapids ride will be closed permanently after four people were tragically killed last month.

The ride will be demolished and a permanent memorial will be built instead for the victims.

The Coomera theme park said it has made the decision out of respect for the victims and their families.

The theme park has been closed ever since the incident and it is still unclear when it will reopen.

7News

[Brad2912]

A bit more info here...

The fatal Thunder River Rapids ride will be permanently decommissioned, while Dreamworld’s re-opening is yet to be confirmed.

Ardent Leisure Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Deborah Thomas announced the permanent closure of the ride this morning.

“Out of respect for the memories of Cindy Low, Roozbeh Araghi, Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett, and their deeply affected families, the ride will be permanently decommissioned. The closure of the ride is the only respectful and appropriate course of action".

Ms Thomas also said that Pitt & Sherry, an independent expert engineering firm, will lead an external review of all rides and operating systems at Dreamworld and Whitewater World.

“Pitt & Sherry are one of Australia’s leading experts in mechanical engineering with extensive experience in providing engineering and technical services for amusement rides and devices.

“Pitt & Sherry’s review will be further peer reviewed by an industry leading global theme park safety specialist.

“Dreamworld is also well progressed on an internal review of every ride in the Park, which includes reviewing all operating policies and procedures.

“In addition to these reviews, Dreamworld remains committed to working closely with the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland team.

“No ride at Dreamworld will operate until the Workplace Health and Safety Audit has been completed and unless it passes the multi-level internal and external review process,” Ms Thomas said.

Ms Thomas said as soon as it is appropriate, the families affected by the tragedy would be invited to help create a fitting and permanent memorial to their loved ones.

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Brad2912

[Santa07]

Wow Slick... your ideas are fantastic, when Sea World makes Joz their CEO I hope Dreamworld does the same with you ?.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

10 hours ago, JeffreyMoore said:

That said im thinking any new attractions - rides are long off 

As dreamworld works on rebuilding its brand and trust 

I disagree. If the park remains stagnant, removing old attractions without doing anything new to bring people in, it will surely fail. What the park needs to do is introduce something new to bring curious people back to the park.

The incident was tragic, but plane crashes don't stop the masses from jumping on a plane every day of the year. Sure, there's a dip, but people come back. I think what has hit people so hard here is that it was the first death we've had in an australian park for some time that wasn't due to guest negligence...

they need to build.

 

9 hours ago, Theme Park Girl said:

Maybe. Someone suggested on here (can't remember who, please feel free to pipe up!) what I thought to be an excellent modification idea for the ride to make it significantly safer... relocating the ride exit to the other side of the bridge, so that guests disembark before the raft mounts the conveyor belt.

It does sound like a good idea but as I responded to whomever made that suggestion, you can't have an unload prior to the conveyor - when the ride shuts down that platform would be swamped by the overflow, and it would cause a very slippery and slick surface.

[JeffreyMoore]

37 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

 

“Out of respect for the memories of Cindy Low, Roozbeh Araghi, Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett, and their deeply affected families, the ride will be permanently decommissioned. The closure of the ride is the only respectful and appropriate course of action".

 

 

while im sad to see another of the few rides left that i grew up with close

this is the right decision

[themagician]

It has just been stated that from today they will begin the process of reopening the park. A specific date has not been set for the reopening of the park at this stage, and it won't happen until all rides have been checked over.

Contractors have returned to the park from today, and construction will continue for the LEGO Store and Stage 2 of Tiger Island, which will both be completed by Christmas.

[Reanimated35]

2 minutes ago, themagician said:

It has just been stated that from today they will begin the process of reopening the park. A specific date has not been set for the reopening of the park at this stage, and it won't happen until all rides have been checked over.

Contractors have returned to the park from today, and construction will continue for the LEGO Store and Stage 2 of Tiger Island, which will both be completed by Christmas.

Where was that? I was looking for something on the supposed 1pm announcement but couldn't find anything. 

[themagician]

@reanimated35 7 News Brisbane did a Live stream on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/7NewsBrisbane/

[MaxxTheMonster]

5 hours ago, AlexB said:

It does sound like a good idea but as I responded to whomever made that suggestion, you can't have an unload prior to the conveyor - when the ride shuts down that platform would be swamped by the overflow, and it would cause a very slippery and slick surface.

A floating pontoon type of platform would fix that issue...

[Brad2912]

Irrelevant now, it's done & dusted. 

[iwerks]

18 hours ago, Theme Park Girl said:

Maybe. Someone suggested on here (can't remember who, please feel free to pipe up!) what I thought to be an excellent modification idea for the ride to make it significantly safer... relocating the ride exit to the other side of the bridge, so that guests disembark before the raft mounts the conveyor belt. 

^Yeah, that was me. I think one of the Pirates, probably at MK, has people disembarking before the conveyor.

I respect the fact that they've decided to decommission it. I don't think you can fill it in, until you know what they're going to do with the land. I'd be happy for them to do something along the lines of the gardens Slick suggested along with a couple of family dark rides. We know how much JL cost, so getting a couple wouldn't break the bank. It'd be good to see them have something like a Fantasyland set up.

[themagician]

I'm sure this idea has been mentioned a year or 2 ago, but a family coaster would be ideal and most realistic, considering there is the big damn storing all the water for the River Rapids. And trying to fill that wouldn't be easy or cheap. I think the Memorial would go where the queue line/entrance of the ride is. And then if they were to remove the mine ride, that could be the queue and station for the new coaster. But I think it would be another couple of years before we see something major happen in the area

[Whombex]

@Slick Great idea for Buzsaw's re-theme, I did a dodgy shop of it.

 

[JeffreyMoore]

4 hours ago, themagician said:

I'm sure this idea has been mentioned a year or 2 ago, but a family coaster would be ideal and most realistic, considering there is the big damn storing all the water for the River Rapids. And trying to fill that wouldn't be easy or cheap. I think the Memorial would go where the queue line/entrance of the ride is. And then if they were to remove the mine ride, that could be the queue and station for the new coaster. But I think it would be another couple of years before we see something major happen in the area

We can all dream big on what mite be done with area in the future 

But this is ardent we are talking about and anything they do is likely to far below most of our expectations 

[themagician]

Well some of their more recent work has been better than I expected. Eg: Dreamworks, refurbishment of Ocean Parade, Tiger Island, new food outlets. The effort that went into all of these were great and I feel like it really brought life back to the park