Dreamworld Memorial & Reopening discussion

[bladex]

it's a stupid idea anyway.

something similar to jet rescue screaming through them channels sounds much better.

Edited November 10, 2016 by bladex

[Reanimated35]

2 minutes ago, bladex said:

1st off a lazy river's water is a lot lower it's up to about your knees. 2nd it won't have a harvester you ride up it's just a continuous loop of water. and 3rd it's a stupid idea anyway.

something similar to jet rescue screaming through them channels sounds much better.

Paint it black and make the motocoaster an actual track?

[bladex]

ah here's the thing i was looking for earlier what they should put in there

http://www.femcafe.hu/sites/default/files/images/bob-visegrad.jpg

Edited November 10, 2016 by bladex

[Richard]

4 hours ago, Theme Park Girl said:

This also opens the question as to what they will now do with Eureka. I can't help but feel that any possibility of it ever reopening is now well and truly gone

Hard to imagine there'd be anyone internally at Dreamworld that would be advocating for the resurrection of this ride. It's every bit as DIY as Thunder River Rapids and it seems apparent that it's these vintage Gold Coast rides that would be under the most scrutiny right now. Viking's Revenge looks to be facing closure and I'd expect Rocky Hollow to have a similar fate. Insurance for any ride not engineered by a major manufacturer in the last 20-odd years is probably going to become very expensive all of a sudden.

[Whombex]

Bladex, the whole Gold Rush site is toast. It'll be dismantled. Removed. It'll cease to be a themed area. It'll be an EX-AREA.

 

 

(Buzzsaw excepted, which will surely be re-themed. Then a new themed area can be built there.)

Edited November 10, 2016 by Glubbo

[bladex]

i know it will be removed but will they leave the channels intact.

[Reanimated35]

2 minutes ago, bladex said:

i know it will be removed but will they leave the channels intact.

At this stage it's unlikely even the park knows the answer to that. 

[Santa07]

9 hours ago, Slick said:

Time to buy one of these. Any takers?

I've always thought a Mack Big Dipper would be perfect for Dreamworld. It could easily become the best ride in the park and yet be relatively cheap and have a small footprint - the Big Dippers look like crazy rides that don't let up until the very end.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

8 hours ago, elemist said:

I also wonder with them losing so much money being shut, the loss of money from people getting refunds on season passes and other tickets (halloween etc), plus one would assume lower sales for the near future, whether they have the funds to do anything major.

The old adage - you've got to spend money to make money. As has been said before, a new attraction will be needed to make people go 'i want to ride that'. If the park doesn't build anything new, and just removes the old, this incident will be the freshest thing in people's minds - and dissuade them from visiting.

Ardent has enough money to do something, regardless of a few refunds or a drop in ticket sales. And if they don't, they have plenty of assets to leverage finance out of.

If they don't, they start a downward spiral that will be impossible to pull out of.

[Theme Park Girl]

7 hours ago, Richard said:

Hard to imagine there'd be anyone internally at Dreamworld that would be advocating for the resurrection of this ride. It's every bit as DIY as Thunder River Rapids and it seems apparent that it's these vintage Gold Coast rides that would be under the most scrutiny right now. 

That was indeed one of the thoughts that led to that conclusion... the public's faith in old rides is now probably at an all-time low. Nobody would trust setting foot near another 80's built ride ever again, even in a refurbished state

Obviously this, as you said, will likely affect the old Log ride as well which falls into this category, especially after the incident earlier this year with that fool that stood up and subsequently fell out. Thanks to the media not reporting all the facts at hand with that (both then and now) many people are still under the impression that it was a ride fault. 

The repercussions of what happened last month are absolutely massive, especially once you realise to exactly what extent for both the families and to the park. Possibly other parks as well, now. The while situation just keeps getting sadder and sadder

[Tim Dasco]

I have seen a comment on DW's Facebook page saying rides over 10 years old should be removed. Their reason was because cars only last 10 years or less and rides are more ocmplex. I did try and explain that rides have an average life recomandation from the manufacter of 30 years depending on maintenance.

[themagician]

I don't think that that person realises but basically every ride in the park would be removed except for TailSpin, Pandamonium, BuzzSaw, Shockwave, MDMC and a couple other kids rides.

[mission]

Does the 'Dam' the holds water for the Thunder River Rapids also act as the dam for the log ride?

 

If so, the dam will have to stay so unless they get rid of both using the dam for the new ride would seem a reasonable consideration?

 

I tend to think what ever replaces TRR won't be water based though, that's what White Water Word is for.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^This question has been asked numerous times. There is quite a space of land separating the two rides. If both rides were reliant on the same water source, it would impact the operation of one when the other was down for maintenance. Log ride's track has a huge lake near the load zone which provides all the water they need. they are not reliant or co-dependent.

Take a look at any google satellite map of the area to see what i mean.

[Original]

24 minutes ago, Tim Dasco said:

I have seen a comment on DW's Facebook page saying rides over 10 years old should be removed. Their reason was because cars only last 10 years or less and rides are more ocmplex. I did try and explain that rides have an average life recomandation from the manufacter of 30 years depending on maintenance.

Cya later Superman Escape then as well! 

[mission]

1 minute ago, AlexB said:

^This question has been asked numerous times.

Ok sorry about that!

 

Looking at Google maps, TRR does take up a lot of space, it will be a big, and expensive, job removing it all.

 

[aaronm]

17 hours ago, Slick said:

Time to buy one of these. Any takers?

A Lost Gravity clone would be a great addition, was very impressed when I rode it earlier this year. Good fit for the park too, not crazy expensive and doesn't look too "extreme" to the GP.

In terms of family appeal, a Mack spinner along the lines of Sierra Sidewinder might be a better option for them though. It's a shame the rapids are going away because they're one of the few rides that family groups can enjoy together, not many coasters or flats that are like that.

[T-bone]

20 hours ago, elemist said:

I also wonder with them losing so much money being shut, the loss of money from people getting refunds on season passes and other tickets (halloween etc), plus one would assume lower sales for the near future, whether they have the funds to do anything major.

See, I don't know whats really happening on the inside, but one would have thought Insurance would be covering some of the losses during this time? 

I'm with Slick, now is the time return to normal, and to invest and invest big, not do the opposite.

[Reanimated35]

Not sure how accurate it was, but one report said they would be losing something like $350,000 per day being closed. 

IMO it's long since past the time they should have reopened. 

[themagician]

I'm thinking that if most of the checks of the rides were completed this week and early next week, hopefully it will reopen from next weekend. I know DW are ensuring they go the right way about this, and are showing their respects and have to be careful what they say or do as we know how poorly the media have handled this situation, but they really do need to open in the next week or 2.

[Theme Park Girl]

Well they are now recruiting for xmas, interview sessions are being scheduled. So that's one good sign that the park intends to reopen soon ?

[Jamberoo Fan]

On 10/11/2016 at 6:48 PM, Theme Park Girl said:

I've come up with two possibilities:

1) Fencing off specifically the ride entrance alone at both bridges (eureka and giant drop) and leaving the Eureka courtyard area open with a direct passage to the Buzzsaw, so that it can continue operating in the meanwhile until they decide to demolish TRR. I would assume that this may also possibly mean raising the low fencing between the Buzzsaw entrance and TRR load/exit area, so it can't be visually seen by guests.

2) Gold Rush main entrance blocked off, Giant Drop bridge fenced off, so no access to the entire precinct. This will obviously render Buzzsaw temporarily SBNO until after the removal of TRR.

I'm also thinking in both cases, temporary fencing will go up along the openly fenced TOT/GD side of the ride, to visually hide it from the public's eye. Personally I don't think they will leave it open, but then once again, I guess it depends what approach they take as to whether they try to conceal it or not.

I'd say number 2 as it would be cheaper (less fencing/operational costs). Maybe they will temporarily re-open the old access way to Rocky Hollow under the GD queue to avoid visitors using the GD bridge with access to GD from the Rocky Hollow end of the bridge & a diverted GD queue? As I think you can see Thunder River Rapids from that bridge (someone correct me if I'm wrong). If I'm wrong, temporary fencing where the Rapid Blasters are I think is guaranteed. The only problem I can see is whether to open TOT II & the western GD until the Thunder River Rapids is demolished or not? With TOT II, you can't see the station & conveyor belt of Thunder River Rapids at least (unless you tried looking).

On 10/11/2016 at 7:44 PM, Theme Park Girl said:

Aren't the shops (lolly shop, icecream shop) and cinema built into the back of it? I wonder how hard it would be to separate them without too much disruption? 

Market Place got demolished with no disruptions to nearby shops so I don't think it will affect it much.

On 10/11/2016 at 8:01 PM, Pd46 said:

Might be a good opportunity to have a ride that interacts with the reservoir? Retheme the area to a lake in a forest or something like that?

I thought re-purposing the reservoir would be easier too like turning it into a 'lake' with walkways around it or even turning it into a themed canyon/gorge.

On 10/11/2016 at 9:34 PM, Ashley said:

Mentioning Seaworld, Dreamworld could do a Seaworld, demolish the river rapids and leave it empty like Seaworld did with there Sea Viper.

It's a large footprint so as a result, it might remain empty for a while but I don't think they will intentionally leave it empty for a long time - it's too large a space not to notice. They would be beginning the redevelopment process immediately - with the memorial first of all and as the priority & any new rides/attractions after that built with the memorial kept in mind.

17 hours ago, AlexB said:

If the park doesn't build anything new, and just removes the old, this incident will be the freshest thing in people's minds - and dissuade them from visiting.

I just thought - the Lego Store, as we know, will be the 1st new attraction to open at DW after the incident but remember that store has access from the outside. Would they open the Lego Store before DW itself? It might give some sort of reason to go back and it might even help DW financially a bit (if people go to the Store) even if DW hasn't re-opened yet.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[Park Addict 93]

1 hour ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

I just thought - the Lego Store, as we know, will be the 1st new attraction to open at DW after the incident but remember that store has access from the outside. Would they open the Lego Store before DW itself? It might give some sort of reason to go back and it might even help DW financially a bit (if people go to the Store) even if DW hasn't re-opened yet.

The new opening date for Lego is Christmas (previously listed as November). I personally think the park will be open by Dec 1, although I hope sooner. 

[Jamberoo Fan]

For those who haven't seen it already, here is an article from the Gold Coast Bulletin about how DW is caring for the animals during the park's temporary closure:

Quote

Dreamworld staff on cuddling duty to comfort koalas in wake of tragic deaths on Gold Coast

THE koalas at Dreamworld are missing their cuddles so much that staff from around the park are being rotated through hugging duty.

Since the closure of the park in the wake of the Thunder River Rapids tragedy that claimed the lives of four people last month, staff from all areas have been called on to cuddle the furry marsupials to ensure they remain familiar with humans.

Staff have also been required to visit the dingoes, many of whom have become attached to their hands-on roles entertaining guests.

(The koalas) do have a lot of contact with the public. The same with the dingoes – they really thrive on human interaction.” said Dreamworld head mammal keeper, Ali Wright.

Ms Wright said the animal keepers had not been able to take time off and the interaction was also good for staff in wake of the tragedy.

“We’ve been here the whole time,” she said.

Other animals such as the tigers were back to their usual training and swimming routines in readiness for when the Coomera theme park reopened.

“They still go on their walks and they’re out on the island.Routine is a big, important factor when you’ve got animals in care. This is why we work Christmas Day, Anzac Day – every day of the year.” Ms Wright said.

Ms Wright said tasks as simple as regularly weighing animals were important in keeping them healthy and well-adjusted.

“(If we don’t keep up routines) we kind of have to go back to stage one. It’s like ... (an) oasis at the back of the park here. It’s been good for the staff and good for the ­animals" she said.

The article also included photos of DW staff with the koalas.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[themagician]

It was so surreal to go to the park enetrance and there to literally be no one else, just me. There were plenty of cars, but no people. And it also gave me a time to pay my respects and not be hassled by media. All flowers have been removed now, but someone still show their respects by laying flowers on the stairs, which was nice to see.