Dreamworld reopening - the summer season

[themagician]

Went past the park at around 1pm today, and the carpark was nearly full. Was really great to see.

Also, looks like a massive crowd watching the fire machine show tonight (Photo from Stand By Dreamworld)

Edited January 4, 2017 by themagician

[iwerks]

5 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

Luna Park Sydney's Ghost Train fire?

Yeah, no. My point being that every accident or park going bankrupt scenario is different from each other. No way is LPS going to have the same money and support that DW would have from Ardent. There are so many different variables @SunshinePrincess wouldn't have that it's impossible to tell if DW is going to get sold to some Malaysian conglomerate a year from now.

[bladex]

6 minutes ago, iwerks said:

@SunshinePrincess

[jake_hunt]

Only @SunshineTom could be given primary-evidence photographs and still back up his opinion with a mainstream news article. Rule number one of proving a case study: primary evidence is better than secondary evidence. So even if your article had a shred of truth or research involved in it, a photograph would have you put in jail if this was a court case.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

9 hours ago, Theme Park Girl said:

Exactly. He openly admits he is here to troll and cause drama. So why the hell has he still not been banned? Dozens of users should not have to continually ignore or avoid an ongoing troublemaker... instead, the troll in question should be swiftly removed. Otherwise (and with all due respect) what exactly is the point of having assigned forum moderators? Isn't part of that responsibility to remove confirmed trolls from the forum, as opposed to just continuing to clean up the messy aftermath around them whilst they drive everyone nuts? 

Seriously guys, I know you prefer to give people a fair chance on here, but I believe that most of the regular community would agree with me that enough is enough. This guy has had SO many chances. Parkz is gonna start losing more genuine/longterm members' participation in here otherwise. I'm sure we all agree that POP,  in whatever obvious shape or form he chooses to use over and over, isn't worth that sacrifice...

As we've seen - he is quite capable of creating another account. You can ban a user, but they can always create another account. IP bans do nothing in today's dynamic IP world (as well as multiple devices).

I'm sure the community leadership team have discussed what to do with this guy, and tbh imo it's safer to leave him be - at least we know who it is (it took a few days to cotton on to the new profile) - all we have to do is ignore him. resist the urge to reply to anything he says - NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.

Since I made my post about ignoring him, i've made one reply to something he said which I quickly edited to remove it. I've replied around him to every other person on the thread without acknowledging what he said directly.

The sooner everyone does that, the sooner he will get bored with posting and move onto something else.

[Theme Park Girl]

Yeah, I got that the first 10 times, @AlexB, I just completely disagree. No need for font changes because I am reading it. I just have a different opinion ?

I guess as an ex forum owner/admin myself for nearly 10 years who dealt with many, many troll visits, I know there are alternative options potentially available than just putting up with one. Vbulletin software had third party mods available which helped to deal with troublemakers, including getting around the IP issue. It's possible that Invision has the same. I'm really hoping admin have looked into it?

Otherwise, if he keeps coming back, consider just banning him again and again? He will get bored of that just as quickly, especially when he has to keep starting over. And that will save everyone here a lot of headaches as well. 

It's not like he's good at hiding his identity, look how fast we blew his cover the second time round lol... not many enthusiasts here are boycotting half the theme parks on the Gold Coast ?

ETA: Just want to apologise as well for potentially derailing the topic any further, seems to be happening a lot in this one since this is Pop's favourite spot to haunt and annoy people atm... could we please have a new topic to discuss the trolls instead? ?

Edited January 4, 2017 by Theme Park Girl

[Original]

I wouldn't use Daily Mail as a source and say it's better than Murdoch. I find it worse. 

They write articles just about what "celebrities" were wearing down the road and if they're walking with a work colleague or friend all of a sudden that person becomes a "mystery friend/lover". 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Original

[Ashley]

A question ?

Over the past few weeks we have seen tones of testing of the giant drop involving them putting it up and down the tower slowly, test dummies etc. but does anyone what there testing for during those times.  

[jake_hunt]

12 minutes ago, Ashley said:

A question ?

Over the past few weeks we have seen tones of testing of the giant drop involving them putting it up and down the tower slowly, test dummies etc. but does anyone what there testing for during those times.  

 

It's a full safety audit, so I imagine testing things like harness security, faults in gondola or track, excessive forces, anything that might be dangerous or otherwise, anything that needs improvement etc...

[bammrwolfe]

Have there been any sightings of TOT2 going up lately? 

I remember when I was there (early December; ages ago now), GD was being worked on with people standing at the top of the gondolas and doing things there every day I was there. However, couldn't see anything with TOT (obviously people could be in the tunnel, but I mean it going up and not internal stuff) TOT going up isn't exactly a sound that you can miss hearing. (Someone mentioned a while ago that they could be holding off on it to save money due to it using a lot of power, so thought I would ask)

Edited January 5, 2017 by bammrwolfe

[SuperV]

Dreamworld just announced that Tailspin has now reopened!

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

damit SuperV! you beated me to it 

[Santa07]

Hopefully that means wipeout is not far behind either.

[MickeyD]

When I was at the Park yesterday there was noticeable testing and Maintenance crew working on GD, HWSW and Wipeout. 

Also regarding Wipeout, the giant surfboards are presently laying around in the boneyard behind the old Thunderbolt station. Doubt they will be coming back

[themagician]

57 minutes ago, MickeyD said:

Also regarding Wipeout, the giant surfboards are presently laying around in the boneyard behind the old Thunderbolt station. Doubt they will be coming back

I imagine they would've just removed them to make access to the motors much easier, so they can complete a full check. Once it is done, hopefully they'll just be put back in place.

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

The chair swing seats are connected once again

[Jamberoo Fan]

13 hours ago, iwerks said:

No way is LPS going to have the same money and support that DW would have from Ardent

True - In LPS's case, the State Government shut it down immediately and called for tenders to operate the park a month later. It took a year & 3 months before they found a suitable operator who re-built the park (except for the Face, Coney Island & Crystal Palace) to re-open 2 years & 10 months after the fire.

While DW was shut down immediately, they still have the same operators & re-opened 45 days after the incident.

[Theme Park Girl]

Nice busy carpark at Dreamworld this afternoon, desperate the unsettled weather. Lots of people inside ☺️?

Edited January 5, 2017 by Theme Park Girl

[Ashley]

Puss n boots sword swing is now back open according to the DW website.

 

[themagician]

As well as all the WWW slides 

[WipeoutDreamworldFan]

I can confirm from DW, Wipeout's giant surfboards are returning, they are just recieving some love at the moment. I would imagine it would be because the wipeout logos were regularly peeling off and the surfboards are red and red fades fastest than any other colour so might also be getting a repaint. 

[themagician]

TOT is currently in testing. Launched about three times so far.

[mba2012]

ABC article from this morning was reporting that all thrill rides should be open by the end of the month. They're also reporting that profit is down 63% during the period from December 10 (reopening) to the end of the year compared to the same period last year. Financial reports from the period once all rides are open should be interesting to see. 

Link to the article

[Jamberoo Fan]

To follow on from @mba2012's post, here is the ASX release that Ardent Leisure made today:

Quote

DREAMWORLD TRADING UPDATE

Ardent Leisure Group (ASX:AAD) provides the following trading updates to the market.

Theme Parks

As previously advised Whitewater World and Dreamworld re-opened to guests on Saturday 10 December 2016. Whitewater World opened in its entirety, however the progressive re-opening of Dreamworld’s thrill rides throughout the remainder of the month negatively impacted attendance and revenues.

From re-opening on 10 December 2016 to 31 December 2016 the Theme Parks division recorded unaudited revenues of $3.66 million down 63.0% on revenues of $9.89 million recorded in the prior corresponding period.

Across both parks, 29 slides and rides (including 5 of the “Big 9 Thrill Rides”) are full operational as well as most of Dreamworld’s entertainment and attractions – including our brand-new Tiger Island, the Fire Marchine pyrotechnics spectacular and the Dreamworld Corroboree indigenous precinct. Attendance numbers have steadily increased since Boxing Day and visitation have been more consistent as our “Big 9 Thrill Rides” return to service following our independent safety review. The park’s last rides (including Tower Of Terror and the Giant Drop) are scheduled to be back operating before the end of January 2017.

Australia’s first LEGO Certified Store is also scheduled to open at Dreamworld by the end of January 2017. The flagship LEGO store will be the largest retail outlet at Dreamworld, forming a stand-alone precinct at the front of the park and a new destination for guests, passholders and visitors to South East Queensland.

Overall guest sentiment has been very positive and we thank our guests, passholders and the broader community for their strong support. Regular trading updates for the Theme Parks division will continue to be released over the coming months to keep the market fully informed.

Further details of trading performances across all divisions for the half year ended 31 December 2016 are expected to be released to the market on 23 February 2017. 

The trading update also included updates for Main Event Entertainment as well as Ardent Leisure's health clubs but I haven't quoted those parts. To read the full ASX release, click here.

Also, in regards to whether this topic should finish or not, I prefer if this topic continues until the remaining closed rides re-open at least once (except Rocky Hollow Log Ride if it is announced to be refurbished, re-built or replaced with something else & clearly Thunder River Rapids) - that way this topic is about the whole time period DW took to fully re-open in.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Jamberoo Fan
Added paragraph about topic future

[Richard]

I started to write a reply here and it ended up as an article, but just to quickly clarify, that's revenue down 63%, not profits. Revenue of $3.66 million is certainly an overall loss for the month; recall that the November figure was around $4 million in operating costs while the park was closed.