[Wishful Thinking] The Gold Rush Replacement

[GC Theme Parks]

I know that this might not be a popular view but I hope that the area is rethemed to something new and fresh, remove all of the TRRR and the Eureka mountain mine ride and maybe make the area a certain theme, Dinasours or something, have some large Dinasours statues that possibly move. Retheme the Buzzsaw and include a new ride that wouldn't cost to much, put a bit of grass in the area and make it feel like a chill out zone. I know my idea isn't the best and I wouldn't mind other people's suggestions for retheming idea. 

[Brad2912]

Knew I should have put a little * with a disclaimer at the bottom..

@AlexB I agree that West/Gold Rush CAN be exciting & wow, if done right. Disney obviously set the benchmark, and I guess my comment is derived from parks that think if they use weathered/rusty/disheveled furnishings they have succeeded in creating a themed area. 

Wild West at MW could be an exceptional example if there was more in the area. The mountain itself is awesomely done by Australian & even some international standards. The facades are great, but if a few of them were not facades but actual store fronts, whether they be retail, F&B etc, I think it would add greatly to the area. 

[Cactus_Matt]

I'm sure I'm not the only who's thought that the Wild West Falls area would really benefit from a wooden roller coaster in it.

[pushbutton]

I'd like to see the whole area completely cleared (including Buzz saw, which could be relocated elsewhere in the park where there's space for it) and a completely new themed area created.

The theme: Doctor Who (obviously needs applicable licensing from the BBC, but I don't know of anywhere else in Australia Dreamworld would be competing with on that, and Dreanworld already has the BBC tie-in with ABC kids world, so should be possible).

There would be several awesome rides, and various other experiences. One or more of them could be accessed via a Tardis, and after walking and / or riding through various rooms you would exit through the Tardis but in a completely different place, out of sight of the one you entered through (giving the illusion the Tardis moved).

 

Upon entering you would go downstairs, and a small part of the attraction would be underground.You could then (if necessary) go back upstairs for the main, central part of the attraction, and then downstairs into another underground section for the last part. In this way, both Tardis would appear not to be attached to anything, hence giving the illusion of "bigger on the inside".

This would be something like the Doctor Who experience I've been to in London, and also (much earlier) in Blackpool, England.

There are many possibilities for ride, cinematic, educational, live entertainment, and walk-through components both within the Tardis and elsewhere in the new themed Dr Who section of Dreamworld. Of course there would also be a shop selling Dr Who merchandise, some of which would not be available elsewhere in Australia.

There could even be a Dr Who themed restaurant maybe (although apart from Fish Fingers and Custard I'm  not sure what it could sell)!!!

On second thoughts, maybe we'll skip the Fish Fingers and Custard, or at least serve them separately as 2 different menu items, both accompanied by something else!

Edited February 14, 2017 by pushbutton

[MickeyD]

I actually really like this idea @pushbutton ! ! !

Doctor Who is a timeless classic and such an area would truly add a unique entertainment offering that would further broaden the diversity of the Park. -That's something that's very much inline with current management's vision.

Sure, this topic is about blue sky and dreaming big however to truly move on from the scars of the past, dreaming big is exactly what Ardent need to do with the DW business right now. I believe the Doctor might be just the right medicine?

[pushbutton]

Thanks Mickey D!

It's something that would appeal to all ages, and to guests who aren't really into thrill rides, rollercoasters, or fairground rides!

[Santa07]

I don't see why the park would want to go to the effort and relocate Buzzsaw - it's not as if it takes up a lot of space. If it feels out of place, just whack a different coat of paint on.

Doctor Who, although being my favourite TV show and the best theme a park could possibly use, is probably very hard to get licensing for. I think it's been discussed before (?).

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I know there's a lot of people out there that will flame me for this - but please no.

Whovians aren't exactly appealing to a mainstream audience. I get there are Dr Who attractions in the UK - but the show was developed by the BBC, and that's the core fan base... but I just don't see the popularity here. Using that logic, we'd be better to have an attraction themed to Agro Vation or Ozzie Ostrich.

This may appeal to all ages, but not everyone of each age group would relate to it - you would have to know the story to understand the concept behind the tardis and how it works. Fish Fingers and Custard, i'm assuming, is a particular food favourite of the Doctor, and I can see why a Whovian would know that - unfortunately anyone who doesn't watch the program would just think it was weird.

You may not like DC - but everyone has heard of Superman, Batman (even Kindergarteners will tell you they know he smells), Wonder Woman - the entire DC franchise has far more mainstream appeal - with decades of comics, and countless films so diverse that everyone can find one that they enjoy.

Likewise with Harry Potter - even if you ignore the books - i know most people have seen the movies - but there is broad appeal there - from the light hearted PG rated kids film that was Philosopher's Stone right down to the deep dark voyage of discovery with death and torture - Most people out there could tell you a few things about the series.

I just don't feel that Dr Who is mainstream enough to appeal as broadly as Push is suggesting.

[Brad2912]

Agree. Dr Who is a big no for me. It's popular, but it's niche. I like the genre, but for reasons even unbeknownst to me, I struggle to engage with a lot of British film/tv. 

To me Dr Who is one of those shows where the fans think that it's super popular, amazing tv & believe everyone loves it, but in reality everyone on the outside of the 'Whovians' are looking at them thinking wtf....

[Naazon]

Why not the obvious then. Marvel. Obviously expensive / hard licence to get but there is no Disney park in Australia which helps and offers good returns with large amount of rides / potential. 

 

Edit: Plus retheme of BS and GD would be pretty easy to fit into that universe.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Naazon

[MickeyD]

Interesting that DW sells Marvel merch in their stores. Honestly I think that's about as far as they will get with it. Disney are very tight with their brand and wouldn't allow a multi-billion dollar China park use their indices for rides so why would they let DW at it with a minimum budget.. errr ain't gunna happen.

Sorry to the others against Who, let's just agree to disagree shall we?

[Santa07]

15 minutes ago, Naazon said:

Why not the obvious then. Marvel. Obviously expensive / hard licence to get but there is no Disney park in Australia which helps and offers good returns with large amount of rides / potential. 

 

Edit: Plus retheme of BS and GD would be pretty easy to fit into that universe.

Licensing would be near-impossible to get. When Disney or Universal holds the licensing to something, they like to hold onto it very tightly.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Why does everything need to have an IP attached to it?

Universal Singapore - although many of it's lands were directly associated to a particular franchise - still ran with 'Sci Fi City' which enabled them to have a diverse attraction theme base fitting the same general idea, which now houses both Battlestar Galactica and Transformers.

I really think the park is ok with a generic, unlicensed theme. they have their own mascots. they have several IP franchises in park - dreamworks, ABCkids\Wiggles, now Lego. I think they can do without additional licensing fees to be honest. just go with something straightforward, without an IP that lends itself well to a variety of rides and attractions.

The best thing is that, unlike most rides we see lately - where they have to shoehorn the ride into an existing themed area and try and make it fit (or not - see MDMC) - in this case they can masterplan the entire area - they could incorporate GD and BS into the 'zone' and theme appropriately, demolish the rest and start again. They aren't restricted by the fact that the current area is themed to something they need to work around. Clean slate time - wipe the board clean and start with a blank canvas - but most importantly - get some creative thinkers involved. Maybe they should find out who designed the Doomsday \ Villains Unleashed area, and poach them to design it...

 

[Jamberoo Fan]

16 hours ago, AlexB said:

...you would have to know the story to understand the concept behind the tardis and how it works.

I have little knowledge on Doctor Who but I know the Tardis is a telephone box that travels through time - that should be sufficient knowledge for me to go on a Tardis-themed ride, right?

Whilst Doctor Who is not exactly mainstream in Australia, at least Australians have heard of it. I had little knowledge on these franchises/people when I first visited their themed rides/attractions on the Gold Coast...:

• Lethal Weapon
• The Matrix
• Police Academy
• Big Brother
• A few Nickelodeon franchises
• Cartoon Network
• Mick Doohan

...but that did not stop me from going to their themed rides/attractions. At least the narratives of the rides/attractions are comprehensible to the general public who at least can recall the brand names of the franchises featured in the rides/attractions at a minimum (a little bit of knowledge on the franchise would help a bit), it should be fine. Just don't make the ride/attractions' narratives too detailed. To use the Doctor Who-themed restaurant example, if fish fingers & custard were the only menu option, I wouldn't know the significance of it and it would likely make me as well as other non-Whovians to go explore other food outlets but if it was 1 menu item out of many, the general public would be more likely to eat there while Whovians would purchase fish fingers & custard to make the most of the Doctor Who experience.

It's simply a balance between not confusing non-fans & keeping the ride/attraction true to the franchise for the fans provided the IP has, at least, significant brand recall and for the theme park, the benefit of increasing visitation due to the new ride/attraction and Doctor Who, I believe, has a strong enough fan base in Australia to provide a modest increase in visitation. If a survey showed most Australians have never heard of Doctor Who then a Doctor Who themed area would definitely be a no.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Jamberoo Fan

[joz]

Someone made a Doctor Who ride in RCT3.  You should watch it.

 

 

[TomiJ]

Thanks heaps for the video the ride looks awesome. I'm not interested in Doctor Who and my only references I know are from The Simpsons. But I will be happy for any well themed area. If done well I think it could work. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

10 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

I have little knowledge on Doctor Who but I know the Tardis is a telephone box that travels through time - that should be sufficient knowledge for me to go on a Tardis-themed ride, right?

Whilst Doctor Who is not exactly mainstream in Australia, at least Australians have heard of it. I had little knowledge on these franchises/people when I first visited their themed rides/attractions on the Gold Coast...:

• Lethal Weapon
• The Matrix
• Police Academy
• Big Brother
• A few Nickelodeon franchises
• Cartoon Network
• Mick Doohan

<snip>

If a survey showed most Australians have never heard of Doctor Who then a Doctor Who themed area would definitely be a no.

It travels through time?

Jesus. What rock do you live under that you'd heard of Dr Who, but not ANY of the franchises you've dot pointed? I think you're reaching to say 'at least Australians have heard of it' - amongst people I know - more people would know of at least 6 out of 7 of those dot points before Doctor Who.

And if I were surveyed and asked if i'd heard of Dr Who, my answer would be yes - I have heard of it, but that wouldn't be validation of plans to build a themed land to it - i've heard of testicular cancer too - but i don't want to ride it...

[pin142]

Generic Sci-Fi would work, buzzsaw could become a portal of some sort. Drop could be re-themed to a space tower, or even something probe like. Don't see why they need to tie in a franchise to theme an area.

[T-bone]

I agree with Alexb, I think the park has enough IP based attractions, there is nothing wrong with a non IP based themed attraction, some of the best rides in the world are those not attached to an IP (Space Mountain for a quick example). Let's leave the movie IP for Movie World.

[themagician]

12 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

If a survey showed most Australians have never heard of Doctor Who then a Doctor Who themed area would definitely be a no.

Im pretty sure everyone has heard of Doctor Who, is the same way everyone has heard of Star Wars and Harry Potter. But not everyone could name characters, know what it's about or care about it. I know of Doctor Who, but I don't have any interest in it, but if they did an awesome ride for it and had an understandable story line, of course I'd ride it. But I highly doubt Doctor Who would come to Australia in a theme park, if anything it would get an attraction in England or America. 

[Reanimated35]

1 hour ago, themagician said:

Im pretty sure everyone has heard of Doctor Who,

Sorry, doctor, who?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

 

[Santa07]

I guess by theming an area to an IP you could attract demographics that you usually wouldn't attract.

Say they were building a sci-fi themed land. General theme-park goers would be excited because it's a new land.

If they were theming it to an IP you could potentially attract fans of that franchise who wouldn't usually consider visiting a theme park (and have the general theme-park goers excited as well). It's not as if someone would refuse to ride a rollercoaster because they don't understand the theme (we all ride ToT don't we?  ), I didn't know anything about Lethal Weapon when I was younger and still rode it, and I don't know a whole lot about Scooby Doo and still find it a great, well-themed ride.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

but that's just it @Santa07 - most theming dates quickly. Scooby came out in 2002 - and you don't know it (the ride is quite true to the film). Lethal Weapon 4 was 1998 - and while the movie didn't really lend anything to the ride - it was just 'stunt driving' in the film, prologued by some car chase scenes in a theatre - it was a fitting theme (so you don't miss anything there).

So generic theming is timeless. theming to an IP puts an expiry date on that theme. In addition, using IP costs licensing fees, meaning you either need more money to do it, or you cheap out on some things so you can buy the license.

As I understand it - a Doctor attraction would be a nightmare, as the park would need to inject funds regularly to stay current - and then even amongst fans - which doctor do you feature? original? latest? most popular?

 

Fact is - in arguing for IP you've also proven the case against it - ToT's theme is... who knows... but we all ride it. Why do we need to bring expensive IP into it, if we all ride it anyway?

[pushbutton]

17 hours ago, joz said:

Someone made a Doctor Who ride in RCT3.  You should watch it.

 

 

Awesome job someone did there with RCT3. Must have taken forever!