[Wishful Thinking] The Gold Rush Replacement

[themagician]

The theming they did have I thought was pretty good and did suit well, it was just way to cramped and no air flow at all making it very hot when in the queue. If that theming was spread out and allowed for air flow it would've been heaps better  

[rappa]

Yes painting the surfboards is hardly the same as a fully immersive themed dark ride or land. 

Keep it at that level. Agajn in my opinion claw, wipeout, tailspin level detail is Presentation, not Theming and it's nice enough at that level. 

If they do realistic installations in terms of maintaining them then the park will stay looking great for years to come. 

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

Obviously past the vintage cars being moved their.

I would want them to keep the gold rush theme.

It is such a unique theme and is really the only themed area of the park with more than one big ride.

I would want to see a large scale rollercoaster installed as Dreamworld is exhaustsd with flat rides and completely lacking in rollercoasters. A rollercoaster is really the next step for them.

[Troy81]

Dreamworld is in a tough spot now.  With revenue down there will definitely be a lower CAPEX.  Building a roller coaster now is going to be a tough job as anything they do will now be compared to what is happening down the road.  Has anyone got any ideas of cheaper options that would still make hem stand out and draw customers back.

[pushbutton]

Not a cheaper option, but (and I know some people here will groan at this idea) I really think they should find ways to differentiate themselves from Movie World. Offer something different. Not everyone likes rollercoasters all that much. Invest in experiences which will take guests into DREAMS. Honestly that is what I hoped to find when I went to Dreamworld the very first time, and I was very very disappointed when I found most of the rides are just basically fairground rides.

Now to their credit they have one such experience now in Kevill Hill. That is very good. However they need more. At least one world class dark ride would be an outstanding investment which would attract families and theme park lovers who don't necessarily like being thrown up and down or spun around all that much!

Edited May 10, 2017 by pushbutton

[Troy81]

You are right Push.  As a kid I loved going to the IMax at Dreamworld.  I would love to see them bring it back (sort of), with something similar to Disneys Soarin ride.  Is that the kind of thing you were thinking?  Still not as big a drawcard as a coaster but more of a family friendly experience which Dreamworld does excel at.  And definitely cheaper.

[pushbutton]

15 minutes ago, Troy81 said:

You are right Push.  As a kid I loved going to the IMax at Dreamworld.  I would love to see them bring it back (sort of), with something similar to Disneys Soarin ride.  Is that the kind of thing you were thinking?  Still not as big a drawcard as a coaster but more of a family friendly experience which Dreamworld does excel at.  And definitely cheaper.

Possibly. I did go to the IMAX at Dreamworld once the very first time I ever visited there, in 1988. However I don't really remember anything much about it except that the screen was big. Isn't it still the same screen now though? If so then not much has really changed except that it's not called IMAX anymore, and they're showing Dreamworks short films instead of IMAX films.

As I said though I don't remember it much. Was there something else particularly special about it when it was IMAX?

On the topic of cinema, I have been to one very interesting cinema at Disneyland California. That was also in 1988.

It was in a sort of round marquee, and the video was projected now onto a flat screen, but all over the walls and roof of the marquee. I can't recall what it was about, but the experience of being about to look all around you and see the video was something unique at the time.

These days that's perhaps been superseded by 7D cinema, and Virtual Reality. It was basically a forerunner to VR.

However the Simpsons ride at Universal Studios Hollywood is a more recent example of what can be done with a different take on the cinematic experience, combined with a ride.

I'm not saying Dreamworld should have a Simpsons ride (although I'd love that) as apparently they wouldn't be able to get the license for it. However a ride of a similar nature could be fantastic.

[Troy81]

2 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

Possibly. I did go to the IMAX at Dreamworld once the very first time I ever visited there, in 1988. However I don't really remember anything much about it except that the screen was big. Isn't it still the same screen now though? If so then not much has really changed except that it's not called IMAX anymore, and they're showing Dreamworks short films instead of IMAX films.

As I said though I don't remember it much. Was there something else particularly special about it when it was IMAX?

As a 10 year old kid, the wow factor of the screen and creating the feeling of actually moving was what I found special.  

[pushbutton]

Yeah, but these days you can go to 7D cinemas or experience VR such as on Arkham Asylum, and we've even got access to Holographic experiences at Southport!

To stand out as something special now, a theme park would need to once again take it to the next level in some way.

[Brad2912]

You keep saying "not everyone likes coasters" @pushbutton. We absolutely (really really!) understand that's your point of view, and it's not an entirely unique view. However, DW is the one park on that coast that caters best for the "I don't like Coasters" mentality. It's variety of flats is great. DW doesn't need more flats right now, that won't bring crowds back. 

DW lacks a quality statement Coaster, not necessary a hyper, but a big full circuit offering. It also lacks a quality dark ride, but that's more unlikely than a coaster which can fit fairly natural terrain more easily than having to erect a building to house the ride. 

The Simpsons Ride is Great, but the cost of it here in Australia would exceed what MW is spending on its hyper. Ardent won't be spending that much on an attraction anytime soon, or ever probably 

[pushbutton]

The thread title is "Wishful thinking..."!

I have a good understanding of business financials, but in this forum that's not what I'm interested in. I have more than enough of that sort of stuff at work. I visit forums like this one just to share my thoughts, whether they're likely or not!

[iwerks]

I think MW proved that you can get a decent dark ride for the price of a coaster.  Let's not forget that there are plenty of third party companies that do Soarin' type rides. I think DW should go down this route - if it wants to become like Disney it should give Sally Corp a call and make it happen.  Plenty of people who visit DW aren't coaster fans anyway. 

[Brad2912]

MW already had a purpose built sound studio in which to encase the ride... DW has no such benefit. 

As I stated, DW is already the best park on the coast for people who prefer flats. 

DW wants to become like Disney? When did they throw out that lofty goal??

[iwerks]

DW's latest advertising efforts cc Disney's perfectly.

I think you'll find that DW has plenty of large buildings or structures or they could build a new one.

Not arguing about flats, although I'm not a fan of spin and spews. 

[MickeyD]

I'm sure anyone would agree that the former IMAX Theatre is greatly underutilized in it's current state.

Turning the Theatre into a Soarin style attraction would require a lot of excavation. For example, the floor would have to be flat for the seating and plenty of room would have to be made for the ride's infrastructure. With the defunct Mine ride behind the building,  perhaps the Theatre space could be dug out northbound and place the ride/seating toward where the old trrr channel sits today and put the screen where the audience seating currently sits?

I have always wanted to see a Soarin style ride here in Australia. The experience is absolutely mind blowing! We have some amazing landscapes in our country and this could be a perfect draw for an Australiana Park like DW.

Edited May 10, 2017 by MickeyD

[pushbutton]

20 minutes ago, MickeyD said:

I'm sure anyone would agree that the former IMAX Theatre is greatly underutilized in it's current state.

Turning the Theatre into a Soarin style attraction would require a lot of excavation. For example, the floor would have to be flat for the seating and plenty of room would have to be made for the ride's infastructure. With the defunct Mine ride behind the building,  perhaps the Theatre space could be dug out northbound and place the ride/seating toward where the old trrr channel sits today and put the screen where the audience seating currently sits?

I have always wanted to see a Soarin style ride here in Australia. The experience is absolutely mind blowing! We have some amazing landscapes in our coubtry and this could be a perfect draw for an Australiana Park like DW.

Perfect. Let's do it!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

12 hours ago, pushbutton said:

On the topic of cinema, I have been to one very interesting cinema at Disneyland California. That was also in 1988.

It was in a sort of round marquee, and the video was projected now onto a flat screen, but all over the walls and roof of the marquee. I can't recall what it was about, but the experience of being about to look all around you and see the video was something unique at the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle-Vision_360°

[Slick]

1. Remove any remnants of Rapids, Skylink or Mine Ride (perhaps sans the Mine Ride station building) & regrade the land to a nice hilly space.
2. Put a clear, clean path in that connects Rocky Hollow and the pathway from Main Street at ground level (this also means cleaning up the clusterf*ck that is the Giant Drop elevated pathways and adding in level railway crossings, which would help add atmosphere for that space.)
3. Move Model T-Ford Cars there. Have them going up and down through the hilly space.
4. Refurb the old Big Brother outlet to a great F&B Gold Rush space. If you do it properly, it'd be a fantastic space to have lunch or a beer (views of Log Ride, Giant Drop, T-Fords, Buzzsaw, great atmosphere.)
5. Move some of the Corroboree animals down to new Gold Rush Space i.e. abandoned brick building is really a snake exhibit. Will help make the overall space more full, complete and family friendly.
6. Long-term, add a Gerstlauer family spinning mouse ride that could dip up and down through the area and be a worthy Mine Ride successor.
7. To complete the area, add a windseeker in or another small, family friendly attraction.

To me, the idea of having "Gold Rush, Rocky Hollow & Corroboree" as three "worlds" (not to mention Gold Rush is shoe-horned in there somehow) is making life hard for yourself. To me, they're all a rustic, Australian theme. I mean yeah, give them names, whatever, just get on making it feel like one big consistent space and make it feel like a nice space to be in (which isn't hard, Corroboree as it stands is already great, ParkChat live be damned.) 

For the park to heal and for the general public to move forward in the conversation of Dreamworld, it needs to really get on removing Rapids AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in my mind. I'd be transparent about what they're doing with the land too, so that when the bulldozers come, the message people are getting is "okay, they're dealing with the space, they're putting in x & y new things, I look forward to seeing what comes" not "oh, they're getting rid of the accident and covering their tracks" which is what folks will default to if they're not given something else IMO.

[wikiverse]

My wish list:

- First, tear down the old Mine Cart and TRR.

- Then, I would build GoldRush into a fully immersive experience by merging 3 rides together:

• An RMC Hybrid Woody
• A Family-Friendly wildmouse (not a spinner)
• A Water-Based dark ride similar to the old LooneyTunes or Bermuda Triangle rides at MW/SW.

The RMC would be the showpiece, it could even weave through Buzzsaw, and hug the terrain where TRR was.

The Wildmouse and Water based ride would share the same entrance area - with effectively the same story elements.  I would open the ride with a show-style element where miners are led down into the mine.  Then I would have a mine collapse element where the only way to escape was to jump in the mine carts, or to try to get out through the underground rivers.

I would even consider building alternate endings to each of the rides, since they're both family friendly you would be able to keep all your stuff with you and wouldn't need to worry about returning to the station.  This way you have a reason to ride each one more than once, because the stories will be different each time.  The old Titanic attraction at Fox Studios had a similar multiple-ending idea (well, two endings - you got on a life boat or you sank).

I would build both rides around each other with head-chopper elements - potentially even having them interact with the RMC.

If there wasn't the space for all three, I would replace the water ride with a 4D simulator that had the same story with different endings.  Lotte World in Korea has 3 different simulators and they're a great break from all the spinning on the other rides.

The Goldrush area of the park would then have 4 rides in total.  Ideally I would blend it a bit more with Rocky Hollow/GD to transition from Mining to Bushranger to Corroboree, and have that entire half of the park be 'Australian History' themed.

Down the line, I would update RHLR to have more of a story to it - probably something actually historical like the Eureka Stockade. I strongly believe that having a narrative to work to greatly improves ride theming and concepts. I'd also introduce one or two kid friendly rides to that end of the park, so that parents can do a parent-swap and one of them can keep the kids entertained while the other goes on the rides.

Edited May 11, 2017 by wikiverse
spelling

[rappa]

Congratulations. You just spent more than the park used to make in a whole year. 

[Santa07]

14 hours ago, wikiverse said:

The RMC would be the showpiece, it could even weave through Buzzsaw, and hug the terrain where TRR was.

Having a steel coaster weave through Buzzsaw is one thing, having a wooden coaster weave through Buzzsaw is another thing, and a very impossible one at that.

[Wil_i_am_not]

Something like the lift hill on Goliath could be possible if you wanted a Woodie/RMC to weave through Buzzsaw, on a much smaller scale obviously. 

[wikiverse]

That's he beauty of Hybrids.  The RMC track doesn't actually need all of the wooden supports. 

The S&S FreeSpin coasters are a better example.  They're built from the same RMC track as the hybrid woodies and have very few steel supports.  It would be possible if it was engineered from the beginning to be like that.

But it's all just wishful thinking anyway. I think having an RMC that shoots out into the DW carpark could be built into a visual feature at the front of the park - like MW did with GL - but better.

I think my suggestions and ideas are more what Disney or maybe Universal would do.  DW has become a bit more like a SixFlags park - where it's all about just getting on the rides - and MW has really headed in that direction too. 

I think DW has a lot of potential, but they need to include more things that surprise and delight people beyond just the ride itself.  A visually stunning ride increases the enjoyment and excitement for me, and a story can trigger my imagination and build suspense - as well as giving me something unexpected.

 

[New display name]

5 minutes ago, wikiverse said:

I think my suggestions and ideas are more what Disney or maybe Universal would do.  DW has become a bit more like a SixFlags park - where it's all about just getting on the rides - and MW has really headed in that direction too.

I wish DW was more like Six Flags parks.  You might want to have a look who RMC biggest customers are before saying that.

 

 

I'm not the biggest fan of riding spin coasters. 

[wikiverse]

2 hours ago, djrappa said:

Congratulations. You just spent more than the park used to make in a whole year. 

Who cares?  Dreamworld isn't closing down in a year.  If re-investing 3 years worth of profit (~$90M) increases park attendance and generates a profit over the following 15-20 years that those rides could operate, it is a worth-while investment.

Besides, Ardent are spending DW profits building Bowling Alleys in the USA when they could have been re-investing into the park to expand and improve it.