New Dreamworld Patisserie & Grill "coming soon"

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

2 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

Billabong is in the middle of the park. It can't be opened to the public!

Rubbish. it's on the rear boundary. Although unlikely, its quite possible to open it up - if they wanted to.

[New display name]

I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that this is as good we would get from a "Downtown Dreamworld".

The Lego store & the Patisserie & Grill is a look into what “Downtown Dreamworld” will be offering as an outside experience without entering Dreamworld.

I have some questions.  If the “Downtown Dreamworld” ever grows legs and gets off the ground and considering we now have 2 experiences outside of DW where will they build “Downtown Dreamworld”.  Is Patisserie & Grill dining style enough to draw customers to "Downtown Dreamworld"?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Sorry - after the second 'Downtown Dreamworld' - i kinda got stuck on an infinite loop... now i can't get out!

[New display name]

Welcome to my world @AlexB

[pushbutton]

1 hour ago, Skeeta said:

I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that this is as good we would get from a "Downtown Dreamworld".

The Lego store & the Patisserie & Grill is a look into what “Downtown Dreamworld” will be offering as an outside experience without entering Dreamworld.

I have some questions.  If the “Downtown Dreamworld” ever grows legs and gets off the ground and considering we now have 2 experiences outside of DW where will they build “Downtown Dreamworld”.  Is Patisserie & Grill dining style enough to draw customers to "Downtown Dreamworld"?

No it's not. It's just about adequate (only just due to the poor food choices) for a park entry fast food bar. Nowhere near good enough for a downtown Dreamworld experience, especially when you consider it would be up against a pretty good array of dining options we have elsewhere in the Gold Coast.

However if they were to open such a concept, I think it would need to be much more than just restaurants. Bars, and real entertainment (very good entertainment) would also be needed, as well as tourism and leisure experiences.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Thing is, when you're on a roadtrip through back country, and you come upon a truck stop, serving greasy food thats been sat in a food warmer for hours, its bloody terrible, but you'll still buy it, and still eat it, because where else are you gonna go?

If dreamworld were in the middle of surfers, no way would they get away with serving up lacklustre fare (note: i haven't been to the P&G, and i'm not suggesting lacklustre fare is what they're offering, i'm simply allowing for the fact because that is what SOME individuals imply) - but since the park is isolated - to get anything else requires transportation - that if you're there during a particular mealtime (breakfast, lunch or dinner, it doesn't matter), you're likely going to buy it anyway. If a 'downtown' precinct were to develop, all controlled by Dreamworld, they could simply control what alternatives were present, and continue serving to their current standard.

Whether that standard is a low or high one is entirely up to the diner - for myself personally, having seen the menu, i'm already impressed enough that I wouldn't call their offering a 'poor choice' in any sense (the preparation and consistency of which is a different matter entirely though)

[themagician]

The thing they need to do now is advertise on the highway, in both directions that DW have these facilities without having to enter the park. It would be the perfect place to stop and get a bite to eat, have a toilet break, and then let the kids play in the LEGO Store, and then maybe even buy something. DW have really set something great up here to attract even more people, without even having to enter the park. A billboard on the highway before the park in both directions advertising a 9-6 rest stop, with food, drinks, toilets and the Lego Store would be a great idea for them.

[mission]

12 minutes ago, themagician said:

It would be the perfect place to stop and get a bite to eat, have a toilet break, and then let the kids play in the LEGO Store, and then maybe even buy something.

"Yes kids, we're at Dreamworld but we're not going in!"

There's no way I'd stop there with kids in the car if we weren't going into Dreamworld, lego store or not.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Only issue I see for marketing it that way is that anyone stopping in there to use it for that purpose (ie: like a service centre \ truck stop \ rest stop) isn't going to want to park halfway across the carpark and walk across a football field of cars.

service centres don't have a lot of carparking because their spaces are high turnover. most people don't 'dine in' as they're in a hurry to get going onto their destination - so at most, it's *run inside *toilet *order food *collect food *maybe fill the petrol tank (which Dreamworld cannot offer) and get going. You can find a parking space very near the entrance (within 1-2 rows or so - rarely more than 100 metres).

by 10am most days, you're walking double that or more to get to the lego store \ P&G. I think your suggestion misses the market. Sure there are people who would go to the park JUST to visit lego etc (ie - not enter Dreamworld itself) but unlikely to be roadtrippers needing a rest-stop.

[themagician]

4 minutes ago, mission said:

"Yes kids, we're at Dreamworld but we're not going in!"

There's no way I'd stop there with kids in the car if we weren't going into Dreamworld, lego store or not.

Yeah, but if you aren't coming to the GC and passing throughout, from anywhere, then it would be a nice place to stop, rather than a servo. And then stopping there may get people to visit the park another time, or on there return road trip back, which is what DW would want.

[Whombex]

8 minutes ago, themagician said:

Yeah, but if you aren't coming to the GC and passing throughout, from anywhere, then it would be a nice place to stop, rather than a servo. And then stopping there may get people to visit the park another time, or on there return road trip back, which is what DW would want.

Could be helped by having 2 rows of carparks closest to the P&G "1 hour only" zones.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

hehe. yeah. enforce that.

[Whombex]

57 minutes ago, AlexB said:

hehe. yeah. enforce that.

Won't need enforcing if there's enough spaces set aside.

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, Glubbo said:

Won't need enforcing if there's enough spaces set aside.

Except DW security are not the police so can't do anything about everyone in the park utilising those parks to be closer to the front entry 

[Reanimated35]

2 hours ago, AlexB said:

hehe. yeah. enforce that.

 

17 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Except DW security are not the police so can't do anything about everyone in the park utilising those parks to be closer to the front entry 

And yet there's still plenty of people who pay parking notices issued by private carparks. 

[pin142]

Ticketless paid parking? Long term in the main carpark free, short term closer to the area free two hours, pay for longer than 2 hours.

[Whombex]

21 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Except DW security are not the police so can't do anything about everyone in the park utilising those parks to be closer to the front entry 

I understand your pessimism. The lanes I'm thinking of would be the 6th or 7th as you drive in, almost as far along as the concrete footpath. This connects closer to the PnG, and is further from the main entry. Have a look at a Google Map to see what I mean.

3 minutes ago, pin142 said:

Ticketless paid parking? Long term in the main carpark free, short term closer to the area free two hours, pay for longer than 2 hours.

Great idea.

 

I guess this setup would work for the currently accessible shops, but if a precinct is made, another approach would be needed.

[joz]

Let's be real though the parking situation at Dreamworld is fine at the moment.  Also if they did have parking reserved for the grill why do they have to enforce it?  Just put up a sign saying it's reserved and if someone else parks there so what.

 

When it gets back to being full it really won't matter if the numbers for the grill drop off.  100% though I'd be advertising this as an alternative to all the other service centers and maybe even stay open till 7 and get that dinner/stuck on the M1 at 5pm rushh, or open early and see if they can get the tradies brekfast market for good measure.  

 

There's zero point having it open to outside guests if they don't advertise it.

[themagician]

Checked out the area today, looks very nice and open. Couple of people were being served when I was there and the food looked very nice. This is also now the exit from DW, and they've blocked the LEGO Store entrance from the park with one of the figures. But can be entered from inside the Parkway 

[themagician]

The vertical garden on the screen is looking much better now it’s grown

And additional seating and a new sign has been added outside