Dreamworld - 2017 "exciting" "experiences"

[themeparkaddict]

30/11/2017. *sigh*

[MickeyD]

It's great to see they appear to be throwing everything at salvaging Wipeout but now I'm starting to lose hope that we will ever see it return😢

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

oh it'll return alright... they won't go to the trouble of demolishing it so even if it is retired, it'll still sit there and slowly rot.

 

perhaps they'll build a red fence around it too?

[Rollercoaster_Lover]

1 hour ago, themeparkaddict said:

30/11/2017. *sigh*

It will reopen... there are probably parts that they need to completely remake in the Netherlands do we can loose hope, like they have 1 of the arms up and are reprinting the wave so we know ey are trying as hard as they can, they will not loose hope.

[Flynn_Smith]

I think it's dumb to think that it's not going to open. Why would they throw thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands at fixing a ride, if they are just going to give up and throw it away? It's going to open, just give it time.

[Brad2912]

Pretty sure there was a lot of work going on in and around SeaCorkViperScrew just before they announced it wouldn't reopen....

[Theme Park]

It will reopen.

They can't afford to lose the term big 9 thrill rides while that hypercoaster is open.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

28 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Pretty sure there was a lot of work going on in and around SeaCorkViperScrew just before they announced it wouldn't reopen....

Took the words right out of my mouth.

2 minutes ago, Theme Park said:

It will reopen.

They can't afford to lose the term big 9 thrill rides while that hypercoaster is open.

Honestly? you think those 9 will rival Rivals? (had to do that!)

Superman, Green Lantern, Rivals, Batwing, Arkham, Doomsday, (and if MDMC ranks as a big thrill, then...) SDSC and Wild West Falls. That's 8 rides that i'm comfortable saying shits on all but maybe 3 of DW's 'big 9'.

Honestly their current actions don't even come close to competing. I'm calling it - Movie World is the new thrill capital on the gold coast!

[Theme Park]

 

3 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Honestly? you think those 9 will rival Rivals? (had to do that!)

Superman, Green Lantern, Rivals, Batwing, Arkham, Doomsday, (and if MDMC ranks as a big thrill, then...) SDSC and Wild West Falls. That's 8 rides that i'm comfortable saying shits on all but maybe 3 of DW's 'big 9'.

Honestly their current actions don't even come close to competing. I'm calling it - Movie World is the new thrill capital on the gold coast!

I agree that movie world has better trill attractions than dreamworld but from a marketing standpoint they will be advertising to a no nothing member of the general public who will be thinking I could ride the new hypercoaster or I could ride 9 thrill rides at a park which has heavily discounted tickets.

[themeparkaddict]

And there goes another big thrill ride, which was supposed to reopen in 2 weeks. Honestly I'm starting to get quite frustrated with this theme park. Especially with the Wipeout, yes it will probably reopen, however they are just taking way too long to do it. It doesn't take them that long to reproduce components even if they are making them overseas. They just seem quite understaffed in their engineering department. They have way too much to do, and are just being very slow at completing everything. 

The Tail Spin, a ride from 2014, should not take three months to maintain.

I bet the TOT won't reopen anytime soon either, I am waiting for that to get pushed back also.

Edited September 28, 2017 by themeparkaddict

[AllegroCrab]

I really think that Dreamworld kinda has to go back to the drawing board as a park, there are signs that perhaps this is what they're already doing behind the scenes. Put simply, they're not going to be able to be anywhere close to rivaling Movie World in terms of thrills for quite some time and will have to focus on something different to get people through the gates for the time being. It does seem like something they're doing, which gives me hope.

(Keep in mind a lot of this is my own opinion on what makes rides fun/thrilling, so of course there's going to be subjectivity here.)

It's not just now because of DC Rivals that Dreamworld are behind on thrills, their lineup was inferior long before this. The only rides that stood above MW equivalents are the Claw and the Giant drop. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love these rides, but if I was given the choice between those two and MW's best thrill rides in Superman/Arkham, I'd have picked MW every time, maybe even just for Superman alone.

Although I will admit that I'm probably more scared on Buzzsaw than any other coaster in the country, it doesn't deliver on the fun side of things even when compared to something like Green Lantern. TOT is just not that good, maybe if the park was empty and I could get lots of repeat rides I'd have a good time with it, but whenever I've ridden it has been a long wait for a slow launch to put me halfway up a tower with a bit of floater air that I could get over and over again on the claw at the other side of the park which rarely has that long of a queue. Wipeout looks way more intimidating off ride than it feels on ride. There's not any real forces involved with it, it just lurches you backwards and forwards and sideways a bit, and sometimes you flip upside down. 

I could go on and on for every other ride but I'll save you the trauma.

Now that DC Rivals is here it has pretty much cemented my position on this, and with dreamworld as they are at the moment they're not going to be able to compete in the thrills market.

I really want dreamworld to be successful, and I'm happy to be quite patient with them. But they're not going to be able to survive as a legitimate rival to MW forever unless they step up their thrill ride game some time in the future. I totally get that the right thing for them to do now is go back to their roots as a park and get that all fixed before they can build anything massive.

Also, for the love of God, if they didn't spend the last decade building one trick pony cheap ride installments they'd probably have been able to build something incredible. I think once dreamworld starts to enter the rides market again they should really actually think about what they're building instead of seemingly picking any random pre built rides and placing them wherever there's empty space.

It's like they're playing RCT career mode, and just picking whatever cheap flat rides will only just get them to reach the scenario goals, instead of actually being imaginative and building something truly unique to dreamworld.

[yaark]

Went to Dreamworld yesterday and was disappointed with the amount of ride closures. Having said that, we still did not manage to get around the entire park. Last year in April when we made the journey up, with all rides operating including TRRR before the tragedy, we were able to do the entire park in a day. Not sure why it was so slow yesterday. We didn't get to cyclone, claw, buzzsaw, giant drop, vintage cars or the coroboree and animals area.

I find Dreamworld is a better park for the kids as there are much more rides they can go on. They are aged 11 and 8 and love motocoaster, kung fu panda soft style, shockwave, madagascar coaster and all the rides around dreamworks area. It definitely lacks for the older thrill crowd, especially with a lot of the rides currently out of action. Shockwave takes way too long due to the new harnesses all having to be individually fitted by a ride attendant.

At movie world, I was able to convince the kids to go on batwing and scooby doo, they enjoy justice league and road runner coaster but not really any other rides for their age group and most of the other kids rides don't interest them. They don't meet height requirements for the major coasters.

Edited September 28, 2017 by yaark

[Slick]

I'm kind of done with this "they can't compete with Rivals" chant that I keep hearing.

• Rivals will prove major capital expenditure is sustainable and now necessary to move forward in the industry.
• As for obtaining the appropriate funds to refocus their park, they could get it the same way Village did - by calling up the bank and getting a loan. I'm grossly over-simplifying here, but how else do you think they get the funds?
• As for the shareholders, deferring the Main Event rollout in the US and creating a vision for the future of Dreamworld would instil a lot of confidence in the board given how critical Ariadne have been this year
• Our tourism economy is only going to grow. The dollar will stay where it is until at least 2020 due to global politics & the fact that the mining boom has come and gone. We'll have more and more middle class Chinese, and if the park doesn't at the minimum match some of their local park's offerings back home, there's a chance tourist groups may pick Village's combination of AOS, PC, TG & MW as a higher-end overall prospect. The risk is low for investment right now and there's so much opportunity for the taking too.

You don't need to do compete head on with Rivals though to stay current:

• Since the Ardent board is so transfixed on Main Event, why not just bring one here? The amphitheatre / Blue Lagoon space is just so unbelievably perfect for a Main Event / Universal Citywalk-style gate to be built.
• Build an RMC - it's different, cheaper and unique enough to actually compete with Rivals head on by itself.
• Spend smarter. It doesn't cost much to put a steam train back in and put a bushranger show on it, and would convert so many naysayers onto the new vision of Dreamworld who have been cynical since Ardent purchased the park.
• Spend even smarter-er. Increasing revenue opportunities by investing in showstages/better AV etc. for daily shows and private events, investing in more unique merch are just two ideas.

[Theme Park]

Dreamworld needs to convert that zombie scare maze/laser tag building into a dark ride to replace thunder river rapids and build some big thrill ride like a gigacoaster or something unique like the nations first 4d coaster something that can one up movie world all while finishing up repairs on all their currently closed rides.

[Brad2912]

Yeah. Sure. 

[Reanimated35]

2 hours ago, Roachie said:

I'm kind of done with this "they can't compete with Rivals" chant that I keep hearing

What about "they can't compete with Rivals....in the immediate future"?

[Slick]

10 minutes ago, Reanimated35 said:

What about "they can't compete with Rivals....in the immediate future"?

Better.

[Theme Park]

3 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Yeah. Sure. 

I honestly don't think this will happen I was just trying to say this is what I would be doing I'm sorry that this was not made clear by me.

[Rollercoaster_Lover]

I think in around 2020 they will get there next coaster but not now, even if it's a S&S 4D Freespin or a RMC Raptor (or T. rex)

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

10 hours ago, Roachie said:

Better.

I think if thats your view, you've probably overanalysed what's being said.

Of course, in time, Dreamworld can compete - either at level or with a different target.

But currently as they stand, with the history of what they do and have done, and what they're currently doing, nothing compares or competes with Movie World, and I think that's whats being said - its a call for change, which is pretty much precisely what you've suggested - a change in tactics.

[pushbutton]

It's not a thrill park, it's a theme park. The theme is Dreams!

If they can get a few additional attractions (not necessarily just rides) that add to that theme, they'll be onto something!

[Gazza]

Does that mean the theme of Six Flags Magic Mountain is magic?

[pushbutton]

1 minute ago, Gazza said:

Does that mean the theme of Six Flags Magic Mountain is magic?

I've never been there, but I would certainly assume so.

[Gazza]

10 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

I've never been there, but I would certainly assume so.

Well not n

Not necessarily. Parks often use an emotive name, but that doesn't necessarily carry through to an overarching theme. 

Like how Luna Park isn't themed around the moon/lunar bodies despite the name.

Side question. How does the theming at Butlins compare to Dreamworld?

I remember you mentioned that Butlins is your favourite, so Im guessing it has really good theming and dark rides?

14 hours ago, Roachie said:

Better.

They will eventually build something to complete but it'll be Gerstlauer or Maurer.

[pushbutton]

10 minutes ago, Gazza said:

Well not n

Not necessarily. Parks often use an emotive name, but that doesn't necessarily carry through to an overarching theme. 

Like how Luna Park isn't themed around the moon/lunar bodies despite the name.

Side question. How does the theming at Butlins compare to Dreamworld?

I remember you mentioned that Butlins is your favourite, so Im guessing it has really good theming and dark rides?

Haha! Butlin's are not theme parks. They are massive holiday parks, which include indoor waterparks, and (admittedly fairly basic) funfairs, amongst many other attractions.

They are fantastic places for family holidays and entertainment, but they are definitely not theme parks by any means.

My favourite theme park in the world is Alton Towers. I suppose the name doesn't really give away a specific theme, except that there is an actual tower (as in ancient castle-like structure) within the park. The themeing is excellent, but is probably best described as mixed, in the same way Disneyland is, rather than one overaching theme for the whole park.

 

Yes, I do know that is what Dreamworld has too, just saying they should make much more use of the fact the park name provides an outstanding basis for future attractions to live up to!

Edited September 29, 2017 by pushbutton