Parkz News Ardent Leisure chairman outlines 2018 plans for Dreamworld

[Parkz News]

Ardent Leisure chairman outlines 2018 plans for Dreamworld

Dr Gary Weiss talks Dreamworld's plans for 2018 including the Commonwealth Games, Flying Theatre ride, DreamWorks Trolls Village attraction and redeveloping surplus land.

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[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Quote

it's at least a reminder that Ardent Leisure are investing in Dreamworld in 2018.

The cynic in me still looks at this statement with skepticism. I mean - we know trolls and the theatre are confirmed in the works, but with Trolls being a 12 month thing, its not a long standing investment in the park, and as has been referred to elsewhere on parkz - we don't know exactly how much of the theatre is actually coming out of dreamworld's pocket?

It sort of stinks of Sunway Leisure and Wonderland - minimal window dressing, as far as the trolls thing is concerned, and clearly the suggestions of brogent's contribution \ partnership, although not really something paralleled at Wonderland still has that 'outside contractor feel' to it.

Are they really investing? Or is it just window dressing?

[iwerks]

Why do I keep reading trolls as a verb?

[Richard]

On 2/19/2018 at 1:45 PM, AlexB said:

Are they really investing? Or is it just window dressing?

Nothing really new about that. This inane written-by-committee "opinion piece" fails to capture anything resembling actual commitment, let alone excitement or passion about the future of the park.

[RobMac]

OK, I accept 1) commercial realities are just that realities. 2) Weiss and partners a no fools, they are tried, tested and very successful investors. They are also, in the big scheme of things, very recent arrivals on the scene, so they deserve an opportunity to deliver.

If Ardent really wants to correct a lot of DW's past errors, it needs to set a 5yr plan to sort the basic theming of the park out, doable stuff, like improving many of the colour schemes on buildings, that seems in part to have happened, so fingers crossed. [I have personally not visited DW in some years, my last trip there was not inspiring].

Some BIG decisions need to be made if Dreamworld is to become "beautiful" again and beauty attracts people.

Short-term the attractions outlined are where they headed, longer-term, they know DW needs some serious capital investment.

Rationalisation/partnerships in surplus land development presents the opportunity to pull in the coin they will need to seriously grow the park. Ardent will need to ask itself first though, is DW really for them? They don't strike me as a particularly keen theme-park investor....never really have and to blunt, their track record is not exactly glowing - I'm simply talking here in the "ordinary course" of park operation and development! 

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by RobMac