Current Sea World Thoughts (2018)

[T-bone]

On 5/2/2018 at 8:32 AM, AlexB said:

Was the Train operating in 2007 @T-bone? I thought it had stopped earlier than that.

I think 2008 is more like it, Parkz database suggests it closed for Jet Rescue construction, which would have been sometime in 2008 when it started, and indeed I have found a photo where a dirt path has been made over the rail line to accommodate the construction. Here is that photo. https://www.parkz.com.au/photo/2564-July_23rd_2008/gallery/sort/oldest/location/ride-433/offset/8

I have also found a photo with a 2006 date stamped on it with the train operating, so i'd suggest 2008 is probably when it closed. Also found mention of it closing in 2008 on an unrelated forum. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I know the construction of Jet Rescue was the nail in the coffin, but i seem to recall parkz updates that were pointing out it being mothballed for a time prior to the construction - i seem to recall photos of the carriages stored under the seal stadium and\or Corkscrew...?

[Gary86]

I made a quick visit to Sea World this afternoon, arrived after 3pm and Jet Rescue was a walk on. Rode it 3 times in a row. The Jet Rescue shop is gone now and only has fast photo points and free lockers. There are great animals to see but Sea World is no longer an all day park, unless you see all shows. But you will get board between shows.

[T-bone]

@AlexB, I do also remember seeing an update showing the carriages in the tunnel under the seal show, but have looked through all the updates and couldn't find anything. Operation of the train may have been sparodic before Jet Rescue came along, but I can't seem to find any evidence. @joz, do you recall?

Edited May 4, 2018 by T-bone

[MickeyD]

2 hours ago, Gary86 said:

I made a quick visit to Sea World this afternoon, arrived after 3pm and Jet Rescue was a walk on. Rode it 3 times in a row. The Jet Rescue shop is gone now and only has fast photo points and free lockers. There are great animals to see but Sea World is no longer an all day park, unless you see all shows. But you will get board between shows.

I visited briefly today too! It was a pretty hot day on the Coast and we popped by in the afternoon for a couple of hours, hoping to cool off on Storm, which unfortunately was closed. There was a crane on site and another construction vehicle but absolutely no sign of work activity around the ride.

Given the Park only currently has 1 other ride I think it's a pretty shit show unless absolutely every possible step is made to keep both rides open for Guests. I get that essential maintenance necessitates rides closed from time to time, but given the current situation at the Park it shines a light on just how unbalanced the variety is nowadays.

And wow is it Hot there! SW used to always be enjoyed as the cooler Park option but these days it feels less shady and with the absence of breezy attractions like Skyway and Water rides,  the air con within displays is about the only welcome relief. 

Some other observations..

* Absense of water fountains throughout the Park. MW has these (and chilled ones) everywhere.

* Park entry looking tired and run down. A coat of paint and general refresh would go along way here. IMO the whole entry needs a complete reconfiguring. It's a hot mess.

* Creatures of the Deep outdoor display remains about a third half remaining and frankly utterly pointless. There are signs of some sort of development going on toward the reclaimed area, but once you reach about as far as before the Lighthouse the area remains closed off right around to along the South of Dockside. One can only hope a new ride is in the works.

* Flume ride area sits snbo and is a pretty sad reminder of a park in better days. Not that VR was much, mind you. At least it was something more than a leaf filled Flume channel and the rest of the remaining ride, left to rot and for everyone to see.

* Ray Reef remains closed with no sign of activity. Again this just makes you think that very little effort is going into SW at the moment. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on this but my hunch is this attraction may have been suddenly shuttered for reasons of Public Liability? Hmm..

* New Kids water play area is obviously a smash hit with it's target demographic. As cute as it is, I just look at it and think wtf. Honestly. There are plenty of Resorts on the GC that have this kind of thing covered. Oh well, I guess it shows how simple things can give little ones a lot of joy.

* If they are going to close and refurb a ride right now, the Battle boats is looking pretty shit right now. Most Targets are not working and like with so much of the rest of SW needs some love.

* Don't even get me started on the Seal exhibit at the back. Many wouldn't even know it's there and frankly that's probably just as well.

Forget building a new Coaster or other single major new ride, this Park needs a masterplan with a megabucks rebuild and rebrand - now more than ever. A significant repurposing that starts from the front to the back and covers everything in between. Much like DW, most of SW's infrastructure is ageing faster than they can keep up. Just like DW, only a clear plan, vision and indeed the money to back it is what will work.

[MaxxTheMonster]

I "think" I saw another monorail sitting underneath the current track behind Dolphin Cove and Seal Harbour walking past today...  Anyone know how long that has been sitting there?

[pushbutton]

That's probably just the second monorail, which is always there when it's not being used. 

It doesn't sound like anything new. 

[T-bone]

I believe they used to have 3 monorail trains, if that’s correct, the 3rd was probably scrapped to keep the others running.

[joz]

What Paul said.

[flipst3r]

Maybe Sea World could become a monorail museum for all the world's abandoned monorails?

 

 

[MickeyD]

18 hours ago, MaxxTheMonster said:

I "think" I saw another monorail sitting underneath the current track behind Dolphin Cove and Seal Harbour walking past today...  Anyone know how long that has been sitting there?

Next time I visit I will take some pics of the 2nd monorail.  Push would be outraged to see it's basically being used storage nowadays; piled up with tables, chairs and other junk. 

Probably an easy way to get junk transported from the front to the back and vice versa.

Judging by the discoloration and dust inside the cabin, this Monorail has not been in service for some time.

 

[pushbutton]

3 hours ago, MickeyD said:

Next time I visit I will take some pics of the 2nd monorail.  Push would be outraged to see it's basically being used storage nowadays; piled up with tables, chairs and other junk. 

Probably an easy way to get junk transported from the front to the back and vice versa.

Judging by the discoloration and dust inside the cabin, this Monorail has not been in service for some time.

 

Does that mean only one monorail is in use now? I saw two last time I was there, but i was a few months ago.

[joz]

There were 3, now there are 2. The 3rd is on the back road.

[pushbutton]

5 minutes ago, joz said:

There were 3, now there are 2. The 3rd is on the back road.

That's what I thought. 

[pushbutton]

Saw the Seal Guardians show for the first time today. Thought I should see it for myself before judging. 

I have to say it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Mildly amusing, and does serve as a valuable but not too boring educational tool too, mainly for kids (although I'm sure they get more than enough of the same message at school).

The guy getting wet at the end drew quite a few laughs, but the idiotic moron was playing with his phone and it did get wet (exactly like the scenario I've read about on this forum previously).

As you may be able to guess, I have no sympathy with people who are so adicted to their phones they even use them when they're participating in a show at a theme park right next to a lake. 

Nevertheless he was obviously very upset and this is the second time I've heard of this happening, and almost certainly it's happened more than twice I'd guess. I think they should probably just quietly ask the volunteer who is going to get wet to not use their phone. To me it's obvious and shouldn't need to be said, but it clearly does.

Edited May 16, 2018 by pushbutton

[T-bone]

Is this guy who gets wet perhaps a plant actor? What’s the context of the weapon of mass wettness?

[pushbutton]

The guy stands directly under a large water pipe and does something  (not sure what) for at least 5 minutes. 

The pipe should be a very good clue that he might get wet.

If a plant I'm not sure why he'd play with his phone. Afterwards he was escorted out of the stadium by two staff, presumably advising him to go to guest services about his phone I suppose.

Could be a plant though maybe. If I see or hear about the same thing happening again, probably a plant. That would actually be quite good! 

[themagician]

I reckon this is a plant because ive seen footage of how much water is poured down onto the person, and I doubt the park would want a guest to get that soaked through volunteering for something. I don't even think you get that wet on the storm coaster. And I doubt someone would go on their phone while in front of the crowd for something like this and coincidentally full their phone out just as the water is poured down.

[MickeyD]

In other news..

The Oxford Dictionary is preparing to remove the word ‘gullible’ from its next edition after a committee agreed that the term may cause offence to some people.

In an effort to ‘clean up’ the Oxford Dictionary, the word ‘gullible’ will no longer be defined within its pages. The committee hopes this will cause the word to die out.

[GoGoBoy]

VRTP have always excelled at making an audience plant convincingly seem like an actual audience member. I recall back to Police Academy Stunt Show days and the amount of people who believed, pretty much right to the end, that Rodney was just a normal guest.

Edited May 16, 2018 by GoGoBoy

[red dragin]

As a kid I thought Rodney was real. It was only on my second visit it became clear as it was a different person in that same horrible outfit!

I was only ten on my first visit, which would have been during opening year. 

[joz]

Rodney was done brilliantly. It was a funny interaction from the start that just got more and more silly as it went on so everyone got it at their own pace. Shooting him over the set might well be about the funniest bit of any theme park show ever.

 

On the other hand Seal Guardians for me its not worth having a plant. 'He got wet' just isn't really that funny. Apparently Sea World agree because they've now 'plussed' the joke by having him on his phone and then get upset. That's not funny, that's just mean. I don't understand who thinks guests want to see other guests treated badly?

 

As a show it does fall short on almost every level. The message is so simplistic and in your face that you just want to kick over the next recycling bin you see. The screen character is a total waste of effort and seems to be there to appeal to people who like educational software on their iPads. The show uses outdated internet language to try and appeal to the kids which falls flat because that's not how kids talk anymore so it just come across awkward.

 

The plot is weak as piss. "There is rubbish floating towards the station and we need to fix it". OK, so the show requires you to suspend your disbelief and pretend you're looking at a research station. I can do that. The show requires you to suspend your disbelief and pretend you're in the open ocean. OK fine, I can just about manage that. The show requires you to suspend your disbelief that there is a wall of pollution floating towards you. Yeah no can do. I think anyone above the age of 5 will struggle there.

 

The humor much like the rest of the show skews far too young. In the past these shows have been for the whole family, this show is for pre-schoolers. If they want an educational show or a show with a message they'd have something more engaging if they did a straight up educational seal presentation with a few jokes. Seal Guardians is a waste of space and needs a complete redo.

[New display name]

@joz They could fix the show by serving alcohol similar to a ball game.  How nice would it be to sit in the stand with a cold one in hand? 

[rac2703]

19 hours ago, themagician said:

I reckon this is a plant because ive seen footage of how much water is poured down onto the person, and I doubt the park would want a guest to get that soaked through volunteering for something. I don't even think you get that wet on the storm coaster. And I doubt someone would go on their phone while in front of the crowd for something like this and coincidentally full their phone out just as the water is poured down.

Yes, they are definitely plants.

Back when they had the “sneak peek” of rehearsals for the show,  whilst waiting to see it for the first time, I saw a staff member whom I recognised from earlier in the day at the Mermaid show in Shark Bay. He walked into a backstage area in uniform and came out a little while later with a couple of other staff members,  however we was now in plain clothes.

He Spoke with the other staff before they left and went into the show stadium whilst he waited outside like all the other park guests. I figured he just may have finished his shift and was wanting to see the show?

Anyway he ended up being the one chosen as a volunteer, so I figured some sort of gag would occur, I initially thought he may fall in the water (like the plant did at the seal show at Underwater World/SeaLife).

I did see him again later in the day back in uniform near the park entrance. 

[pushbutton]

Well that confirms it then. As I said earlier, a great idea (even if not original).