Parkz News 'Actions speak louder than words': Dreamworld is still a decaying, unreliable theme park

[bjkaus]

and in the last few years movieworld has opened DC Rivals (an absolutly amazing coaster), the doomsday destroyer, rethemed scooby doo, opened hollywood stunt driver 2 and now has the aqua man exibition. heck, even paridise country had a flippin shawn the sheep show when i was there today.

 

I understand things are different at Dreamworld (due to the tragedy with TRR) but the average person doesnt care.

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

Are you serious? You’re acting like a half ass money grab refurb is major. Holly wood stunt driver 2 opened ages ago and it’s just a worse version of the original. And your giving credit to paradise country for having a Shaun the sheep show. Jeez. Dreamworld gets no credit for trolls village. Aquaman Exhibition. How about brickman Exhibition. If you are going to compare parks and degrade one, maybe at least try to include what one park has done instead of ignoring it. You actually said absolutely nothing about anything Dreamworld have added recently yet go on to talk about a Shaun the sheep show, a shit refurb and hwsd 2 which isn’t even new.

[bjkaus]

mate, do you work for dreamworld? jesus. seems like your too busy sucking on the teat of ardent to realise there are MAJOR issues at DW. A single ride will not close the gap between DW and there competitors. we know ardent has let DW slip badly in the last few years - even before the Thunder River Accident. 

what was the last ride dreamworld added before skyflyer? Buzzsaw? yeah they opened the Lego shop and had brickman, but in the same period of time MW has added DC rivals, Doomsday destroyer and a ton of other stuff as i said above.

 

when it comes down to laying down my money - which is not insignifigant for 4 annual passes - you have a choice of dreamworld and WW - where money is barely being spent (save $12 mill for a skyrider which my kids won't like anyway and i have no interest in)

 

or i could go village. where they have added a $30 million dollar, top class roller coaster at movieworld, they keep the theming constant and it feels like an experience whereas going to DW is like a bloody county fair. and this pains me. some of my fondest memories with both my late father and also my kids have been at DW. but comparing apples to oranges - the value is not there. 

[Jdude95]

Choose Village because they will bring in portable carnival rides and bastardise old attractions so they can make it seem like a brand new attraction? If Dreamworld brought in travelling rides, people would have crucified them. But because Village did it, it's fine. Oh wow, Village have the Aquaman exhibit, albeit after we've been begging for a new "attraction" for years. Dreamworld just finished their Lego Brickman exhibit which, as far as I can tell, was just a popular as the Aquaman exhibit is proving to be. This along with the Trolls Village, another temporary attraction that has drawn large crowds. Yes, the location may be a bit strange but if you're going to actually compare theme parks, maybe you should compare them on the merits they share, instead of just ignoring things to suit your argument.
Yes, Dreamworld is still far from perfect but the Village parks aren't exactly a pinnacle either. Speaking of "sucking the teat of companies" I'd recommend you detach yourself from Villages teat. Build a hypercoaster (even though it almost bankrupt them) and you can never make a bad move again, it seems...

[Rexillium]

7 hours ago, Jdude95 said:

Build a hypercoaster (even though it almost bankrupt them) and you can never make a bad move again, it seems... 

I would hope not, because that would mean Six flags or Cedar fair would be considered untouchable when yet I preferred going to Disney or universal by far when neither have such size coasters, only exceptions would be their flagship parks MM & CP imo.

 

[Richard]

Haven't they been resoundingly crucified for both SDSC and Sky Flyer?

The hypercoaster didn't come close to bankrupting anyone. The worst thing you can say about that investment is that it was unfortunately timed in the TRR fallout.

Last year's $38 million EBITDA was VRTP's lowest on record. It was about on par with Dreamworld's best year ever.

In absolute terms, VRTP's Gold Coast parks have outspent Dreamworld almost 5 to 1 since 2012. Adjust for attendance and they've still outspent them 2 to 1.

There's plenty to criticise about VRTP, but the idea that both operators are deserving of equal praise or criticism seems to come from a fairly vocal minority that gets hung up on tiny things and ignores the numbers.

[Jdude95]

I'm not saying DW are perfect or deserve to be held in the same regard as Village. Hell, I jumped on the bash DW wagon for a solid amount of time too. But it's just infuriating to see people instantly write off DW because they don't have a hypercoaster or because of stupid reasons like, they don't have any walkthrough attractions and village do. Ardent are only now pouring money back into their parks, so it really doesn't seem fair to compare a park that has had continued cash injection for the past few years to a park that is only now investing money. I'm not arguing that they deserve equal praise or criticism, I'm saying, if you're going to criticise or praise while comparing them, do it on the merits that they share, instead of comparing apples to oranges. That's like comparing Aussie World to Knotts Berry Farm, they are both lovely little parks, but the one with more money to throw is always going to win. That's when you'd start looking at the individual aspects that make up each theme park and start comparing those. Numbers are important from a business point of view but the general public doesn't care how much the park is making or how many people are going through the gate when deciding which park to visit.

[aaronm]

Ardent are investing to pretty up Dreamworld for a sale, that’s all. Their long term plan is for someone else to own the park so they can open more FECs in the US.

Village, at least, see the parks as part of their core business, and despite the occasional misstep have done a far better job of knowing when to refurbish and when to retire older attractions.

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

Why does everyone think they know for certain that ardent are waiting for a sale. @aaronm You do realise if they were to sell that it would almost defiently be completely demolished and used for property. So why would they invest in new rides heavily if they want to sell off the land.

[aaronm]

6 minutes ago, Gold Coast Amusement Force said:

Why does everyone think they know for certain that ardent are waiting for a sale. @aaronm You do realise if they were to sell that it would almost defiently be completely demolished and used for property. So why would they invest in new rides heavily if they want to sell off the land.

They’ve just restructured the company to make it more attractive to investors, and the chairman is talking openly about relocating the headquarters to the US. Short of actually announcing a buyer all of the signs point to a sale.

[Jdude95]

Yeah, Ardent are definitely selling down the track. But we can't just stop having an opinion on the park because their plan is to sell it? They are currently, actively investing in the park which is what matters since they have neglected the park for years. Also, when it comes to Village and the parks being their "core business", didn't Ardent just sell off everything but Main Event and the Theme Parks? As Main Event is a US based operations, that would mean their "core business" in Aus is... you guessed it, theme parks.

[aaronm]

6 hours ago, Jdude95 said:

They are currently, actively investing in the park which is what matters since they have neglected the park for years.

No argument here. The last few years of visiting Dreamworld have been a “which ride is open today?” lottery, alongside questionable additions like Trolls and the Brock museum. Adding non-standard, largely pointless additional restraints to Rocky Hollow, Shockwave and Buzzsaw suggest management don’t really know what they’re doing. Credit where it’s due - Tailspin and Tiger Island are very good - but the majority of the park’s changes in the last decade point to lack of a long-term plan. 

[Brad2912]

What pointless additional restraints were added to Buzzsaw? All I am aware of was a physical belt locking in the lap bar, which was instigated after a safety concern 

[Jdude95]

3 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

What pointless additional restraints were added to Buzzsaw? All I am aware of was a physical belt locking in the lap bar, which was instigated after a safety concern 

I too am curious about this, since when was another "pointless restrain" added?

[westical]

On 30/12/2018 at 12:51 AM, bjkaus said:

(save $12 mill for a skyrider which my kids won't like anyway and i have no interest in)

Why won’t they like it?

[aaronm]

4 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

What pointless additional restraints were added to Buzzsaw? All I am aware of was a physical belt locking in the lap bar, which was instigated after a safety concern 

Has the same belt been added to any other Maurer Skyloop? If not perhaps they are all deathtraps, alongside every log flume that lacks a perspex roof.

[bjkaus]

2 hours ago, westical said:

Why won’t they like it?

my oldest has an intellectual imparement and despite being a bit of a daredevil (she LOVES the storm coaster at seaworld) the size of the screen and matched movement would terrify her

[Brad2912]

So because the ride doesn’t suit your child, it’s irrelevant in the grand scheme of things as a DW asset? 

Sky Voyager* will be an attraction 95% of people will be capable of riding, and if they have executed it as promised, it will be well received by the majority of the market. 

DCR is the best ride on the coast by far, but it’s market demographic is much smaller than that of Sky Voyager*.

Both groups of parks have faults, and no one is doubting DW is well behind in the game, but Sky Voyager* is the best type of attraction for them right now - large target demographic, unique to the park, easy to market, no perceived risk factors. 

*yeah I had skyrider there first... 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Brad2912

[MickeyD]

Skyrider?  But isn't that the Sea world temporary Swingie Spinnie Chair ride thing?

[Brad2912]

Haha... true that. 

[Richard]

On 30/12/2018 at 5:36 PM, Jdude95 said:

Numbers are important from a business point of view but the general public doesn't care how much the park is making or how many people are going through the gate when deciding which park to visit.

People vote with their wallets. The point of looking at numbers is that they tell us what the general public is thinking. 

Dreamworld hasn't been a core business for Ardent for a long time. It remains in their portfolio because it's a lot harder to sell than a chain of bowling alleys or gyms and up until recently has been a reliable source of income.

Praising them simply for reinvestment is like praising your local supermarket for having stocked shelves. It's integral to the business model, so to me the interesting discussion is more about whether they're investing smartly.

20 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

but Sky Voyager* is the best type of attraction for them right now - large target demographic, unique to the park, easy to market, no perceived risk factors. 

I'd agree with some of these points -- unique and large target market in particular. I'd disagree that it's easy to market; it's an almost impossible concept to sell to the public and you'll see even Disney struggle with making them look good. These rides when done well are great for word of mouth, and there's no shortage of arguments for why that's not what Dreamworld needs right now.

[Jdude95]

Alright cool, I'll stop trying to say nice things about Dreamworld. Fuck Dreamworld, Ardent and everything they stand for. I wont defend or praise anything they do anymore. Better?

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

Parkz - endorsed by village roadshow theme parks.

[MickeyD]

Grow up kids. Your another year older now so stop quarreling and start acting your age!

You're right @Jdude95fuck Ardent. They really couldn't give a flying fuck about the well-being of DW or it's People anyway. Frankly, the sooner they piss off out of Australia, the better.

We can only hope there is enough of a Dreamworld Theme Park left to salvage for a future Owner that has vision and know-how in Theme Parks to at least give the place a chance and some kind of tomorrow that it probably deserves. 

[westical]

3 hours ago, Richard said:

These rides when done well are great for word of mouth, and there's no shortage of arguments for why that's not what Dreamworld needs right now.

Dreamworld doesn’t need positive word of mouth? I would have thought that’s exactly what it needs right now.