Village theme parks extended trading hours

[iwerks]

^Yeah, was just at USS, where they did something similar. The park was due to open at 10 am and they let people in at 9.45. The Lost World was due to open at 11am, but we got there at 10.45 to see the rope drop for that area.

[Www worker 3.0]

5 hours ago, AlexB said:

Seriously now - are you still butt hurt about my discussion regarding the status of AW as (not) a theme park? My friend, we're going to have to disagree.

Calling someone a bully every time you don't like what they're saying is not a way to get on in life - and certainly with your advanced years, i'd have thought you would have learned that by now.

Consider Tim - who I figure is probably about half your age - and I can have quite robust discussions about AW, and still get along just fine - hence why my comment was in a line of conversation originating from his comments relating to AW and FF. Nothing was ever said to you - and yet here you are, white knighting again.

I don't currently have 'crew' status - not because I don't wish to contribute, but simply because every year it expires because I don't get reminders to renew it, and then I never get around to paying it again. I don't expect different treatment from Parkz just because I've contributed something financial to the running of the site. The benefits of crew membership are clearly outlined on the site - and neither I nor anyone else should expect any different. Regardless, I support Parkz, and its predecessors, for the work that they do, have done, and continue to do, and have done so for many years - and respect that in this privately operated site - their word is final.

There was robust discussions on these forums in the few weeks I was enjoying the holiday break, and clearly, I missed out on some fun to be had, as the discussions were removed, hidden, or censored. Clearly, these crossed a line so that the moderators felt action was required. I've been the subject of such censorship in the past, indeed when I crossed a line, and was immediately contacted by private message by the moderator \ Richard to explain the reasons why, to help me recognise where the line is, and for that, I appreciated it. I note this as this is the same action that Richard stated in response to the recent discussions that occurred.

On the other hand, I note that my comment above, which has apparently been taken the way it was intended by everyone but you, remains. This is a fairly good indication that no line has been crossed, and the butt hurt you are exhibiting is completely off-base and uncalled for.

If I have ever personally offended you directly by my words or actions, I apologise - but if you're going to continue to be offended any time I don't hold up your state or your local park to the highest standards - you really need to evaluate whats important in your life. State versus State rivalry is big in this country (or - at least on the east coast). WA are our poor western cousins frequently referred to as 3 hours (and 10 years) behind (and yes - even Tim has referred to WA in this manner).

Frankly, if you're lacking the competitive nature that drives one to pour shit on another state for their shortcomings, and to give as good as you get without calling for the PC Police to arrest someone for bullying and harassing you on the internet, that's...

That's just unAustralian.

Just say your   a west coast eagles fan.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

10 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

I remember Gold Rush at Wonderland didn’t open until an hour after the park opened from memory. Everyone used to be waiting next to the parachute drop (name escapes me at the moment) in the tunnel for the rope drop 

Skyhawk, and towards the end - the great balloon race.

Wonderland gates would open at 10am, and All rides would open at the same time - which would usually see people running around the lake to be the first to get to probe, demon, etc. HBL would open at 10, but you'd regularly see ride ops walking up the hill just after 10, and still beat the first guest into the area.

Goldrush always opened at 11, with the rides opening at the same time. Unlike the rest of the park, Security did walk the rope down the path, so guests usually wouldn't reach Bush Beast or Snowy until at least 11:05, and likewise, rides were still in their operator 'test cycle' as guests walked down the path - which actually gave the area some kinetic energy and encouraged people to stop at those rides instead of all piling onto beast and snowy.

[Jobe]

22 hours ago, T-bone said:

Iwerks, no one talks about the other parks because no one really seems to care and they aren’t big league enough when compared to the parks on the Gold Coast.

Sorry T-Bone I am going to have to disagree with you here.I have been on these boards since nearly inception and most know that my main points of  interest are the Luna Park's of Australia and the smaller Australian theme parks such as Jamberoo, Aussie World , Adventure World and the Victorian parks such as Fun Fields and Adventure Park. Sure I have a huge interest in the GC parks as well and recognise rightly that they are are the pinnacle of the amusement park industry in Australia, but I always gravitate to any threads regarding  our smaller burgeoning parks in the other states. My point is that I have shared my opinions and views on these parks over these many years and I have had (mostly) well rounded, intelligent discussions from members and posters that have certainly taken a fervent interest in these parks. This site is CALLED Parkz and as such encompasses ALL Australian amusement parks in the country as a whole. Its not called Gold Coast Parkz for a reason. Yeah sure the main thrust of the industry and the sheer scale of the parks on the GC mean that they attract the lion share of the focus on these boards but that is not meant to detract at all from the smaller parks within the Australian amusement park landscape.  To say that no one seems to really care about the other parks is just a massive incorrect statement , IMHO. @iwerks, @Tim Dasco , @19Michael96 and myself are certainly examples of regular and respected posters who's main point of focus are not solely aligned with the GC parks. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Jobe

[Vidgamer]

I feel Movieworld has dropped the ball on these entry opens. I am a local so I will return, but last week I went to Dreamworld and they opened at 9. At 8:45 they started letting people into the park, stopping them at the initial entry. At 9:00 the barriers came down and everyone was in. Today we went to Movieworld and they waited until 9:30 and opened the ticket window. After getting our onepass renewed we were then forced to queue at the very entry, right near the Movieworld entry until 9:40. Mind you, half of these people haven't had their bags checked, so it's a large security issue. At 9:40 they opened the initial entry, people flooded in and then entry was cut off to 10. I headed straight to Scooby, which had a "delayed entry". I understand Movieworld is busier than Dreamworld, but frankly the guest experience at Dreamworld was far better.

[Brad2912]

Well Dreamworld opens at 9 (currently) and MW at 9:30 (rides at 10) so not sure why you expected anything different? 

As for the “security issue” as only half the people had their bags checked... why is this a security issue? What % of bags are checked when you go to a shopping centre? The cinema? Theatre? Exhibition centre? Yep ... zero.

[Vidgamer]

Well I'm talking about the fact that there is such a concentration of people in such a small space, so from a fire exit perspective and security issue it is clearly a problem. 

I'm also not saying I was expecting different, merely commenting on the initial experience, from herded sheep to lots of space.

[Brad2912]

I don’t see any issue with fire exits or security on current procedures. 

Fire exits, measure and routes are all independently audited 

you mentioned a large security issue is not having every bag checked - I’m asking why you believe that 

[Vidgamer]

27 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

I don’t see any issue with fire exits or security on current procedures. 

Fire exits, measure and routes are all independently audited 

you mentioned a large security issue is not having every bag checked - I’m asking why you believe that 

What I meant was that half of the attendees weren't even at the security checkpoint yet. So it was quite a crowd. I don't believe Movieworld should check every bag, that's not feasible, I'm just explaining how I felt the experience was this morning and suggesting an earlier entry would have been a little smoother.

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

Movie world are bad at crowd flow management. Dreamworld are good at it.

[Www worker 3.0]

29 minutes ago, Gold Coast Amusement Force said:

Movie world are bad at crowd flow management. Dreamworld are good at it.

 

Not really its just the park layouts.

Dreamworld's is is a loop.

Movieworld is t-shaped with 2 dead ends.

Which would have better crowd flow and be easier to manage?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

12 hours ago, Lukevl said:

I don't believe Movieworld should check every bag, that's not feasible

There are many theme parks the world over who handle much bigger crowds than Movie World that are capable of checking every bag. Some even put people through metal detectors.

[pin142]

Comes back to other parks being able to handle crowds better than Movie World does. Park layout can't be used as an excuse for entry gate speed especially when bag checks are involved. Most US parks you pass through a metal detector and bag check then move on to ticket/pass scan. Two separate checkpoints with security being the slowest. Some parks have even looked at speeding it up by x-ray scanning bags.

[themagician]

MW and SW have slightly longer trading hours

 

[rappa]

I’ll never understand the open early rather than close later thing. 

[Levithian]

They open earlier AND close later at movieworld though. 

Park opens at 9am, closes at 6pm*. 

6pm is a loose figure as we all know, because they run out the queues, so it's more like 6:30 or maybe even later depending on how busy it is. I havent been during these holidays, but last christmas ones there was a 45 min queue just to get off the highway, let alone through the gates. So the earlier opening at both parks might help with the traffic, even if it sucks that you still get stuck at the ticket booths. 

Why does it take so long to process ticket purchases. 😫

Edited December 30, 2019 by Levithian

[Flynn_Smith]

38 minutes ago, Levithian said:

They open earlier AND close later at movieworld though. 

Park opens at 9am, closes at 6pm*. 

6pm is a loose figure as we all know, because they run out the queues, so it's more like 6:30 or maybe even later depending on how busy it is. I havent been during these holidays, but last christmas ones there was a 45 min queue just to get off the highway, let alone through the gates. So the earlier opening at both parks might help with the traffic, even if it sucks that you still get stuck at the ticket booths. 

Why does it take so long to process ticket purchases. 😫

Nowhere does it say the park is open until 6pm. Usually they close the queue lines depending on how long the line is in relation to when the parks close (at least that is what has happened every time i have visited).

[Brad2912]

Was there today. Park definitely closes at 5:30. Most lines closed between 5-5:15 from what I saw. 
 

also not sure where 6pm comes from 

[Levithian]

6 pm is the official park close time, its right there above. They dont close queue lines early to make the cutoff, they dont close the rides with people in the queues either. Running at peak times you could have a queue of 90 mins or more at superman, dc rivals, etc. So if you joined the line around 5pm you could still be waiting until after 6 before you even got on the ride. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Levithian

[Flynn_Smith]

5 minutes ago, Levithian said:

6 pm is the official park close time, its right there above. They dont close queue lines early to make the cutoff, they dont close the rides with people in the queues either. Running at peak times you could have a queue of 90 mins or more at superman, dc rivals, etc. So if you joined the line around 5pm you could still be waiting until after 6 before you even got on the ride. 

Mate, i’ve got no idea where you’re looking but there’s nowhere that says 6pm. As said above, they close the queues relative to the park closing time - so, for example, if the queue is 30 minutes long at 5pm, then the queue will close at around 5pm to get everyone out on time.

[mba2012]

Movie World only closes queues before closing time if there's a need to, such as a night time event. At other times, the queues remain open until the parks advertised closing time (5:30pm for the next few days). 

[Brad2912]

@Levithian nothing says 6pm. Where are you getting this from?? It’s 5-5:30pm depending on the day 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Brad2912

[rappa]

Yeah I read that chart about like 3 more times to see where I’ve missed it. 
It definitely says 5pm in every box. 

[Levithian]

Go to the park for extended trading right now and tell me im wrong, that rides arent still running after 5:30. Rivals was still doing loops last night when we went to wet and wild for the movie, it was well after 6.

They are advertising the rides are open to 5:30. That means if you walk up to a ride at 5:25pm youre going to be allowed into the queue. If the queue is full, its going to take maybe even 90 mins to clear with some of the crowds this time of year. 

If you go during non peak times, the same thing happens at 5pm. They run the queues out. If its a busy day you can still be riding at 5:30. 

Security give you time to loiter around a bit and start shuffling people out the park. It never closes at 5:30 during peak or 5pm any other time of the year. Busier it gets, longer the rides take to clear, longer the grace period. 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Levithian

[westical]

So where did 6pm come from?