Wipeout is closed for good (retired)

[Jobe]

  On 08/03/2019 at 7:28 AM, Archer said:

When I posted the above 2 days ago I was questioned about it as if I was making it up.

 

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Yep. That was me. We hear so much shit on these boards that every unsubstantiated claim must be taken with a grain of salt. Especially since you trotted out that old chestnut " a ride op told me so it must be true"

You had no previous history on the boards- I dont know you from a bar of soap. So I approached your news with caution. You were right in your claim. Good for you. However,I was not wrong in being sceptical and if someone else had made that claim whom did not really have a presence or prior standing on the board, I would do the same.  It was nothing personal.

  On 08/03/2019 at 7:33 AM, joz said:

Same thing will happen soon with Cyclone, Tot, and Buzzsaw.

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To be fair Joz, Buzzsaw really isnt all that old........unless you include it as a result of being an unreliable ride?

[Baconjack]

  On 08/03/2019 at 12:20 PM, Jobe said:

To be fair Joz, Buzzsaw really isnt all that old........unless you include it as a result of being an unreliable ride?

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Buzzsaw has been Dreamworld's biggest nightmare in terms of maintenance. Matter of fact, it was down for nearly a year. I'm definitely seeing Dreamworld throwing in the towl, and pulling the plug on Buzzsaw next time it goes down for major maintenance, because soon enough they won't be able to afford repairing it.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Baconjack

[ads086]

Pretty sure Wipeout was in fact a Vekoma Waikiki Wave, not a Top Spin.

 

Also, sitting areas are supposed to be a selling feature on realestate.com.au right? We’ll have a deck installed soon at this rate. Any thoughts on where you might situate a library? Tiger Island is probably a good tranquil spot for a drawing room...

[Thrill Seeker]

@ads086 is correct it’s a vekoma

If you are watching Dreamworld inbox me. AU$5.00 cash for the wipeout.

[-nick.white.1543]

  On 08/03/2019 at 11:48 AM, Baconjack said:

Well I guess my Big 9 shirt is now a museum relic.

Too cheap to make new Big 8 shirts without Wipeout?

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Or is it hinting that more of the Big 9 are set to close soon....

[Slick]

From this Parkz article at the end of 2017, Craig Davidson said:

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Wipeout, the park's other major ride closure, is awaiting the replacement of some major components, though Mr Davidson insists that there is about ten years left in this ride once all the work is complete.

"We made the decision that [Wipeout and the Mine Ride] are worthwhile having. They're part of our history and they'll effectively be brand new."

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I'm not going to take Craig's word as gospel - he thought Mine Ride was salvageable despite the Parkz mods team working really hard on founding a history and timeline that showed there was 40+ year old wood holding up the structure. Yikes.

What I will note here though is that the perspective change is interesting - in 2017 Craig was about creating a long term vision, in 2019 John's all about ripping the copper out of the walls. As others have said - Dreamworld's long term future ultimately never included WipeOut, and if you want to be seen as a safe park it definitely needed to go. But with that being said, there's two things that bug me.

1. No proper send-off? US/EU parks do it. They love engaging with their enthusiast base with stuff like that because it generates great brand loyalty & equity. I guess I find it strange that the "world leaders in safety who set the benchmark for all theme park safety" had to suddenly decommission an entire ride with no warning. It says two different things to consumers.
2. No-one asked for a chill zone. Are you kidding me? There are shaded areas literally less than a ten second walk from the front of Wipeout's entrance. It's such a contemptuous for your customers if they think that's going stick.

Meanwhile - Sky Voyager remains closed due to safety oversights (which puts it at 76 days since it's original opening date) and there's nothing new in the pipeline for 2019.

Here's where my head's at - the park has no true, viable plan for Gold Rush or the Thunderbolt site (and no money for either) and clearly got caught out with no plan for Wipeout. If "actions speak louder than words" then we should all be worried of things to come.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Slick

[pushbutton]

Not only should a park know years in advance when each ride will have to close, but with proper planning they should also know years in advance what new ride will be replacing it. 

When the time comes for a ride to be removed, the park should not only know what will replace it, but have the funding ready and the contracts signed to get work underway immediately. 

Of course, the exception to this would be when a ride has to close prematurely and unexpectedly. But that's a rare event.

What you definitely DON'T want to do is just blindly keep on running a ride until it can't be cost effectively maintained anymore.

That would be extremely poor management!

[Baconjack]

  On 08/03/2019 at 11:56 PM, Slick said:

 

1. No proper send-off? US/EU parks do it. They love engaging with their enthusiast base with stuff like that because it generates great brand loyalty & equity. I guess I find it strange that the "world leaders in safety who set the benchmark for all theme park safety" had to suddenly decommission an entire ride with no warning. It says two different things to consumers.
2. No-one asked for a chill zone. Are you kidding me? There are shaded areas literally less than a ten second walk from the front of Wipeout's entrance. It's such a contemptuous for your customers if they think that's going stick.

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VRTP are known to do the same thing. Bermuda, Corkscrew, Vikings, Batman 2, and LTRR are examples. In fact, virtually all Australian theme parks adopt this practice. What most parks seem to lack is a long term solution to replace older attractions. They just go about doing it at the spur of the moment if something comes up, then order a replacement that opens 2-3 years after. Stuff like that should be a rare occurrence, not the general rule of thumb. 

Simple planning that makes a lot of difference to customers. Obviously among our folk we have a reasonably clear idea when some rides are going to meet their end. But normal people don't. VRTP are most certainly capable of having a general idea of what rides should be replaced and when.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Baconjack

[Brad2912]

To be fair, BA:TR & LTRR were replaced by rides that were planned to replace them. Whilst the consensus may not be that they were great choices, it was a plan. 

[joz]

I read the statement from Dreamworld again; 'What were you doing in 1993?'

 

I wonder if anyone remembers what DW was doing in 1993? I'll give you a run down; in the years leading up to 1993 DW was sold to a new owner. The new owner siphoned money away from Dreamworld to fund other things (mostly a lavish lifestyle and fast cars for the owner). By the early 90s the place was on the verge of going under due to lack of investment and mismanagement. In a bid to save the park, a new ambitious ride was installed; Wipeout. That ride captured the public's imagination in a big way, and almost single handedly saved DW from closing.

 

Twenty five years later with Wipeout closing, DW staring down both barrels and DW themselves asking 'what were you doing in 93', wouldn't it be nice if someone at Ardent reflected with 'DW were saving a failing park by adding a bold new ride. Maybe we should do that again'

Edited March 9, 2019 by joz

[Slick]

  On 09/03/2019 at 2:34 AM, joz said:

I read the statement from Dreamworld again; 'What were you doing in 1993?'

 

I wonder if anyone remember what DW was doing in 1993? I'll give you a run down; in the years leading up to 1993 DW was sold to a new owner. The new owner siphoned money away from Dreamworld to fund other things (mostly a lavish lifestyle and fast cars for the owner). By the early 90s the place was on the verge of going under due to lack of investment and mismanagement. In a bid to save the park, a new ambitious ride was installed; Wipeout. That ride captured the public's imagination in a big way, and almost single handedly saved DW from closing.

 

Twenty five years later with Wipeout closing, DW staring down both barrels and DW themselves asking 'what were you doing in 93', wouldn't it be nice if someone at Ardent reflected with 'DW were saving a failing park by adding a bold new ride. Maybe we should do that again'

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Fair to say Ardent's in denial about how dire Dreamworld's future is because admitting this fundamental truth damages any realistic ability to sell Dreamworld at the price they're chasing (which is 100% the end-game now).

"Capex-light" as John Osborne termed simply won't work. If Village build literally anything remotely exciting in the next 24 months, it'll re-affirm to customers that they should only hand their money over to the parks that are going to consistently turn that cash into new and exciting things. For Dreamworld to be resting on their laurels, developing "chill-zones" and not spending the money on what customers are demanding to have (here's a hint, it's a big thrill ride) is going to only hurt the business further.

Let's not forget most lead-in times are around 18 months, so even if they dropped 20-million on a ride to save the park, it's already too late.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Slick

[Baconjack]

I've had a look at Facebook posts regarding Wipeout closing. The GP are absolutely taking the piss out of DW/Ardent so I'll share a few of the best comments with you:

Obviously most of these people don't have the knowledge of us enthusiasts but it shows how this move being criticized isn't restricted to Parkz.

[Ryno]

I've said it before. Dreamworld are doomed. Wipeout "was" my favourite ride at Dreamworld.  Im not saying it wasn't at the end of its life cycle but to replace it with nothing shows what little foresight and iniative the owners have. Skyvoyager continues to be delayed. Housing estate for Dreamworld come 2025.

[Archer]

[19Michael96]

At this point I would say to completely knock down Dreamworld as it is and start all over again from scratch. I'm only partly joking when I say that.

[Brad2912]

  On 09/03/2019 at 12:26 PM, 19Michael96 said:

At this point I would say to completely knock down Dreamworld as it is and start all over again from scratch. I'm only partly joking when I say that.

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Not a single theme park operator or even a billionaire with cash to burn with consider doing that though, the value is in the land. If it’s being levelled, it’s to put 2000 homes on it, not rebuild a theme park 

[19Michael96]

  On 09/03/2019 at 12:40 PM, Brad2912 said:

Not a single theme park operator or even a billionaire with cash to burn with consider doing that though, the value is in the land. If it’s being levelled, it’s to put 2000 homes on it, not rebuild a theme park 

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I know that's why I wasn't being fully serious. But a part of me is just so fed up with the bullshit, I just don't know how to fix it.

[Jamberoo Fan]

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Dreamworld has decided to convert the area currently occupied by WipeOut into a ‘chill space’ featuring shading and seating.

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I understand people's disappointment in this announcement but whilst I think it's unlikely Ardent would do this, it would be cool if they let WipeOut's giant wave stay, get the water features on it working again and convert the pool where the shark was into the 'chill space' but with a circular water feature surrounding it featuring fountains (similar to the ones that shot up during the ride's cycle but on a smaller scale) and small cascades coming from the bottom of the wave and going around either side of the 'chill space' before disappearing underneath the footpath to enter the 'chill space' where the water would be cycled back up to the wave.

A nice tribute to WipeOut & a great place to relax and cool during summer.

But I feel Ardent would wipeout WipeOut 😜completely and just put a couple of umbrellas, chairs & tables there with some artificial lawn.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Jamberoo Fan

[New display name]

Watching some news and eating my chicken wings on Saturday night and who do you think jumped on my T.V. to torment me? The one and only @Jdude95

I do have to say; all my training has paid off and @Jdude95 carried himself very well.  Now all we need is a cure for his post-nasal drip.😊

 

 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Skeeta

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

  On 08/03/2019 at 11:32 AM, Mc coaster said:

It has now been removed from the website as well as any references to the big 9.😢

 

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They just need to remove the 'big 9' billboard they've got facing the southbound motorway at the back of WWW.

  On 08/03/2019 at 11:56 PM, Slick said:

despite the Parkz mods team working really hard on founding a history and timeline that showed there was 40+ year old wood holding up the structure. Yikes.

 

1. No proper send-off? US/EU parks do it. They love engaging with their enthusiast base with stuff like that because it generates great brand loyalty & equity. I guess I find it strange that the "world leaders in safety who set the benchmark for all theme park safety" had to suddenly decommission an entire ride with no warning. It says two different things to consumers.

 

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Surely around the world there are wooden structures with timber older than 40 years though... the age of the wood isn't in and of itself a 'yikes' now, is it? Wouldn't it be more the condition of that timber? (which granted, at Dreamworld, probably is worth Yikesing)

As for a send off - if the ride was in an operable state, and was safe to operate, sure - let it run for another few weeks or whatever - but would you be advocating a send off if the park had found an unsafe condition within the mechanics of the ride? no. of course not. This is of course the difference between a planned replacement ride process that US\EU parks have, and a 'oh shit, its busted up good, better not run it anymore' that our parks have - including things like Sea Viper.

  On 09/03/2019 at 12:22 AM, pushbutton said:

Not only should a park know years in advance when each ride will have to close, but with proper planning they should also know years in advance what new ride will be replacing it.

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Even parks that do run structured replacement and lifecycle programs, the unexpected does occur. As Slick mentioned - two years ago the CEO was talking about the ride lasting for years more - clearly, this took them by surprise. It shouldn't have, but clearly it did.

  On 09/03/2019 at 1:40 AM, Brad2912 said:

To be fair, BA:TR & LTRR were replaced by rides that were planned to replace them. Whilst the consensus may not be that they were great choices, it was a plan. 

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LTRR wasn't directly replaced by JDS though. The warehouse was gutted and spent at least a full year as storage space, and even played host to their lot sale that year (i've been in the space to pick things up from that sale\auction while it was a giant empty warehouse, full of christmas decorations and parade floats)

  On 09/03/2019 at 3:05 AM, Slick said:

Let's not forget most lead-in times are around 18 months, so even if they dropped 20-million on a ride to save the park, it's already too late.

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You could just get a carnival operator to drop a trailer based ride into the park for a year or two though...?

[New display name]

  On 10/03/2019 at 11:08 PM, AlexB said:

two years ago the CEO was talking about the ride lasting for years more - clearly, this took them by surprise. It shouldn't have, but clearly it did.

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Two years ago, DW had a different CEO with a different plan.  The new CEO's plan was to remove it by the end of the year.  The sudden announcement indicates to me, during maintenance DW thought it wasn't worth spending the money that was required to keep it going for another 6 months.

  On 05/03/2019 at 1:43 AM, Skeeta said:

Wipeout = 👴🏼                                (not long for this world)

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  On 06/03/2019 at 10:52 AM, Archer said:

The Wipeout will be permanently removed before the end of this year and Dreamworld

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  On 07/03/2019 at 4:39 PM, Evie said:

@Archer is correct regarding Wipeout, last I heard it was being decommissioned.

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  On 10/03/2019 at 11:08 PM, AlexB said:

Even parks that do run structured replacement and lifecycle programs,

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With DW knowing the Wipeout was "not long for this world" the structured replacement and lifecycle program is the shaded seating.

( @AlexBmissing 3 days on Parkz is like missing a lifetime of information)

Edited March 10, 2019 by Skeeta

[themagician]

The gondola arms have already been removed 

[Max Egan]

Any photos @themagician

[themagician]

Nope, just imagine Wipeout without the gondola and arms but still with the arm structure/supports installed 

[pushbutton]

  On 16/03/2019 at 8:33 AM, Max Egan said:

Any photos @themagician

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Edited March 16, 2019 by pushbutton