How to fix Dreamworld

[Themeparkfan]

Say ardent decided to sell Dreamworld and you had the money to buy it  how would you go about fixing it?  Me personally id first to a safety audit of all the rides  I’d heavily market the nostalgia of Dreamworld bring back an updated one day holiday jingle repair the steam train and get another  on loan from a steam museum  chuck out the tractor on wheels invest in a well themed moderate family thrill coaster possibly a wooden or rmc in the old gold rush area  bring back the paddle steamer and stunt show bring roaming themed entertainment to the park  like they used to, invest in a  Kenny koala /Belinda brown /cooee the gumnut fairy cartoon short for television

remove and replace poorly themed attractions that are close to the end or their shelf life replace the  log ride with a new log flume system from Mack or intamin  with all the mordern safety features focus on quality theming throughout the park once you are in profit again reinvest those profits back into the park instead of using it to fund other ventures overseas  and the start complaining why their share price is dropping and cutting dreamworlds future investments like ardent has

[Prequel]

I don't have the slightest clue on Ardent's and Dreamworld's financial status. But removing and replacing rides is very expensive, so it'd be a slow process. I think just need a big attraction for the thrill seekers, there is no reason to go to Dreamworld these days, the rides aren't bad but they've been there for so long they don't interest the public.
But i like the idea of the nostalgic marketing, it would be a good move.

[Brad2912]

If I had the money to buy Dreamworld from Ardent, I would do the exact same thing anyone interested in buying Dreamworld from Ardent would do - level it, develop and sell the land for probably near on half a billion dollars (if not more)...

[Archer]

38 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

If I had the money to buy Dreamworld from Ardent, I would do the exact same thing anyone interested in buying Dreamworld from Ardent would do - level it, develop and sell the land for probably near on half a billion dollars (if not more)...

That’s exactly what I would do. Only way to make money.

[joz]

Without getting into too much fan fiction, my plan would be basically this;

 

MUCH cheaper tickets. DW can't compete with the others on price right now, and having high tickets just means an empty park. DW needs people in the park for atmosphere.

 

Secondly, make a list of what needs to go, and make replacement plans. Once the plans are somewhat settled, advertise the last day of operations for whatever it is you're closing. On the last day announce what the replacements are to be, complete with concept art both in park and to the media. Build hype for the future.

 

Plans should include at least 1 new awesome top of the range coaster.

[Gold Coast Amusement Force]

If ardent invest and it goes wrong, they can sell the land and will make there money back plus more. So I don’t understand why they can’t just invest in the park right now knowing if they fail, they’ve got plan b.

[Brad2912]

52 minutes ago, Gold Coast Amusement Force said:

If ardent invest and it goes wrong, they can sell the land and will make there money back plus more. So I don’t understand why they can’t just invest in the park right now knowing if they fail, they’ve got plan b.

Because they have another business, Main Event, that has strong expansion plans so the money they do have is being Invested in the profitable arm of their business that has the biggest returns and most potential. 

Ardent is a publicly listed company, shareholders don’t tend to react kindly to “well if we blow tens of millions of dollars and it doesn’t work, it will be all good we have a plan b”

[Max Egan]

Dreamworld need a restoration team to go in and clean all the mould on attractions 

[Brad2912]

23 minutes ago, Max Egan said:

Dreamworld need a restoration team to go in and clean all the mould on attractions 

Mould on attractions? Which attractions are growing mould on them? They can’t even get the mechanical side right in terms of maintenance at the moment, and you want cosmetic restorations? 

[DJKostya]

So pie in the sky, but here's what I would do. Keep in mind this is at LEAST a 5+ year plan.

Shut the place down for 6 months (Winter months) and do a complete clean up. Paint attractions, tidy up/install more gardens, full safety audits, remove covers from RHLR etc.

Throughout this process making sure that staff are well trained, the park is well kept and the park is well maintained.

Moving forward here are the projects I would look at putting in place:

1. Bring back the paddle steamer, including cleaning up the river.

2. Review and extend the railway including more stops (i.e. potentially bringing the line down past Buzzsaw, perhaps in the old Wipeout space, WWW entrance, Tiger Island, Wiggles World etc.) and bringing back the steam engines.

3. Upgrade ToT, they should have done it when they had the chance.

4. Complete retheme of Gold Rush, Buzzsaw has a decent back story so somehow incorporate that into the new theme. New area including 2 new flat rides, perhaps a suspended Top Spin to replace Wipeout, but with heavy themeing and perhaps something a bit more family friendly like a good haunted house style attraction similar to Disney. The as the centrepiece of the new area a woodie that can run along the back of RHLR.

5. Remove MDMC and build either a Hyper that utilises the island in the middle of the river (Think EuroDisney BTRR by going under the water). Alternatively using the same space a B&M Dive Coaster.

6. Remove HWSW and replace with something new from RMC or even S&S (Steel Curtain at Kenneywood looks like it is going to be awesome!)

7. Next up is the old Thunderbolt site. New world for Dreamworld. Centrepiece is perhaps an RMC Raptor. It's close to WWW so lets try and fit some sort of boat splashdown dark ride in the area (Think Jurassic Park at Universal), who doesn't love getting wet on a hot day! Only because it was also mentioned recently on Parkz why not also look at a Freefall Drop Tower. So looking at themeing for the area i'm going with the Lost Mine (Freefall could be themed as an oil tower, boatsplash as the mine is flooded, Raptor is runaway mine etc.).

That's at least some sort of plan. Sure it would cost quite a lot to implement but as the saying goes you have to spend money to make money. Dreamworld sorely needs new attractions to bring people into the park and in general needs a really good tidy up.

Yes I also realise I have completely forgotten WWW. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by DJKostya
Yea I forgot WWW

[Brad2912]

Good ideas, but you’re looking at probably a $200m+ investment (not to mention paying hundreds of staff not to work while you close the park for 6 months - if they are FT or PT you still have to pay them, and you’ve got no income). 

At that cost they may as well bulldoze half the place and start again.. 

unfortunately no one in the world would consider dropping that much money into a park struggling to pull in a couple of thousand people a day. 

[DJKostya]

7 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Good ideas, but you’re looking at probably a $200m+ investment

That's why I said, Pie in the sky

[pushbutton]

I'd firstly engage very well qualified and experienced people to work on a long term strategy for the park. I don't know what exactly that would be, but as the owner I would specify the things below, and consult on the rest which would need my approval. 

That might take a year. Then I'd close the park for 18 - 24 months for major redevelopment. 

Upon reopening, it would have a new name, and a new coherent theme. 

The animals might still be there, as might the waterpark, depending on the outcome of the long term strategy. 

As much as I loved the idea of SkyVoyager, I believe it's now very much tainted with negative perception of its safety. I might rebuild it in a new location and new building, again only if it fits the new theme and plan for the park.

The new park would NOT have any of the land sold off (if it's not already too late), and would make full use of all the land (but that doesn't mean it would be overcrowded, or that there wouldn't be any open space within the park. 

As much as I like the Disneyland copy entrance, it would all be removed and replaced to make it obvious from guests arrival that it's not Dreamworld anymore, but a completely new park!

There would be a themed hotel giving guests the ability to have a holiday at the park, a bit like the one at Sea World, but themed as I said, and more luxurious. 

There would be a range of very good quality, unique, but affordable family restaurants in suitable locations throughout the park.

There would be very high quality, unique entertainment both in "street theatre" style, and in one or more purpose built venues, and this entertainment would be refreshed frequently. 

The park would include a wide range of rides, all very well themed and immersive, and none similar to rides already at other Gold Coast parks.

Pricing would be competitive with Village, but would start considerably cheaper to help get people to come back and give the new park a try.

Edited March 23, 2019 by pushbutton

[Prequel]

All these ideas sound good and all, but closing the park down for anything more than 3 months, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on completely changing the park, and then changing the name sounds like a fantasy. Yes the Dreamworld name has some dirt on it since the unfortunate event, but it also holds nostalgic value.
The only thing i think Dreamworld needs is some proper investment and care. 

What i'd do with Dreamworld is work with what you have. So unfortunately MDMC will be staying.
Also bring back something on the lines with Dreamworld Insiders, it'd probably have to be a new cast, but it will be a lot of fun.
Trying to keep rides a float for a long period of time is the first thing i would do, and then build a RMC Hydrid, to gain some more guests.

I also really loved the idea of nostalgic advertising, it would be really neat.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Prequel

[pushbutton]

57 minutes ago, Prequel said:

All these ideas sound good and all, but closing the park down for anything more than 3 months, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on completely changing the park, and then changing the name sounds like a fantasy.

It isn't very realistic for anyone other than a huge international theme park chain (the preferred purchaser) or a billionaire who cares very deeply about the project and is prepared to spend big!

But that's what my ideas are based on.

[RossL]

4 hours ago, Prequel said:

All these ideas sound good and all, but closing the park down for anything more than 3 months, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on completely changing the park, and then changing the name sounds like a fantasy.

Even 3 months would be ridiculous.

They're not losing money on operations.  Unless you're mothballing the entire park you wouldn't even close it for a week.

For mine they really just need to take a massive swing with a high quality coaster-dump $30M+ into and swing for the fences on a single great ride.  And once you open that coaster then you can sell a vision about the future.

The little fixes or maintain what they've got is not cutting it-I wouldn't worry about repainting facades.  If that means they have to axe ToT and HWSW to save on operational costs then do it.

They don't need to be the greatest park in the world, they just need something that is really good.  Their current line-up is all thoroughly average to poor, Giant Drop may be the one exception although it clearly has operational issues as well.

[joz]

I think closing the whole park for a few months does have some merit. It would allow them to do hardcore construction without having to juggle operations and having it impact on guest experience. It also gives you a chance to relaunch, and draw a line in the sand and say 'that was Old DW, this is new DW' and gives a good chance to change the narrative about the park. It only works if you're adding a good couple of rides and you're upfront with what you're removing before you do it.

Edited March 24, 2019 by joz

[webslave]

Yeah, I don't.  All of those staff still need to be paid.  If you don't pay them they go elsewhere which means you need to restart recruitment all over again.

On one hand it staggers me that the bulk of the advice here begins with "bring back..." and includes arbitrarily closing the park for a period to do... something?  But then I remember the type of people Parkz often attracts...

[iwerks]

Yeah, it could close for the winter months, but if they haven’t got any plans or rides to introduce, what’s the point?

I just wished they had a plan going forward, especially since it takes a year to book a coaster or significant attraction at any reputable manufacturer.

I think they should invest in well themed family rides that won’t break the bank. There’s a whole group of people who aren’t catered for at MW. Those who don’t want to do terrifying coasters, loops or backward drops. The people who liked LTRR and Bermuda, but aren’t catered for by Storm or the driving school. The patrons who prefer MDMC to Jet Rescue.  

DW needs to invest in the future and give people a reason to renew their passes. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

What baffles me more than those saying 'close it for a bit' is the idea to get rid of things like the 'disney style' entrance.

For better or worse, things like that ARE dreamworld. If you take too much away, the park loses it's identity, and that isn't a good thing for the thousands who hold nostalgia for the park.

Renaming it is similarly fraught with danger. If it is both completely reinvented inside, and completely renamed outside - is it even the same park? Would it have been better to start with a greenfields property so you don't inherit all the problems the existing park has (and the history?)

No. If you're buying this place, you're keeping it substantially the same. You might be fixing a few thigns up, putting a few new rides in, but you're not wiping the board clean. You're not getting rid of the native animals that draw busloads. You're not getting rid of the most modern (ick) waterpark on the coast 'just because'.

And saying something should be "well themed" without defining the what, or the how is laughable - even Disney fell short of 'great theme' occasionally, when money was tight. That's like me saying my new car should be 'well painted'. Define it, or it means nothing.

I don't hate the idea of closing it for a bit. Perhaps even moving the park to a seasonal trade for a while, opening for holidays, and maybe weekends, until they improve the bottom line. Sure, there's some full time staff there that may not be able to keep their jobs as a result, but this is a business, and if that move is best for the business, then that's an unfortunate, but necessary side effect.

 

[New display name]

On 23/03/2019 at 5:30 PM, pushbutton said:

As much as I loved the idea of SkyVoyager, I believe it's now very much tainted with negative perception of its safety.

Now you're making things up.  The only person that has this negative perception is you.  Staff members wouldn't be riding it if the ride wasn't safe.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

You should know by now Skeet, that he lives in his own world. So that negative perception is LITERALLY the perception of the ENTIRE WORLD in which he lives...

[pushbutton]

49 minutes ago, AlexB said:

You should know by now Skeet, that he lives in his own world. So that negative perception is LITERALLY the perception of the ENTIRE WORLD in which he lives...

In years to come, he'll think back to the garbage he used to post on this forum, and he'll be thoroughly disgusted.

[New display name]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

You should know by now Skeet, that he lives in his own world. So that negative perception is LITERALLY the perception of the ENTIRE WORLD in which he lives...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

3 hours ago, pushbutton said:

In years to come, he'll think back to the garbage he used to post on this forum, and he'll be thoroughly disgusted.

That explains a lot.