Very sad times @Roachiewhen instead of getting excited for a new attraction we are all apprehensive on what DW will deliver.

A quick vox-pop.  What are the last three things you can recall that added value to the park for you as a guest?  Now, what are the last three things you can recall that Dreamworld did well?

Things that added value for me:

• Tailspin (2014)
• Pandamonium (2012)
• The Claw (2004)

Things that were done well:

• Tiger Island refurb (2016)
• Brock's Garage Motorsport Museum (2015)
• Dreamworks precinct (2012)

God, I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a few of these.  I would have loved to have put the refurb of Wipeout on the 'done well' list, but I just haven't seen the reliability out of it, nor have I seen the theming ever look finished.

I definitely think that the refurb of Tiger Island proved they have the facilities, knowledge and skills to design and build a world class attraction. I definitely think it is one of the best animal exhibits I've ever seen, especially for tigers. The left extensions aren't that great, but the main island, seating area and shop are awesome.

And for Tailspin, a very simple ride, but I definitely think it was very well executed

To be fair I think they executed Trolls Village well. 

For a “temporary attraction” it’s themed, staffed, designed well and delivers on exactly what it should be. I know it’s location isn’t great, but I think it’s a fantastic addition for that demographic/market and wouldn’t be out of place becoming permanent. 

1 hour ago, webslave said:

A quick vox-pop.  What are the last three things you can recall that added value to the park for you as a guest?  Now, what are the last three things you can recall that Dreamworld did well?

Things that added value for me:

• Tailspin (2014)
• Pandamonium (2012)
• The Claw (2004)

Things that were done well:

• Tiger Island refurb (2016)
• Brock's Garage Motorsport Museum (2015)
• Dreamworks precinct (2012)

God, I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a few of these.  I would have loved to have put the refurb of Wipeout on the 'done well' list, but I just haven't seen the reliability out of it, nor have I seen the theming ever look finished.

More or less when I compare DW to other Theme Parks in the world, DW has nothing exciting. 

Flight simulators are great attractions and I have never heard somebody getting off one saying “I didn’t like that”.  If Brogent Technologies make a solid flight simulator than this ride will be the number 1 ride at DW by a long shot.  In my book of theories and workings of the world I-Ride has the potential to get into the top 5 of Australian attractions. 

One problem for DW will be the ability to sell it to the public.   If I was DW I wouldn’t sell it as a simulator because when I think of past simulators in Australia, I think of bumpy sweat boxes.

 

Surely 'flying theatre' is the best way to describe it, and in reports/publishings about it they should mention it is similar to what Disney have.

3 hours ago, themagician said:

I definitely think that the refurb of Tiger Island proved they have the facilities, knowledge and skills to design and build a world class attraction. I definitely think it is one of the best animal exhibits I've ever seen, especially for tigers. The left extensions aren't that great, but the main island, seating area and shop are awesome.

And for Tailspin, a very simple ride, but I definitely think it was very well executed

The Tiger Island shop is brilliant. Truly evokes a jungle atmosphere and is reminiscent of the immersive style of theming of some the big overseas parks. Let it become the standard for DW.

The facade is now gone... 😪

1 hour ago, Zacgb said:

The facade is now gone... 😪

The new building will be the work of pure imagination...?

 

Edited August 19, 20187 yr by Glubbo

So the big question is - did it really have asbestos or nah?

Oh boy.

Now this brings me back to the issue of Buzzsaw. I am pretty certain it’s closed because of the iride. With that kind of demolition work they need constant access to the area and people couldn’t get to Buzzsaw without getting to close to the demo site.

This is quickly becoming the epitome of Ardent's ongoing hubris.

Literally the only reason why Ardent chose to retrofit their existing theatre with a flying theatre, just like the Canadians with their IMAX Theatre overseas, is to primarily minimise cost, to also minimise local disturbances to neighbouring attractions and amenities and to speed up delivery time. But that cost-saving specifically comes with some huge drawbacks, too - namely the ability to build a full-scale flying theatre. And like Canada's flying theatre retrofit, ours will be a clever but scaled series of hacks to getting the motion bases inside a smaller than usual space that come with a lot of consequences (reduced capacity, smaller screen etc.)

So then here's the thing - if Dreamworld's only going to preserve a forty year old warehouse shell made out of cinderblocks and literally nothing else (not the facades which have far more intrinsic value to the park) you've got to ask - why even bother retrofitting there in the first place? It's not like they're trying to minimise the impact on the guest experience during the retrofit - they've closed another multi-million roller-coaster with not even as much as a word on when it might re-open. And let's not even get started on how a giant un-covered demolition site in the heart of the park would impact every single guest's first, second, third and last impression of the park.

At this point they could've built a larger flying theatre for cheaper had they literally put it anywhere else inside the park and they could've had it in the same time-frame since Ardent have continued to push back the open date multiple times over.

This whole thing makes me feel as frustrated as reading news about Trump - everyone's watching the world burn but no one's doing anything about it.

Edited August 19, 20187 yr by Roachie

Rode a flying theatre a few weeks ago at Ferrari Land in Barcelona. Loved it. Was incredible. Glad one is finally getting the go ahead in Australia. Hopefully it’s done well with a great film. 

I had thought the only change that would be visible externally would be a new sign. 

I'm very disappointed to see this demolition of the entire facade, and even more so now I know about the Disney connection. 

Edited August 21, 20187 yr by pushbutton

Taken from Ardent's FY results presentation.  It looks like DW is aiming for a Boxing Day opening.

"Flying Theatre attraction (iRide) to be opened in late December 2018; this $15 million attraction will be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and will showcase Australian landscapes in a breathtaking experience".

 

Its just the brickwork that now remains (TPSN)

On 29/08/2018 at 12:02 PM, themagician said:

Its just the brickwork that now remains (TPSN)

Coming in 2019 - Main Event, Citywalk and Wildlife Park.

Edited September 13, 20187 yr by Slick

29 minutes ago, Roachie said:

Coming in 2019 - Main Event, Citywalk and Wildlife Park (because there's not a lot of Dreamworld left at this rate.)

I don't think you're too far from the mark.  Ardent trademarked Main Event in Australia a few years ago.

On 14/08/2018 at 3:03 PM, themagician said:

 I definitely think it is one of the best animal exhibits I've ever seen, especially for tigers.

Try out Tiger Trek at Taronga. Blows DW out of the water. And hell, even Billabong Zoo's wombat exhibit is better.

Remainder of the facade towards Gold Rush is now gone, as is the old Boost Juice outlet. 

Cheers @Brad2912 for the shots, in the interest of discussion i've just done a dodgy-ass photoshop - here's a few take-aways:

• The artist rendering is super deceptive to look as aesthetically pleasing as possible (forced perspective etc.) so take it all with a grain of salt
• A section of queue line is outside
• There's a massive mezzanine foyer inside?
• It seems based off my colour-coded blocks that the wavy tarp roof will continue past Green Bean?
• Because of the forced perspective it's too hard to tell if the shops on the left will replace 1:1 the shops there before, will continue past the Gold Rush sign (look at the where the existing building cladding ends) or will jot out more.

I just want to add, this building is not theming, lol.

My take is it'll be a nice enough looking facade but I reckon it might be jarring in Main Street wedged up against the other facades. By comparison, DisneySea's new Soarin' attraction is being built in the Mediterranean Harbour and as such is getting a full old stone-building design to fit in.

Edited September 13, 20187 yr by Slick

How do we know that the theming for the i-ride theatre won't match whatever is going to be built in the old goldrush area?  They could be making Westfield World for all we know. 😯

I think the most likely theme for this attraction is an airport terminal. It would be cool if they made up some fake airline and incorperated typical airport shit and made it a kick ass theme. 

'We'll make it like an airport' is a great idea till you remember that airports are shiiiiiit. Airports are generic unenjoyable places to visit. It's a bit like saying 'this is a collection of shops, so we'll theme it to be like Westfield'.

Edited September 10, 20187 yr by joz