COVID-19 & Theme Park Closures

[Brad2912]

I must have slipped into a coma and missed it all as I didn’t see pages of crap.

I saw a couple of unsavoury comments and accusations that sure, overstepped a boundary and deserved to be deleted, but from my memory there was a solid amount of good, informative content prior to that, and even with it....
 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, djrappa said:

I don't really understand...

You're saying we take action without communicating up front. Are you suggesting we should post in a thread saying "hey please don't carry on with nonsense about a COO or we'll delete it" so that if people do that, and we delete it then it's up front? I mean how does that work?

(Snip)

Your post above talks about someones actions in running the park. That is very different to calling them a wanker because you didn't like what they said to you one time.

(Snip)

Regarding upfront, the post was removed, and in its place Slick posted a very long and thoughtful post (including time stamps and a commitment to update it as things developed) with a vague footnote about doxxing, which I know some people had to google.

what I mean is - acknowledge the actions upfront. It’s a couple sentences which explain where the admin team is at rather than pretending nothing happened except in a vague footnote:

 

“Guys, things are getting too personal and we don’t feel this is suited to Parkz. We’ve removed the whole thread for expediency rather than spend all night filtering all the bad words.

We may restore and move the more valuable contributions into this thread at a later date if we have time, But for now, removing the thread was a quick fix to put a stop to the crap that was crossing the line.

If anyone wants to continue the personal attacks, take it elsewhere as it doesn’t meet our guidelines. contact <admin> if you want to discuss further - don’t derail another thread“
 

I mean shit - I’ve already drafted it for you, so now all you gotta do is copy paste in the future.

 

and ok, fair point on pressler/Eisner. So we can say Eisner ran the parks like a bit of a dickhead at the end of his tenure, but we can’t say Eisner is a dickhead? Gotcha.

1 hour ago, Richard said:

The point you reference has been there many years verbatim and you'll have agreed to it in the past when we've updated the T&Cs. The only change to the terms and conditions was this one sentence: You may not dox or share another person's personal or private information on Parkz.

Yes I knew that that particular point has been there a while. I also knew something had changed, it just wasn’t clear what it was.

my point though, was the point I was referencing was a catch-all. You can do as you please. You aren’t answerable to anyone and it is your private site. And we can’t complain.

all we can do if we don’t like how it is being managed is choose to use the service, or not.

The addition of the “private info or doxxing” is interesting. I know, for example that Push was doxxed by someone once, and his profile and IRL name was published, and later removed. 
that was bad.

likewise, I had to private message a moderator after they doxxed me - that is, they used my IRL name on the forum also. It was quickly rectified and I’m sure minimal damage was done.”, which I appreciate.

i don’t know what information was shared or about who overnight (I’m rarely active outside daytime hours), I just hope we aren’t giving the definition of doxxing too wide a definition.

I came up with several examples to demonstrate my point but each draft could be taken to be inflammatory or argumentative and that’s not what I’m trying to do here, so I’ll leave it at that and if anyone wants more info about what I mean, feel free to PM.

[joz]

I think a lot of people need to turn off the computer and go for a nice walk in the sunshine. This isn't a storm in a teacup, it's a hurricane in a thimble. Get some perspective about how unimportant this stuff is.

 

For the record, we weren't contacted by anyone, we as a group read the posts and thought it was a dumpster fire. The options were delete the lot, lock the thread or take out as must of the off topic as possible. We went with deleting the posts. We'll go back and restore any that got deleted that were on topic, but it's a tangled mess of shit.

[Bikash Randhawa]

7 hours ago, AlexB said:

Agree - whether it is true or not, the disappearance of the entire discussion (which would be great to reflect on for certain dates and timelines later on) smacks of censorship to appease park management.

If we can't criticise or hold to account the very people who are in charge of our parks, will this forum turn into a bunch of yes-men administering some sort of unofficial fan club?

Hi Alex, I understand your frustration. I can tell you one thing that we have zero control over what this site does or how they carry out their buisness. Richard I believe is the man, he is very strong in his views and that’s why I respect him and engage him when I can.

2 hours ago, joz said:

I think a lot of people need to turn off the computer and go for a nice walk in the sunshine. This isn't a storm in a teacup, it's a hurricane in a thimble. Get some perspective about how unimportant this stuff is.

 

For the record, we weren't contacted by anyone, we as a group read the posts and thought it was a dumpster fire. The options were delete the lot, lock the thread or take out as must of the off topic as possible. We went with deleting the posts. We'll go back and restore any that got deleted that were on topic, but it's a tangled mess of shit.

Okay so a lot of people reached out to me, I had zero issue with anything being said here, the reason why I am here is to answer questions that people may have if I can without compromising myself. 

6 hours ago, djrappa said:

Let's all take a step back from our own personally created narratives for a moment here and look at things from the outside...

The nonsense back and forth previous thread really did little more than embarrass both Parkz and honestly also to some extent the people posting.

I have no doubt in my mind that the COO of VRTP couldn't give two shits what names some people on a forum call him, and certainly not enough to the extent anyone would contact us to remove the posts. 

The very boring truth of the matter is that all of the Admins felt it was a complete rubbish thread and it would be sad if anyone from management of any park did read it and took that as a reflection of the maturity of the enthusiast community as a whole.

Hi There, unfortunately do I care no, but if someone does make deliberate and ridiculous statements then I will act on it by first talking to them and if it does not work then I will use legal avenues only to set the record straight. I have no issues in copping the heat but I do have an issue when there is false news being spread and people are being a bully. That is not on, I feel in many ways that I should eradicate bullying because I can. 

6 hours ago, AlexB said:

Seriously - I loved the 'small guy in a big town' success story, working as a waiter in SWR, working up the ranks to get to the position of top dog. I had a lot of respect for someone who can achieve that. But the higher he rose, the more public his profile, and that's where things started to go awry...

Genuine public comments from people commenting on media articles about Sea World's new attractions, and seeing him berate them for what is in essence, their own opinion. Most of them probably don't realise what role he has within the organisation.

The latest articles, where he is quoted saying they needed 5,000 to be profitable, and that they government should be letting larger companies have more people in the parks just shows, in my opinion, the words and actions appear to be someone who cares more about profits than their guests.

Now i'm not saying that's who he is, i'm just saying thats the appearance that his words and actions are giving. And if I may quote a forum moderator - some media training could probably help with that. If he just ignored the haters, and set about proving them wrong, instead of acting the blowhard and the bully, he could probably change many people's negative opinions and earn the respect you suggest.

As has been said (in a now invisible thread) - our parks should be leading the way in showing other businesses what steps they can take to increase the capacity limits by ensuring certain protections are put into place. Now is a time to show how much you care for your guests - not to criticise your customers and  show contempt for the actions of a government that are on par or better than most governments management plans around the world.

Thank god we aren't in Italy, South Korea, China, or the United States, and we've kept the infection rates low. That, and our isolated borders mean we should be able to confidently reopen, and STAY open without having a second wave like many places around the world are starting to see. Again, to quote another - god forbid pressure on state or federal governments gets our parks exempted from the rules everyone else is following only to have a massive explosion in infections shut them down again and shatter whatever post-TRRR community confidence they hold.

Hi Alex, it’s hard to say it all here. In a bit she’ll, I have not seen my kids grow up as I worked every single holiday and Christmas Day from morning to night as that’s who I am. The world thought my wife was a single mum. It was and still is hard as I don’t have much of a connection except I meet my responsibilities with the kids. It’s tough but I did this because I cared about the people I worked with and the guests and the industry. I am not looking for a pat on the back but I am still the person i was when I first started out, those same people still work in the buisness and they were the ones that trained me, btw they still clip me hard if I do something silly, and I am ok with that. I also understand that in my position, I walk with a target on my back and people will attack me and that’s ok. Saying this, if there is malicious content out there, and if it is bought to my attention, I will first talk to the person responsible and then do what i need to. If they are right then I will correct myself and accept the public outcry. Hope this helps mate.

7 hours ago, AlexB said:

Agree - whether it is true or not, the disappearance of the entire discussion (which would be great to reflect on for certain dates and timelines later on) smacks of censorship to appease park management.

If we can't criticise or hold to account the very people who are in charge of our parks, will this forum turn into a bunch of yes-men administering some sort of unofficial fan club?

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I’ve read enough of his style of writing that I’m not even going to doubt that this is Bikash. It 100% is.

For the record, regardless of any difference of opinion or personal feeling, having a VRTP park executive as a registered and contributing forum member is something we’ve called for for 15 years here.

Putting personal feelings aside Bikash, I do hope you stick around on the forums to converse and discuss with others here. I’d very much like to have my personal opinions of you proven wrong, and I hope you’ve joined to engage with the community who love your parks as much as you appear to, and not just to have your rebuttals.

while we know Parkz is watched by the local industry, a two way dialog is always better than an echo chamber, and hopefully you can be the start of a dialog the likes of Mark Shaw or The Real Belinda Brown.

I guess time will tell.

 

as an afterthought and somewhat on topic - can you tell us whether there is any hope of Fright Nights this year?

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

While not COVID related,

Welcome to the forums Bikash
Great to have someone high up in the parks join us on the forums 

[T-bone]

Welcome @Bikash Randhawa, it’s nice to see a civil side to you. Putting differences aside, it’s good to see a park rep join a discussion here. Hopefully you stick around and show more of this side. I think a lot of people will appreciate seeing the more human side of the COO. 

Maybe one day we could sit down for beers or something? 🤝

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

Aussie World Update:

[Park Addict 93]

The QLD Government has posted a FAQ for COVID Safe Plans/Checklists.

Interesting to hear that they are being developed at an industry level rather than individually as I previously assumed.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Jordan M.

[Brad2912]

Welcome @Bikash Randhawa

as many have stated I hope we do get some at least periodic interaction with you on this site. 

having a direct touchpoint with the parks is much appreciated and shows an eagerness to understand and hear your parks biggest and most vocal fans opinions - be those positive or negative. The one thing I can say is the majority here are generally not negative for the sake of it, and any criticism is borne from a genuine love of our parks and wanting to see them be the best they can be. 

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Brad2912

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

10 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

the majority here are generally not negative for the sake of it, and any criticism is borne from a genuine love of our parks and wanting to see them be the best they can be. 

This should be the Parkz motto.

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by AlexB

[RossL]

I think all parks need to look to do what they can that is within the rules and ways to build public confidence in their management of crowds.

There's some pretty obvious solutions to a partial reopen of at least SeaWorld and that is just make it so people can view the various exhibits only in a structured walk through.  Let 20 guests in every 15 minutes from 10am to 4pm and you can get about 480 people through in a day.  Similar could be done with Paradise Country, Dreamworld, Currumbin and other similar places.  Also a great time for behind the scenes tours to be conducted in groups like this.  Maybe it would only be practical for a couple of days a week.

Sure things like this aren't much compared to normal business but JobKeeper is subsidising a lot of staff wages to get the doors open in the first place.  The extra cost of doing something like this would be super payments and some hand sanitiser.

Crowds of 5,000 aren't going to be allowed anywhere, anytime soon and the only way venues will be allowed to have that many is through building public confidence in how venues manage that.  That means starting at the smallest possible number which is 20 and building from there.

[themagician]

16 hours ago, Jay Jay The Jet Plane said:

Aussie World Update:

I love that Aussie World posted this, it gives the park a good reputation that they are making the most of the time while they are closed
 

SW and DW have been doing updates on the animals which has been great to see, but if they are completing maintenance on the rides while the parks are shut, they should also be posting about it, so people are aware of it. I’ve seen so many comments asking whether maintenance is being done but there’s no response

[Smol bean]

I bet aa will still be under maintenance by the time movie world opens. knowing what village have been doing to aa for the past few months of delay after delay 

[Brad2912]

31 minutes ago, Smol bean said:

I bet aa will still be under maintenance by the time movie world opens. knowing what village have been doing to aa for the past few months of delay after delay 

I really don’t think AA will open again, ever. She’s had her last circuit. 
She’s moved into CorkSeaScrewViper territory where upkeep and maintenance now exceeds any ROI, especially with the massive revenue hit parks are facing this year 

[Smol bean]

1 hour ago, Brad2912 said:

I really don’t think AA will open again, ever. She’s had her last circuit. 
She’s moved into CorkSeaScrewViper territory where upkeep and maintenance now exceeds any ROI, especially with the massive revenue hit parks are facing this year 

I guess brad is the man behind the slaughter 

[Smol bean]

1 hour ago, Smol bean said:

I guess brad is the man behind the slaughter 

For the peeps who put a confused reaction “the man behind the slaughter” is just a new meme based of a fanf 2 song that’s pretty popular and funny

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Smol bean said:

I guess brad is the man behind the slaughter 

...because he's the latest in a long line of people to firmly and publicly state Arkham won't return?

I don't know what the latest playground lingo is mate - but here, it'd be really sick if you could talk normally - you know - like adults do.

[westical]

2 hours ago, Smol bean said:

For the peeps who put a confused reaction “the man behind the slaughter” is just a new meme based of a fanf 2 song that’s pretty popular and funny

You’re talking to a bunch of 30/40 year olds. 

[Prequel]

Let me translate to the non-generation z's, he is referring to a meme for a horror game 'Five Nights at Freddy's' that was so successful that it had a particular long line of sequels and spin-offs. 

I'm not sure on the meme he is referring to, i just know the game was popular a couple of years back.

I expect payment by the end of the month.

[Smol bean]

Sorry if I sounded cringe as a gen z Mellinal and sounded like a behind the meme type youtuber

[Brad2912]

19 minutes ago, Smol bean said:

Sorry if I sounded cringe as a gen z Mellinal and sounded like a behind the meme type youtuber

Kids really need to get back to school... 

[Prequel]

16 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Kids really need to get back to school... 

May 25th, i was really enjoying having no juniors around. No kids standing outside my roll class selling KFC hot and spicy for a dollar a pop, whilst also implementing a 'you owe me' policy for the kids with no money.

[red dragin]

11 hours ago, westical said:

You’re talking to a bunch of 30/40 year olds. 

Who sometimes carry on like a bunch of teenagers. 🙄😂

[Smol bean]

Let’s just get back to the main topic of this thread now