Dreamworld's new attraction is made official

[Richard]

Article here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=23 Completed database entry, with ride stats: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/ride.php?rid=45 Press Release: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/release.php?prid=28 Attached is ride logo and artwork.

[joz]

I dunno what DW (or Ride Trade, probably their stats) is smoking stating a capacity of 850pph. That's 26 rides an hour or a cycle time of just over 2mins. Good luck guys. Must admit though the closer it gets the more I'm looking forward to it. Maybe not the answer to all the comments we've been making, but certainty better then allot of the suggestions out there.

[Slick]

So where did you get that media release? And is there any other bits of artwork?

[Richard]

You're right - I think it'd be a tight squeeze. That stat is relying on a 45 second load/unload, which is dubiously tight. Figures of around 600-650 sound better to me, leaving at least 1:30-2:00 for the load/unload. I'd certainly like to think that the errors of the queue and station systems on Cyclone and Tower of Terror and to a lesser extent Giant Drop have been given a good hard look and we won't see Dreamworld go down that path again. I think this, like Wipeout or Runaway Reptar, will be seen operating close to or at capacity.

[T-bone]

Yeah Rich. Where did you find the Press Release of "The Claw" and the picture? THere is noting on the parks site.

[screammachine]

I'd probably say from "inside" sources from DW. Damn everyone is getting one now. Maybe I can find one at Luna Park Screammachine

[Richard]

Believe it or not, the press release came from the park.

[GoGoBoy]

I wil lsay it again - bad name, bad, bad, bad name. Everyone I have spoken to about it instantly says "oh The Claw? You mean the one that travels around to all the shows?". So what is going to happen is that everyone is going to think Dreamworld has done a Luna Park and installed a very 2nd hand portable carnival ride. Not good when they have actually spent $6 mill on something brand spanking new

[GoGoBoy]

I will say it again - bad name, bad, bad, bad name. Everyone I have spoken to about it instantly says "oh The Claw? You mean the one that travels around to all the shows?". So what is going to happen is that everyone is going to think Dreamworld has done a Luna Park and installed a very 2nd hand portable carnival ride. Not good when they have actually spent $6 mill on something brand spanking new. GREAT press release though which is surprising. Maybe it's thanks to Dreamworld's new marketing director. Really well written

[Richard]

23/07 Construction Update: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/ride.php?rid=45 Expect the ride to be structurally completed probably some time next week if all goes well. Then comes the matter of electrical and electronic work and the secondary construction - queue house, operators booth, theming (fingers crossed) and landscaping etc. I believe official opening date will be around September 18. Press launch will be September 17.

[Gazza]

Believe it or not, the press release came from the park.

Well, we knew that much, but is there a website they have set up for these things or something?

[Nightshifter]

why isnt this already advertised on their website yet?

[Richard]

The park emails them out. I suspect that they simply haven't gotten to putting it on their website yet. Strange, I know, but I'd imagine it'll be there by next week.

[Obstructure]

Ask somebody at Dreamworld why it is called "The Claw." Then pass judgement on the name. It has been called that for a certain reason. Also, it is going to be themed Ocean Parade. Look for further themeing by Christmas time at the major attractions (TOT, GD etc). They will all have improvements made to their themeing in the future. Watch that space.

[Richard]

I don't think anyone would deny that it's name has a reason - and a good reason, might I add. That doesn't mean that GoBoi didn't make a perfectly valid point, that is people may confuse it with the far less grand portable ride of the same name. I'd like to think that future marketing of the ride will make it clear that it's not the same. One thing I'm not clear about is that Dreamworld seem to be proceeding with this ride as a full-fledged, heart-pumping thrill ride. It is a thrill ride, but certainly not in the same league as Tower of Terror, Giant Drop, Wipeout or even Cyclone, which is what they're making it out to be. People will come off it and look at it more as an enjoyable experience rather than a thrilling or at all intense one. My experience with this type of ride is limited to Knott's Berry Farm's La Revolucion, which is a Chance Revolution. Roughly the same size and specs, only with inward-facing seating rather than outward. There are probably a few others who have experienced the same, and I'm sure they'll agree with me in that it's a highly enjoyable ride (and amazingly not nauseating at all), but more fun than thrilling. Reviews of Maelstrom at Drayton Manor suggest the exact same thing. Read over the press release, and look at some of the phrases used: "The ultimate thrill ride" "the most terrifying talon in the world" "the most powerful pendulum on the planet" "the ride of your life!" "now you’re in the merciless clutches of The Claw" "perch perilously close to the edge" "the ultimate rush of pure adrenalin" "the most menacing of its kind ever built" "fingernail-biting, spine-tingling, knee-knocking nightmare" If you're looking for a damn good ride that balances Dreamworld's thrill ride collection out nicely, then The Claw is the ride for you. If you're after the things above, then you're probably looking in the wrong place. I suspect that no one from Dreamworld has actually ridden a Gyro Swing. One other thing I found about the press release, it read to me like someone had read a book on poetic imagery, but didn't get passed "alliteration" on page one. It seems like a drastic attempt to make it sound like it flows along.

[willsy]

I dont see what Dreamworld saying stuff like that has to do with us. So what if they call it "The ultimate thrill ride". It will be for some people. They are just geting people worked up about it that dont really know much about the rides like some of us. If i didnt know stuff about the rides and that and i seen that saying "the ultimated thrill ride and the pic i would think **** that looks awsome gota go there = $ for Dreamworld then. It just a Stupid press release. Anyway just my thoughts.

[joz]

Just back to the topic of press release writing style: Wow, thats one of the craziest press releases of all time. I was on the edge of my seat just reading that whirlwind of marketing jargin. I thought there'd never be anything to match the line "Self indulgent bliss" from the Whirlpool release. It kinda make you wonder if there is a competition between the parks to see who can write the most laughable release. Still, I must commend DW for something:

The Giant Drop - the tallest free-falling ride in the world;   The Tower of Terror - one of the fastest rides in the world;   Cyclone - the tallest high speed rollercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere; and   The Wipeout - a twisting wild whopper of a ride.

One of my pet peeves is gone, DW is no longer calling Cyclone a 'gravity' roller coaster. Well done. I can't wait till I can ride the Claw, or to use just one of DW's own narratives, "the most menacing of its kind ever built".

[Richard]

willsy, I know it's a press release, and by nature they can push the limit in the name of marketing. This is why I don't post press releases as articles, opting instead to stick to more straight facts than buzz words. The issue is (and it's not a problem, just a point I brought up), I don't believe that Dreamworld have pushed the envelope this far before. Read the previous releases from Dreamworld for proof of that. However, I think the problem is that the ride itself doesn't by nature have big numbers tacked to it like previous rides have. It's not the biggest or fastest anything. Dreamworld, having set themselves up as the thrill theme park of Australia look to me like tried to push an otherwise plain ride as a "biggest and best" through twisting enough words together one after another. If people go to the park after seeing an ad for the ride, expecting some amazing new extreme thrill ride, I feel that they may end up disappointed by The Claw. It's not really a problem, until of course they start advertising the next big thing, which unlike this, is everything they make it out to be. I feel that there is a chance that it could lead to a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" type situation. Again, I'm totally behind this ride. I couldn't think of a modern thrill ride that is more appropriate to balance Dreamworld's lineup. We'll have to see how it pans out, but it's definitely going to become one of the most popular thrill rides in the park. It's a very accessible ride because it's not insanely tall, fast, loud or twisted. People who might otherwise sit out of the big rides at Dreamworld will give it a shot, and there's no denying they'll have a blast.

[Gazza]

How could it be the most spine tingling one of its kind anyway? If its smaller than Lotte Worlds version, then it would have to be just a bit less thrilling wouldnt it? It still will be fun but it wont be the best, unless DW does a very good job with the theming, then it will be the best. Or maybe they will put the rotation speed up a bit if thats possible, that could give an on the edge feeling as the negative Gs would be really pushing you out of your seat.

[Ian]

im just thinking give us talon the grip of fear coaster from the states to go with the claw.

[HussRainbow]

Just looked at the photo gallery of the arm in place, and it definetly isnt the most attractive thing iv'e seen. Huss' Giant Frisbee is much nicer, and has is much larger, but all in all, this is gonna be fantastic, and I can't wait to have a ride.

[GoGoBoy]

I've seen some bad press releases and copy come from parks including Dreamworld which is what makes this press release seem better. I actually really like it. I do agree that there is an overkill on the "thrill/adrenaline/nightmare" factor which is clearly not going to be lived up to by the gyro swing. But apart from that I think it's effective and at the very least entertaining. Obstructure - you mentioned that there is a certian reason why the ride is called The Claw. Is the obvious answer the fact that it looks like a claw (you have to use your imagination for this association) or has it got something to do with Tiger Island? Please fill me in because I'm grabbing at anything for justification. Also, you mentioned that it is going to be themed to Ocean Parade? How is that going to work? An underwater tiger claw? That's just too weird

[Slick]

While a long name, I thought that maybe ThunderBolt Vengence might be an interesting theme idea. Now before you get your pitchforks out, Dreamworld still have one of the trains and one piece of track left, which they are going to use as scenery somewhere so you can hop into it and get your photo taken on it. So the "Vengence" would be this overkill of ThunderBolt and that the nature of the ride (the spinning etc.) would create a whirlwind causing one of the trains to be sucked into the themeing. Sorry, that makes no sense, I have had the biggest headache I have ever had this weekend and the GD just sparked it yesterday, go figure.

[thunder001]

We have to remember that this is a new style of ride for the "Average" Aussie, and most of them have never even heard of this type of ride, let alone know about it. We here are up-to-date with the different styles of rides throughout the world, so to us this is not the first time that we have seen a picture or video of this ride. But to the rest of the country, this is indeed a "New Thing", so ofcourse the park is going to go all out and try to promote the hell out of this ride and make it sound like something that we know it is not. But that is the parks job, and if they don't go overboard then they don't get the attendance they need to warrent this type of new attraction. This has all come out of a Press release and it is designed to do one thing, to get ppl talking about the new ride. And by looking at this thread, it has worked. :cool:

[joz]

Thing its not even remotly thrilling even by Dreamworld's standards (apparently). Its going to take more then a Gyro Swing to out thrill GD. Still, I dare say once people get through the doors they'll forget all about the marketing hype, go on the ride, find it pleasent and get there thrills elsewhere and head back for another ride every so often.