Rocky Hollow Log Ride Demolition - Dreamworld

[deano554]

3 hours ago, Lukevl said:

Dreamworld actually has a pretty good selection of flats now. I think their recovery strategy should mostly be made up of coasters, refurbishing ABC world and expanding corroboreee (which I feel is what they might do where the log ride is). I still think they should be getting the Trolls license back. 

Why was Trolls only there for a short time?

[Rabbit2014]

14 minutes ago, deano554 said:

Why was Trolls only there for a short time?

It was only a temporary area that opened in 2018, which cost money on licensing especially when it appears that the dreamworks themed rides are down for maintenance and the theming is being removed. It seems like the whole dreamworks contract for dreamworld was 10 years and it wasn’t renewed in the end.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Rabbit2014

[deano554]

8 hours ago, Rabbit2014 said:

It was only a temporary area that opened in 2018, which cost money on licensing especially when it appears that the dreamworks themed rides are down for maintenance and the theming is being removed. It seems like the whole dreamworks contract for dreamworld was 10 years and it wasn’t renewed in the end.

Maybe when TOT2 is removed, dreamworks  and ABC for kids become one large themed area. It all becomes ABC for kids, Wiggles and Bluey area.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, deano554 said:

Maybe when TOT2 is removed, dreamworks  and ABC for kids become one large themed area. It all becomes ABC for kids, Wiggles and Bluey area.

I'm sure ABC would be a cheaper theme for Dreamworld to design for, but I'm not quite sure ABC Kids is an appropriate theme for at least half of what's in the Dreamworks area currently. 

It's not a terrible idea, but I hope they can do better than that.

[TimmyG]

I’ll miss the Dreamworks area. Here’s hoping that whatever comes next is a massive improvement on what was there. 

I have spoken to some friends of mine who are heavily involved in the industry, they suggested that a lego themed area is on the cards for this spot.. watch this space I reckon, it could get quite interesting. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Come on let's not get carried away here.... while i've pointed to several, possible indications that suggest the dreamworks licence deal has come to an end, this is all coincidental and circumstantial. We've got no proof or announcement from the park and until we do - let's not write the area off entirely.

[Baconjack]

I'm sure a lego area would be a home run for DW.

Replace two largely outdated IP's and a maybe semi-current one with an IP that is basically timeless. Plus you have the closest thing to Legoland in Australia. That being said, there is a major challenge at play with trying to work out a deal with Merlin to license the property out, which is either going to be costly or won't happen at all. Although, Dreamworks might stay in the end. With time we'll figure out what it is, what we've seen so far is speculative

[mssveattck]

36 minutes ago, Baconjack said:

I'm sure a lego area would be a home run for DW.

Replace two largely outdated IP's and a maybe semi-current one with an IP that is basically timeless. Plus you have the closest thing to Legoland in Australia. That being said, there is a major challenge at play with trying to work out a deal with Merlin to license the property out, which is either going to be costly or won't happen at all. Although, Dreamworks might stay in the end. With time we'll figure out what it is, what we've seen so far is speculative

I would argue that the dreamworks area as a whole isn’t exactly a dated IP? The movies referenced in the area are 20+ years old max, and still hold enough cultural significance today to remain relevant and provide nostalgia for any generation (And we’re still seeing lands based on Kung Fu Panda open at new parks like Universal Beijing). I was always under the impression that dreamworks was a substantial draw card for the park given that there are so many photos ops in the area that make up quite a majority of what I see on social media from people who visit. I think lego would be so boring in comparison, unless they were to theme it incredibly well and create a lot of interactive elements. I just don’t see them getting rid of dreamworks and I would be confused if it were the case. Uneducated guess, but surely it’s just cheaper to retain the license rather than retheme the whole area? But stranger things have happened, I guess. 

Edited June 2, 2021 by mssveattck

[Slick]

1 hour ago, mssveattck said:

I would argue that the dreamworks area as a whole isn’t exactly a dated IP? The movies referenced in the area are 20+ years old max, and still hold enough cultural significance today to remain relevant and provide nostalgia for any generation (And we’re still seeing lands based on Kung Fu Panda open at new parks like Universal Beijing). I was always under the impression that dreamworks was a substantial draw card for the park given that there are so many photos ops in the area that make up quite a majority of what I see on social media from people who visit. I think lego would be so boring in comparison, unless they were to theme it incredibly well and create a lot of interactive elements. I just don’t see them getting rid of dreamworks and I would be confused if it were the case. Uneducated guess, but surely it’s just cheaper to retain the license rather than retheme the whole area? But stranger things have happened, I guess. 

LEGO is a AAA+ rated brand, it's the world's most valuable toy brand and is worth twice as much as Dreamworks Animations. LEGO's a slam dunk, especially when you consider that Dreamworks' most popular IP's have gone to Disney (Ice Age) or to Universal/Comcast (everything else) and they've only made passable (75%ish rotten tomatoes rated) films since the Universal buyout in 2016.

The real question will be if LEGO wants to jump onboard (and if Merlin wants in) - if memory serves, LEGO/Merlin haven't done an installation an existing theme park, instead opting in for complete buyouts (Cypress Gardens) or from scratch builds (LegoLand NYE/Nagoya).

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

To give a little perspective on what is 'outdated'....

Police Academy - a franchise with 7 movies over 10 years from 1984-1994 had the marquee show at Movie World from 1991-2008 - a total of 17 years, retiring at a point when the first movie was 24 years old, and the most recent release was 14 years old. By many accounts, the show was still popular and the franchise was at least fairly relevant, although the park (and some fans) argued otherwise. 

To give some perspective - Shrek is within that same range right now, although Madagascar has a couple years left, and KFP is only about halfway there.

The world moves a bit quicker these days than the simple days of Mahoney - plus the dreamworks licencing is a lot more complicated these days than WB ever had to deal with... so maybe Dreamworks still has relevance for a little while yet...

As for Lego being boring - Lego Movie released in 2014, Lego Batman in 2017, Lego Movie 2 in 2019 and Lego Batman due in 2022. Putting aside the TV movies, TV shows, spin offs, conventions for ball machines, bricks, robotics, they've also infiltrated classrooms, video games and almost every other outlet and media source there is. While certain character licences might not be allowed, LegoLand parks across the world have shown that lego as a theme is anything but boring.

[deano554]

4 hours ago, Slick said:

LEGO is a AAA+ rated brand, it's the world's most valuable toy brand and is worth twice as much as Dreamworks Animations. LEGO's a slam dunk, especially when you consider that Dreamworks' most popular IP's have gone to Disney (Ice Age) or to Universal/Comcast (everything else) and they've only made passable (75%ish rotten tomatoes rated) films since the Universal buyout in 2016.

The real question will be if LEGO wants to jump onboard (and if Merlin wants in) - if memory serves, LEGO/Merlin haven't done an installation an existing theme park, instead opting in for complete buyouts (Cypress Gardens) or from scratch builds (LegoLand NYE/Nagoya).

Maybe Merlin is buying Dreamworld?

[Park Fan]

4 hours ago, deano554 said:

Maybe Merlin is buying Dreamworld?

That's the only way I could see Dreamworld getting a Lego themed area since Merlin has the exclusive rights to Lego in theme parks and I can't see them sub-licensing to Dreamworld since Merlin has in the past indicated interest in bringing a Legoland resort to Australia themselves. I still stand by my idea of stripping the DreamWorks references and just calling it a worlds fair themed area.

[themagician]

[JasonD]

Photo's taken Tuesday 8th June 21.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

17 hours ago, JasonD said:

 

I wonder if that circle is wide enough to accommodate a vintage car pathway. Clean it up a bit and have a nice waterside turnaround...

pfft. it's queensland so it'd probably need a pool fence. dare to dream.

[westical]

On 02/06/2021 at 12:23 PM, Slick said:

when you consider that Dreamworks' most popular IP's have gone to Disney (Ice Age)

Not Dreamworks. 

[themagician]

The rest of the ride has been demolished this week. All that remains is the storage shed where we have seen the logs. A lot of soil has also been added so there whole area is now flat 

[Brad2912]

Channels now entirely filled with dirt and levelled out 

[Naazon]

Did they remove the concrete?

[Slick]

1 hour ago, Naazon said:

Did they remove the concrete?

Judging by that last photo it looks like they've just infilled the troughs and left the concrete in (similar to what they did with  some chunks of Gold Rush like the Rapids turnstile.)

[Brad2912]

2 hours ago, Naazon said:

Did they remove the concrete?

While i cant speak for the entirety of the ride, you can see the edge of the concrete quite often, so i'm going with no for the most part.

[Jdude95]

Saw it happen, can confirm, some parts of trough were removed but majority were just filled over

[themagician]

[themagician]

For some reason they’ve removed the construction fencing.

And trees have started to arrive 

Edited June 26, 2021 by themagician

[Thrill Seeker]

Hmmm whs safety issue

4 hours ago, themagician said:

For some reason they’ve removed the construction fencing.