Dreamworld’s BuzzSaw is Retiring

[gavinfulikes]

It’s been a day since Dronkey Flyers reopened but it’s date not removed. It has also been two months since Sword Swing has reopened but it’s date not removed.

[deano554]

 

 

I found this for sale

Edited July 24, 2021 by deano554

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Interesting they've used an older photo of the ride with Thunder River still in it. I suppose it's probably the best it looked back then...

https://www.usedrideseurope.com/ridesforsale/sky-loop-coaster/

489,000 euro - or about $780,000 AUD.

What a steal for a local little park (if there's nothing major actually wrong with it)

[GoGoBoy]

So if it's in excellent condition and has plenty of spare parts, why on earth are they getting rid of yet another ride? Even if it had some issues and wasn't incredibly popular, it just doesn't make sense to get rid of it considering how poor/small DW's line-up is now.

Edited July 25, 2021 by GoGoBoy

[Thrill Seeker]

Maurer is not supporting the sky loop model anymore. So their decision would be similar to the Tower of Terror as Intamin no longer supported it. While it comes with a range of spare parts, more than likely over the next 2-3 years parts will have to be specially made for it.

[Jdude95]

At least they are trying to claw back some funds from it instead of just selling it for its weight in scrap steel.

[Jobe]

So realistically if a park in Australia was going to purchase it where do you think the best option is for it to go?

The parks that could potentially purchase and install Buzzsaw include:

Funfields 

Aussie World

Gumbaya World

Adventure Park Geelong

Luna Park Melbourne 

Adventure World, Perth

 

And as a long shot Rainbows End, Auckland.

 

Any that I missed?

 

Would this be a good acquisition for any of these parks?

Thoughts? 

 

 

 

[Tim Dasco]

4 minutes ago, Jobe said:

Would this be a good acquisition for any of these parks?

 

I honestly don’t think any park would buy it. It’s such a bad investment for a smaller park, it’s a ride not supported buy Maurer anymore and is a maintenance nightmare. The smaller parks don’t have the ability to bleed money on maintenance and reliability. 
 

If the ride was reliable and supported I would say it’s a steal for any park but sadly it’s not.

[Im Hungry]

What a funky looking AA replacement...

(insert laugh here)

[Naazon]

Probably head to some Asian park where there are less government restrictions and less of a focus on Safety.

[TimmyG]

The ride isn’t supported anymore and that’s why they are getting rid of it? Right…

Its a major blow for the park, another ride coming down, but believe me there aren’t too many people sad about this one. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 minutes ago, TimmyG said:

The ride isn’t supported anymore and that’s why they are getting rid of it? Right…

I know right? it's a good thing Arrow is still in business!

[New display name]

Closing BZ shows DW is running out of money and ST is probably the last roll of the dice.

[Rivals]

57 minutes ago, New display name said:

Closing BZ shows DW is running out of money and ST is probably the last roll of the dice.

i saw it more as why would they keep spending money on a ride that’s not popular, a maintenance nightmare and is now not supported by the manufacturer, causing more of a costly fix when it needs new parts. 

 

even though it’s not great to see another ride getting removed, no one is going to miss it and it didn’t really do anything for the park, so i don’t see it as that much of a loss tbh. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

This phrase 'maintenance nightmare' keeps getting bandied about. 

Yes we've seen it yo-yo into 'maintenance' periods for quite some time now, but has it truly been maintenance or has it been Thunder River related - first for the incident, then sky voyager construction, then demolition of Thunder River and Gold Rush entirely, then ampitheatre "construction" and finally ST construction.

While I recognise it did have some 'harness' issues which required additional redundancy above the existing system a ways back, and I believe this didn't do Maurer any favours with their Dreamworld Relationship... but beyond this, can anyone point to anything being such a major issue here to warrant the moniker 'maintenance nightmare' or is this just what people are saying because it's been closed so much for reasons other than its own maintenance needs?

The park is advertising the ride for sale as in perfect working condition, with loads of spare parts. If the maintenance record for the ride is so woeful, surely they wouldn't get away with advertising it in that way, right?

C'mon - who's got the inside scoop?

[HyprCoastr19]

I'll ride the Steel Taipan when it comes out but after that I don't think I'll have any reason to visit the park. Most of the thrill rides are gone and most of the ones left are very average (the Claw and Pandamonium are exceptions). Unless they get more decent thrill rides in the future outside of only three of them being above average, I won't be visiting the park when I can go to MovieWorld instead since it offers much more in terms of thrill rides.

[Jdude95]

Maybe they learned from Wipeout to not pour all of their money into keeping a ride operating when it shouldn't be anymore. At this point, any money they spend on it would not result in any form of return on investment. 

[New display name]

[Jobe]

6 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

This phrase 'maintenance nightmare' keeps getting bandied about. 

Yes we've seen it yo-yo into 'maintenance' periods for quite some time now, but has it truly been maintenance or has it been Thunder River related - first for the incident, then sky voyager construction, then demolition of Thunder River and Gold Rush entirely, then ampitheatre "construction" and finally ST construction.

While I recognise it did have some 'harness' issues which required additional redundancy above the existing system a ways back, and I believe this didn't do Maurer any favours with their Dreamworld Relationship... but beyond this, can anyone point to anything being such a major issue here to warrant the moniker 'maintenance nightmare' or is this just what people are saying because it's been closed so much for reasons other than its own maintenance needs?

The park is advertising the ride for sale as in perfect working condition, with loads of spare parts. If the maintenance record for the ride is so woeful, surely they wouldn't get away with advertising it in that way, right?

C'mon - who's got the inside scoop?

I agree 100% here. Something does not quite add up. If the ride is the absolute maintenance nightmare that it is purported to be then it should not be advertised as being in perfect working condition. Interestingly, there were 10 models of this type installed around the world with all still being in operation. The last one was installed in China in 2015. The earliest and prototype is still operating in Germany at Skyline Park. All of this does not speak of a ride type that is a maintenance nightmare. Methinks that this could be Dreamworld's spin factory giving a major reason for its demise from the park. I am sure that the ride DID have its issues- they have been well documented- but this is coming from the park that added extra restraints not signed off by a manufacturer on a ride that literally has hundreds of installs- worldwide- I am looking at you Shockwave.....how much of the "so called maintainence issues" have been brought about by Dreamworld themselves and their running of the ride? Remember its not even 10 years old........and every other model install in the world is still operating in its original location.

 

6 hours ago, Gazza said:

Apparently other X Car coaster have had problems. Drayton Manor took theirs out. The one at Magic Springs was SBNO for a year. Can't speak for Ukko at Linnanmaki.

The rest are in China...

Maurer no longer market the product line.

 

There are 8 X-Car coaster installs and the only one that has been scrapped and removed is the G-Force at Drayton Manor. Not a hugely popular model type but other than that one example, all are still operating.  There are 3 operating in China, one in the Netherlands, one in Germany, one in Italy and one in the United States. The biggest profile is of course Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket at Universal Studios in Florida. I have had the opportunity to ride this and I thought it was a decent ride. The harnesses seemed fine but of course being Universal , it is certainly well looked after. 

Just because the manufacturer Maurer are not actively marketing the line does not mean they will not support the ride installs that have already been built. This seems a bit harsh for mine especially as the last X-Car and Skyloop installs were both in 2015- just 6 years ago. I find it hard to imagine that a manufacturer would refuse to support a park with a ride type that was still being installed such a short time ago. I think also that the fact that there 10 models of the Skyloop installed and 8 X-Car types installed would mean that parts for these models would still be in existence and in good quantities. This isnt a Tower of Terror issue where we are seeing a ride model type that consisted of one prototype and one other install...surely given the number of installs Maurer can conceivably support this model type for the existing coasters for quite some time.

[jhunt2]

On 25/07/2021 at 7:52 PM, Jobe said:

The parks that could potentially purchase and install Buzzsaw include:

Funfields 

Aussie World

Gumbaya World

Adventure Park Geelong

Luna Park Melbourne 

Adventure World, Perth

 

And as a long shot Rainbows End, Auckland.

LPM would be stretched for space to install BuzzSaw, especially since it's a park model. Don't be fooled by its compact nature as a coaster, it does take up a decent footprint by LPM's standards, and a lot of their rides are transportable models so that they can reshuffle around the park when something new is installed and needs space. This would be a huge investment in terms of space and logistics, they'd probably have to axe a few attractions to fit it, and BuzzSaw isn't worth that.

Aussie World, mayyyyybe, but their current new investments are still ongoing (somehow...) and it might be a bit out of the blue. I don't know if the hassle of reshuffling their new attraction plans would be worth the finished product.

Adventure Park has nothing of this scale whatsoever. That's not to suggest they can't afford or don't want it, but it would be a surprise to see them take it, and it would be very out of place at the park. That said, expansion into the thrill ride market is something I'd love to see for APG, so I'd be happy to be wrong.

Never been to any of the others, so no comment, but Adventure World seems most likely of the rest, and I still don't think it's probable. It doesn't seem worth the cost of international shipping to Rainbow's End, and the other two are also not quite at that scale in the thrill ride market yet. For parks investing in their first "big scary ride", I'd prefer to see them invest in a new ride that would not only be something new for the Australian market, but would be supported by the manufacturer and hopefully a much more sensible long-term investment.

My bet is BuzzSaw is headed somewhere in Asia. A lot of Chinese parks out there expanding very rapidly, and South-East Asia seems to be a good market for it as well.

[themagician]

Just been on BuzzSaw for the first time in at least 4 years. For a one trick pony, it’s alright, especially when you only have to wait one cycle. But definitely not worth much of a wait. I asked the ride op the last time to ride had a decent wait time and he couldn’t remember it had been that long. So definitely not a loss for the park.

[Rabbit2014]

24 minutes ago, themagician said:

Just been on BuzzSaw for the first time in at least 4 years. For a one trick pony, it’s alright, especially when you only have to wait one cycle. But definitely not worth much of a wait. I asked the ride op the last time to ride had a decent wait time and he couldn’t remember it had been that long. So definitely not a loss for the park.

Im hoping that the southeast Qld lockdown won’t be extended past next Tuesday and I can visit for last time next weekend.

[Baconjack]

22 hours ago, jhunt2 said:

My bet is BuzzSaw is headed somewhere in Asia. A lot of Chinese parks out there expanding very rapidly, and South-East Asia seems to be a good market for it as well.

Chinese parks will probably end up buying the domestically produced knock off of Buzzsaw that's quite popular over there rather than a used copy of the genuine version.

My vote goes to Southeast Asia as well. I'd be keen to see Rainbow's End buy this though, it's a real bargain for a big thrill ride, but the park is landlocked, has developed almost all its land, and would struggle to fit in even Buzzsaw unless they plopped it in the parking lot. Adventure World is far from pressed for space on the other hand and this could be easily plonked in whatever space they wanted to if they were interested in buying as well.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Baconjack

[Jobe]

On 30/07/2021 at 5:35 PM, jhunt2 said:

LPM would be stretched for space to install BuzzSaw, especially since it's a park model. Don't be fooled by its compact nature as a coaster, it does take up a decent footprint by LPM's standards, and a lot of their rides are transportable models so that they can reshuffle around the park when something new is installed and needs space. This would be a huge investment in terms of space and logistics, they'd probably have to axe a few attractions to fit it, and BuzzSaw isn't worth that.

Luna Park Melbourne has the space vacated by their former coaster Metropolis. This space could easily fit in the Skyloop model in that footprint- yeah sure they would have to move around a couple of flats- but it is extremely doable. This would be a pretty good acquisition for the park as they certainly need another thrill coaster and given the value on offer with the purchase of Buzzsaw, would be a good fit. Given LPM's crowd levels, throughput would not be a problem and would give LPM a much needed boost and attention focus.

On 30/07/2021 at 5:35 PM, jhunt2 said:

Aussie World, mayyyyybe, but their current new investments are still ongoing (somehow...) and it might be a bit out of the blue. I don't know if the hassle of reshuffling their new attraction plans would be worth the finished product.

Yeah I dont think Aussie World is a serious contender either as they definitely have a master plan that they are working towards. It may only be a serious option given the bargain price investment that the purchase of Buzzsaw could offer the park and the ability to add to their coaster line up in an economical purchase. I actually think that Buzzsaw would look good in Aussie World's skyline but i dont credit the idea with much creedence.

 

On 30/07/2021 at 5:35 PM, jhunt2 said:

Adventure Park has nothing of this scale whatsoever. That's not to suggest they can't afford or don't want it, but it would be a surprise to see them take it, and it would be very out of place at the park. That said, expansion into the thrill ride market is something I'd love to see for APG, so I'd be happy to be wrong.

True they dont but they have been steadily adding to their portfolio of attractions and an opportunity like this may be too good to pass. It would certainly  be a game changer for the park if they did!

 

On 30/07/2021 at 5:35 PM, jhunt2 said:

Never been to any of the others, so no comment, but Adventure World seems most likely of the rest, and I still don't think it's probable. It doesn't seem worth the cost of international shipping to Rainbow's End, and the other two are also not quite at that scale in the thrill ride market yet. For parks investing in their first "big scary ride", I'd prefer to see them invest in a new ride that would not only be something new for the Australian market, but would be supported by the manufacturer and hopefully a much more sensible long-term investment.

Adventure World seems like the best fit but it seems very unlikely that this would happen. Although they certainly have a history of purchasing second hand rides such as the Geronimo Schwarzkopf coaster from Luna Park Sydney and their current Huss Drop Tower Inferno.....

Gumbuya World is a bit of a dark horse for mine. They have bolted out of the blue in the last 5 years and have a good sized park with good attractions that is just aching for a couple of tier 1 thrill rides. Buzzsaw could definitely fill that need...

Funfields could also be seen as a likely contender as they have invested heavily in the past few years in new attractions. They are also known for picking up second hand rides and giving them a new lease on life( see the Stingray from Dreamworld and the Pirate Ship from Seaworld). Adding a ride of this calibre and their first coaster would be a game changer for them certainly........

Rainbows End for mine would be the most logical choice. Buzzsaw would see them add a much needed 4th coaster to their lineup and would be an economical pick up for them. It is a park that doesnt have a huge amount of land for expansion yet could fit Buzzsaw with ease. It would be a good option for them.

In saying all that, my bet is also the Asian market, especially in the South East. I reckon a park in Indonesia or Vietnam would be the most likely contender.........time will tell!!

[Brods]

Buzzsaw closing has kinda got me in my feels. Buzzsaw will always have a different meaning to me. I was the first person on along side my sister, winning a video film contest back in the day. A group of us who won got to be the very first on the ride which was an awesome night! The night started with a few rides on Buzzsaw, we then had a few hours to do whatever during screamworld. We then watched paranormal activity in the cinema, had a scare tour of the park, with scare actors throughout the park. We then did The A.V.P.X but it was a scare maze instead (before it turned into Kevil Hill) Then we got to stay the night! 😂🤪🎡🎢🛌. A once in a lifetime experience that blew my 13 year old mind. I was honestly super scared the entire night 😂. Mind you, at the time you had to be 15 to enter the competition 😂🤷🏻‍♂️ - anyway that’s my 2 cents on Buzzsaw. I’ll be sad that it’ll be going 💔🎢

Almost 10 years ago in September lol 😳😂