studiodekadent

Actually its probable that Macquarie Leisure will do better this year than before: domestic tourism, i.e. the "staycation" is on the rise owing to the recession. This should compensate, or possibly even overcompensate, for the drop in international tourism, at least for the amusement park market.

You are correct, I borrowed the idea from one of the early posters in the thread. It was a good idea and I think it makes honest sense.

I think the extensions look great and I will certainly be going to WWW to go on these when they are completed (I went on the opening day of WWW so all the other rides currently there, apart from the Little Rippers, I have been on). The red mammoth slide (#219 in the development plans) looks particularly fun, lots of turns in the layout. The lilac one (#220) looks a bit bland in comparison, many straightaways in the layout and fewer turns (therefore less "wall time"), but it would still probably be better than Mammoth Falls because the layout is less predictable. And the Tornado Alley certainly looks interesting, would like to try that out too.

I wished they bought the smaller, tighter "bullet bows" from Proslide. They would be more intense than normal Cannon-Bowls, give the same basic experience, and been more compact.

OK, Rides and attractions changes: -RELATIVELY MINOR CHANGES 1) Replace Reef Diver with a Mondial Shake (the 4-hub model) 2) Replace the Wipeout with another Wipeout. The reliability issues with the model have hopefully been improved by Vekoma. 3) Replace the defunct Eureka Mountain coaster with a spinning wild-mouse. Same layout, but with spinning. This plus the Runaway Reptar will serve the 'low intensity coaster' market perfectly. 4) Add a Mondial Top Scan to Gold Rush Country. I am a complete and utter whore for Top Scans and the world needs more of them. Theme it to a piece of mining equipment gone wrong. 5) In general, improve maintenance, theming and upkeep. One thing I would suggest is getting the Giant Drop back to two-side operation. -SOMEWHAT MAJOR CHANGES 1) Remove Motocoaster. Motocoaster sucks relative to Jetski Rescue. 2) Replace Motocoaster with a GCI woodie, something relatively compact, maybe with a long fan turn turn around the base of the Giant Drop. 3) B&M Flyer on the old Blue Lagoon site. Ideally keep the mountain and give the ride an appropriate theme and name (instead of -insert sponsor's memorabilia here-). For one, it would be a B&M. For two, it would be a unique ride for this part of the world. For three it would be a high-capacity attraction (MUST HAVE 2 TRAIN OPERATION). 4) I don't know how extensive this change will be, but lets look at the possibility of changing the launch mechanism of the Tower of Terror. The primary reason TOT is ran at a relatively low speed is that LIM launches are extraordinarily expensive owing to electricity costs. Would it be even remotely possible to retrofit the launch mechanism to hydraulic launches? I don't know too much about the subject but it certainly doesn't sound like they would use as much electricity. If this is true the TOT could be ran at the speed it should be. With regards to management practices, I think the poster who suggested incentive pay to improve rider throughput was right on the money. Macquarie Leisure is going very well economically, so far at least. If they want to regain ground from WVTP, they will have to put those profits to improving visitor satisfaction.

I hate the Twin Flip. Went on it 2 years ago, all it did was wrench my neck and pulverize my testicles with utterly intolerable lateral G's and uncomfortable restraints. If you are going to make a ride with that kind of G Force, design better restraints!

For the discussion of Flat Rides. One thing I would like to see in this country... A Mondial Shake or Huss Booster (I think the Booster is less likely since Huss went bankrupt last year). Think a Breakdance with loops... this thing could really induce puking. Im not sure which I would prefer... the Mondial Shake has 2 random rotations (the facing of the car (like a breakdance) as well as the car's tumbling), wheras the Booster only has 1 (the car's tumbling around the point of attachment, or 'cartwheeling' like a 'heartline roll' on a coaster or a Zamperla Power Surge). HOWEVER, the lateral forces on a Booster are totally devoted to flipping the car, wheras the Mondial Shake has the forces do both the horizontal and vertical spinning of the car. However the Shake cars seem to tumble easier than the Booster... but the Booster has open vehicles and hence gives a more exposed ride.... Maybe Mondial will do a version of the Shake with more open cars.... And by the way, Mondial have a used Shake for sale on their website. Any Australian Showpersons, please look there! And Mondial's Diablo looks fun.... kind of like an Inferno with inverted seats. Admittedly the Inferno and Diablo are just Topscan's with different seating, but hey, Topscans rule. They are just so f**king fun! Speaking of portable rides, wish that someone would get a Zamperla Backflash. Like the Wipeout with inverted coaster style seats!

I thought that the 2007 Ekka was pretty good, mainly because no one was there! Really, it was great. I thought the Space Roller was utterly awesome. I had 2 rides, one in the very outside seat... I must say its the most demented ride in that seat. The only flat ride that is as good as the Space Roller in the outside seat is Dreamworld's Wipeout. Also managed to get 2 rides on the Power Surge as well. I think its great... The footprint is very size-efficient but its a great ride to go on. The only problem is that the shoulder harness is a little uncomfortable, certainly compared to the Space Roller. But the ride was more than worth it. Also, I think that the Space Roller's restraints need to be praised. I am a larger rider, yet the OTSR's were totally comfortable, even though they did 'squeeze' me a little. Since Sideshow Alley is awfully small I think in the future rides with smaller footprints will be popular. Hopefully this means more Zamperla's, Mondials and KMG's and the like.

WhiteWater World is worth the admission. Its fun, but it is a half-day park. WnW is a full day, manifestly.

I want a B&M Flyer. Possibly use the old Blue Lagoon mountain, re-Use the name "Krakatoa's Revenge" and have it diving in and out of a volcano.... sounds fun to me! Also, they need to replace the car ride around the Tower of Terror, and put rides a bit more spread out around the park.

I actually prefer Spin n Spew rides to drop rides! If anything, DW needs a Top Scan, those things are cool!

During my recent trip to Dreamworld I went on the wipeout for the first time. Its crazy! I love it! It COULD be a bit smoother though, they should just replace it with the same ride (maybe a near-identical one from a better manufacturer).... Wipeout is fun, do NOT get a top spin!!!

To my knowlege the danger of Bowls as bodyslides is all in the landing (hole in the bottom). If you want solo bowls, just ride a Cannon-Bowl or equivalent in a single tube. You wont be able to do that in a behemoth bowl though, the bowl is too large. But the central-core exit makes it safe.

I also went to WWW on the opening day. I did every ride once (except for the kiddie rides) and the Green Room and Hydrocoaster an extra time, and I did it from opening to midday. So yeah, it can be done in one day (I did it and Dreamworld in one day). On to my thoughts: Overall: Park design is a little inconvenient.... getting to the Temple of Huey (worlds worst name for a 3 slide tubing tower) required going around the back of the park... I hope this is fixed soon because the park map shows there to be a path under the Dreamworld Cyclone that isn't there yet. However the staff are friendly, the slides are fun! Its a small park but its good! RIDES Temple of Huey: ****ty name, but the three tube slides are nice and energetic for such small sides. Good for warm up rides, and the fact it intertwines with the Cyclone provides nice headchoppers on the Cyclone as well as a good view for Huey riders. The Rip: Proslide Behemoth Bowl. Its a fun slide that gets you soaked, but I expected the bowl element to be a bit more intense... maybe a smaller bowl would have been better? In short, a good slide whose bark is worse than its bite. BRO-Blue Ringed Octopus Racer: 8 lane racing slide. Its better than Wet-n-Wild's Super 8 Aqua Racer. Not only does it have the cool helix bit, but it also has a smoother landing at the bottom than Super 8. Cool airtime off the drops. I got a pleasant surprise! The Cave of Waves-Wave Pool. Kitsch facade and small waves but this is for the kiddies and families, not thrillseekers. Relaxing though. The Green Room-Proslide Tornado. Very Thrilling. First time I went on it, I went backwards down the (big) drop! A Proslide photographer was there, he said he was amazed how high I went up the side. Short, but very sweet. I can see why these things are popular. I wish that they didnt put in so much extra water near the bottom of the barrel.. it slows you down too much. Super Tubes Hydrocoaster: Best ride in the park. The LIM uphill sections are pretty smooth and the drops are great fun. Some minor airtime too! Helix a little slow but this slide is awesome.