DaptoFunlandGuy

...and a water ride, and eureka mountain and probably half a dozen other things that were removed without replacement. they're still doing great - but there's still a lot of holes in the lineup.

https://youtu.be/uBhyr4qVWRU?si=J1woqRQ3ZxDlz6pE

Absolutely. Hurts nobody, costs nothing, ambient sounds were already part of the package so chucking it in there as a little nod is perfect. Of course everyone is wired differently - i'm certainly not the yardstick (age does things to your inner ear) but when my son tapped out, it highlighted to me that there may be an issue there.

Yeah the old walls were a foam molded product that didn't meet fire performance standards like the internals of the ride and were removed. The new walls do look mostly 2d flats with the embellishments around the screen and props. Smoke in the fountain was always there, just low performance IRL. The images have either done a long exposure which has exaggerated the fog, or they've improved \ upgraded the device responsible.

This still isn't the Aqualoop.

I got on on Friday - Kudos to the opening crew - still ironing things out but the process was quite smooth. I'm not sure they're getting the full value out of the metal detector though - I walked through, beeped, pointed to my belt buckle and they just accepted my word on it. In a US park where metal detectors are used, they'd wand you to make sure. The park is looking good again (my last visit it was showing some signs of neglect). The ride itself looks great, the theming work and queue house is top notch. I heard the ambient sounds in the queue but i'm not sure if they were playing the soundtrack during the ride as I didn't hear anything different when riding or observing. It sure packs a punch though. I was absolutely once and done, my son went for a second round while I watched but even that was enough for him. He used to be able to do back to back cycles on The Claw - but two was enough for him... i'm hoping this ride isn't too polarising for guests - if it isn't repeatable, then the park has done their capacity a disservice. @Spotty I feel you on the restraints - Since 2016 I couldn't get the restraints over my shoulders either - but King Claw's restraint is a much nicer fit.

Don't be ridiculous! What makes you think they went to business school?

We're in Coffs just before Christmas so hopefully we'll get a chance to check it out

I mean, you called TRRR into play by referencing "this day and age" and "inquest" and "death". But it's irrelevant. "Village won't change" - that's the issue we're discussing. They need to. They don't want to and they won't, but that doesn't alter the fundamental point of this discussion is that they should. Village have developed the perfect business model - charge people a small fortune for a product, but then don't deliver it, and say "but look at how safe we are!" If left unchecked, eventually they'll just remove your wallet and phone from your pocket at the gate, and tell you to go home expecting you to feel great about how safe they made everything by simply closing the park while you continue to pay for it. I sense the frustration in your tone enough to know that we aren't coming at this from opposite sides and we both agree how shit Village's culture is in this regard. I'm just saying 'something should change' and you're saying 'but they won't'. Both are true. You're right that this took root long before private equity came in, but the compounding issue that private equity brings is this: Private equity won't do that.

I think what you mean to say is "works to repair the long dilapidated and rotting timber deck that used to be outdoor seating are still ongoing"

I wonder what they're waiting to put in here behind the test seat...

I've said it before, and i'll say it again - Polo shirts - done in a nice modern dri-fit \ wickaway fabric. See Nike or Under Armour golf shirts. Given this thread was a year ago - I would have hoped Village might have taken some of it on board. If the ride still has fog\haze in the disco room, there's always going to be residue.

It's a management cop-out to push this narrative though. You've destroyed your efficiency, you make guests wait hours for something that is unnecessary, you keep charging more, and giving people less for their money - and is a complete fallacy. A courageous person would be confident to stand in front of the Coroner and testify that even though the incident happened at X point in the ride, nothing the supervisor could have done would have changed the outcome until the train reached the brake run. (Let's not forget that the ride time is just over a minute and almost half of that is the lift hill). If that isn't good enough, or you want to go further than that, install additional E-stop mushrooms along the station wall so the operator can reach it from any position on the station - or a pull-cable strung down the length of the station like they do on quarry conveyors so you can pull it no matter where you are along the length. This is the problem with people doing risk assessments with only the direct cost in mind. Someone did a risk assessment on TRRR and concluded that many safety upgrades were needed - but due to cost, they decided not to do them all straight away and went with what they felt was the most important features first (they were wrong). A lot of the TRRR safety measures that had been implemented were administrative controls - and keeping the supervisor at the panel - when it is clear that first, it makes no difference and second, it hurts your guest experience - when for a little extra cost you could upgrade the attraction to eliminate the issue, is pathetic. If you're going to knee jerk your way into tanking your capacity, then spend the money on additional labour so the supervisor can stay at the panel, AND you have another station attendant to check harnesses to keep the trains moving.

$5 after 5pm rocked at Wonderland back in the day. Not sure annual passes make that metric work very well these days, but you can do it successfully.