Recent Articles Latest News Special Features Press Releases
Theme Park Profiles Ride Profiles Construction HQ Submit Parks/Rides
Latest Photos Construction HQ Submit Your Photos
Parkz Forums Community Guidelines
ThemeParkPhotography.com
About Parkz Info for Park Operators Our History Our Staff & Contributors Join the Team Legal Information Frequently Asked Questions Contact Us
Your Profile (main site) Your Profile (forums) Your Photos Submit Parks / Rides Submit Photos Submit Article Logout
Quick Links
Related Parks:
Search Articles

Dreamworld, June 2010

By Richard Wilson

Another month and we're back with the latest Parkz Update. Attractions are being built and undergoing all over the Gold Coast and we've got it all covered here.
>>1 comment

 

Thunder River Rapids is back in action, soaking anyone that dares to ride it at this time of year. Curiously, on an overcast winter's day, the ride was a walkon!

Another month and some new closures. It is very important that you follow all warnings and do not cross any barriers.

They exist for your protection!

Another set of remote controlled boats. It seems that with enough perseverance and $2 coins you can take the boats wherever you like.

 

1932 days since the Skylink Chairlift closed and wasn't removed.

1330 days since Eureka Mountain Mine Ride closed and wasn't removed. Note the way that the rotting plastic and faded paint really adds to the gold mining theme of the area.

Tower of Terror upgrade:

Tower of Terror's launch track is now fully enclosed.

The tunnel goes right up to the end of the launch track.

Here you can see where the original short launch tunnel connects to the extension.

Now not only is the ride obnoxiously loud from surrounding areas, it's also obnoxiously visible.

The new ride experience is worth a try while they continue working on the upgrade, even as a plain dark dunnel.

Giant Drop runs at half capacity during off-peak periods often making it the only ride in the park with a queue on a relatively quiet day. This means that if you get there early you might avoid queues all day.

Thankfully the koalas aren't running at reduced capacity though!

Richard Wilson has written 241 articles for Parkz and Submitted 2,082 photos in our Gallery.

WhiteWater World, June 2010

This month we went inside WhiteWater World to brave the winter weather to check out The Wedgie.
>>2 comments

In this edition of the Parkz Update we test rode the Wedgie. Here is the signage at the entrance.

No, we aren't 10 months too early, they just haven't updated the sign yet.

You can see that they've recently added an extra bit of shade sail (right) to the original cave of waves shade structures (left).

Pineline Plunge is down for maintenance, so anyone wanting to have buckets of water dumped on them in the middle of winter will have to wait a few weeks.

Pizza Franchises are all the rage at the Gold Coast parks at the moment. WhiteWater World has an Eagle Boys now...Closed unfortunately.

The main eatery, Bite Me Cafe, did carry Eagle Boys products though.

The Shell is Whitewater World's function centre, closed for the winter according to the sign.

We discovered The Shell contains a thoughtful feature, a soft play area with a ball pit for the little ones.


This month we were able to brave the cold and check out The Wedgie up close and in person.

The slide is quite simple, but at the same time quite thrilling (And at times intimidating).

Here you can see the "SkyBox" launch chamber, which contains a trap door that releases guests into the slide. The park has also installed a window, so you can see people dropping in to the slide.

If the ride is going to do what it says on the tin, this is where it happens (Fortunatley, we avoided any real wedgies.

The helix is quite intense!

Overall, it's a pretty solid ride, but you can't help but feel Wet 'n' Wilds offering will totally eclipse it in every way. It's a nice preview of what's to come though, and adds a much needed thrilling body slide to the park.

The glass wall doesn't exactly do much to contain the splash... something that no doubt will need fixing before the weather warms in a few months.

You can see how steep is has to go to get underneath Supertubes Hydrocoaster.

ProSlide, the mark of quality.

And we'll 'stop' the Dreamworld/WhiteWater World segment of this update, with their latest apparent brand affiliaton -- the Spice Girls.

Richard Wilson has written 241 articles for Parkz and Submitted 2,082 photos in our Gallery.

Warner Bros. Movie World, June 2010

All updates from June 28, 2010:
Warner Bros. Movie World have recently debuted their new show for the holidays -- a DC Comics 75th Anniversary parade that will play daily at the park.
>>0 comments

We were a couple of days early for the DC Comics 75th anniversary celebrations, but the banners were up for it.

The big screen has grown some new speakers.

Retail outlets are getting into it too.

How about "OMG I've been to Movie World"?

The Hollywood Stunt Driver team out on the street for a meet 'n' greet with park guests.

Sweet Treats sells filled churros now.

The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter has just opened at Islands of Adventure in Florida, but they weren't the first to have a Harry Potter themed attraction. Movie World had a themed walk through in the early 2000s, though the Harry Potter shop lives on.

We took a walk through Chinatown.

And look what we found. We see what you did there...

Not a phoneme.

Lethal Weapon is up and running again after its annual maintenance.

Lets go Wild West Area now. The showdown had a decent crowd.

Toy Story 3?!... in a Warner Bros. Park?! It's a travesty I tells ya! Well, Toy Story 3 is a movie, so we'll let them off this time.

Theme parks aren't immune from the Angus craze sweeping the world.

We found another dog tag machine.

Looking a bit closer, it's even themed a little bit inside.

Looking really close now....we liked this tag the best.

 

There's also now a Player piano in the western area, and free!

 

Guests can activate it at will. The old time music created by it adds nicely to the ambience of the area.

On the way out we spotted this offer. Not quite as good as Dreamworld's perennial $10 return pass.

"That's all folks!"

Richard Wilson has written 241 articles for Parkz and Submitted 2,082 photos in our Gallery.

Sea World, June 2010

Sea World's latest attractions are under construction right now for their expected September opening, and we have all the construction covered in this latest edition of The Parkz Update.
>>2 comments

Welcome to Sea World. We weren't sure what the idea was with this combination of tensabarriers and ropes, but bonus points for sheer creativity.

 

The arcade has taken over Beach Eats on Seasame Street Beach.

New signage for one of the park's newest arrivals.

Taking a photo of a baby dolphin is never easy, and the windy overcast weather makes it pretty much impossible.  Rest assured there is a baby dolphin *somewhere* in this photo.


Work continues on refurbing the water play attraction in Seasame Street Beach.

Elmo's Submarines has reopened after it's brief annual check up.

Viking's Revenge Flume Ride is back in action since our last update.

Skyway remains closed.

Good news and bad news about Pirates Unleashed! Good news is that after many months absence, the pyro is back. Bad news is that the show is still Pirates Unleashed!

Discounts don't stop at the front gate.

Castaway Bay was recently announced and construction is well underway.

Castaway Bay will combine a splash battle ride, an adventure playground, and a high ropes course.

The Splash Battle is expected open in September.

Construction and demolition is taking place around what was Shark Attack/Dugong Discovery

 

The former home of Sea World's Pirate ship now makes the perfect spot to enjoy a pack lunch.

Richard Wilson has written 241 articles for Parkz and Submitted 2,082 photos in our Gallery.

Wet'n'Wild Water World, June 2010

All updates from June 28, 2010:
The summer is shaping up to be a huge one at Wet'n'Wild Water World with the addition of Australia's first looping slides. If you didn't catch it, their competition to name the slides that we here at Parkz have been calling AquaLoop for many months closed and Wet'n'Wild announced the winning entry. Introducing (drumroll)... AquaLoop!
>>1 comment

Before we get onto the AquaLoop construction, we have an important update in the world of paving.

Like with WhiteWater World's Eagle Boys, Wet'n'Wild have Domino's throughout the park.

You needn't travel far between slides for a pizza fix.

Calypso Bar features plenty of bright shade sails. I should be a good vantage point to watch the flowrider.

You heard right. We were scratching our heads at what this giant pit was, but it has since been announced that Wet'n'Wild are building their own FlowRider, named Endless Wave.

They've done the sensible thing of including a water attraction in a water park, not a dry park.

And here we are with AquaLoop. Plenty of dirt thus far.

This picture is interesting because you can see what was below ground level at the bottom of the now relocated Speedcoaster (Speecoaster and Twister now have a new home at Big Splash water park in Canberra for those of you who haven't been following the forum discussions).

The shade structure haven't made the trip to Canberra though.

Supports, reinforcing, escape ladders, and stairs have been delivered for the new attraction. No slide segments yet though.

'The time has come to...Galvanise'.....And finish this update.

 That's The Parkz Update for another month. Remember school holidays are currently on and many thousands of discount annual passes expire shortly so the parks may be a bit busy for the next few weeks. It is of course worth it to catch some of the seasonal attractions, but don't expect to get too many rides done in a day.

Richard Wilson has written 241 articles for Parkz and Submitted 2,082 photos in our Gallery.