Dreamworld set for December 10 staged reopening

Dreamworld will reopen to the public more than six weeks after its closure following an incident that took the lives of four guests. A portion of proceeds from its reopening weekend will be donated to the Australian Red Cross.

Image: Dreamworld.com.au. Dreamworld and WhiteWater World are set to reopen on December 10.

December 10-11 is described as a Open Hearts – Open Doors charity event. $25 from every guest and passholder that attends will be donated to the victims families.

Over this charity weekend, Dreamworld will donate $25 for every guest and passholder through the door to the Australian Red Cross. These funds will be distributed to the families and those most affected by the tragedy through the GIVIT Appeal Independent Distribution Committee.

-dreamworld.com.au

The reopening will be a staggered approach. WhiteWater World will open fully, as will a selection of Dreamworld's family attractions. No thrill rides appear to be slated for reopening.

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Other rides will progressively open at Dreamworld as they are signed off by the safety review process.

-dreamworld.com.au

It's reasonable to assume that the entire Gold Rush area will be off limits following the fatal incident on Thunder River Rapids in October. Buzzsaw is the only other operational ride in this area.

Buzzsaw, Tower of Terror II and Giant Drop's western side all have a clear lines of site into the Thunder River Rapids area and as such may be impacted by this incident.

The reopening follows six weeks of closure that saw the park undergo extensive police and other official investigations. Dreamworld has stated that every attraction has undergone extensive inspections and audits by:

  • Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
  • Dreamworld’s internal engineering review team,
  • ride engineering experts Pitt & Sherry and
  • leading international theme park safety specialists, LTC

The closure has had significant impact to the theme park's earnings. Ardent Leisure have announced that they expect the total costs for the period to include up to $4.2 million in operating costs and a further $1.6 million directly relating to the incident. The same period in 2015 saw revenue at the theme park of $7.6 million.