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AlexB can you show it as a box on nearmap, not just a line, so we get a truer sense of the impact on main street Leave that space as it is.

*Cared I think given a bit of time, with some of the current changes and the management they have things will work out better long term. I will 110% agree that at the time of the incident and a few years after this was still much the same IMO but I really do hope that the current management keep going on the path they are going on and turn the place around.

I feel like the fairy store needs to go (unless it’s still popular. I’ve never been into that store and have never really noticed if it’s busy or not???). Removing that building will open up what has become a bit of a bottleneck pathway with sky voyager. And once the new coaster opens, that path will become a hell of a lot busier, especially during peak periods

Yeah I don’t think a Ferris wheel there would be good either, it would just make that area more chaotic. We’ve got the bright LEGO store, the white clean SV, simple, but bright stores and food outlets and a fairy store. I think bringing back the fountains would be nice and maybe make it a unique feature. Maybe there could be a small fountain show of some form in the middle. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or a scheduled time, but adds to the atmosphere of Main Street. Continuing on about the details and our parks not caring as much anymore. It many ways the attention to detail has gone and they may see it as small things, but they add up and really can make a difference. While it’s not an amazing use of space, the shaded seating area creates the bright atmosphere that people loving sharing on social media. Disney and Universal thrive on these moments and are throughout all of their parks. Our parks need more of these moments. MW did have this on Main Street, but when they added the roof in, it took away from that. DW seem to currently be working on these ideas and it is improving.

A ferris wheel would be better suited between the two kids areas where tower occupies. The idea of a giant wheel immediately as you enter the park isn't exactly something I'd like to see upon first entering the park.

Not going to lie, I think where the TOT station is would be a great spot for a Ferris Wheel, right between the two family areas. One of the wheels like the one in Brisbane as AlexB suggested, or even a smaller 50m version would be a great fit. You could landscape the area nicely around it, and would open up the area between Dreamworks, Tiger Island and ABC Kids World. I think placing it there, and doing up the front area as others have suggested with a DECENT fountain display. One that springs to mind honestly is the main fountains that Kings Island has. This behind the Dreamworld Globe and maybe a few nice shady Palm Trees in Main Street would work really nice. I also agree move the fairy shop to the Dreamworks / ABC Kids area. I mean honestly, you could even retheme it to trolls (which I know has been done, but is still relevant and could tie in well with Dreamworks) and then you would open that spot up for BuzzSaw access and the new coaster. Repaint the Candy Shop to make it not quite as bright like what they did with the ice cream parlour and I think Main Street would be a very nice area to relax in. Once this is done, then look at fixing up the Giant Drop's theming / queue area and open up the moto coaster area. I think the biggest issue I have with the motocoasters appearance is the huge bulky shop that is at the entrance. If you moved the shop to where the old food outlet was (which lets face it, is unlikely to ever reopen again as a food outlet) and knocked down that area you could really open the space up and even redo the entry (or retheme the ride) and it would make a huge difference to that whole area I feel. Especially once the Tower of Terror's launch track is gone. Give the ride a repaint and you honestly have the whole front of the park looking spick and span again. I can wish haha!

Does anyone have any info on the history of the fairy store? its been there as long as I can remember, but damned if I can see what makes it so popular to deserve the prime real-estate of right beside the gate entry. Agree, removing that building to widen the thoroughfare for the new coaster, and pathways to that side of the park would be nice.

A fair point - however my point has always been that the private equity firms are always going to do whatever generates them the most money regardless of the legacy they leave behind.

Pandamonium.

Correct. The argument that current generation isn’t interested and therefore doesn’t need quality and detail is false. This is being proven time and time again but the latest offerings by Disney and Universal. They HAVE to keep outdoing each other because it’s been shown when one takes immersion to another level, they lose business to the other. immersion and detail is key.

Except with MDMC

No one notices the little things, until the little things aren't there anymore

My resume is attached You'll note that my version includes 2 genuine family attractions as well as an intermediate thrill ride and a large thrill ride. I've also designed it so there is a very gentle family ride next to the dolphin pools which provides peaceful views rather than screams. The main thrill ride also has a different theme to the rest because it's station is in a different part of the park, and long term the opportunity exists to make a new land themed to all those cool myths and legends of the sea. OK so fun and games and armchair imagineering aside, it's simple. Everytime there's a choice between making the park better or worse, choose the thing that makes it better. Do that for 10 years and there's a decent park there again. So, would getting rid of the monorail make the park better or worse? Worse, so don't do that. Would reopening the Flume ride make the park better or worse? Better, so do that. Would a rewrite of the dolphin shows make the park better or worse? Would having less space because you've given a heap of land over to a 2nd gate or resort make the park better or worse? Really it's just those questions all the way down. Do things over and over that make the park better. Even better if there's some vision of what the better park is they're working towards. Oh and when setting out a vision, ask if the vision is better or worse than what it used to be. 'Our vision is for a park which appeals almost exclusively to infants. Is that better or worse than what the park used to be?' Worse. So don't do that.

The majority of Disney's guests don't understand the science or the reasoning behind what makes parks like Disneyland so magical, but it's unquestionable that every single guest appreciates their attention to detail and it's why they continue to be the gold standard for theme parks globally.

Tower was a world class ride that put the park back on the map. It gave us in a way 2 world class rides. I agree the placement was just shit, however the layout of the park made it very hard for it to go in anywhere else. What world class ride would you have put into the park DJ that had the same effect as TOT and GD had at the time? During that era it was all about going taller and faster, and it was TOT and GD that put Dreamworld on the world stage for the first time ever. So when I say “what it stood for”, that’s what I mean. I hate what it did to the park aesthetic, but I can’t stand there and ignore all the benefits it bought to that park because of the negatives that came with it.

See that’s the point though. It’s the little detail that should be done because it’s the right thing to do. Have the water wheel working again, because it’s the right thing to do. People see a broken water wheel and their impression is “well that’s shit”. People see a working water wheel, and either ignore it, or as you said “hey that’s cool, let’s instagram it”. Even if they ignored that water wheel, subconsciously they took note of it, and it’s a piece of a place making memory that will last a lifetime. As I said, there are things that should be done because it’s the right thing to do. On the Main Street buildings, you’ve got me there, however it doesn’t change my thoughts that the buildings must still look presentable, clean and not broken. First impressions count, and Main Street is Dreamworld’s first inside the park impression. On the train, in a thrill park (six flags style) it makes sense to have a diesel train, because as you said the target market isn’t interested. However if the new core focus of Dreamworld is families, then a steam train is an attraction that you can’t get anywhere else, which is important as it gives the families a lasting memory. They could go anywhere and ride a diesel or electric train, but at Dreamworld they can ride behind a genuine steam locomotive, and not only that but they can get right upto it and have a good look at it. it’s something they should do because it’s the right thing to do. If Dreamworld is a genuine family park, then they need to focus on the little detail, because it’s those little details, and doing things that they should do because it’s the right thing to do which create impressions and memories to last a lifetime. Setup those memories and emotion right now; and in 30 years time when that family is all grown up and has kids of their own; the subconscious memories skew that family to Dreamworld, and the cycle continues.

I disagree. The bright and colourful makes Main Street seem like a toy shop. It’s bright and colourful but what it needs is detail and more realistic apathetic. The globe is cool and all, but it’s execution is average at best. The fountain used to have multiple jets and a pristine fountain in the middle. Very classy. We won’t ever see Captain Sturt return, however why not look at using the river for a boat attraction, similar in vein to Jungle Cruise? Vintage cars are the parks best attraction yet they are in the worst possible spot. I hope that eventually gets addressed, Old Dreamworld had charm, and people loved it. It included detail and things we can only dream of today. Such as the detailing on the train carriages that are now gone, a genuine steam locomotive which is an attraction itself, a clock tower with a train that went around every 15 mins. There was the waterwheel in Billabong which also doesn’t spin or have water running through it anymore. These details existed because they should, not because they were needed. It’s time for these little things to be looked at again, and that alone will go a long way in restoring the magic of the park.

Ah now I feel like I'm duty bound to explain what's wrong with the place lol Honestly where to do even start with what's happened to Sea World? Since the moment they broke ground on Jet Rescue the park has been in a very sharp decline, and that comes on the back of about 10 years of stagnation. What strikes me is how almost all of it isn't stuff that was beyond their control, but its 12 years of every time a decision had to be made, very reliably the wrong decision was made until we eventually get to the point where the park is as it is now. Let's go through what I mean: - Jet Rescue breaks ground. As part of construction, the train closes, and will never reopen. Bermuda's gas line is ruptured, the decision is made to not repair it, killing off one of the main things that made that ride so special - Carnival games are added to the plaza - Sea World's Water park is given over to the resort. No new capital expenditure accompanies this move, and the Water Park becomes a $5 upcharge for park guests. The Resort is rebranded 'Sea World Resort & Water Park' - Corkscrew, probably the most iconic theme park attraction on the Gold Coast, is painted orange, and is renamed 'Sea Viper' as part of an upgrade that includes new Kumbak trains. The trains (which are heavier and will eventually cause stress on the track that will see the ride closed) are ugly, uncomfortable, and cause the ramp to the station to have steps put in it for clearance making the ride less wheelchair and stroller friendly than it used to be (even if they're not riding, people in wheelchairs and strollers want to not be in the sun, ya know?), the new colour scheme is unneeded, and renders all the thousands of photos of the Corkscrew used to promote the Gold Coast as a whole, obsolete. The retheme comes with no new themeing. - Sea World's ski show, one if it's most iconic shows, closes to make way for a high dive show. While some work is done on the stage area, the main set for this show is a repurposed endeavor replica to keep costs down. - Management experiment with opening all rides at 10:30, for a parkwide saving of maybe a few hundred dollars a day. - An upcharge peddle boat attraction is added to the Ski Lake - The park's only traditional restaurant, Paradise Room, closes. - Dugong Discovery is replaced with a display about Shark attacks, the tone of which is different to Sea World's general message that the dangers of sharks are over stated and they need to be protected. - Stage 1 of Castaway Bay opens, which includes a battle boats attraction, large play structure, and an (Upcharge) sky climb attraction. The kids pool and Plunge Water slide, are not reintegrated to the park despite a natural fit with the Battle Boats attraction, and geographical distance between them and the Sea World Resort which they technically remain a part of, and remain an upcharge. - Planet SOS, a decent 3D movie with decent in theatre effects, is replaced with Happy Feet 3D, which is basically Happy Feet with 7/8ths of the film removed, and no in theatre effects. - Pirates Unleashed high dive show is replaced with Jet Stunt Extreme, a 90's era extreme sports style show, which is at the very least uses the lake better than the smaller high dive show. As part of this change the Endeavor replica which had sat in a dolphin pool where it was an iconic scenery piece, is moved to the back of the lake where it is left for several years, before being demolished. - After limping along with little to no maintenance for many years, (which includes another of the rides iconic features, the disappearing UFO, being inoperable for many years) , Bermuda Triangle closes suddenly as serious structural issues are identified with the tunnels throughout the ride, and the cost of repair is deemed too high. It's eventual replacement is still 3 and a half years away, for the bulk of that time the ride sits decaying behind a temporary fence - Penguin Encounter replaces the short lived Shark Attack display. It repurposes a lot of the pre existing World of the Sea theatre, which limits the size of the exhibit. As part of the attraction opening, the small aquarium which was under the guest services building is closed boarded up. - The Pirate Ship, one of the parks few rides (even back then) is deemed to costly to repair and is removed. It is purchased by a park in Victoria where it still runs around 10 years later. - SpongeBob Parade opens. It works as a show more successfully than it does a parade, as Sea World has no parade route. As part of the parade, inflatable replicas of SpongeBob's house are installed on the Island, and one of the Monorails is decommissioned, and it's PLC is used to control fountains installed for the show. The remaining trains become wrapped in promotional material for the parade, which obscures the view for people in the monorails, and the wraps remain on the train for at least 12 months after the parade's eventual closure. As part of the Nick License, the park installs SpongeBob 3D into the 3D theatre. The 5min film is designed to be played as part of a motion base ride, and underwhelms in a 450 seat theatre with no 4D effects. - Seal Harbour opens. It is basically an area which was already used to house Seals which was made accessible to the public. While nice enough, the design brief seems to be 'Really nice bus stop' and it lacks any real charm. It is also a dead end and tucked out of the way and attracts few visitors, but is a nice enough addition to the park. - Dinosaur Island, a display featuring model dinosaurs opens in 2 unconnected locations; on the peninsula leading to the light house, and the long closed Broadwater Café, a small restaurant which features stunning views of the Broadwater. It's out of theme at Sea World, and guests entering the park now see random Dinosaurs across the lake as their first impression upon walking into the park. -Storm Coaster, Bermuda Triangle's replacement opens. Continuing in the tradition of the ride system to be less than the sum of it's parts, Storm is much less than the sum of it's parts. The Roller Coaster section is intimidating for small kids and not thrilling enough for adults, the most exciting visual element, the splashdown takes place inside. The very short dark ride element takes place after what is the natural finale for the ride type - the splashdown, as such is garners little to no interest from riders and instead makes for a weak and rushed finale. While the ride does succeed in bringing some much needed life to the middle of the park, it requires the shortening of the Flume Ride, and the theme is for a Storm ripping through a shipping yard, as such the theme is for the ride to look ugly and messy. - Sea Viper succumbs to it's new Kumbak train and age and is decommissioned as the track becomes too expensive to maintain. - Dolphin Cove is renamed Dolphin Beach in response to the negative connotations of the word 'Cove' after the release of the anti marine parks documentary about the Taji dolphin massacres, and the long running Imagine Dolphin Show is replaced with a new show called 'Affinity'. In the backdrop of an increasing animal rights movement, Affinity is a great angle of attack to start a pro SW response talking about the Affinity and care SW has for it's animals, how the show you're watching is great exercise and enrichment for the animals, and calling on guests to have affinity for the ocean as a whole. Unfortunately though Affinity is written like someone took 50 goes at writing the opening line, and decided not to waste the effort and reused them for every line in the show. It does nothing to further the park's message and comes off as a weak follow up to its predecessor. Further to this and as part of the change from 'Cove' to 'Beach' tacky changing pavilions are added around the venue which further dilutes the potential message that SW takes the care of the animals seriously (Which it absolutely does) - Sea World gets a new kids land as Sesame Street land is replaced by Nickelodeon Land. Only the Carousel and Plane Ride remain from the land's former incarnation, and 4 new kids rides are installed. They include inspired choices such as custom Rockin' Tug and Tea Cups, along with less inspired choices like the second most generic kiddie coaster on the market (behind the Wacky Worm), and the extremely low capacity peddle powered flat ride. The Skyway, one of the park's genuine family rides closes. It had been running at a greatly reduced speed for many years prior to it's closure. This puts more pressure on the parks one remaining transport ride, the Monorail, which now routinely only runs one train at a reduced speed due to the constant need for maintenance to trains and having no slack in the system after the decommissioning of the third train years earlier. - Following the 2016 tragedy at Dreamworld, the Viking's Revenge Flume ride never reopens from scheduled maintenance. Some half hearted attempts are made to investigate an Intamin retrofit, however plans to bring the ride come with a plan to make the ride shorter by removing the castle portion of the ride and replacing it with an aviary. in the end, no decision is ever made, and 4 years later, the ride continues to rot in full view of the public with no replacement in sight. - Dinosaur Island is replaced by the 'Creatures of the Deep' display. While on theme and an improvement on it's predecessor, it still comes off as a fairly phoned in attraction which is visually unappealing when viewed from the entrance of the park. - The remains of the old Sea World water park stop being an upcharge as the Plunge Slide and kiddie pool closes. It's eventual replacement is 2 years away. In response to the declining park, the upcharge Sky Fortress is now included in park admission - Sea World embarks on two big renovation projects, one is the revamp of Dockside Tavern. The renovation includes removing the bar, and replacing it was a place to queue as the capacity of the venue is massively reduced as there is no longer a large bar. The Verandah is also expanded towards Nick Land and the exterior is suited to match that land. It also includes a photo of Sea World in the 80s. There are more rides in that photo than there are in the current park. The Plaza is also given a make over. The train station is demolished, and a new path is added to funnel people through the newly renovated area. The area is nice, but lacks anything to make it special; the buildings are bland and have no character and the tacky carnival games remain causing a bottleneck. The improved flow of guests and general newness do add some much needed and welcome freshness to the park though. - Sea World's mediocre Fish Detectives show is replaced by the laughably bad Seal Guardians show. While their are many problems with the show, ultimately the biggest problem is it skews stupidly young, and anyone over the age of 10 would struggle to enjoy it, despite the fact this is a show that contains actual real life trained seals. - Sea Jellies Illuminated takes over the indoor section of the Creatures of the Deep attraction. It is based off a popular attraction over seas where jelly fish are displayed with various lighting effects. A research lab upstairs is included upstairs as an attempt to give it a little credibility. The lighting in the attraction is very dim to give the Jellies more prominence, and many people blinded by the outside sun often cram into the small area at the same time which causes some issues. Ultimately, the good outweighs the bad and it is a decent addition to the park - The remains of the Water Park are replaced by a water splash area for kids which would be right at home next door as part of the resort. Here it's a nice enough area for small kids to play. While it is themed, it's not intended to be immersive, as large cartoon style fish decorate the area. A 'Volcano' on stilts is built (presumably at some decent cost) to hide some pipes which are used as part of Shark Bay's filtration system, Overall, it's a nice addition which goes well with the Splash Battle next door and the play structure. - The Lighthouse is demolished to make way for Sky Flyer, a traveling carnival ride previously called 'Space Jam' which is brought in to bolster a decimated ride lineup. It's questionable placement next to Dolphin Pools again slightly undermines the parks credibility when talking about how much it cares for it's animals. While nothing about it's placement it cruel, screams of riders now echo over dolphin pools. This isn't cruel for the animals, but is noticeable for people who may be on the fence about the park - MW's Carnivale event is moved to Sea World for it's third year. During the peak season at Sea World now, the park is a mess of old parade floats and decorations that are meant to be viewed not by you daytime visitor who makes up the bulk of the trade, but by the people who buy a ticket to an upcharge event which is basically a night market with entertainment. In it's first year at Sea World, it runs without a headline show as the parade designed for Movie World can't be brought over. In later years, that glaring omission (which I called out the second the event was announced in it's first year) was corrected with the addition of Aquacolour. A decent show which had no tie in to Carnivale, but had a decent scale and was watchable enough to entertain for it's 20min run time. Most recently the show has been given a link to Carnivale, but was also scaled down as part of that change. Despite the fact that a nighttime show like this would be a slam dunk running every night from Dec 26 to late Jan, it remains something that is only for Carnivale guests. Realistically, most guests leave Sea World long before closing anyway, so extending closing time to 7.30 might be a step to far. - Jet Stunt Extreme is replaced with a Ski Show. But not just any Ski Show, a hip 90's Extreme Sports show! With totally bogus BMX Riding and a radical Monster Truck boat, brought to life by the cool team at Showtime FMX! Perhaps a little harsh a review, it is a deeply flawed show, but a baby step in the right direction which now boasts 3 deeply flawed shows as it's biggest attractions. - Sea World announces it's new Atlantis precinct (because themed lands are sooooo not how we do theme parks any more). The plans include a Top Spin, Permanent Star Flyer, and a Traditional Wooden Coaster. One of the considerations for the traditional wooden coaster over something like an RMC coaster is that the new wooden coaster will have a lower height requirement. The first ride to open will be Vortex, a Top Spin ride which traditionally has a 140cm height restriction, putting it out of reach for many guests. In a tone deaf move given the animal rights movement, this high energy thrill ride will be placed on the edge of a dolphin pool, and ultimately, the ride seems more about sticking it to Dreamworld rather than adding a ride which is best fit for the park. The themeing of the new land promises to be wholey abstract and in no way immersive according to concept art. It remains to be seen if any attempt will be made to theme the back of the sets for Thunderlake which from the back looks like an unappealing shed, (and from the front looks like an unappealing warehouse). - Sea World sells it's helicopter business to a new company who continue to fly using the Sea World Helicopters name. A new facility is built in the Sea World car park. It is described as 'World Class' yet the tarmac from the old carpark is not even resurfaced, and the lines from the carparks remain visible. - As part of construction for the new area which contains no family rides, Sea World will close the Monorail, it's last proper family ride. Rumors are swirling that much like the train when Jet Rescue was built, the Monorail may never reopen. So yeah, want to know why the park feels like a pale imitation of it's former self? THAT is why. That's what happened to the park. 12 years of poor decisions one after the other over and over again. It's NOT your imagination, the park has gone massively down hill. By the time Leviathan opens it'll be nearly 5 years since Viking's closed and it's still there rotting. The park will have a total of zero family rides. The shows are all objectively worse than they used to be. Village takes no pride in the park, and that filters down to the staff in their corporate Village Roadshow branded uniforms who couldn't give less of a shit if they were constipated. Moreover Nothing special has happened at the park since 2004 when Shark Bay opened. Everything feels phoned in, on the cheap or poorly executed, mostly involving repurposing stuff that was already there rather than building anything new or innovative. I know I've gone more into the past than the current state of play, but really if you just look at every decision they've made in the recent past which has shaped the park, you'll understand exactly the current state of the park, that it's not your imagination, it is a mess, and that even if you take nostalgia out of it, the park is objectively bad.

I don't mind the idea of a power splash, but it doesn't fill the same void in the park as Rocky Hollow or TRR. A log rideis a genuine family ride, a power splash is a ride that isn't thrilling enough for most thrillseekers, and is really at the high end for what you could reasonanly call a family ride. So if you wanted to do a power splash, fine, but it's not really something that works as a log ride replacement, and there's about 5 other things DW needs first before a power splash. That power loop looks like such a confused concept, because by adding an inversion you've taken out the family element all together, and you now have a ride that is borderline not that thrilling, that families won't ride, that you also get wet on. In the right park maybe it'd work, but it's a very firm no from me.

Merterberster

Unless I’m mistaken, I believe several of MW’s hand driers are some of the last opening day attractions left.

Fountain Reaccs Only