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Enjoyed a fun and relaxing day today at PC. Don’t think numbers would have been above 100 in the time I was there, Only noticeable impacts from covid were social distancing in the seated show areas (1 row gap), no buffet component with meals (as expected), no damper to share (self explanatory) and all seats and contacts points wiped down after every cycle of the tractor ride.   oh, and the marmoset says hello

Bikash shared these photos on his story (photos taken by @courtney_patrice)

So I briefly visited SW today, did a lap around the park and through some of the exhibits to see how things were set up/operating, etc. As expected, there is a heap of signage everywhere, most of them looking like this: At the park entrance there is signage showing how to use the app and add your tickets in Some of the carpark has been fenced off, as it is being used for the extended queue area for park entry We arrived at around 1pm and there was a quite the queue to get in. Partly because there were only two booths open, but also because for people who didn't have the app and hadn't added their tickets, the staff member had to take all the detail about each person of the group. I imagine this would have been the entry process when the park opened very long and slow. Inside the park, every store has an entry and exit door, with queue markers throughout the park. There aren't too many of these, particularly around food outlets, so I imagine this could become chaotic during busy times (A staff member did tell me that they are prepared for massive crowds this weekend, with plenty of staff on). All indoor animal exhibits, have set up outdoor queue areas with green tape (as seen in the carpark), with a staff member at the entrance counting people in and out. For Penguin Encounter, they are only using the back door. For Shark Bay, they have set up a very long (back to Polar Bear Shores) queue area, as the capacity was only around 100. All touch pools are now 'no touch, only look pools'. In the underwater viewing area of Shark Bay, while there are markers for social distancing, no one was really obeying them and instead would stand where ever there was a view. The underwater viewing area for Polar Bear Shores has been closed off too. In Castaway Bay, only the splash pad and boats are open. Storm Coaster are seating every second row, so that means the capacity is now only 4 people per boat. The queue wasn't very long, but there was a 30 minute wait. Jet Rescue was closed for maintenance, but I would imagine they will skip every second row too. For stadium seating, they have marked out 1.5 metres as a guide for guests One thing that did surprise me was I didn't see any hand sanitising stations. I was on the look out for them, but could not see them anywhere. I expected there to be one at the end of Shark Bay (as it is a one way system), but there wasn't. I did go on any rides, but I'd like to think they is some at the end of each ride. Also, I can confirm Sea World's current capacity is set at 6,500 (there was a sign at the entrance). The carpark was about 75% full and the park didn't feel too busy. Will be interesting to see if they reach capacity on the weekend. Overall, the park was doing what we would be expecting and it was great to be back in the park. It was also nice to see VRTP staff happy and enjoying themselves. The staff that I spoke too/was served by were all really nice and welcomed conversation. GENERAL PARK UPDATE: No photos, but all park signage throughout has been replaced with an updated style. All references to the monorail and Spongebob 3D have been removed, this includes attraction signage.

Vortex construction is complete, so here’s a look at the final product. While the queue area doesn’t look like anything amazing and there is the silver fencing surrounding the rides footprint, overall it looks pretty good

Probably true but to use this as the reason for the re-theme is exactly that- making a political statement and pandering to opinions of the day. The link to racism and this ride is tenuous at best despite what the propaganda will have you think. This is a knee jerk reaction from a company that doesnt want to be seen to be tarnished with anything negative at all - especially if its not wholesome and family orientated. The problem is, the target audience for this ride would not have a clue what "alleged" racial issues are with the theming on this ride. Hell, the majority of adults would see any linking this ride to racism as a massive stretch. Yes the original film had racial stereotypes and it was always a tender point for Disney in their history ( to the point where this movie is largely ignored in Disneys film canon) but the only link to anything racist is that this ride is themed to the characters of the film? Where is the racist undertones other that the linkage? Its sadly for mine another example of the extreme cancel culture that is inhabiting the world right now. That view may not be popular and others may disagree but it certainly bears further discussion.

Pretty sure Walt Disney himself said that he never wanted a ride to stay the same forever and he wanted people to have different experiences. The ride may be a classic but it's a no brainer to re-theme, a new generation will love this.

When COVID is more important that a disability. I get it, but surely they could have organised an extended queue without wiping out handicap parking spaces?

Also went for a visit today. Arrived at about 1:45, and there was no queue to get inside. I can confirm there are no hand sanitising stations at the end of rides, which is very surprising. Storm coaster can actually have a maximum of 6 riders, depending on the group sizes. On my ride, 5 of us were fit on, with a group of 4 in the front, and myself in the back row. Vortex is certainly interesting. It will be interesting to see what the area looks like once it has become overgrown with the greenery around it, but for now, I do think it looks very cheap and tacky. Time will tell. Also, it seems like Jet Rescue is getting a re-paint. I'm not very knowledgeable on how the painting of a ride works, but i'm going to assume the paint in which is being put on the coaster now, is not going to be the final colour.

It’s no surprise that FNs has been cancelled for this year; but its definitely a shame.

Disney just announced that splash mountain at Disneyland and Disney world will be rethemed To the Disney Movie the princess and the frog here’s a good video explaining it

Does it matter what they are called? The world has gone mad, but if people are now getting offended by what people call a parking space, then I don’t know if I want to live in this world anymore. When did everyone become such snow flakes?

The retheme of Tower managed to simultaneously destroy what was a great ride/theme and also deliver a new attraction where the ride system made no sense to the theme/story of the ride. It’s awful, it’s cheap and it’s ugly, so let’s hope this alteration has zero similarities with what happened to Tower.

"...fully immersive precinct..." "...the ultimate Atlantean adventure" "...world-class attractions..." All quotes from Clark Kirby, found in a Blooloop article about New Atlantis. I'm aware that Marketing and PR are always going to try and spin things in their favour, but I never expect them to deceive us. If New Atlantis was never going to be "fully immersive", then don't claim it to be.

Respect to @mssveattck and @Jobe for having a civil discussion. You both had your say and it didn't devolve.

Some good news being reported on the reopening of SeaWorld with lots of people queuing to get in: https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/coronavirus-queensland-sea-world-reopens-as-state-records-new-virus-case/news-story/f3461fa9be96fc8be6d3c45740a290c1

Surely designing the re-theming a ride isnt a 3 week thing? If the BLM protests and the cancel culture that followed has pushed the timelines forward then so be it, but I would say this has been on the cards of Disney for a while.

Songs of the South was a hit when it was released in 1946. Its racial overtones of the south provide a backdrop of slaves being content with the situation they lived in. In certain parts and writings of that time, a slave singing was considered proof that they were "content" with how they were treated. The film is full of offensive stereotypes and glorified the plantations of the south. The movie has TV airing but never realsied on home video in the USA and in the 1980's it was returned to the Disney vault because it was seen as for what it was. Walt Disney made the film in hope that it would shine some sort of light on the tales from that era but with out going into the horror, but totally missed the mark. Due to the current climate and how offensive that parts of the film are, that are omitted from the ride, they chose to make the changes, just like the selling the whores in POC.

.. I was talking about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Lol. I think it's clear that you have your stance and I'm not going to try and change your mind. I will say that calling the Black Lives Matter movement a 'trend' is awful considering the reason for its beginnings and if your argument is cancel culture, then I'm struggling to see what the problem here is because if we're cancelling anything in this instance it's racism? If you view that as a bad thing then I don't know what to say. Anyway, I'm tapping out of this one before it turns messy. I'm glad to see Princess Tiana get her dues and I welcome the re-theme as I hope others do.

I understand the loss of nostalgia when it comes to this kind of thing - I wasn't happy when they decided to re-theme Tower of Terror but at the same time, I understand the need to update and modernise (as I think most people in these forums do). Yes, the ride itself doesn't feature any of the racist subject matter of Song of the South, but to say this is a result of propaganda and cancel culture is a little extreme. I think this re-theme has been a long time coming and whilst it probably has been pushed forward by current events I don't see how anyone could see this as a negative step forward, as wiping out even the slightest traces of racism in popular culture is something that needs to continue to happen. A film about a slave plantation has no reason to be featured in a Disney Park, regardless of whether that storyline is evident on Splash Mountain or not. Lots of people will miss the ride, no one is saying you're not allowed to because I know I certainly will.

It’ll probably just be for the news tonight

Disney caving into the sjw's of the world.

Well yeah because FN lets like a billion guests in, so unless you are in the 1% on a terror tour you'll spend most of the night in cattlepens.

I know this ain't QLD based but still. Good to see a park explain this process via a video. Will be interesting to see how some things are implemented. Obviously most of the access gates (LPS has no gate fee normally) will be closed to ensure social distancing.

its not actually set to atlantis at all. As magician says, this is NEW Atlantis. Like Australia was New Holland. So nobody can critique anything regarding theme because nobody knows what the Atlanteans built after they were flooded... Perhaps they abandoned their stonemason roots and classic architecture for 'modern early 2000's westfield chic' ?

Is the land set to Atlantis before, after or during the sinking?

They can't hear you. There's too many Mack parts in the carpark.

Make sure your 1.5m away, or hug with your elbows!

Look you handicapped sjw take it too some leftist forum.

Fright Nights 2020 has been officially cancelled - https://frightnights.com.au/experience?attraction-type=mazes “Following advice and consultation with Queensland Health and the current COVID-19 restrictions, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Fright Nights in 2020. Fright Nights is a very different style of event in comparison to the day to day operation of Movie World with physical distancing impossible to achieve, and requiring months of pre-planning work along with significant financial investment to deliver. Based on the current COVID-19 Government restrictions and uncertainty of how these may change over the coming months, we cannot run the event in a commercially viable manner. At this time it is still very much our intention to run White Christmas and Carnivale as we are hopeful of further relaxations from Queensland Health. While the Team are disappointed with this outcome, we can guarantee that in 2021, Fright Nights will return as the biggest and best experience ever delivered by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Warner Bros. Movie World.”