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Credit: benher_signs Promotional boards look to be being sent to the park, here we can see first concept arts for the two new coasters. My only criticism with these rides is the themes, the rides are next to eachother, but have completely opposite themes that also don’t match the area of the park they are in (unless a new area is opening alongside the new rides) however, besides this they both look like great additions.

If it's true that they got rid of him then they have well and truly lost the plot out there. I said a few years ago that current DW management doesn't understand animals. It is with sadness that I stand by that assessment.

Back visiting NZ and visited Rainbows End today for the first time since I was a kid and honestly not much has changed but I wanted to give some thoughts anyway. atmosphere and operations: Surprisingly good wait times, they have capped numbers to the park and it was never overly busy in any one area. Ride OPs did not muck about and checked harnesses very hastily, which made operations run well and some of the bigger rides feel a little more ominous. The park was severely lacking in performers and entertainers and the general theming around the park is tidy but pretty uninspiring. Rides: Some family favourites still hold up, like the Log Flume, they have put a lot of energy into this ride to keep it fresh and added animatronics to more sections of the ride making it more unique and enjoyable, its actually one of the better flume rides if you discount how uninspiring the final drop is. Gold Rush is also a fun little mine train ride that has aged well and just as enjoyable as I remember it as a kid. The corkscrew was actually running very well, miles better than Viper was in its final years at SW and for an old arrow Corkscrew it is running much better than expected. Outside of this they have a small drop tower (about 205ft), a Zamperla power surge, and a 360 pendulum disc similar to SX360 at Aussie World. The area I think Rainbows End really shines in is the kids area, which I rate better than all the kids areas at the GC Parks. They had upgraded the old screen ride with a new 4D dark ride which was pretty underwhelming but not bad for little old NZ. And of course Rainbows End has some unique family favourites like Bumper Boats which is a reason in itself to visit the park, with a very healthy run time of about 10 minutes. All in all a great little park and I was happy to see they are still attempting to keep things fresh despite having virtually no competition in NZ. Would really love to see them get one flagship ride to take the park to the next level but its pretty landlocked and good for what it is.

Good grief. Does any park on the planet have as much unscheduled downtime as Movie World? Not a huge deal for those of us with passes but I feel terrible for the family that’s dropping $400+ on entry tickets only to find half the park closed.

This is incredibly sad news. I was lucky enough to meet Patrick on several occasions and his passion for tigers and Tiger Island was inspiring. From my perspective this is a major loss for DW, but the remaining tiger island team is very much capable after all the years of training from the man who started it all. This definitely won’t be the end of Tiger Island as it’s still a major part of DW and we won’t be seeing the animals leave the park either. The park management recognises how popular and important that area of the park and while they may see rides as more important and a draw factor for guests to the park, animals are still an essential part of DW that won’t be leaving.

It more shows that the park knows animals are apart of their draw card, if they didn’t know that they wouldn’t bother🤷‍♀️ We’re still at the end of a pandemic, it won’t be like this forever and once those tourists start coming back (icy guess is around mid 2023 - early 2024) it will be a competitive advantage compared to the other parks when tourists are choosing where to visit . Until then focusing on improving areas of the park, adding new rides and refurbishing old ones is a smart move.

Please tell me you’re not talking about the rent-a-farm that they have for Spring Fair that’s already been at my sons school 4 times this year alone… that doesn’t indicate an interest in animals and is as effort-laden as booking a food truck Those Asian bus tours have not returned, as that Asian tourism sector hasn’t recovered or rebounded from covid. It’s still a while off doing so too. the majority of tourists visiting DW are interstate, who have better presented animal sanctuaries/parks where they are coming from than what DW offers (aside from TI)

Just because someone is a businessman doesn't automatically mean they do their homework and make good decisions, Fatty McFuckhead (Clive Palmer) is a great example of this.

That would be incredibly disappointing, beyond words imo. I don’t even think the offset of a world class, record breaker ride in its footprint would be accepted or quell the general fury that would be felt by long term park goers and the GP.

It sounds like it means they won’t be adding more animal enclosures for the foreseeable future. Also, if current management don’t understand animals, they wouldn’t let go someone that does and has nearly 3 decades of experience. Stuff with employees happens all the time behind close doors at the parks that they don’t want the public to know. I’d say it’s likely something happened with him that they weren’t happy with so they decided to let him go. Not everything is “management in shambles”

Ahh main street without the roof.