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[[SPOILERS AHEAD]] Just got off my first walkthrough/ride of multiple today, so I’m far from an expert on the topic, but I’ll try my best to cover the bases. Theming The whole theming of the area is great, for current-day Village. There’s still some pretty open areas, and as the concept art shows, it could use some more trees to make it feel less empty. Garden of Cyphers is a nice place to sit down, but I’d imagine it gets loud, due to… Leviathan The queue for Leviathan is split up into 3 distinct sections: Queue (the blue shade structure inside of the helix), a sort of Holding Zone, and the walk to/station. There is no single-rider queue, and a mention for a disabled entry, but it isn’t the main queue or the exit. Starting with the Queue, it’s pretty and is mostly enclosed in the helix. I’m sure this will be fine once it’s been open for a while, but it’s certainly caused a lot of overspill now. As for its theming, it’s surrounded by faux rock & plants on all sides, with the ride itself being just above said walls. It’s certainly good looking, but I can’t help but think it’s a bit too short (and, just quietly, the ride isn’t quiet, and people were already getting irritated at the near-constant ride noise from being surrounded by the coaster). The Holding Zone is pretty self-explanatory, after being advanced from the queue, you’re put into a little hallway and wait to be allowed into the station. If you’ve been to Fright Nights, it’s basically just the wait between the queue and entering the maze. If you haven’t, it’s a mixture of Scooby Doo’s post-warehouse queue, and the second boarding row in Steel Taipan’s station. Not much to say about it’s theming (it’s just a hallway), but I noticed there are names on the bolts on Levi’s supports, which is cool. Last queue section, the walk to/station. Seeing as this is completely indoors, it’s definitely got the best theming of the 3. You enter through the sliding door, and are surrounded by faux rock and cool blue lighting, as you advance up the staircase to the station. The station is where it shines, smoke-filled with faux rock blended into the advertised screens, where Leviathan swims around and tells you off from time to time. This is, by a decent amount, the best theming I’ve seen in Australia. (Sorry for blur in the photos, it was completely indoors and I had to keep moving) Now, the ride itself. As you dispatch, more smoke billows out in front of you. Small dip, lift hill, Leviathan says ‘Ride With Me’, then you’re in the layout. Being a wooden coaster, the layout is (as expected) far less forceful than the likes of Superman, DCR, or ST. Thus, it’s more fun and rerideable than insane and physically tolling. Also, being a wooden coaster, it’s not the smoothest thing ever, but it’s luckily far from uncomfortable. I didn’t notice any big potholes, nor did I feel scrambled after riding like you would on Cyclone. It’s a great, rerideable, fun, family-thrill ride, from the drop to the brakes. I’m not skinny by any means, but I’m not the heaviest person either, and it was a bit of a squeeze to fit, so if you’re overweight you might have some trouble getting your restraint locked (and there’s no test seat, so you’ll have to queue before you know). In case you’re interested, here’s its vertical and lateral force graph. Once done, Leviathan tells you you’re worthy and you exit through a similarly-themed staircase to the one you entered through. Then you’re spit out into a maze of tight painted work walls, walk through the ride photo booth, past the main queue area, and are spat out the way you came. Vortex Vortex hasn’t changed since it originally opened, so if you went on it then, you know the experience. If not, it’s just a decent flat, a worse Wipeout with rather generic ‘ocean’ theming (though it fits in more now that the whole area is open, ofc). Also, they may have dulled its squeaking? Idk, but I haven’t heard any. Trident As discussed elsewhere, Trident wasn’t open due to high winds, but the ride experience is pretty predictable if you’ve been on a swingchair before. The theming is a step above Vortex, with a colosseum-style ride platform, some nice murals/detailing work, and Big Man. All in all, the details are good (but the trident at the top should’ve been larger).

This concept artwork has just appeared on the website. It’s a shame there aren’t this many palm trees through the area. I get the plants take time to grow. But how good does the precinct look in this concept artwork with all those trees!

Again the thing about Claw is it's quite popular generally, it's in exactly the right spot, and it isn't giving away your new hotness for very little. Also it gets people more used to going on rides at DW again. It's like 'OK, come to DW, don't even have to go on any rides if that's something you're worried about'. 'Oh you're here now, how about this old friend?'. Make it $20 for an all night pass so people go on a few times, you get some extra atmosphere in the place, you are doing something no other trendy market can do which may attract more people, and you're making money while doing some repair work to the reputation. Just seems so obvious to me.

It's a regional dialect.

Just came off. Loved it! Felt a little slow though so looking forward to trying it later as it warms up. The theming in the station was terrific and gives me high hopes for Wizard of Oz. I'd go as far as saying it was world class. Have to be careful that it doesn't fall into disrepair like Scooby. One borked screen would ruin it. Edit: There is a test seat. It's to the left right as you enter the main queue.

First off, the theming is very good. I knew they had put in some effort but it was really impressive, especially in the station. The line in the middle of the station is a nice touch but it can get quite loud with the train circling around. Probably will get louder as time goes on I imagine but it offers some great views of the track. The ride itself is very fun, first drop doesn't look too impressive but it's a strong element and in the back offers a good amount of floater. The interaction with the structure is great and there's a lot of small airtime pops and double downs that keep it fun throughout. Did notice a bit of a pot hole in the middle when the track reaches its lowest point but otherwise it's reasonable smooth for a woody. Probably won't get another ride as the ops are slow as they learn the ropes, they are running two trains but we were sat on the break run for a few minutes. It's great to have wood coaster in Australia again.

It's actually kind of cool seeing a big deal made out of an opening day!

Current status of Trident. Screenshot taken at 10:24am Melbourne time.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Claw for $5/$10 makes a lot of sense

1 day to go.