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Cheers goes out to a good mate for forwarding this on - not sure from what publication or when this was originally published but none the less a really solid (& technical) article about Dreamworld's Steam trains from the perspective of one of the park's iconic steam train drivers (Teddy Hancox) that's well worth the read. Be sure to let us know your thoughts after you've finished reading. (I've split the original PDF into individual JPG files to get around Parkz' 7mb file limit)

I just hope it's a success so we see more of this sort of thing. I can't see it having much repeat value for locals, but it is an air conditioned attraction that literally anyone can check out. A small amount of behind the scenes and attractions for everyone are exactly what MW could do with. Ultimately what I'd love to see is a more classic brightly lit pristine museum with lots of different items from lots of movies, with a flex space off to the side with revolving exhibitions on what just finished at the studios. Ideally at the front of the park for all those grandparents looking for something to do while the kids are off queuing for Hyper coaster and Superman. As it is, I'm pretty pleased with this as an attraction though. I don't think it'll do much to move the needle on attendance and I don't think it has massive staying power, but I think having something that people can have a breather like this with is important, and does give MW that behind the scenes element it's been missing for a while, AND ties in the park with the studios next door. Good move!

Made the trip up from Sydney to the theme parks, and just so happened that the Sea World Starflyer opened today, so I thought I would go take a look! Visually, the ride looks okay, and it's good to see that Seaworld has made an attempt to make the ride feel somewhat permanent. There is wrapping all around the ride and the paybox was covered up which was nice to see. The ride experience wasn't too bad, and I felt that whilst even though the cycle was not ridiculously long, it was perfect and gave some excellent views of the surrounding area. There were a few minor forces that could be felt, but keep in mind that this is a family ride, not a world-class thrilling attraction. Just want to say a massive shout-out to the staff working the ride also! They were obviously having a lot of fun, and when they found out I was a Parkz member, gave me my own little private photoshoot with the ride haha!

Hoardings down. Wraps coming off. Still a bit of facade work to complete, but certainly starting to feel like the finishing touches are being done!

One of the two new screens at the front of the park was in use this morning, promoting oneof the indigenous shows you can see in Coroberree. Certainly helps add atmosphere at the front of the park! The above Was immediately followed by a song and dance mix and the Wiggles on a temporary stage at the front of Main Street, a large crowd gathered to watch and all the action was also shown on the screen. The above Was immediately followed by a song and dance mix and the Wiggles on a temporary stage at the front of Main Street, a large crowd gathered to watch and all the action was also shown on the screen.

>Calm and quiet >Dodgems Pick one

Oh look that's just fucked.

@Rabbit2014 no point getting all uppity about attraction closures that are perfectly reflected on the white Christmas website. AA was not in the list of open rides, nor is Aquaman listed as an open attraction. HWSD arena has never been utilised at Christmas, and people stand around main st all night to have the best vantage point for the parade which is the major attraction of the evening.

They'll have a second train running for Rivals in time for the boxing day madness so try not to lose too much sleep in the meantime!

Dc rivals is missing second train it isn’t in the bay next to station. Could be long lines for holidays

Well workers are working on it late today so looks like they are trying to get it open still missing is the sign from the front is still gone

You are correct Evie, Peter left Dreamworld last year. Thanks for sharing the article Slick. It’s a great read and anyone who has any sort of appreciation for the park should have a read, and if you just thought that perhaps “they are just trains, who cares”, well the article should highlight why those engines were so important to the park. I for one hope we see the Baldwin, a World War 1 veteran return to regular service soon. The park is poorer for not having them running.

Multiplex all smiles at Luna Park win Ian Mutton, an independent councillor on North Sydney Council. Picture: Hollie Adams NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts appears set to agree to demands from property giant Brookfield Multiplex to remove planning controls to allow it to erect rides at Sydney’s Luna Park, some permanently fixed and up to 12-storeys tall, without having to seek development approval. The move comes only months after Mr Roberts defeated Multiplex in a court case in which it sought just such freedom from standard planning procedures. Multiplex will also be allowed to install rides where they are currently prohibited, including the Lavender Green section of the site on Crown land near the northern end of the Harbour Bridge. According to Ian Mutton, an independent councillor on North Sydney Council, it follows a campaign by Multiplex ahead of a March state election, in which it threatened to close the iconic amusement park unless it obtained freedom from having to lodge development applications for new rides. “Nobody wants to be the premier who sees Luna Park close — Multiplex plays that game all the time,” Mr Mutton said. The warning was issued by the managing director of the Multiplex subsidiary Luna Park Sydney, Peter Hearne, in July, after Mr Roberts won a case in the Land and Environment Court against Multiplex, which had claimed it was exempt from planning controls for new rides. “Rules are being interpreted in a way that places the long-term future of the park in doubt,” Mr Hearne said at the time. Soon after that, Multiplex asked the government to provide it with what it had failed to win in court and Mr Roberts, while a final decision is pending, has with some haste taken steps to make that happen in the form of drafting a proposed amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy governing Luna Park. The SEPP would allow Multiplex, without seeking planning approval, to erect permanent rides and amusements up to a stationary height of 36 metres. When many residents objected, Mr Roberts instituted one of the fastest acts of independent consultation on record: he wrote to the Independent Planning Commission on November 20 requesting advice and that panel met at 8:30am that morning for a one-hour meeting with departmental staff. The IPC sought no public comment, supported the proposal, and issued a press release to that effect three days later. IPC chair Mary O’Kane said the turnaround was “faster than we do on some but not impossibly fast” and reflected the fact “we were asked for very fast advice”. She insisted the process had been independent and rigorous. A spokesman for Mr Roberts admitted the incongruity of his fighting and winning the court case against Multiplex only to subsequently provide the freedom from planning control. “But it’s important for the public and stakeholders to understand the government will always prosecute a vigorous defence of our own laws when challenged,” the spokesman said. Mr Hearne declined to speak to The Australianbut in a statement the company said the proposed changes had received overwhelming support from public submissions. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/multiplex-all-smiles-at-luna-park-win/news-story/c07f3c8956366e9f6131e49a8ea9d9c4

There's definitely a market for "things that grandparents can enjoy with the grandkids". Only have to look at Disney to see how successful an all-ages attraction can be, even if it's not the most thrilling or has the newest technology.

Looks tacky as hell

Just spoke to guest service and it should be opened tomorrow I just got to call in the morning to confirm and I will post news tomorrow in other news finally rode green lantern and the music was working finally (not all trains) but at least they are doing something. Paint job needed tho

The night events have never been about rides for me - and it’s always amazes me to see Scooby at hour plus wait times - it’s indoors and no different at night guys! Do some stuff that isn’t available during a regular visiting day! SE, DCR and AA are definitely fun at night, and I’m happy if I get one or two rides in, but it’s a case of being at the gates early so you can get onto DCR/SE within 10-15mins of ropes down, and then another towards the end of the night if a see a quiet queue.

....with a 120cm height limit...

At the same time, they didn't exactly make any efforts to not kill people either?

There's suddenly a lot of whataboutism going on when your original argument and my reply were awfully specific. Walt Disney is dead but whether it's new rides or the fundamental ethics of the Walt Disney Company, folks both inside and outside the park care deeply about what his opinion would be, so the "he sold it" line doesn't work as an excuse on meeting the minimum standard of expectations that's been eroded for 20+ years at Dreamworld. But you're right, Disney isn't the only template for success, in fact both Dreamworld & Sea World owe a lot of credit to other successful operations like Busch Gardens. Both Busch & Universal (another highly successful chain) do a great job in catering to thrill-seekers and less of the "family unit" that Disney does. Same goes for Dollywood & Hershey Park. Noticing a trend here by the way with those parks? They're all successful parks that look after what they have (what's that? They still have all their steam trains? What a coincidence) and don't do really, really basic things you wouldn't even do in RollerCoaster Tycoon like, say, plonking a space-themed ride in a western area or, maybe, I dunno, plonking an ultra-modern facade in a Victorian-era main street.

I'm over the whole Longhurst's line. Truth is he sold it, so it doesn't concern him. I'm also over let's compare DW to Disney line. DW is not Disney and doesn't need to be to be a good theme park. Who cares what Disney does. 100's of successful theme parks in the world that are nothing like Disney.

Beavers, who will soon be on display along the course of the lazy river..

On the Movie World maintenance page the finish date has been removed. It now just says "Currently under maintenance, from 23rd July 2018".

It does look like something dreamworld would add to there park

Back to SkyVoyager, this shows how it's going to tie into the coffee shop next door.