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Showing content with the highest reputation on 27/08/20 in all areas

  1. I'm on the presentation call, construction to start in October for the new coaster.
    7 points
  2. So on the conference call: Buzzsaw is waiting on a part, Roller coaster expected to start construction in October, Buzzsaw will open before Christmas and will be open till at least until the coaster opens. More attractions in the pipeline and works. Buzzsaw isn't really popular and sounds like might be the next attraction to leave. Also Sky Voyager is being looked into changing up the ride video.
    5 points
  3. Honestly, if we all try to put ourselves in the shoes of Joe Public, rather than Joe Enthusiast - consider this scenario: You've planned a trip \ holiday. (less likely in current times, but QLD residents can still travel). You've got limited time and you're due to arrive on the coast on X date. You dutifully check the maintenance page, and see that Superman is due to open a day before you arrive. Hooray, we will get to ride it. You go the day after you arrive. You arrive at the park to find the fence is still up and the signs out front (if they're still there) tell you it's still closed. boo. The alternative is - you arrive on the GC after checking and seeing that Superman won't be open the entire week you're there. Bummer, oh well, lets have fun - arrive at the park, and... what's this? its opened earlier than planned? WOOHOO! It is far more disappointing to arrive, believing something will be open, and finding it closed, than the other way around. I recall my last trip to Disneyland, hoping to take my wife on Space Mountain as it is my favourite ride in the world and she had never been on it. We'd checked all the maintenance pages and its scheduled maintenance wasn't for months. The day we arrive, we bee-line to the ride, and it's closed. Checking the discussion forums and news that night, we found out OSHA had shut down numerous sites in the park for safety violations (i think it was handrails around work areas) and the shutdown would take more than a week. We were bummed out. The reopening date meant we wouldn't get to ride it at all. Except on our last day in the park - a little after lunchtime, a cast member told us it was currently testing and likely to open that evening. We spent the last 4 hours in the park that day riding it repeatedly. The disappointment we felt when we found out it wouldn't be operating during our trip was huge. It was the 'main event' for us as far as we were concerned. But, knowing the date it was to reopen let us move on - we resigned ourselves to the fact that it wasn't going to happen, instead of repeating the disappointment each day when we arrived to find it was still closed. The fact that it DID reopen before we left was a bonus, and a happy ending to the disappointment.
    5 points
  4. Main summaries: Ardent leisure has $161.6 Million Cash as off 30th Jun (Compared to $92.3 million year prior) Net Debt as off 30th June was $78.4 Million, a reduction compared to $87.3 million in June 2019 Revenue increased $2.3 million, up 4.7% on a 35 week like-for-like basis vs prior period for theme parks EBITDA loss excluding specific items of $2.5 million on a 35 week like-for-like basis, an improvement of 56.4% compared to the prior period Investments continue on new rides such as Sky voyager, Fully 6 and a new multi-launch roller coaster Corporate costs reduced by $9.4 million or 62.1% on a pro forma basis compared to FY19 Dreamworld: Venues closed on 23 March 2020 and remained closed for the balance of FY20 and into FY21 As a result, 804 or 91% of our team members were stood down temporally leaving approx 60 FTE's to complete essential tasks and prepare a plan for reopening Strong focus on cash preservation and generation On 23 March, cash available to the Australian Business was $33.1 million and as at the date of this presentation, this amount is largely unchanged: Ceasing all non-essential operating and capital expenditure The sale of a small parcel (5,630 sum) of surplus lan was completed in June 2020. The sale price of $2.5 million was 250% of the pre-covid book value The Dreamworld LEGO store continued to trade and recorded revenue growth of 11.4% compared to prior corresponding period. The Queensland Government provided a $3.0 million great in July 2020 under its Queensland Tourism Icons Program 2020 to fund working Capital and approved capital expenditure. The Federal Government's JobKeeper scheme provided approximately $6 million of direct support to our stood down team members. Reopening Dates: Sky point reopened on 10 July 2020 and current trading is cash neutral including support from the JobKeeper Scheme Subject to no further COVID-19 restrictions being imposed, Dreamworld and Whitewater World are expected to reopen on 16 September 2020, prior to the commencement of school holidays. Covid safe plans for all venues have been approved. In the case of Dreamworld and WhiteWater World the plan allows up to 50% of historical Capacity. The cost base for Dreamworld and Whitewater World has been reduced by $10-$12 million per annum compared to normalised FY20 levels. The reduced cost bas will provide scope to drive volume and market share. Reopening Plan: Economic environments calls for a focus on targeting the local SEQ drive market International markets may no return for two years and interstate markets are likely to be restricted for some time The only reliable market we can target is local SEQ drive market Reopening product. All attractions art the recently refurbished and improved WhiteWater World are expected to be available from the reopening date. Based on low demand in cooler months WhiteWater World will move to a seasonal trading model. Construction of the new $32 million world class launch roller coaster will commence as soon as possible and this new attraction is expected to open in the second half of CY21. Several Iconic attractions such as the SideWinder roller coaster and popular Pipeline Plunge water slide complex are currently being extensively refurbished and rebranded and will add to the many improvements made to the parks over the last two years. A detailed review of the ride and attraction usage has been carried out and the ride count at Dreamworld will be permanently reduced by two in order to remove duplication. The remaining ride count will be comparable to our closest competitor and presets a diverse range of kids, family and thrill rides. Areas and attractions within our Dreamworld Corroboree percent will be temporarily closed pending the return of international and interstate markets. Its planned to continue successful events introduced last year such as Happy Halloween and winterfest. Link to information : https://www.ardentleisure.com/investor-centre/investor-resources/asx-releases/2020-2/
    4 points
  5. So WWW going to seasonal, selling land and reducing the ride count by 2 permanently is a win? I can imagine what people here would have been like on the Titanic: 'I have it on good authority that the destination is New York, so hitting the Iceberg is just another master stroke from Captain Smith! Plus it's so much quicker to go from the back of the ship to the front now!'
    4 points
  6. *wont fit*blah*river caves*blah*lindsay fox*blah* and so on.
    3 points
  7. To compete with VRTP in the short to mid term IE 3-5 years they need to build the following to remain competitive in my opinion on top of the current roller coaster; Another major coaster after this one (thrilling) One major flat ride (Thrilling and high quality) A major family ride (ideally water based) A high quality family/ kids based dark ride
    2 points
  8. Interesting- I have never heard this. What was the nature of the poor support from Maurer? Whilst I do not disagree that Buzzsaw was an odd decision for Dreamworld to install ( it was totally opposite to their need at the time) for mine, I think its fairly inaccurate to label Maurer as a "second tier manufacturer" or "terrible manufacturer" on the basis of just ONE coaster. To date Maurer have installed 63 coasters in various locations in virtually every market in the world. Their spinning coasters are well regarded, and with 21 installations across the world, are their most succesful design to date. They have been installed in major theme park players such as Alton Towers, Phantasialand, Disneyland Studios Paris, Six Flags and Hersheypark, to name a few. They also have installations of other custom coasters at Universal Orlando in the form of Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket ( which I have ridden and really enjoyed ) and Fiorano GT Challenge at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Even the Skyloop model (XT 150) of which Buzzsaw belongs to, has met with success around the world with 9 installations. I certainly agree that they are limited in their scope, however, and there were certainly other options that would have been far superior that Dreamworld could have explored ( Premier Rides Skyrocket II comes to mind). In fact Dreamworld would have been far better off going with the Skyloop XT 450 extended model- of which there is currently only one installation at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, called Abismo. By all accounts , this gives a much more satisfactory ride experience and is far from the one trick pony that the normal Skyloop model is. They still remain as players in the world market and with several installations across the market as late as last year and they are concentrating on their latest product the Spike Coaster, of which 2 units have alerady been installed and several are being planned for Cruise Ship installation in the future. Combined with their Wild Mouse models ( over 15 installations) they have certainly made an impact on the world wide market. I get that they are not on the same level as Intamin or B & M but to completely debase their whole attractions listing as inferior is a bit of a stretch. I have not heard anything majorly wrong with the company in regards to their operations or after sales service so to label them thusly as a terrible manufacturer is also a tad erroneous for mine. Just my 2 cents worth
    2 points
  9. Even if it was timed, it was setup with the intention to open. So you had to be training staff already before the monday expecting it to go live soon. Its also had the dates changed 3 times over the week. I think youd know if you had trained staff or not, and not need to keep changing the date each day. Besides which, you only need the minimum staff (4?) to open it. Anyone else that needs training or a refresher could do it while open. Sounds like something technical keeping it from opening, or even a number of unrelated failures across a number of days that keeps missing the deadline.
    2 points
  10. Let's hope future attractions have a bit more care and thought put into them so we don't have another Busszaw situation
    2 points
  11. Considering BuzzSaw is not even 10 years old, that’s pretty poor. I assume it comes down to poor park care/maintenance for several years leading up to 2016. While it isn’t the best, it’s an essential attraction for the park right now
    2 points
  12. Am I missing something here? Stingray is not a recent removal. The Parkz database suggests this was removed in 2012, which sounds about right. I think the confusion is coming from the fact that a recent Parkz article incorrectly tagged Stingray instead of the Log Ride, which Richard subsequently fixed up.
    2 points
  13. I really hope they don't remove Buzzsaw. They can't afford to remove any more thrill rides even after the new coaster opens. Yeah I don't understand what the duplicate of the Big Red Car is? Unless they are referring to the new kids ride yet to be announced.
    2 points
  14. Interesting that BS may go. It’s not the best ride but it’s relatively new compared to the others. Unless the maintenance/parts are becoming prohibitive or the land is earmarked for something else, it seems strange. Fantastic news on a new video for SV
    2 points
  15. Love those coaster options. We all know Lindsay Fox has a lot of money, so he could easily afford to make an investment into the park such as this, if he wanted to. Remember all those plans he told the media he had to restore the park to its former glory when he bought the place? Interesting, isn't it.
    2 points
  16. I think people are forgetting that Luna Park Melbourne used to be home to a 2nd coaster in the form of the Big Dipper. This was added to the park in the 1920's and the Sydney example was a clone of this coaster. There is certainly more than enough room for a 2nd coaster within LPM- especially within the footprint left by the former Metropolis coaster, which in itself is in the footprint of the former Big Dipper. At one stage , the Big Dipper was slated to be replaced with the Titan Vekoma Bomerang coaster from Expo Park before the deal fell through and it went to Wonderland instead. There are plenty of coasters that would be a perfect fit for the park within that footprint including the aforementioned Zamperla Motocoaster, Maurer SC 2000 Spinner, a custom Gerstlauer Eurofighter would be ideal , a Premier Rides Skyrocket II, a Custom Mack Big Dipper coaster, S & S El Loco , Maurer Skywheel, Skyline attractions Skywarp, Zamperla Tunderbolt , S&S 4D Freespin could all concevievably fit into the park with some vision and planning. There is actually more usuable and flexible space to fit in another coaster at LPM than there is at LPS. Another coaster that has moderate thrills would be just the ticket for the park to add to its list of attractions. Some of its current ride roster such as Enterprise and Twin Dragon are getting older so some thoughts as to replacements would definitely be on the horizon. Obtaining another coaster at this time seems more than sensible and a coaster such as a compact Eurofighter would certainly catch the public's imagination. The Eurofighter model would be for mine, the best option , but a Sky Rocket II would also be an excellent addition. Have a look at the coasters below that could all fit into the space required at LPM - any of these would be great addition to LPM's lineup and should be well within their reach both financially and physically to obtain and fit into the park.
    2 points
  17. There's not been a coaster yet I wouldn't ride, even the one in Kuala Lumpur inside the mall that they where hitting the brakes with a mallet to unjam them 20 minutes before it opened. I went to ride Buzzsaw (prior to 2016) and just couldn't, hit an invisible wall walking up to it. The vertical lift and slow roll over was just not my cup of tea. Didn't even consider the lap bar an issue. I can understand the GP's hesitation too.
    1 point
  18. Generating cash during a pandemic?
    1 point
  19. It did seem odd to retire BRC now. Surely it would have been fine to operate for another few months/year until they have a better timeline for the ABC revamp. It doesn't pull the crowds or RPH that it used to but it was still fairly simple and functional. Unless they planned to pull it around this time anyway (for the refurb) so it was already dead and has been for months, then it's possible that it simply can't function anymore (not as likely but still possible if they stopped ordering parts).
    1 point
  20. BRC was still popular. As recently as the last operational holidays, it had 40min + queues basically from open to close. It was easily the most popular ride in ABC kids World, and the most immersive and experience driven. The issue isn’t that they are closing it, the issue is they are bullshitting everyone with some lame excuse regarding popularity, when the truth is they’ve let the thing rot without any basic upkeep for 4-5 years and it likely deteriorated to point where keeping it operating was a burden on them time & cost wise. They are closing the best and most popular ride in the precinct without any plans for a replacement (The presentation was void of any mention of the previous mooted expansion of ABC Kids World).
    1 point
  21. guessing it’s more of a technical issue then a staff training issue
    1 point
  22. Not a bad article but did many actually listen in on the call or that?. Cause it seems like some critical info was missed to make another bash article. I understand DW is against the entire VRTP corporation. But obviously they can't do any good by many in here. Different companies with different offerings and outcomes. 2016 affected the industry but it seems people just want to remember how bad it affected VRTP. VRTP had like a five-year plan already in place. It started with Rivals and goes onto all the things occurring at SeaWorld. So they had luck. DW could have had ideas also. But now they are trying to recover and I believe trying to do it correctly. So whats wrong retiring (BRC) an old ride that's not popular anymore?. I thought that would be a smart move to make way for something in the future. Most likely I am wrong however as I will get told by God. Flow Rider and BRC did not seem as popular as management had first thought (this is the new management) and that's a fact. Given it was mentioned by the head of the organisation. They would watch numbers of guest flow in and out of each ride. It's something every park does even VRTP. Selling some land also ain't a bad thing. The company needs money. So why would that be such a bad thing? It's not like they sold the entire site but only own the car park. God will knock me down within 3...2...1
    1 point
  23. I'd love to see Aussie World, LPM or Adventure World gobble up Buzzsaw if they were prepared to buy it. A pretty cheap way to add a big ride that doesn't take up a lot of land. DW buying buzzsaw was a head scratching decision for me. They bought a ride from a low tier manufacturer that had a poor track record even at the time whose most successful models are small spinning coasters and wild mice. Remember that when Buzzsaw was built Ardent at the time was penny pinching... I wouldn't be surprised to hear that when they realised they had to get a big thrill ride they went with the cheapest possible option, which was more than likely the skyloop. Nowadays DW have to live with the consequences of their owners being cheapskates with yet another problem child ride in their lineup. Almost 10 years after the fact DW have a double whammy, a ride that is most of the time shut, and when it's not shut, its a ride that nobody wants to queue up for because it is a one trick pony that also doubles as a bone shaker.
    1 point
  24. It's the old thing isn't it? Yes it sucks, but it sucks for the park too. They wanted it open, the guests wanted it open, they couldn't open it due to something that came up at the last min. No point being mad about it. You're saying they should have anticipated something going wrong, how do you know they didn't? How do you know that there wasn't some slack built into their reopening timetable but things came up and pushed it back? Does it suck? Yes. Is it worth raging about? No.
    1 point
  25. That's becoming quite the extensive list now, particularly in a very short period of time... - TOT - Wipeout - Stingray - Big Red Car Ride - Flowrider - Log Ride - Buzzsaw (potentially has a short life to live?) - "Attraction of similar experience?" - "Attraction of similar experience?" Also a little disappointing that on top of this 2 to 3 of the Thrill/Family rides will be closed at any one time for the remaining months of this year.
    1 point
  26. They have two Flowriders/Big Red Cars?
    1 point
  27. Did you ever think tho not everyone is as well informed about such matters as yourself?. I think some are allowed to be confused or wonder. But thank you for the clarification.
    1 point
  28. No doubt my head will be ripped off for this but - Do you always have to be a smart ass when responding to people (or in general)?
    1 point
  29. 1 point
  30. If you toddlers are quite done using your big boy words we’ll get back to the topic at hand.
    1 point
  31. Maybe Buzzsaw can go to LPS or LPM.... 🎣
    0 points
  32. Thanks for that. Interesting about the land. Any idea what location?. As for the comment about duplicating attractions that's a massive win. Something that they had always done in the past was having two of the same things (in some regards). Interesting to see they state two years before international guest return. I think this is the first time an Australian tourism operator has state this.
    0 points
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