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  1. Hot PR tip for the person managing the social media account: If you're explaining, you're losing. Everything in that statement prior to the last paragraph should never, ever be said publicly or privately to a paying customer. They do not care about why the rides are closed, planned or not. They care about the fact that they've paid $110 to enter the park to watch HWSD2 while eating $20 chicken nuggets and possibly getting a ride on WWF, if it's open. They care about the disappointment they're experiencing for paying so much money to effectively enter an overpriced, extremely limited shopping mall. Movie World's failures are not the customer's fault - even if scheduled maintenance is listed on the website, people expect the majority of rides to be open, not one ride for part of the day. Acknowledge the unplanned stoppages and then direct people to guest services and tell them that you want to make it right. Don't say that guests are going to be 'well informed and an outcome achieved'. That's effectively code for 'Go F*** Yourself, no refunds'. Just acknowledge the disappointment, acknowledge the unplanned stoppages, acknowledge that this is not how you want guests to experience the park and then direct them to guest services because you want the chance to make it right. That's it. What guest services offer can be tailored to what the guests want, but don't blame the visitor because Movie World can't keep on top of ride maintenance enough to keep even ONE roller coaster operating. Right now, you're taking a bad situation and making it worse.
    20 points
  2. 2 hours here and i’m calling it - movieworld is now the worst theme park in the country, by a decent margin hopefully Oz and and a reopening Scooby make a difference but there is no magic left here
    20 points
  3. This is my interpretation of the layout. I made a GIF to help explain. In regards to the ability for the layout to be run forwards and backwards: if the train leaves the station travelling forwards, and performs this exact layout every single time, then the train will always re-enter the station travelling forwards. If however, they choose to program the ride to do the green/red loop twice then you'll get the train re-entering the station alternating backwards/forwards. The choice to do the green/red loop an infinite number of times (as others have stated already) is the beauty of this new mechanism and layout. You could potentially run a longer cycle during off-peak, and the shorter cycle on-peak.
    18 points
  4. I’m so glad that, even 8 years on, a post that was up for a single day still gets remembered 😂 I live in London now, but I’m back in Australia for a holiday in 3 weeks. I’ll see if I can get some behind the scenes photos What’s the worst than can do? Deport me?
    17 points
  5. I don’t think the intention is for one new spin and spew to bring in the crowds, I think the intention is to offer a bigger, better overall experience at the park, more rides, more kinetic energy, more atmosphere, and a fuller day of experiences. I have been going to the park regularly for 6 or so years now, and I do believe that the average attendance day to day is increasing, even more so in just the past few months. I think they’re in for a pretty busy summer actually. It’s not the fact that it’s just one new ride, it’s the fact that there are multiple new rides to open within days, the park is looking brighter and fresher than ever and just feels better value/quality due to the addition of a ‘spin and spew’
    16 points
  6. It begins! Like with the Surfrider track this can be seen on the road to Paradise Country
    16 points
  7. Dreamworld showcasing the fountains on their socials. They go HIGH.
    15 points
  8. The Energex objection alleges the following (my emphasis): So the entire substation is already built lower than the Q100 flood level. A 55mm increase in levels may mean the site is impacted earlier, but it sounds like Energex already knows that they have a problem, and i'm wondering why they haven't already taken steps to mitigate the flood levels since their equipment is already around 500mm lower than the flood line. I took a quick look at some of the other submissions, and here they are in a nutshell: Old Woman yells at cloud. Expects everyone to return to horse and cart. Man thinks property with direct on-ramp access to major highway in both directions will worsen traffic in surrounding roads. Hasn't lived in metropolitan area for 50 years. Man thinks rollercoasters are transparent. Doesn't want people looking in his backyard. Doesn't realise Google has been doing that since 2005. Guy thinks traffic will be busy during busy times. Thinks theme park needs new rides and experiences, doesn't realise how that works economically since the hotel would support the theme park to upgrade more. Says local shops will also be impacted 'dramatically' but doesn't say whether he thinks it will be positively or negatively. (Sounds like the local shops could benefit from a whole bunch of tourists staying nearby) Woman thinks a traffic impact assessment is needed, hasn't read the application to see they've already done one. Also thinks Movie World needs to upgrade, but thinks the money should be spent on upgrading the park rather than creating a new revenue stream... Also thinks Village should have to pay to upgrade the local woolworths. Man thinks stunt show is noisy and hotel will reflect this noise. Doesn't understand how sound waves work. Resident thinks check-in and check-out days will bring more traffic to the area without acknowledging mid-stay days would result in less traffic on those days. Thinks the local area is 'rural'. Considers overlooking a childcare centre as an invasion of privacy. Local business will lose customers. Apparently building a hotel on an asphalt carpark will decimate the local wildlife. Woman objects. Doesn't say why. Lives in Upper Coomera Man objects. Also doesn't say why. Lives in Robina and is definitely suffering from this development. Woman objects. Doesn't say why. Lives in Biggera Waters. Looney* Woman STRONGLY OBJECTS on the basis of additional light pollution. Also claims wildlife impacts from this hotel built on a carpark. Claims evening noise will somehow be worse than the highway. Also claims no increase in parking. Probably objected to the parking development proposed a few years ago. Woman objects to lighting impacts, thinks special purpose tourism zone is still rural. Has different surname but email address suggests a 'looney' relationship exists. Woman thinks half the rides closed at movie world should be a reason for denying a hotel. Intelligent man supports application as he recognises that the GC's economy is tourist driven Intelligent man supports application as it will create jobs, provide facilities for use by locals and tourists, diversifies the local tourism \ business sector and is consistent with the zoning of the property. smart person recognises there is no decent hotel at the northern end of the gold coast Woman is all for bringing money into the northern gold coast, but doesn't want hotel that will bring more money to the northern gold coast. Complains about the waste of electricity for Lantern and DCR, says nothing of the stupid street light art on the M1. Thinks the hotel should be half the size and powered by plants. Woman supports proposal. doesn't say anything else, but at least lives in the correct suburb. Man supports proposal. Doesn't say why but lives closer than the ones that don't support it. Man supports proposal. Praises the boost to local economy and recognises that vacant land isn't going to impact on wildlife. He notes traffic is already crap in the area, but feels hotel checkout would be after peak commuting periods anyway. Also states other residents should read the plans before jumping to conclusions. Person supports the proposal. Doesn't say why but lives closer than Robina. Many very politely STRONGLY SUPPORTS the proposal as it is wonderful for the gold coast and interstate visitors. Woman resides in Oxenford and thinks a hotel will transform her backyard into surfers paradise. Thinks Village should build their hotel at Dreamworld instead. Woman thinks council shouldn't even allow businesses to submit development applications. Claims to speak on behalf of literally thousands of people, claim is doubtful. Asks council to consult with the residents in a submission literally designed to consult with residents. Blames state minister for transport for traffic. Man objects. Says they should build hotel at Sea World. Hasn't visited The Spit in 50 years. Man STRONGLY OBJECTS. thinks area is rural. claims endangered koalas will lose their habitats. thinks koalas live in asphalt carparks. Thinks they should build a hotel at Surfers, and bus tourists in. Also thinks local traffic is horrendous, wants to add more buses. Woman objects, uses same copy-and-paste reasons including bad traffic and lost koala habitat. Hasn't looked at plans. Man objects due to flooding - doesn't appear to have read the flood study. Thinks tall hotel in carpark bad. suggests tall hotel behind outback spectacular instead. Business supports application. Based in Arundel. Nothing further to add. Man objects because the proposal is different to the last proposal. traffic. local businesses. homelessness (apparently), koala habitats, alleges council officers must be taking bribes. Thinks one hotel will enable other high rise buildings in the area. Doesn't understand what progress is and thinks surfers paradise has been around since the dinosaurs. *Looney is her last name, according to the submission. Of course, i've added my own bias here (I'm supportive of the application but did not make a submission). My summary is meant to be humorous and anyone taking offence should sit on a pineapple. What I did find though is that many of the objectors did not appear to have read through the application or its associated studies and other supporting documents and have made very large assumptions which mostly appear to be false. I think the biggest complaint from residents should be traffic (and it appears to be) but it seems like the net effect of people staying on property would largely reduce the traffic at peak times, or at least spread it out over a longer period. I think its a bit of a stretch for people to claim the area is 'rural' when the only bushland on the western side of the highway is the property operated by Village themselves. It's also a stretch to argue that a tall hotel is going to be out of place when it stands beside a hypercoaster (and others) as well as giant golf nets and waterslide towers. Just have to wait and see!
    15 points
  9. Wow! I can't wait for this to be the only ride within a ride in the southern hemisphere operating at MW.
    14 points
  10. That is very nice that he took time to respond directly, but more importantly agreed with you on the choice of music. These are the subtle unquantifiable items that make a huge subliminal impact on guest experience.
    14 points
  11. “This is the first time a ride has been placed within a ride in the Southern Hemisphere”
    14 points
  12. From memory, I called it that as soon as a private equity fund got a hold of the place, it'd go downhill while they chased profits. Greg needs to stay at Dreamworld, his leadership is what the park needed. The public are starting to return.
    13 points
  13. MW only doing it because DW did it. DW 1 - MW 0
    13 points
  14. So if the link ever gets broken. Jungle Rush, manufactured by rollercoaster giant, Vekoma, is set to be the first of its kind in Australia, with the ride design supporting multiple different cycle paths. This has never been seen before in Australia and is only the first of a series of ground-breaking features being offered in the new precinct. Today marks a momentous occasion as Dreamworld officially begins construction on its highly anticipated Rivertown precinct, following months of demolition and site preparations. Rivertown is destined to become the most thematic and experiential land ever delivered by the iconic Gold Coast theme park. Rivertown is set to redefine family entertainment with a spectacular array of attractions, featuring the centrepiece ride, Jungle Rush – a thrilling new family rollercoaster that promises to be an immersive adventure for visitors of all ages. This, along with a host of other attractions, contributes to Rivertown's commitment to providing a brand-new theme park experience for families. (Jaggs Jouneys)
    13 points
  15. Spotted - first look! (thanks Spy)
    13 points
  16. 13 points
  17. With the new Rivertown comes an upgrade to the Billabong Restraurant. The current concept show an upgraded Restaurant, function room and a Taboo room.
    12 points
  18. Pico Play have also shared this article about the project Pico Play to deliver full theming solution for Dreamworld’s new Jungle Rush roller coaster An ancient temple, filled with twisting tunnels, mysterious chambers, mystical artefacts and exotic creatures is taking shape in a state-of-the-art fabrication facility in the Vietnamese city of Hai Duong. Pico Play, a global leader in the planning, design, development and construction of world-class themed attractions and entertainment, is busy working on an ancient temple, filled with twisting tunnels, mysterious chambers, mystical artefacts and exotic creatures in its state-of-the-art fabrication facility in the Vietnamese city of Hai Duong. More than 75 artists, sculptors, engineers and production workers are manufacturing the temple which will become the centrepiece of Jungle Rush, a brand-new rollercoaster coming to Australia’s theme park Dreamworld in 2024. Pico Play director Darren McLean says the company is delivering a fully integrated solution to the theme park that includes all theming, show sets and audio-visual effects: “We’ve taken the concept and developed detailed designs through to fabrication drawings and then, of course, the fabrication itself at our Vietnam facility. In addition to the physical theming and show sets, we’re also developing a custom soundtrack and developing lighting, storytelling and animatronics to deliver a seamless, integrated and exhilarating experience.” At $35M, Jungle Rush is Dreamworld’s largest investment in a single attraction and the crowning jewel of Rivertown, the park’s new immersive land. Billed as a family attraction, Jungle Rush is a switchback rollercoaster, featuring the world’s first inclined turntable, different track paths and the ability to travel forward or in reverse. Pico Play is manufacturing 520 pre-cast glass-reinforced concrete (GRC) panels in its Vietnam facility to build the centrepiece temple and has sourced an ex-military dual-engine propellor plane to ‘crash-land’ into the theming. “We’re working very closely with the local architect, engineer and builder and using detailed 3D modelling to ensure our pre-fabricated pieces sit perfectly into their major infrastructure works,” adds McLean. “We’re developing an immersive experience that will take guests on a mysterious journey from the moment they enter the temple to when they exit the rollercoaster. “We want to offer guests more than just a rollercoaster ride. The experience is more than the ride itself, there’s a story, there are characters, there’s excitement and there’s anticipation and entertainment leading up to the ride.” Jungle Rush marks the 10th collaboration between Pico Play and Dreamworld with past projects including the newly opened Ocean Parade expansion, Steel Taipan rollercoaster and the Sky Voyager “flying theatre”. Dreamworld CEO Greg Yong visited Pico Play’s Hai Duong facility in early 2024 and was impressed at the efficiency and skill of its workers, including a large team of experienced artists and sculptors. “They’ve got a super talented group of people doing the work and it was really great to see the artisans and thank them in person,” says Yong. “I walked out of that experience in Vietnam feeling 100 per cent confident and really comfortable in how Pico Play was handling the project.” Nominating Pico Play’s global reach as a competitive advantage, Yong adds that the firm’s Queensland presence also contributed to the enduring relationship between the two companies. “They know the site and understand our vision with this project and how important the stakes are – this is not just another attraction, this is a meaningful part of Dreamworld’s story and recovery.” Yong explains that Jungle Rush is located in one of the park’s foundation areas and fittingly offers a nostalgic nod to Dreamworld’s history: “Jungle Rush is all about the theming; we’re bringing back a lot of traditional effects that people may not have seen in a theme park for a long time. Technology is so pervasive now that we wanted something ‘analogue’, something that is so completely immersive that you put your phone away and just get caught up in the quality of the narrative and the scale of the theming.” The Rivertown project is the final piece in Dreamworld’s $55M capital investment, with approximately $35M invested in the immersive Rivertown land. The project’s construction and theming phase is set to create more than 1000 jobs with the precinct expected to open in late 2024. At the end of last year, Pico Play announced the appointment of Kate Rogers as senior art director. Rogers has worked on some of the most innovative and beloved theme park attractions on the planet, including Universal Orlando Resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, Universal Beijing Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Melbourne Zoo. https://www.pico-play.com/news-articles/pico-play-to-deliver-full-theming-solution-for-dreamworlds-new-jungle-rush-roller-coaster?fbclid=PAAaa72cG-6XAKEMstjUQ4fYQT39AFyuEo6YZRZsV6B_NC0Njqrd4i85NzZaI_aem_AfVrHVFLd2eQFxGicDVNWPcdcdovIoCHym6Vlf1s9SKKQClWxNnfUjRAdUd7VeqBveY
    12 points
  19. In regards to the awful pop music that was playing at the park entrance and around the flyer recently, I emailed in my feedback direct to dreamworld. I initially received the usual “thanks for your feedback, we’ve passed it on the the relevant team”, however I was followed up this morning with an email straight from Greg Young. He thanked me for the feedback, and said that he shared my thoughts on the music and they have since reverted back to the classic/Disneyland style Main Street music. He also said they still have a few more things to touch up and complete at the front of the park that they are currently working on. Interested to know what that means? Anyways I thought that was worth sharing. If it’s worth complaining about on here, then perhaps it’s worth sending in the feedback. It’s clear that they listen and appreciate enthusiasts feedback 😊 I also noted several comments while lining up for the flyer about how quick the lines moved compared to the competition down the road! Yes it is a people eater with the number of seats, but regardless that’s some good customer feedback heading into the Christmas school holidays!
    12 points
  20. The ride had a preview today for staff members! It looks very impressive off ride with the fountains. Also has music! Probably going to be open by the weekend. Sequence 01.mp4 (Clip of the ride testing prior)
    12 points
  21. Volcano Bay https://www.parkz.com.au/attraction/volcano-bay A couple of weeks ago I finally got to visit Volcano Bay in Orlando. Got a pretty good run at the place, the weather was rainy, but it was also warm and humid, and the water is kept at a perfect temperature, which was fine for this South East Queenslander. The net result was a dead park, and walk ons for almost everything. I was in and out in about 4 hours, and that was with re-rides, a lap to take some photos and mucking around to have lunch. Entry to the park is a bit of a pain in the arse if park hopping. You have to walk right to the back of the car park, where they have built a bus station, for shuttles to the park. Nothing screams tropical getaway like this? IDK maybe they could have built a shutte train from Citywalk itself and called it the Pineapple Express or something? But they make up for it when you arrive because its legitimately one of the nicest park entries anywhere. Overall impressions, has one of the most impressive slide line ups anywhere, and I guess what sets them apart is they are typically much longer than other installs. This means much longer climbs to the top, but it also means you get quite a lengthy ride every time. Theming is nice and has been beautifully styled, but for me it's still fundamentally a water park, just with all the signs and handrails etc better themed than usual. None of the slides really had any additional theming or SFX on them. There were lots of nice details to spot if you keep your eyes peeled. Most of the technical wizardly is reserved for the various interative Tapu Tapu things you can activate with your RFID wristband. This ranged from interactive fountains to underwater features, right through to light shows in a cool little walkthrough hidden inside the volcano. This wristband is also used to make ride reservations, though given the non existent crowds it went unnoticed, though you still tap in on each ride, so i guess they get super accurate guest flow statistics! The Punga Racers Body Slides and the 'normal' lazy river Kopiko Wai were closed for annual maintenance but I didn't really care, and of course the Runamukka Reef (get it? run amok) is just for the kids. Onto the slides. Ohno and Ohya drop slides Drop slides that finish a few meters above the pool, with some nice waterfalls. Fun to watch and quite attractive. The nicest feature was the interative kids pool next door with big spinning fountains that would throw water in a giant spiral pattern. Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides I'll get my one moan out of the way early. Yes there are a couple of attractions with catchy sounding names, and I can see they were trying to keep to the theme with these tribal sounding words, but for most of the rides the names they have are just not memorable. Which of these slides was Maku and which was Puihi? I dunno? It's not like something such as "Perfect Storm" or "Mammoth Falls" or "Summit Plummet" where at least its kind of fun and catchy and gives you an idea of what the ride might be like. I guess thats why they have given them captions like "Round Raft Rides", anhow, whinge over. The one that is the big saucer type slide is actually pretty good, even if the saucer is a visual gimmick, since this was quite a fast slide and you rode up on the walls a fair bit on the turns. The double tornado slide is the 36ft model, so its Smaller than the 45ft Tornado at Adventure Park Geelong, but bigger than the 24ft Tantrum Alley at at Raging Waters Sydney. Despite this, it might as well been as rough as the 24ft ones, but didn't really have all the extra turns and helices that come with it, so it felt quite short, but also lacked the signature tornado airtime. ehhh. Te Awa - The Fearless River This is a high speed lazy river, so fast in fact you have to wear a life jacket, which you'd never see in Aus lol. This was great, its fun to power swim along, and there are some big waves, including a huge surge of water that gets released periodically, and happened to go off right as i was in front of the inlet. Woosh! Waturi Beach Bit of a miss. Looks great, but the waves are definitely underpowered. Typhoon Lagoon reigns supreme as the best wave pool in Orlando. I did like how they had a spinning dial on a tower that would rotate to show a wave icon when the waves came on. Taniwah Tubes Take the Temple of Huey from WWW and make it 3x higher and this is what you get. What is also nice is the way rafts have a conveyor, which land on a mezzanine below the start deck. So you only have to carry your raft one flight of stairs, and there is none of that muck around with queuing separately at the bottom for a raft. Another minor grumble, all 4 slides were running and had water going down them, but they only had 2 of 4 open, and yeah they are pretty similar, but one had this intense looking double helix I wanted to try and of course that was the one that was not available and they weren't rotating. The green one was standard raft slide stuff, but the blue ones had a bit more kick, with Proslides Explosion Curves, which are like their take on the constrictor, so you got a little head spin on each helix. Krakatau Aqua Coaster Again, like Supertubes at WWW if you made it several times longer. Im not normally that big on water coaster type slides, because to be honest straight gentle drops in a raft just aren't all that thrilling (though the uphill slighty bumpy LIM launches are fun). I guess i just prefer slides that wash you around a bit and feel out of control. Give me a tornado or a wave any day. These slides just repeat the same trick over and over. Somehow, my head was just at the right height to get hit by every single sprayer that wets the surface, so the whole time I'm squinting trying to avoid chlorinated mist in my eyes. The one big thumbs up I'll give this is the completely over the top theming of the station and the beautiful landscaping around the first couple of drops. Why did they do such massive safety fences? They almost treat it like a real roller coaster in terms of safety. Ko'okiri Body Plunge The biggest and baddest, it's a straight trapdoor drop from the very top of the volcano. This has the fun gimmick of transparent sections a the top, and again at the bottom where the slide passes through a swimming pool, so people can swim right up and apparently watch as you shoot past. Aaaand of course you get water in your face the whole time so can't really see much, and half the drop is in darkness so perhaps you lose the sense of speed a bit. Gave it a couple of goes because that intial trap door release is still pretty cool. The bit passing through the pool is nice on paper, but doesn't really work in practice because physics. If you keep your head above water and try to look at the tube the refraction of light means you end up seeing shimmering instead, though if you put your head underwater and open your eyes then yeah you can see a split second splatter when the rider goes past. Kala & Ta Nui Serpentine Body Slides Also from the top of the Volcano are a couple of turbo tunnel slides with trapdoors (again only 1 was open). This was the only ride where I was given a return time (The whole of 10 mins). The climb up the Volcano is very cool, with the staircase zig zagging through the tangle of slides and supports. The ride down has a bit less water in your face and consists of several very fast turns, so you cover a lot of slide in short space of time. Only did this one once. Honu ika Moana - Turtle & Whale A couple more decent family raft slides. Again with the naming, the blue slide is apparently the Turtle and the green one is Whale, so try and figure that one out. The Green one is mammoth type slide, without any gimmicks, and you know what it was legitmatley one of the best slides the park, it was long, it was fast, you got good wall time, and the straights in between actually work well because they give the rafts a chance to wash around. The double tornado wave is really good too. These rides are heaps of fun to begin with, but having the 2nd drop following from the first is a bit of genius because you get this scary moment where it feels like you could go airborne. Of course its all highly calculated and you get two big airtime moments. Worth a couple rides, especially if you can get a fully loaded raft. Overall, yes I'd recommend the place, especially if you have a multi day ticket to Universal since if you get bored you can go sit on Hagrids or Velocicoaster for the rest of the day. The slides are all mostly better versions of your favourites.
    12 points
  22. If feels like right now you could walk into Dreamworld everyday of the week and there would be something new to look it. They are definitely playing catch-up after years of closures/neglect from former management, but it’s great to finally see the entire park getting some love.
    12 points
  23. Was just at a function hosted by the CEO of Luna Park, for Friends of Luna Park where a plaque was unveiled in recognition of their efforts. They are rebuilding wild mouse from the ground up. Capital is fully allocated for the project now.
    12 points
  24. The ride is in! New Marvin / K9 models too, that sit on the operator's cabin.
    12 points
  25. 11 points
  26. Won't happen now. Greg not only took himself over to Dreamworld, but he also took the majority of the operations and managers that really supported him at Village with him. The sheer amount of talented people that village lost when Greg left is astounding. I had honestly lost faith for the most part in Dreamworld until a few years ago, but knowing how much passion that Greg and the current team have well I think the results are starting to show for itself tbh. They still have a long way to go, but I strongly believe once Rivertown is open Dreamworld will be the best park on the Gold Coast. All they need now is a decent water ride and maybe one more thrill ride / coaster and they will really have Movie World beat by a decent margin.
    11 points
  27. For the love of god please don’t let a single one of those hideous colours see the light of day (or night!). The ride will look elegant and spectacular with lighting sequences of all warm white colour mimicking the incandescent festoon globes of old. Hopefully they resist the temptation to put it in Full Kebab Shop mode and run awful colours on it (the above video is just testing so judgement reserved until it is finished).
    11 points
  28. Yup, that's me! Thank you, I appreciate it!
    11 points
  29. Hong Kong Disneyland https://www.parkz.com.au/attraction/hong-kong-disneyland The last park from my trip in April was Hong Kong Disneyland. Im on mobile so it's a bit harder to do my usual formatting and add many pics, but of course all 300 are already uploaded here: https://www.parkz.com.au/search/photos/location/hong-kong-disneyland Again I won't do a blow by blow of the day. Rather ill do each ride. Space Mountain Im still not big on the whole star wars overlay. The original music is much easier to follow and the theming doesn't make sense. You have classic space mountain with planets etc in the station, which is completely different to how a space ship interior looks in Star Wars. And then on the ride yeah they have a few lights that represent laser fire which looks great, but there's no hiding that a lot of it is just backdrops with a small 2d projection of a star destroyer. Just all feels forced on the wrong type of ride. That said the coaster is still great. The station is much smaller than the other ones so you lose a bit of that buzz of looking down over the station and seeing trains pump through. Iron Man Experience Pleasant surprise! I was expecting a reskinned star tours, but it felt so much more. The queue is like a tech expo with lots of cool stuff to look at. The ride film is incredibly detailed, and your usual "on a tour but stuff goes wrong" sort of storyline. My tip, have a walk around Hong Kong island and ride the tram east on a day before you visit the park. You'll get a lot more out of the ride film if you can spot real details. Ant Man Vs the Wasp - Nano Battle This was also better than expected. It was previously themed as buzz lightyear, but of course the MCU rules at Disney now. The ride was panned a bit in POVs for looking "boring" but it's fine and better than Buzz imo. Really bold visual design with you making your way through a high tech facility, before being shrunk down to fight the bad guys inside a computer. A nice touch was that the targets aren't just flat things with LEDs, instead they are actual screens built into the sets, with animations when hit. "its a small world" Yeah its fine, but probably the longest ive waited for it. It's hard to separate any of the versions of these in my mind. This was the first to integrate Disney characters into it but to be honest it was fine. It wasn't in your face at all. Winne the Pooh The scenes seemed similar to the Tokyo version, just without the trackless cars. You start in hundred acre woods in some gorgeous scenes that are all flats but have a real picture book feel. Eventually you see pooh in bed, he falls asleep, and there is a great peppers ghost effect of his soul seemingly leaving his body. You I've been transported into poohs dream, with a circus of "heffalumps" Instead these ones were tracked, but could still bounce up and down at certain points. Mickey and the Wondrous Book I made an effort do some shows since I normally don't do many at parks. Was great! There's a huge projection mapped book on stage, and as Goofy and Mickey turn through they release characters from various stories. Elaborate song and dance numbers with quite a large cast, tied together with your usual cool Disney FX. Worth a look. RC Racer So imagine Surfrider with the TOT2 car on it. Greater than the sum of its parts! It wierds you out for a moment since you keep mentally expecting to a bit of spin. But what makes it great is the multiple moments of floating airtime. Would have ridden twice but it's somewhat low capacity (was a one and done early in the day) Oh and the theming is great. I liked the plastic car model parts on a frame in the station, and the queue paths themed like a scaletrix track (complete with the metal slots and the joiner pieces between track segments) Toy Soldier Parachute Drop Eh was ok. Good if you want a view of back of house areas and very mild drops in a short ride cycle. Again has a great themed queue, with lots of props looking like green plastic parts from an army playset. Was able to bypass a 45 min wait with single rider. Mystic Manor Did not disappoint. You ride in a trackless ride vehicle through the antiques collection owned by an eccentric old man and his pet monkey (in fact 4 go at once and they dance around each other in each room) The antiques come to life as you go through each scene, and this is a ride where a few laps can help you spot all the great gags. I quite liked the room with all the Mediterranean antiques. There's a Greek vase with the print on the outside coming to life and physically popping out the neck. And the final room has a great effect of literally falling apart around you! My only critique is that the ride looks like a cool old mansion from the outside, but you don't walk in the front door. Instead you go into the "loading dock" down in the basement, which feels like a cop out. Dunno I reckon it would have been more dramatic if you went through the foyer of the house and a few rooms and THEN go downstairs to the basement with the treasures. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars Great fun! A mine train coaster that wraps around a whole themed area. What i loved is the number of times goes under pathways and itself, so you can't just glance at the whole layout and map it out in your head. So it makes it feel like more of an Adventure since you don't know whats coming. Starts with a regular lift hill. At the top a grizzly bear pleasuring itself on a railway points lever causes your train go down "the wrong track" and a few turns follow. Then theres a dead end lifthill like a boomerang where you go up, then roll back down backwards The reverse section is mostly straight with Gentle turns, so no risk of feeling sick for anyone. Eventually you run backwards into a mine tunnel with a switch track. Some bears playing with dynamite cause an explosion, launching you forwards again. The remainder of the ride is several quick turns back to the station. It feels well orchestrated, with all these highlights on the way, a pace that gets faster as the ride goes on, and of course some good humour. Festival of the Lion King The other big show. Its a circular theatre and they bring in floats of African animals to the middle. There's acrobatics, fire twirling, bits of stage that rise up etc. It's done in a format where its a tribal retelling of the Lion King story, so Simba, Scar etc are guys in tribal dress, not actors in fursuits. Jungle Cruise I know its a classic but I just don't get it. Cruising past static sculpts of jungle animals just doesn't do it. Yeah there is some fire and water at the end, but not enough to warrant a repeat imo. Momentous. Really good and a genuine highlight. Recently the park renovated the castle from something that was once the size of the one in California, to one that rivals the Magic Kingdom. And after dark it becomes a giant projection mapping surface. Add some lasers, fountains and fireworks (Which HK is really good at for some reason) and of course a rousing soundtrack and the results are spectacular. The content is often a bit touchy feely, with memorable moments from Disney movies put up on the film. It was a particularly good sequence where they had all the villains and a song which I wish knew the name of. If I ever get back I'll definitely try and get there for a front row seat... I ended up sbout halfway up main Street which was decent enough view but you couldn't really see the fountains that well. Overall impressions... If nobody compared it to the other parks, it would be a fantastic place in its own right. There's always going to be certain Disney rides they could add, but as it stands now the lineup feels quite complete. I stayed from open till close and there is still stuff I could have tried (Slinky Dog, Astro Orbiter, the Teacups) Did repeat rides on Grizzly, Mystic, Iron Man, Ant Man, Space Mountain. Lines weren't that bad, maybe 30 mins at worst. Some of the rides are scaled back from the originals but it doesn't meaningfully impact the experience. Place is spotless, I loved the shady feel of Adventureland, the creative theming in Toy Story Land and the little thematic touches. There's a chance ill be back in HK next year, so I'd definitely go back again, and check out the new Frozen stuff too.
    11 points
  30. On second thoughts.... Where is the outrage? Plain black walls without so much as a vinyl sticker? This needs more lynchmob.
    11 points
  31. Honestly, its disgusting to charge full price for that.
    11 points
  32. Thanks for the kind words. I kept the trip quiet since I was in Australia for my honeymoon. As for a lot of YouTubers going to Australia, I think many of us were waiting for Leviathan to open.
    11 points
  33. Imo, more excited to see Rivertown. My family are definitely enjoying dreamworld lately over Movieworld. More space, better atmosphere etc. Excited for both don’t get me wrong.
    10 points
  34. Could say the same about majority of your posts...
    10 points
  35. Just curious, @Dean Barnett, do you think about what you post? like ever?
    10 points
  36. Yeah - mourning for this ride started a long time ago. Now it's just rubbish that the park has let sit for way too long, and it's good to see them tidying things up, even if a ride or install isn't planned for the area. I don't follow his page, but looking at these (and taking into account how often his content is reposted here and elsewhere) I can't blame him for such a bold watermark. The fact that the colour changes based on the background, and the placement is different in each one to place it in a spot that doesn't obscure anything relevant to the shot is good. If I can still see the entire image \ not missing anything covered by a watermark, I don't really see a problem.
    10 points
  37. I'm assuming that's a wrap on Doomsday. Watch village leave the ride to rot and degrade for 2 years before deciding to get rid of it. Also, Village with this 2-month maintenance bs for every ride has to be about saving money. Dreamworld the only rides that take that long is Gold coaster and if it's a major refurb.
    9 points
  38. Under the accessibility page on their website, Dreamworld have created a document called ‘The Dreamworld Visual Story’. They describe it as carefully-curated guide for our guests from how to get here, where to park, right through to what to expect on our rides and who to ask for help if needed. They have two versions of the document, a full version and a more brief version. I have read through both versions of these documents and it’s fantastic to see the park invest time into creating these. On the scheme of things, it’s something small they have done, but I can see it making a massive difference for a lot of guests that need this kind of information. It’s been very well written and I congratulate the park on doing this. The Visual Story can be found here: https://www.dreamworld.com.au/park-information/accessibility-information
    9 points
  39. Following guest feedback, we have learnt this ride is awful, unreliable and should be replaced, but instead we have amended the operations of the Doomsday Destroyer ride to make it even more awful.
    9 points
  40. 9 points
  41. Surfrider's track can be seen near Paradise Country
    9 points
  42. I mentioned in another thread i'd just returned from a trip to California, and while we were there, we did the Universal Studios VIP Tour. I also said that now i've done it, i'd probably never visit the park again without it, and I thought i'd go into some detail as to why. (Your mileage may vary). I've read some of my thoughts below as i've drafted this, and i'm conscious this comes off like a paid #ad. I can assure you that this isn't sponsored, and i'm just that impressed with the product that i'll happily spruik it for free. I should add that i've included some photos here where i had them, but we mainly just enjoyed the day and didn't take a lot of photos - plus the photos you see on the USH website are far better illustrations of the experience than i could ever do. This is the current link to the experience Pricing \ Costs - First up - the economics. A lot of people said to us it was expensive. Others just told us to do two days in park to save money. We had an extra day planned in our itinerary in case we needed it as we stupidly booked a trip right in the middle of spring break. 1 day general admission is posted at "from $109" and the VIP experience as "from $369" though these prices can vary on the day. I can't remember the day ticket price when we booked, but the current pricing on the website for this friday 14th April is showing $149 for a day ticket. Universal Express is an additional $160 per ticket and gives a one-shot express to included rides, attractions and shows (excludes Mario Kart). The express pass also gives you a one-time entry (without reservation) into Nintendo land. All up, this is $309. You can also add 'early access' to nintendo land - one hour prior to park open - for an additional $20, so your single day entry with these perks comes to $329. On the same day, the VIP pass is currently selling for $489 - an extra $160 on top - however the perks you receive for this additional price are absolutely worth it - and i'll cover these below. The Experience We decided to book our experience first thing - a 7:30 timeslot was the earliest available, and this meant we would have our VIP pass for use throughout the park for the entire day. Our first inclusion of the day was free Valet parking at Jurassic Valet (located inside CityWalk) so we were able to drive into the garage, drop the keys and start our day. Valet runs you $50 per car for the day, so as a single this is a huge value to your VIP experience, but as a group arriving in the same car, the value does diminish somewhat. After clearing bag check, we proceeded to the VIP entrance to the side of the main gate, where our parking ticket was immediately validated, we were checked in, given our VIP passes for the day, and escorted upstairs into a private dining area for a light breakfast (included). Breakfast included pastries, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, coffee, juice etc, and there were several 'travellable' items you could pop in your bag to munch on later. It was on par with a 'very nice' hotel breakfast that you'd pay in the realm of $25pp for. The entire facility was filled with cool behind the scenes pictures, and movie props, award statues, etc. Our VIP host - Donna - met our group of 10 (about 3 different family groups) and took us aside to explain how she intended to run the day, plus usual housekeeping. We discussed what everyone was looking to tick off today, and those who wanted to dine inside Nintendo land were given a QR code to make their reservations early avoiding disappointment. Donna was absolutely incredible as a host all day and I cannot sing her praises enough for the experience she gave my family throughout the entire day. We then set off through the park alongside a second tour group (most groups are paired for some experiences) and shoutout to Michelle who was our other guide that day for her awesome hosting skills also. We passed through the rope-drop-queueing guests with ease, and as the 7:30 tour we got to experience something few people get to see - an entirely empty Hogsmeade and Springfield. We paused for photos before pressing on into the studio tour. Unlike the standard 6-car tour trams, our tram was a single vehicle, well appointed with luxury seats, onboard drinks cooler, and plenty of space for all, and we begun our tour early in the day. While the standard studio tour takes about an hour non-stop, the VIP tour can take more than 90 minutes, as the tour stops at various points to let you step out and explore the sets - On our tour we explored the crashed 747 from War of the Worlds, "little europe" and sets from 'The Good Place' (NBC\Netflix). We also toured the prop department, and did the usual tour experiences including Kong, Jaws, F&TF, Earthquake, etc - although as our tram was only one car long, our driver would sometimes reverse back down the stage to prolong the experience for us. Unfortunately an advertised highlight of the tour - the Hill Valley \ town square set - was closed for filming the latest season of American Ninja Warrior (boo!) I should add that you are allowed to take whatever photos and videos you like while walking the sets - only the prop department forbids photos! After our studio tour, we took a back door entry into Hogsmeade, and bee-lined for Hippogriff. The tour guides are familiar visitors to the ride operators and they immediately cleared a path for our group to board the next train. The hosts try to group the VIPs into as few carriages as possible so they don't add to the wait more than necessary, and it was great to see Ops and the hosts working together to make things as smooth as possible. The hosts waited at the exit to the ride, captured the photocards for on-ride photos and distributed them to the groups on exit. They were great at engaging with each guest about their experiences, their thoughts on particular rides, especially for the kids in the group (3 total). They also carried bags and other loose items, though in hindsight, a backpack is definitely not needed whilst on the tour. We moved immediately to Forbidden Journey, and through clever doors were able to walk right to the front of the line with ease. Again, Ops worked well to accommodate us and we were on in moments. It was my first time riding and it was an impressive experience to say the least. We moved onto Despicable Me (another backdoor trick to get right to the front) before finally breaking for lunch at Moulin Rouge. This place is set up for private VIP dining, overlooking the San Fernando Valley, with chef prepared buffet lunch offering something for even the fussiest eaters - salads, carvery meats, seafood, pasta, pizza, kids options, plenty of sweets and pastry options, gelato by the scoop, hotplate cookies, cooked to order scampi - the works. Plenty of drinks options as well as a charging station with plugs to suit literally any device you can fit in your pocket. I'd have happily paid $50USD per person for this and still think I got a bargain. They even had private bathrooms with luxurious fitouts that were probably nicer spaces than anywhere else in the park! Dining also had guest characters appear (Doc Brown made his appearance during our lunch), and a very generous hour was allotted for us to enjoy our lunch, relax, and decompress from the bustle of the park. Some of our group took the extended break to ride Simpsons, and returned about 10 minutes late to the meet up point (don't be that guy). We met outside Secret Life of Pets, and again, a very secret backdoor put us right to the front of the line. (Many of these backdoors can't be used without a host present). Given our early start, our lunch had concluded before midday and so by noon we had done everything topside other than Simpsons (we'd be skipping this during the tour but were free to come back after our host had finished for the day). So it was time to head down the hill. Coming down the hill it was clear the spring break crowds had arrived. (Remember, this was only just midday - it got more crowded by mid-afternoon). We quickly hit Mummy, Transformers, and Jurassic. Everything continued to be an absolute walk-on despite the ever-lengthening queues around us. The tour provided a plastic poncho for Jurassic, though it was a hot day and not really needed. We ticked these off, again our host captured our ride photo for us and had it ready as we exited, allowing us to move onto the next experience. Now, by this point, I think you'd have to agree that it's a finely balanced thing as to whether this is worth the extra $160. Sure, it was a great lunch, and the parking and breakfast adds some value, but as inclusions, it's still a little short unless you can put a value on the walk around experiences in the backlot. If you'd put a price on these extras and charged them separately, some folks would happily pay them and some wouldn't, so at this point, the VIP is not for everyone. Until this point. Donna explained that Nintendo Land was the one challenge to her job. That for all the express, vip, special doors, Nintendo was still too new, and too busy to be quick. She explained that on quiet days, she can get her group into Mario Kart in around half an hour, but that she had had it take longer than 80 minutes. We were stood outside the exit to Transformers, and at this, curiosity got the better of me, and I started a stopwatch. Donna lead us from Transformers to the 'queues'. This morass of people were queueing to get admission at their reservation time. every half hour, another group would add to the queue. Beside them, the express lane. These were the folk who got a one-time entry into the land once per day. they were being admitted only as fast as they could be scanned in, by a single express lane operator. Then there was Donna. With her hand raised in the air for our group to follow, she marched confidently through the masses. Politely but assertively weaving through the groups, picking her path well in advance from years of experience in theme parks, the cast manning the scanners recognised her coming, and cleared a path for us the last few metres. We paused only long enough to be scanned into the land, and then proceeded straight into the Warp pipe. We came out the other side to be smacked in the face by how incredible the land is, (and how full of people it was). Donna tells us that the land has had to be evacuated twice today (once because someone in the MarioKart queue pulled a fire alarm) so it's busier than usual. and you can tell. We head straight into Mario Kart, sidestep a small barrier and we're into the express lane, rushing past miles of switchbacks in a blur barely long enough to register the theme inside each room before pressing on. And here is where we start to see why it takes so long to get through the ride. It's been about 6 minutes since we left transformers, but now we hit the first pre-show - how the gameplay works. Its unavoidable (and necessary to enjoy it) so we stall while we wait for the room to fill and the pre-show to play. Donna passes down to our group not to stop in the next room for helmets - she will have them for us and we need to press on into the next queue area. We do so and skip another good chunk of humanity all trying to collect their mario hats. We pause again on the stairs, and she passes out the helmets. We can finally see the load station, and we're close. As soon as we round the corner, Donna waves to an op on station, and again the path opens before us. Next minute we're on the ride, and its over before you know it. We unload, and exit Bowser's castle. It's been 46 minutes, and Donna has excelled at her job once again. On a day when Mario Kart was posting a 180 minute ride wait time, 46 minutes to enter the land and get off the ride was insane, and more than makes up whatever dollar value you felt was lacking in the pricetag for this experience! At this point in the day, our tour is over. Donna has seen us get onto every attraction in the park except The Simpsons, and it's barely 1:30 in the afternoon. Before leaving, Donna recapped with every party the things they had wanted to get done on the day, and confirmed these had been done or that plans were in place. She provided showtimes for Waterworld, the light show for Hogwarts (and even mentioned showtimes that were not advertised, but would happen today due to the high crowds). And at this point, I was satisfied we'd had our money's worth. But it wasn't over yet. The park is open until 10pm, so we have more than 8 hours left in our day to explore on our own. She has shown us every special entrance we can use (and even a few special code words to use in places like Ollivanders) to skip the line. Unlike the standard express pass you can buy with your one-day ticket, the VIP pass is unlimited express, and you can literally marathon the same ride all day long without waiting if you chose. The rest of our day was largely free-play. We knocked Jurassic and Mummy out a couple times, and spent a bit of time exploring Nintendo land \ Mario Kart. We headed up the hill to do Simpsons, and then went back into Hogsmeade to do Hippogriff and Journey a few more times. We wandered around the upper lot just taking things in, shopping and taking some photos before Waterworld started. Although we still had several hours left, we were heading out the gates around 7pm, happy with the day we'd had and without needing to spend the additional 3 (increasingly freezing) hours in the park. (LA was seeing an unseasonably cold spring, and there was still snow on the nearby mountain ranges). Valet collection was also painless and quick and we were back onto the freeway in no time. So ends the VIP experience review! _____________________________ **I do want to add one thing - my Son had had a popcorn bucket at the park he'd been asking for most of the day. I'd gotten it before Waterworld, but we had stopped at the photo counter to ensure all our photos for the day were captured. Somewhere along the way it had gotten misplaced, and only missed once we were at the Valet. It had been the one thing he had asked for that day, and not wanting to disappoint, I went back into the park to retrace our steps, but neither the photobooth nor the main Universal store had seen it. I tried to see if I could just buy another one but they all appeared to be sold out. The Universal store directed me to guest services, and I walked in not expecting much. The GS cast member who greeted me was great. Admittedly we'd had a long couple of days and I got a little emotional about this damn popcorn bucket as it was the one thing he'd liked and asked for as a souvenir. The GS cast (I'm appalled I cannot recall her name) brought me into a waiting room, got me some water, confirmed exactly what bucket it was, and then left. In less than ten minutes, she returned, with a replacement item in hand, as well as a giant bag of freshly cooked popcorn. We'd been at SFMM the day prior and experienced really poor service all round (which is kinda par for the SF course) but I honestly hadn't expected Universal to go this far outside of the VIP experience and this gesture by the GS cast member genuinely surprised and touched me. All round, while I still think Disney's long standing attractions have got Universal beat - the gap is far FAR closer than it ever used to be. However on levels of service - Universal (in my opinion) is now beating Disney in terms of simple guest experience. At some point, i'll get around to putting my thoughts down on the other parks we visited (this has taken at least 2 hours already) but overall I couldn't be happier with our time at Universal and will gladly pay the same again to have that level of experience, but I added this last point to demonstrate that Universal's service extends beyond the premium payer into a level that they genuinely care about each and every guest's experience in the park, as it should be (and to the nameless GS cast member I cannot remember the name of, thankyou again for saving our day!)
    9 points
  43. Dreamworld's Wave Swinger design. I've added blue to the drawings to show water location. Floor mesh will be located over the water under the ride. Mesh shown in yellow. (All pictures taken off public web site)
    9 points
  44. Things really aren’t looking good at MW right now. Apart from all the previously mentioned issues (such as constant ride closures, poor operations, temporary fences at every turn, lack of music and atmosphere in most areas, a large amount of dead/disused spaces, rude/disinterested staff and terrible communication with guests), general presentation and upkeep around the park is severely lacking. There’s so much exposed wiring and conduit all over the place (some in very noticeable locations like the Scooby Doo facade and Wild West Falls), lots of broken equipment, numerous severely faded and worn out signs and gardens full of weeds. The whole place just feels very neglected at the moment. Here are a few “highlights”. I could go on, as issues like these are literally at every corner of the park and are so consistent that you can’t help but notice. It’s so disappointing considering how well kept the place used to be.
    8 points
  45. I don’t think it is from a ‘we’ll close rides to save money’ perspective, but more a lack of organisation in their maintenance department to ensure they have all the necessary parts for any unexpected downtime. And also a lack of managing their attraction downtime periods to reduce overlaps. Rides have and will always need yearly maintenance, but in reason years MWs attraction seem to be needing more of it, for longer periods and more rides are closing at once. The impacts of the TRRR incident has definitely had an impact on maintenance periods, but they need to get on top of this and streamline their maintenance processes. Rides will always have unexpected breakdowns from time to time, but the way to reduce the impact from this is to not have any more than two (whether that’s two main attractions, two kids attraction, or one of each) closed at a time (Obviously having Scooby closed for several years effects this, but in this case I wouldn’t include that in this formula). And try not to have the closed attractions next to each other in the park (for example, don’t close Doomsday & WWF at the same time because that makes one quarter of your park closed). For a long time they would close Storm Coaster at SW from Feb to April because that aligned with shortly after when the attraction opened and they had to ensure they completed maintenance the same time every year. And to fix that they did two lots of maintenance so its annual schedule could be moved to the much more sensible time of the year (winter). So maybe they need to do this again with all of their rides at MW. This would mean there would be a year when some rides would need to close twice, but if that meant a better schedule for the years to come, I think that would be worth it. So no I don’t think they’re closing their rides on purpose to save money, but I do think they are saving money by not investing in a catalogue of (backup) parts that they keep in back of house so that when rides do go down, they don’t have to order and wait for them to arrive. This cant necessarily be done for every kind of part for every ride in the park, but at least some effort should be made. But I don’t have any evidence of whether that’s fact or not, but whatever they are doing now isn’t working. They have become shit at managing their park, attraction operations and their maintenance. And if it continues like this it’s going really start to hurt their performance and most importantly (from their perspective) their pockets.
    8 points
  46. 8 points
  47. I think though that comes down to the potential fall radius from the crane - anything dropped off the tower could theoretically land within the taipan ride envelope while work is underway. Surfrider has like 5 pieces. As they've shown, the entire track can get removed in a single night - so there's really nothing stopping them from putting it up in a night either. If they choose to construct it after hours, then I see no reason why superman has to close for any major length of time. The slab, footers, power and comms are already there. Construction and Commissioning should be fine to do without shutting it down. Heck, they could do testing out of hours too. Bear in mind that the primary reason rumored for this move is to provide additional capacity in a park that is temporarily lacking it - if that's true, they're going to do all that they can to keep superman open, within reason.
    8 points
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