Richard

Drop me off a cliff. I guarantee you that the strap still ain't coming off my wrist. If I'm at Wonderland, or any park with a no-camera policy, then I'm not going to take one on. If it's a ride where they allow cameras, or you have to take all belongings with you, I'll choose (considering I've taken on-ride footage on only three or four rides ever, it doesn't happen too often).

I'll agree with the guests who didn't like it because of the lack of a storyline. Sure, you might be able to "ooh and ahh" everyone with a few flips and explosions, but is it going to be that good if it's just a bunch of incoherent scenes one after another. At least theme it to the Matrix if you're just going to have fights and explosions for the sake of it (referring to in particular Revolutions, where it seemed to just be a whole lot of "I'm bored, let's fight to techno music").

Given that the discussion was really drifting a long long way from what the topic was about, yet it was still good reading, I've created a new topic here for the whole on-ride video thing. Feel free to comment on Flea's fine Wonderland video here, but leave the debate for over there.

I'm not sure where the talk of sneaking cameras onto rides came from. It's largely irrelevant as no cameras have been snuck on for any of the videos in question as far as I know. I'll follow the park's rules (written, spoken, implied or otherwise). Nothing more and nothing less. If no one's getting in trouble, and no one's in danger, how can you say I'm anything less than a law-abiding guest. Hey, if I'm riding something and manage to drop a $1,000 piece of equipment ($6,000+ if you're talking about my video camera) despite having a wrist strap around my wrist and whatnot, then I not only deserve to loose my equipment but also I should be sued out of everything I own to pay for the poor bloke's medical treatment and locked in jail. That's how confident I am in my own ability to hold onto something. And this is on a ride that freely allows cameras etc. - strictly speaking, in putting a dent in some poor fella's face and loosing an expensive camera, I'm not breaking any rules.

I'm in the process of finalising the new Sea World gallery. I've got 75 photographs in total in the new one, with 30 of Corkscrew and 12 of my favourite photos of all time of Polar Bear Shores. A few of these photos make an appearance in the Total Thrills Calendar. We need more sales, ASAP! Deadline is Wednesday the 3rd - four days from now. If I can't sell the minimum of 15 calendars, I'll have to cancel the order and refund the money to those who have purchased them, which I don't want to have to do! Support Total Thrills, as well as those who have purchased them by just spending $25 (which isn't too bad for a calendar) on this sweet calendar featuring 13 of Australia's best rides and attractions. Order Now!

Just one thing. It's lions, not tigers that they're getting. And presumably they're only "on loan" only while they're cubs. It's much easier (and cheaper...) to cater for a few cubs than. Good to see they've followed suit and given the two matching names (i.e. Dreamworld's Kaasha and Kato; Sea World's Lia and Lutik) with Masai and Mara. More than likely, the reason they've gone with the Goldrush setting is to drive people into the theme park, not the wildlife park. Movie World's street parade comprises of several bends, with only one (long) straight. In fact it's the next best thing to a chicane around Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster. So long as there's room for people to stand mindlessly and watch, they'll have no problems with whatever terrain they come up with, even with floats and whatnot.

Reminder to everyone: Payment is needed for calendars by Wednesday, and at this stage we're still no less than six short of the minimum. If we don't reach that minimum, no calendars will be printed and all orders will be refunded. You're not just disappointing myself - you're also letting down those who have ordered calendars. I'd appreciate it if you got orders in as soon as possible. If you need to borrow your parents' credit card or whatever, then do it over the weekend and leave yourself plenty of time. Aim to have orders in by Sunday night, leaving the next three days as backup. Let's get purchasing! Remember they are completely limited. After the third, you will never be able to get your hands on one again.

The precise answer to that is nothing - I'm so clogged up with other stuff to do that I've virtually done nothing I've wanted to. I still owe a Sea World gallery and a longer video and I think it's safe to say that probably neither of these will happen within the next week, let alone any novelty things like extreme on-ride footage. Onto an entirely non-related issue. Reminder to everyone: Payment is needed for calendars by Wednesday, and at this stage we're still no less than six short of the minimum. If we don't reach that minimum, no calendars will be printed and all orders will be refunded. You're not just disappointing myself - you're also letting down those who have ordered calendars. I'd appreciate it if you got orders in as soon as possible. If you need to borrow your parents' credit card or whatever, then do it over the weekend and leave yourself plenty of time. Aim to have orders in by Sunday night, leaving the next three days as backup.

Well, they've got their "No Worries Wet Weather Promise", from what people have said, it does work nicely (I'd imagine it's about you going out of the way to get them, not the other way around), so I'd imagine if people weren't able to get their full day of fun as depicted by the "Promise", they were entitled to a free return pass.

Put it this way. At Movie World I have never once seen anyone told to put away a camera on an "allowed" ride. Considering they get a lot of tourists, namely Japanese (stereotype but spot on with Movie World), I'd say they allow the use of cameras on the rides. The whole park has a "no flash" policy, and a no commercial photography/filming policy (which is why permission was granted for the calendars), but other than that, with the exception of Lethal Weapon, cameras can go anywhere you do. Heck, down the road at Sea World (you know, owned by the same company as Movie World, same basic policies), they freely allow riders to take cameras onto even Corkscrew. I've seen ride operators giving people tips on the best ways to hold the camera for a steadier shot. As most of Dreamworld's rides are in some way incapable of taking riders items (Cyclone is a looper, Tower of Terror has a habit of letting things go while in freefall, Runaway Reptar and Giant Drop have no floor and don't bother with Wipeout - it does a good job of cleaning people of secured items in people's pockets), they don't allow any objects on the ride. However, you take everything with you, and consequently are free to restrain your devices in whatever safe way possible (on the floor, in your hands...) on Thunder River Rapids, Rocky Hollow Log Ride and Eureka Mountain Mine Ride. They're very strict with cameras and other loose objects on the disallowed rides, believe me.

Why didn't you post this in the relevant thread, i.e. here. You've just posted about his Movie World video in his Wonderland video thread, when there's a thread right there for the Movie World one. Now, Warner Bros. Movie World enforces a policy where guests must take all their belongings on all rides but Lethal Weapon (for obvious reasons). He had on-ride footage of Wild West Falls, Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster and Road Runner Roller Coaster. Upon entry of all of these rides, you are instructed to put all loose items on the floor below you. Where's a video camera more safe, on the floor, where it's liable to get tossed around, ejected or wet, or in your hands? It's amazing how one incident, completely unrelated in any way to ride videos, has caused this amazing backlash and witch-hunt. It all gets a bit absurd, particularly in cases like this where if anything all park rules were followed correctly.

I certainly wouldn't say that it's a ride that's badly missing from Dreamworld. I mean, Wipeout gives more spin and puke than you could ever hope for. However, that's not to say it wouldn't fit in, and certainly be a welcome addition. I'm not a real fan of flat rides, and from what I saw on the Discovery show, as well as various photos and whatnot, it looks like a really great ride. Be happy that I've been kind enough to say that there is a thrill ride coming. What I have said so far is public knowledge and I wouldn't ever go any further than that. I'm not going to say anything more until the appropriate time (i.e. when everything is announced).

Yeah, your best bet would be a hotel for SFMM - it's an hour or so out of LA. There's a Best Western a few minutes' walk from the park. I know that's where we're staying. One hotel should do well for both Disney and Knotts. If they don't offer shuttle buses from the hotel to both parks, then public transport isn't too difficult, particularly for these touristy things (expensive though). Remember if you rent a car (we're not - it's just not cost effective unless you have 4+ people to split the costs), you'll be paying for parking at most parks, which makes public transport even more enticing.

Cyclone Country (or County, Shire or whatever) is a great piece of misinformation. There is no "land" at Dreamworld called "Cyclone Country". On one press release it was said, "(Cyclone is) Set in the lush tropics of 'cyclone country'". It's nothing more than part of the theme, as in an area where cyclone's frequently occur (you've all heard similar sorts of phrases). A certain website, through their normal course of formatting press releases, managed to capitalise the two words and make it bold and italic and started referring to Cyclone's land as Cyclone Country all over the place. Cyclone is in Ocean Parade, and if any new ride were to go nearby, it'd also be in Ocean Parade, unless the press release mentions some vague geographical formation, in which case it'll be given its own land.

I don't think there are any plans to "replace" Thunderbolt as such. Certainly not unless they plan on selling it, dismantling it and prepping the site for it's replacement within the next six months. I'd expect to see something shiny as well as a defunct, rusting Thunderbolt. This isn't cryptic "I know what they're getting and aren't telling" talk either, just something I'd see as pretty well a given. I stuck mine in for Dreamworld too, obviously. Thanks to Warner Village spending the right money at the wrong time (i.e. Paradise Country etc.), we'll certainly see them a bit quiet until they get the memo that the economic downturn is over.

Sorry, I can't hear you. You'll have to speak up. Quietly skipping over the first half (I'll leave that for others to discuss), I'd pretty well throw the second "Nick Land" in the bin. It of course will be expanded into eventually, but I'd suggest that the plans don't include any white on orange logos.

The thing with Corkscrew is, you look at its wheels, and they're all reasonably shiny and new. Meanwhile, you look at Lethal Weapon, and what you've got is some pretty old grubby things. Now, what this suggests is Corkscrew uses a much softer compound for their wheels, because it wears down quicker, hence needing more frequent changes. Now, Lethal Weapon, they've had the same old things on there for months/years/forever. I was quite amazed to watch both trains, after coming out of an extensive rehab (the kind where every single nut and bolt is taken off and every single part is sorted into ice cream cartons before being entirely reassembled). that they came back with the same old wheels. This suggests they're using a harder wheel compound, which means less shock absorbing. We're really comparing apples and bananas, but I could do the same with Cyclone and Corkscrew with the exact same conclusion. The wheels you've got on a coaster really does contribute a lot to the ride you're going to get. Then again, so does the restraint, and in the case of Lethal Weapon, you're boxed in, whereas at least on Cyclone the taller people are clear so there's no ear-smacking.

If we didn't have maintenance, rides like Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain or the PeopleMover wouldn't have the perfect safety records that they do. Hang on... nevermind...

Rip the guts out of the Gum Tree Gully Theatre and put in some nice new technology (seriously, those wooden bench seats are like something out of an old church) and something like SpongeBob 3D (only three dimensions... haha, Sea World must be laughing right now ) could be done. However, I don't know how Dreamworld would feel about a) putting a Nickelodeon outside of the brand new Nickelodeon Central and building a second theatre, especially when the Imax is really underperforming (they really[i/] need some new films!). I'd say probably not next year, at least it's not in the budget. We can be hopeful after that - SpongeBob is by far one of the better cartoons out there today and it is becoming more and more popular in Australia.

Universal Studios does have a few rides. They're mostly Movie World stlye things - more emphasis on the movie theme than thrills, but they do have things like the Jurassic Park - a lot like Wild West Falls, Back to the Future, like Batmant on sterioids. Look at their attraction listing for more information. I'd say, as Flea suggested, it's a lot like our Movie World, though I'd have to say it looks slightly better. If you're after hardcore rides, it's certainly not the place to be, but if you've got a spare day in LA (you can't forget some of the touristy stuff around Hollywood etc.). Check out Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk while in San Fran. It's home to one of California's two classic boardwalk Giant Dipper coasters. The other's in San Diego (south of LA) at Belmont Park, which coupled with SeaWorld would full another day - again not necessarily thrill packed, but I know it's on my itinerary for my trip which starts in under two weeks. Get yourself a three day hopper pass which gets you into Disneyland and DCA. A day at Knott's is sufficient. I'm doing thee days at SFMM, but that's only to increase my chances of getting onto rides like X and Deja Vu. I'd say to do what you need to at SFMM would probably only be a day at the most. Vegas is just a matter of walking down the strip, stopping at any casino that has a coaster. There's Adventuredome, New York New York, Nascar Cafe, and Buffalo Bill's about an hour out of town, with Desperado.

Well, if the truth must be told, Lethal Weapon's always been more painful to me than Thunderbolt ever was. Thunderbolt rattled like crazy and had rotten transitions, but at least what your head was bumping into was somewhat soft and didn't surround your head unlike Lethal Weapon. Meanwhile Lethal Weapon is fairly decent for much of the ride, but there are some killer jolts which just thump the noggin in. Thunderbolt was like at least consistent in its painfulness throughout the ride. Look, that first drop on Lethal Weapon absolutely rocks, the banked camel back in the middle and the helix at the end are all great and perfectly smooth. Just when they decided to go upside-down, something went haywire in the Vekoma calculator. The transition out of the helix is no good too, while I'm at it. I think we just always need something there as the "painful waste of space and valuable minerals". If nothing else, it makes all of our other slightly less mediocre rides look better.

Thanks for your kind comments. These forums continue to improve thanks to the support of the growing number of members. Both Supernova (the indoor coaster) and Centrifuge (the suspended coaster) were bought and moved (opening in 1994) to a park in Thailand, known as Dream World. They're both still operating. The story behind Titan/Demon is quite interesting. After Expo 88, Luna Park Melbourne had essentially secured Titan as a replacement for Big Dipper for 1990. This somehow allowed the State Government to overrule the St Kilda Coucil's decision to not allow the demolition of the delapidated classic coaster. So the ride was razed, and next thing we knew, for some reason Melbourne couldn't get Titan, and they were left with nothing (replacing it shortly with the wonder that is the Galaxy). The then Australia's Wonderland picked up Titan in around 1992 and that's what we've got today.

If you'll see the context of my "criminal" comment was not a negative one, but rather a rebuttal of something Daniel said prior to me. It was precisely my point that the way they handled the situation was the correct way to do so.

Yes, roughness can be said to add to intensity, but that's only to an extent. When you're coming off with a headache, then it's too rough. Lethan Weapon has certainly lost it over the past few years. It might be good for an SLC, but I don't think it's good for the average eight year-old ride these days.

Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster and Scooby Doo the movie have absolutely no real commonalities. The theming was all "inspired" on SDSC, so it's not like the Matrix Revealed (I could call it The Official Matrix Exhibit, but what were they thinking with that name? ) where a lot of the props are actually those used in the final two films. I think joz told me this originally, but the "party scene" in Scooby Doo was actually filmed at Calypso Beach at Wet'n'Wild. They said that part of the reason for choosing the Gold Coast studios to film the movie was because of the on-location theme park (of course, no mention of the cheaper production costs downunder), yet from what I can remember (given that it's 18 months since I saw the movie), this was the only scene that actually used one of the theme parks.