Richard

The adjoining studios are used for various Hollywood and local productions. Most recently was Scooby Doo, also Ghost Ship was done there in recent months. In the past, I believe the new Inspector Gadget (the 2003 French Stewart video-release one, not the original Matthew Broderick one) There have also been plenty of shows done there. The swamp out the front of the park near Batman was actually originally used for some TV show in the early 90's. Brad Pitt's new film was set to be filmed there, but aparently after Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddy Prinze got back from Scooby Doo's shooting, they said that Sydney was much better, so Brad Pitt refused to do it at the Gold Coast. Production was moved to Fox Studios in Sydney, but location scenes will be done up here. The new Live-Action Peter Pan is currently being filmed up here too. You can see the elaborate set that they've built from Lethal Weapon's lift.

Sounds like a good day for you there. I was there Sunday too, just cruising around, not doing much. Crowds were a bit too heavy for my liking, so the only rides I did was Thunderbolt (which is a great ride 'if you know how to ride') and Giant Drop West - first time on that side in many months.

I did an RCT (AA or LL, can't remember when exactly I did it with respect to the release timeline) version of Dreamworld long ago. With RCT2, I've notived many aspects that would make it much more do-able. I'm going to start on something like that within the next few weeks if I'm really bored (and finish this damn Gravity Gardens scenario). Cyclone is somewhat easy to remplicate, I'm a bit disapointed though that the banked fan-turns aren't available with the Corkscrew style coaster, which makes the first two turns much easier to make. Thunderbolt is just plain hard to replicate in the game - and I've tried several times. Eureka Mountain will prove a lot easier to do now that there are load/unload stations (though Dreamworld almost never uses their proper unload station outside of the summer holidays). Movie World will come next - rides like Wild West Falls (formerly Wild Wild West) will be most fun to try and get working right. The SLC that comes with the game is almost perfect for Movie World. Just add a helix at the very end, and I'd put banking at the top of the camel-back to make it reflect the real thing. Scooby-Doo would seem easy enough. If we get enough people talking about RCT and whatnot, maybe I'll create a Game forum for this sort of stuff.

No train on the track yet (another single-train coaster for Dreamworld, but this one shouldn't be too bad with queues). There were two shipping crates just to the right of the coaster, I guessed that they possibly contain the train.

Well, Rugrats is complete as of today, 10/11 - I'm guessing this was actually finished off early last week. Work has started to move forward on the rest of the site. Slime Bowl (show), is to be situated right next to Reptar, on the North end of the park, it is set into the ground with several steps for seating. Thornberries (play area) will be right behind the remote-control boats. Dream Copters, Sea Planes, Swinger Zinger and Nick-o-Round will be arranged in the centre of the area. SpongeBob (water play area) will be in the area where the skull or Tower of Terror once stood, and Spooty-Spin is the old Avalanche (a somewhat strange theme for a ride inside a mountain), Bumper Beach is obviously Bumper Bowl, which is now closed for refitting and whatnot. For a better picture, take a look at the map of the area, presumably that one that'll eventually be put on their park maps. As you can see, they will have the Reptar sculpture, overlooking the entrance. Finished Reptar:

Missed the 9:00 train, so I'll catch the 9:30 one. Theming should be at the same level as other Nick Centrals - Nickelodeon aren't letting their name be put on any old scrapheap. Don't know about the giant Reptar 'sculpture' - the American ones (well, only one operating) are themed to a drive-in theatre, however, you should expect ours to be more 'Australian' in theme.

Ahh! The truth has been exposed! Okay, I admit, I'm a kiddies ride junkie, I ride 'em with family, friends, solo, you name it, I've done it on a kddies ride in some form.

"Wonderland is expanding for the future" For those that followed Cedar Point's construction, my understanding is that this is the slogan, or something of this nature, that they used to describe their ride that is rumoured to top 400ft (121m), and speeds over 120mph (192km/hr). I'm certainly on your wavelength on this one - just home WLS are too.

A new article regarding Nick Central has just surfaced. It includes an official photo of the ride's contruction (over a week out-of-date), from an angle inaccesible by guests, within the construction site. http://www.thrillnetwork.com/index.php?pag...article&sid=788

Construction is very nearly complete on Reptar, that I think is quite amazing - just two weeks ago there was nothing but a few holes filled with concrete here and there. They've just got to build the twisting first drop (the section directly after the lift, where the train does a tight 360 turn, going down then up again). In other news, Giant Drop West and Wipeout are both running again.

The company they partner with won't determine the size of the area, this is almost entirely up to how much they're willing to spend. HB Land however, was needlessly large. Looney Tunes Village in particular does its job much better and is much smaller. Cartoon Beach is a very small childrens area, it is just a collection of well themed rides, rather than an actual 'land'. Nick Central on the other hand at Dreamworld will be a very large, with more than just rides. Wonderland has land to burn, so they won't have to resort to a smaller one like Cartoon Beach or Looney Tunes Village, which were done within park confines.

They are well aware of the dent that the lack of Hanna-Babera Land, or Little Wonders Land, has caused on their currently lineup of attractions. Without a childrens area, they've lost a majority of the appeal that this area once had to the obvious target audience. Cartoon Network at this stage to me seems most obvious. It was last Easter that Dreamworld harmlessly started a holiday attraction involving Blues Clues. Just a few weeks after that, a major deal struck with Nickelodeon, and was important enough to have a half-page article in the financial section of Courier Mail one day. Wonderland Sydney has their Powerpuff Girls show, makes perfect sense to me that this could be hinting at something to be coming in the near future.

Macquarie Leisure Trust has recently announced that a four year plan for Dreamworld will be completed as of December 26 this year. They were targeting several of their key demographics, enhancing their image in each one. Now that this major investment has been completed, they have announced that 2004 will be a 'quiet year'. The exact quote: "Consequently, we do not expect to spend significant capital on new attractions in financial year 2004." Lets just all pray that Warner Bros. Movie World down the road has some amazing thrill ride in the works that will 'blow Dreamworld away', and all the money that Macquarie saved in 2004 can be used to in turn 'blow Movie World away' in years to come.

The same one alright! Still very much active at ThrillNetwork - just wanted a place where Aussies and can talk about only Australian parks, so that's where this comes from.

Construction over the past week has very much gone forward - in a very upward way. Supports and track has started to appear in the area that was suspected to hold this new coaster. The ride isn't even half as tall as it will be, but yet you can already see it poking out of the site from everywhere - even in Rivertown, where it is hidden by much of the shops and buildings scattered along the road. So far they've got the station, the start of the lift and the turn over the station - if you've ever been on Road Runner at Movie World, you'll know this part of the ride. They've also opened the Plaza area they worked on for the past few weeks over by the remote control boats - they've put up nice sails for shade that will be a great area to eat in (or on days like today when you need to run for cover every time it starts pouring down again). They're certainly not being secret about this - taking an approach that will certainly result in better coverage of the new area - they've put viewing holes in some of the fences.

Here's a quick photo of the track, this is in the storage area beside Thunderbolt's lift hill.

Yeah - that is exactly it. Vekoma designed the ride so it is an exactly identical version of the regular RollerSkater. Just picture sitting on Road Runner, and then move the track above you. You're still sitting in the same place, just now the track is above - that is what this ride'll be like. That doesn't mean it won't be a good ride. It certainly won't be the sort of ride people run to at nine in the morning to try and get on the first ride, but it'll just diversify their existing collection of coasters - give an experience they couldn't give before.

I heard today that Nick Central is currently being advertised on Nickelodeon. I've been told it features a lot of footage of the Paramount Nick Centrals, as well as plenty of shots of the Reptar Inverted Coaster. This to me, pretty much confirms that it'll be the Vekoma Inverted RollerSkater we're getting.

FrightFest, Wonderland Sydney's annual Halloween event will be taking place on Saturday November 2. The event will have all the things you hear about form the American Halloween events - costumed characters, firebreathers entertaining in the streets and so forth. There's also live performances, including 'Disco Montago', in the Galaxy Theatre. Transylvania Land's selection of unique thrill rides will be open throughout the evening, providing a completely different aspect to the rides. The event will cost only $16.50 for entry after 5pm. It goes from 5pm through until 9pm. Tickets are puchased on arrival, so no need to book or pre-purchase. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend, geographic location is my excuse, but if you are in the area of Greater-Sydney, then this something that is certainly different from your average day in a park.

My thinking, is that the ride is not to be modified in any great ways. Dreamworld isn't out to take a bit of a ride, then add wacky new, non-Thunderbolt elements. To me, they're looking at retracking it, to remove the bad transitions, and make it smoother, make it a lot more exciting in the second half, as well as replacing the trains on it. They're not after a new coaster, disguised as Thunderbolt by keeping say the lift hill. In that sense, any modifications would be pointless. A new coaster these days costs roughly $16m. My guess, and keep in mind this is only my guess, is that Dreamworld wants to spend somewhere around $10m on Thunderbolt. I'd love to see Arrow take on this task. I've always had a spot for Arrow, and I know we would be guarenteed a quality end product, something which I don't think Vekoma would be able to provide (and they've said that they're concentrating on purely the SLC and Boomerang rides, since their bankrupcy). We can't, and won't see a company like B&M take on a project like this. Their ride technology is totally different from the kind that Thunderbolt uses. Most obviously are the track and train differences between the two. It would be uneconomical for such a company to take on this sort of task. Maybe build a ride from scratch, but not a retracking job.

It has been unused for about 6 months now. They discountinuted the Maverick Show for some unknown reason, replacing it with a cheap unpopular solution. Superstars in Concert, or something along those lines, which consisted of people that could be manipulated to look like stars of the past and present, then singing famous songs. The Maverick set is still behind there. The Police Academy show won't be moved anywhere. True their set needs major revamping - some parts look unnaturally sad. But it'll either be discountinued, or stay where it is. It is the most popular show in the park, and without a doubt in my mind the best show in Australia. The show wouldn't work indoors. You can't physically remove the building. It is one of the most sturdy-looking buildings in the park. The Matrix is an ideal theme for an indoor show. With both sequels coming in 2003, it would be highly appropriate to open a new attraction coinciding with one of these days (May 15 and November if I'm not mistaken). My dream for the set would for the roof they built on it to be removed, and the original show, Wild West Action Show, opened again. I only saw it twice, but I always thought it was a much better show than the Police Academy show. I would simply love to see it again.

Something gives me an impression that Wonderland's name isn't on that list because of a few wheels they buy off of Arrow. If that were the case, they'd put practically every park that they've manufactured rides for, which would be well in the hundreds's. Specifically, there's a reference to Dreamworld, who recently bought Big Dipper from Luna Park in Sydney. Yet there is no reference to Sea World, who run Corkscrew, an Arrow Loop+Corkscrew. I'd be pretty sure that Wonderland purchases their parts from Vekoma. Because of the Arrow rolling stock that Demon uses, as opposed to the new Vekoma built and designed one seen on newer Boomerangs and other Vekoma loopers, chances are Vekoma have to purchase the Arrow-specific parts from Arrow, to make it viable for them. Demon has been refitted with the Vekoma style restraints in recent years, so it is evident that Vekoma has a very large role in the spare parts used on the ride.

That makes more sense - I was wondering how the site you pointed out was North of Dreamworld .

Something I've wondered myself. Arrow no longer manufactures their own track and supports in-house (even companies that do subcontract to Australian companies as it is much more cost effective than importing it). Newcastle is the home of BHP, this is where a lot of past coasters have been made. The steel was seen South of Brisbane, North of Newcastle, heading South. Why would it be in the Greater-Brisbane area? This isn't just coasters I'm talking about here. Why would steel, that typically is made in Newcastle, that is heading south, found up here? Unless it is manufactured here, or has been imported to the Brisbane Port, or is being moved/relocated, I see absolutely no reason why there'd be any steel going south. Anyone more "in" with the construction industry (Wayne? ) see any reason why it'd be this way?

You can now upload your own avatar. Previously, it didn't work right, because of a FTP permission thing, but now, you can upload an avatar. I will implement Avatar galleries shortly, which will basically allow you to choose pre-loaded generic avatars. You can modify your avatar in Profile. This is only available to registered users - just another perk that comes with registering for free.