Richard

I don't know if anyone else caught the story in "MSN Today" yesterday, but there was an article about Steve Irwin's latest plans (if you've not been watching the news or reading the papers, you probably have missed all the stirring that has been done about his plans to move the park to Brisbane). Anyway, he's now saying he'll keep Australia Zoo where it is, and build a Crocodile Hunter theme park in Brisbane that has the rides and more gimicky attractions rather than the wildlife (though I'm sure there'll be plenty of that). A bit of poking around the ninemsn.com news site got me this: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/s...story_52400.asp I think the writer starts to loose track of what he's talking about and which park is which, but from what I make of it, there's also going to be a heap spent on the Beerwah park to bring it more into the future. Anyone that's been there knows that in some/most parts, it isn't exactly "natural habitat" animal exhibits that have become the norm in the 2000's, so this'd be very welcome I think. While on this topic, anyone catch Steve on Enough Rope (season finale) a few weeks ago? After seeing that, I'm convinced he's the Marilyn Manson of the nature world. The guy's found a fantastic selling point, and he religiously sticks by it... and certainly by the sound of things, it really is working him wonders.

Construction is done by contractors, who are legally responsible for safety etc. on the construction site, not the land owners. Also, there's not going to be any forfeiting of plans to construct at Wonderland, regardless of who sues who. There's a little thing called a contract. Unless the construction company wants to get into trouble with Wonderland, the job will be done. That's of course assuming any legal action takes place, which would happen if there was some sort of fault on the contractors part (if they've provided safety that meets the standards of workplace health and safety, then they shouldn't be negligent and insurance will come into play and make everyone happy).

Setpoint is an up-and-coming (saying that like it's a small indie band) company based in Utah (home of Arrow, S&S and S&S-Arrow ). The ride referred to is their Swingthing, an interactive suspended coaster where riders and bystanders have opportunities to wet each other.

Movie World are great at theming individual rides and attractions, I'll give them that. When it comes to areas though, this is where Movie World really pales. I'd go so far as to say that absolutely no thought goes into how it affects the surrounding rides and attractions, when they are designing their rides. Scooby-Doo has fantastic theming, but to say it at all fits in or does the atmosphere of the park any good is a lie. However, I'll agree with you that rides should be spread out (or at least the entrances), but by no means for the reason of clashing of themes. They have some serious conjestion issues, and rides need to spread the crowds out, the exact oposite of what they currently do. One thing I hate about Movie World (and this is a true hate), is the fact that for one reason or another, when they designed the park, they went for the most narrow path width they could. It really infuriates me that when I want to get from A to B, I can't because there's a show or parade on that completely blocks movement in any direction. I can live with a design that creates horribly unevenly distributed crowds, but to make it impossible to get out of some of the traps is what gets me.

The fact that Wet'n'Wild is just down the road makes it that little bit more potentially lucrative. You're right that not many people even know it exists or where to find it - but if even 1/10th of the guests at the park on a summers day went to the water park, it'd be insane. Invest a lot into it over a few years and realistically you could have something that equals Wet'n'Wild. Now, obviously if they were to do this, there'd be big advertising, and more emphasis within the park would be put on it, so there's no problem with getting people in there. Just imagine the selling point of a fantastic quality water park included in the price of a single day ticket. Add something about the wildlife park, and you've got better value than the three park savers in the eyes of comsumers .

Here's their latest map.

Okay, last year was a big one, with Scooby-Doo opening. This year was a pretty empty year. They opened Matrix, which is pretty good (gallery additions coming within the next few weeks) but it's certainly nothing really to be singing and dancing about. What's it time for Movie World to do? I'm of the opinion that it's time for a real thrill ride. Scooby-Doo wasn't one, nor was it marketed as one. Wild Wild West was getting there. Lethal Weapon, added in 1995 is the only thing that resembles a truly intense thrill ride, and even it's not exactly great. Give some of our Swiss friends a call and give us something to be proud of! Theming is not a concern - there's plenty of Warner Bros. action movies coming out in the future. Placement is a concern. I think they've pretty well conjested the areas they've currently got to breaking point (and beyond at times of the day...). They really do need to put down the capital for a bit of an expansion - and there's a nice dead-end path over next to Wild West Falls which I'm guessing on their master plans has already been labeled as the next expansion point. We've all been talking about that loop around Maverick and Scooby Doo, coming in and connecting to the Lethal Weapon dead-end. You've got a whole nice grassy hill (scattered with junk) that's waiting for something big and fast.

It's not as though the tubes are a necessity in the wave pool though. There's plenty of other ways you can have fun, without spending the few dollars on a tube for the day. The tubes will almost certainly (what do I mean almost... more like 100%) be kept in the Whirlpool area. Never at Wet'n'Wild have there been any free-range tubes.

Just in case my figure earlier causes any trouble, it's actually only 1.83 times taller than Space Probe. It's 119m (390ft) to 65m (213ft). So yes, we are talking significantly higher. They all look the same when they're in a photograph with a bright blue sky backdrop, and it's really quite difficult to realise actually how big Giant Drop is. I assure you if you've not ridden Giant Drop, that it is high, and you most certainly do sense the difference when you're up there. -Richard, looking forward to riding Disney-MGM's Tower of Terror. Awesome theming, multiple drops and seatbelt seats!

I put my vote in for Giant Drop. I can see a lot of bias or fanboyism coming into play here. Hey, Giant Drop's double the height and otherwise the same basic ride. It mightn't be as well themed. I remember the first time I rode Space Probe. I rode it and was freaked, then rode it again and again and it lost its ability to really thrill. Meanwhile, Giant Drop took dozens upon dozens of rides to get used to. Needless to say, riding Giant Drop one day, then two days later being at Wonderland and riding Space Probe, it just didn't exactly do it for me. It's more of a fun and enjoyable ride than an intense ride like Giant Drop.

I don't think the joke has exactly sunk in with some...

They've been saying 1000 pph all along. I'm not sure what system that is that determines that. Whether they've calculated what we in the industry call the "novelty effect" , and based the thoroughput on that, or they're going to let in a few dozen people at a time, and fire up the currents for everyone to drift around for a few minutes then stopping it and letting them all out.

I'd love to see something like that done. It doesn't take an idiot to realise that Dreamworld's original layout was inspired (stolen from) Disneyland, but they did make it significantly smaller. You'd certainly fit an attraction like Disneyland's (Tom Sawyer's Island), but it wouldn't be as big. I'd insist that Dreamworld keep most of the gum trees on the island - not only would it be a total shame to loose the serenity of that area to a cheap steel playground/adventure area, but it'd be a very cool thing to have hidden among the trees. Also, I'm not sure that Dreamworld's got an active enough ride development department that'd really do well with a ride like that. Sure, you'll find plenty of booths at IAAPA selling off-the-shelf, but I'm not sure you'd get anything as good as Disney's without having the internal infrastructure to fully develop the attaction properly and well.

Not exactly what I'd call a surprise, especially given what I've been hinting to over the past few weeks. It's a limited season, so we shouldn't expect anything terribly extravagent, though the sets they've bough do look pretty nice. There's absolutely no reason anyone could have expected any more for this year. Aside from the fact that it's pretty much been public knowledge that they weren't investing this year, they've had a hugely capital intensive past five or six years. Just wait a year and you'll all be happy.

That's the same on all Intamin Giant Drops. They are able to accelerate so freely because they detach from the lifting. The gondola is completely free moving - it is just wheels attached to the rails, with absolutely no connection to anything else. The lift mechanism hooks onto it, tows it up and unhooks at the top letting it fall. After some time the sled makes its way back down and clamps back on. If you're in the station while it clamps back on, it's a distinct, loud metallic clunk. The real reason that I'd suggest Giant Drop doesn't have a hood over the top is because, Space Probe is actually one of the only, it not the only Giant Drops that actually has the hood over the top. I guess I'll go for the open views rather than the hood any day, but it's all personal opinion.

Incidently, the entrance would have been my second choice for the area of the park to fix. I don't think it really works too well, and it certainly isn't the most pretty thing to walk up to first thing in the morning (mmm don't you just love the way the bitumen complements the green concrete and orange bricks). I'd say if it were to be fixed, scrap it and start again. Build something that's both modern and at the same time timeless (Sea World's was probably modern and hip at the time of building, but it's certainly not past its used-by date like Dreamworld's Disneyland entrance). I'm not an architecture student, so I can't give much more insight than that, but give it size and openness (did I mention it's also very small and gloomy under the awnings), and I'm happy. What's next. I know I've got a few ideas (soon it's just going to start sounding picky), but I'll let some others have a go.

Okay, Dreamworld in the past several years have: completely rebuilt the wildlife park making it world-class (and one of my favourite areas of Dreamworld now), replaced the sad Kennyland with Nick Central, something that replaces. They've gone over Ocean Parade with a refreshing and pleasant coat of paint and all sorts of fun theming, and removed Thunderbolt, definitely one of their main "trouble areas". Now, what should Dreamworld do next? I don't really mean what new ride or coaster they should get next, but rather what should that look at to give a new life to. I'll get the ball rolling by suggesting that they look at Blue Lagoon a few years down the track, and spend their attraction budget on making it a quality water park. As it is, it's a reasonably attractive place, certainly aging (and that horrendous concrete mountain could do with some looking at) and in need of not only revamping but serious expanding. They have a total of three water slides, one of which is a toboggan. An average "serious" investment by Dreamworld would be up around $16 mil, which really gets you a long long way in terms of water parks. For that price, they could build some really nice pools and expand their slide arsenal to about 6x what they currently have. Drop the train line down a few feet and bridge over it (put seating or gardens or something in that narrow strip), and over the other side, have some larger pools (at the lower ground level - in the swamps near Big Brother), and some real quality slides that give Wet'n'Wild a run for their money. I'd probably look at what Holiday World have done with their Splashin' Safari, and go that route (big tube/mat slides, plus one of those awesome playgrounds with the big tipping bucket at the top). What's everyone elses opinions for Dreamworld? It can be anything as simple as change the food they serve, right up to elaborate plans for new themed areas.

Welcome along Chippy. Good to know that we've got a date. Even better to know that I'll be down that way taking the coast road (very subtle reference to a song by David Lane... doubt we've got many fans of his here though ) for fun and coasters in April. That gives me something else to do in Sydney, which is always good. This is a $72 mil investment by the owners - compare that to the tiny $10 mil that was spent in Melbourne's park, turning a sad old park into a sad old park with a crapload of bitumen and bad rides. I think we might get something decent out of this - even if the majority doesn't go into rides, we're going to get a very pretty little park down by the harbour.

I've removed the Aussie World forum - it had two topics and about three posts, and none since February. The posts have been moved the the General Thrills forum, so there are no losses.

Of course, Johno (and indeed anyone), safety always comes first, and you'd never do anything that compromises the safety of yourself or other riders, right? Don't leave it to your judgement either. I know my judgement has left me with broken ribs, ankles, fingers and plenty of cuts, bruises and windings - just from rock climbing (note: we're not talking recklessness - all but one of them was simply error of judgement and never comprimising safety... the one that wasn't was falling three metres and landing sideways on solid dirt and left me with just a bad headache and a bit of windlessness). Just make sure that whatever you do on a ride constitutes safe riding and doesn't break park rules or rules of common sense. Just a friendly community service announcement.

If SydRider doesn't get anything (we're all counting on you!! ), I'll be there in a month and have something. I'll give the Wet'n'Wild gallery a much needed summer twist - plus I've really got to find time for a Movie World visit to catch up on a few months of missed progress. I've just been so busy all year that I'm having to plan and try to squeeze in visits to parks, whereas it used to just be an impulse thing I'd do any day I'm bored.

I saw the ad for the ride a few hours ago (anyone else thing that that Simpsons Extravaganza was a waste of time? ) - you can clearly see the spa covers in the bottom - they're the green bubbles scattered around under water.

It's called: "Diving Coaster: Vanish" Yep, translation has given us yet another fantastically named ride. It's certainly not a new ride - I remember discussing this several years ago at other sites, and RCDB lists it as 1998, so that makes sense. I'm pretty sure that the "boring" track you see in the background is just a turn out of the station or something. I've seen a few more photos a few years ago, and thought it certainly isn't the most intense, it does look to be a very fun ride with plenty of turns and drops - almost a mini-hypercoaster. Another good, one, Janfusun Fancyworld in Korea has a coaster that's known as G5 by most, but the correct translated name is apparently "Flying Sumarine". It's the same park that opened "Crazy Flying Coaster", ironically a floorless coaster, a few years ago.

If you're looking for somewhere to upload pictures, there's both the Attachment function when you post here, as well as the Album. You're more than welcome to use these features.

Great reports there! I'll admit, once again, I've changed my opinions on the park. I remember during Oblivion's construction and all that hype, it was to me the ultimate park (the interest Chris Sawyer created for the park helped too I think). Even during AIR's construction I was still pretty hooked on what looked to be a magical place. Bad report after bad report from enthusiasts led me to change my regard for the park - numerous reports about being dirty, vandalised and way too over-crowded to me didn't do it. Well, it's great to get a positive report from someone who values much the same things in a park as myself. And of course, well done getting the "oldies" on the ride. I remember explaining Giant Drop and Tower of Terror to my 80+ year old grandmother (whose last coasters were the Scenic Railway and Big Dipper at Luna Park Melbourne in the 1930's as she was growing up) a few years ago. It's fair to say she's not going on any coasters any time soon, but she did sound genuinely interested and even excited by the description of the rides.