T-bone

Yes they did refresh Billabong, but honestly it wasn't much of a refresh. It was more a case of remove any charm it used to have and give it a general flat food court theme and feel. Would love to see Billabong refreshed with a more exciting and inviting theme. Kai Kai was "relaunched" to Presto's Training Cafe this year, so doubt there will be much of a refresh there anytime soon.

I'm honestly surprised no one has taken you up on your offer yet @joz @Clayton, you seem to be experienced at buying likes on Facebook, have you considered buying Theme Parks a Go-Go?

Looks like the walkway up towards the old Blue Lagoon area @Theme Park Girl The building on the left is the toilets on the backside of what was the Big Brother Cafe. This photo is looking towards Blue Lagoon. Last time I walked through there, there was a wooden gate a bit behind where this photo was taken. Ninja, was this gate open or did you do an Andrew?

Everyone has their own opinion, and I respect that. When I mentioned the main street music I was thinking more along the lines of the stuff that wasn't from the movies. I agree that the music directly from the Disney movies is an odd choice, but there are people who seem to enjoy it (I have seen people singing to that music in the park). With that mentioned, I'm interested in hearing from@The Original Belinda Brown If there has been a guest reaction from the new music, or has it gone unnoticed?

Hi Belinda Firstly, thank you for joining and providing an official outlet for the people of this forum to use. First i'd like to take this opportunity to say, It is very clear from the direction the park has been going over the past year and bit that Dreamworld is starting to get its mojo back. It won't ever be what it was, lets be honest, but its great to see things that management of the past decided to neglect get some love. Thank you. Now, can I ask a few question 1) With the refound interest in returning the Baldwin to service on a monthly service, are there any thoughts about the future of the Baldwin and ultimately the steam train service at the park? A few years ago I thought we would never see the day that a steam train ran on the tracks at Dreamworld in full steam again, now we have got to that, what is the future? Will we ever see the steam engine run full time again, worst case would the park be open to running the Baldwin more regularly? I understand there is staffing limitations, but there is always a way around that... 2) The Fire-engine which has been at the park since opening day if I am not wrong was recently returned to Main Street after many years of being blocked off from the general public. However on the last visit, the fire engine had disappeared from Main Street. Will it be returning? 3) Back to the Baldwin, has the park ever considered doing a "steam train tour" in the same vein as you provide for the animals? The idea of the tour would be to give potential tour guests the opportunity to visit the train shed during a steam up? Not only would this help provide awareness, but would also generate some extra income. I understand there are staffing limitations, but this wasn't offered before the removal of steam years ago when there was a full roster of staff. 4) Has the park considered adding random entertainment to the train ride? Theres a few good spots on the journey around the park which would be good for an old fashioned "hold up", just like the old days... 5) It's been posted numerous times on this forum that hit music usually fills Gold Rush Country, is there any reason for this? I do like that you have recently changed the music played on main street to be less "hit" like. That is all for now. Thank you for listening. I look forward to your response. P.S, just on the suggestions above about some Halloween Screamworld stuff, The Blue Lagoon area would and could be a lovely spot for a Halloween scare zone

Some may find these photos disturbing. Taken in 2014. Not mine but worthy of sharing.

It obviously differs park to park and country to country, however having returned from a trip to the USA, I found it quite amazing at how willingly open and accepting the parks there were to riders of different abilities, wheelchair bound or not,they way they deal with the issue is a stark contrast to our parks over here. Is it the government "safety" regulations which cause our parks to be less able to cater to disabilities, or more a case of we aren't as accepting and willing to cater to those with disabilities as a nation?

http://m.seek.com.au/job/31155785?savedSearchID=5656289&tracking=JMC-SAU-eDM-JobMail4.02-3882 So a new iconic superhero character, what haven't we got?

Yeah it is a shame they aren't running both days. I understand why, and it's been mentioned a few times here, but it is a shame. Oh well.

Thanks Reanimated So did anyone visit the park today and see the Baldwin running with the storm troopers?

So it seems Dreamworld did not run the Baldwin this weekend, but it's been confirmed that it will run next Saturday for Storm Trooper weekend. Should provide for some nice photo opportunities...

Thanks Oceangirl, loved the video. Especially loved the ride on the train Nice work. Nice to see the park in better times again.

http://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/ardent-leisure-records-ongoing-growth-in-visitor-numbers-at-gold-coast-attr/#sthash.CCoGNoLw.dpuf An interesting article, but what I found most interesting is this part Has anyone seen any speculation about this?

Awesome news Oceangirl. Thank you. I look forward to seeing it

I think Pin may be onto something with the reason for the lower water level. It was significantly higher than that on Saturday. Talking about wipeout, the ride is seriously looking bad considering it only just went through a major overhaul. Next time you are there, have a look at the wave, there's quite a few bubbles potentially caused by a water leak in the structure, I also noticed a few rust spots in the rides structure, which ain't good considering I could spot them from the midway. It's little but I also noticed the stickers they used for the logo on the surfboards are falling off. Considering it only just came out of annual maintenance/ refresh, it's quite concerning that these things are issues. The park has shown they love the wipeout, and with decent TLC it will last for a long time, but let's face it, when push comes to shove they'd prefer to spend money on new attractions instead of old attractions they can't market. The latest refresh has given the ride some extra time, but I predict by 2025 it will be gone if not earlier.

Last I saw the lair has been opened up a bit. The tree and tiger cub display Have all been removed and levelled.

It left the park in 2014 if I'm not mistaken.

The only wheels that have been removed from the Perry was the pony truck (a set of wheels on the back of the engine). It's waiting to be refitted. I saw the pony truck behind the perry last week. The main driving wheels have not been removed at all.

Recycled theming - http://www.parkz.com.au/photo/6212-Beach_Break_Bay/gallery/sort/newest/location/ride-23/offset/12

Looks awesome, thanks Oceangirl. I'll be down there a bit later in the day. Ashley, it sure does look much better than the toy train that they otherwise now use. Will it ever be running full time again? Not in the near future. It is technically capable though. As Sunlander pointed out, don't believe the story the park gives about it being an older lady and needing more down time due to her age.

I've attached 2 photos, one showing the wagon in question mentioned by Joz, the other the Perry. Taken on the day both items were transferred to Woodford. http://www.atrq.net/?p=543

There's 3 of the Disney style enclosed carriages these days Joz, and the Pizza cart/ guards van/ wheel chair carriage. There was a set of 3 open carriages which are the freight cars you mentioned. They were used in the days when they ran 2 trains at once. Two of those cars have been scrapped, however the last one was salvaged and donated to Woodford at the same time the Perry was donated. I saw it on Monday at Woodford, however I didn't get a photo as it started to rain so we had to seek shelter, however next time I will make sure I get a photo.

Good to hear Reanimated and oceangirl. I'm planning on attending in the afternoon.

For the same reason it would be a fail if they only ran it on say a Wednesday night. A lot of people work regular shift work, so having only 1 day each week this event is happening makes it harder for those who attend. Granted not everyone in society works shift work, but it would be nice to see more than one regular day a week to help cater to others.