WalleyWorld

Thrillseekers will soon speed along at more than 100km an hour and face the kind of G-forces F1 racers endure as Victoria’s biggest theme park gets even bigger. A pair of new roller-coasters will push Gumbuya World into the territory of Dreamworld and Movie World on the Gold Coast, with one of the fastest rides in the nation. And after last month splashing $2.6m on a 44.5ha rose farm next door to the attraction southeast of Melbourne, the operators’ total landholdings have reached an enormous 287ha — believed to be the biggest landmass owned by a theme park in the nation. The Australian Amusement Leisure and Recreation Association (AALARA) this week confirmed the Gold Coast’s biggest attraction, Dreamworld, only covers about 54ha, less than a fifth of the 287ha Gumbuya World now owns in Tynong North. They also confirmed the faster of the two new roller-coasters would be among the speediest roller-coasters in the nation at 105km/h — though still outpaced by Movie World’s 115km/h DC Hypercoaster. Gumbuya World chief executive Ron Weinzierl said the new coasters, worth a combined $40m, were just weeks away from opening. Mr Weinzierl said the new rides would bring their total to 13, in addition to a zoo and other nature experiences that were part of a broader plan to lure tourists to Victoria that would ramp up as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics approach. They include a 46m-high Project Zero, which will have riders pulling up to 5gs, and a more family-friendly attraction named TNT that will hit speeds up to 67km an hour along its 453m length. “These coasters makes us the leader in the theme park industry here in Victoria,” Mr Weinzierl said. “And on land size we are the biggest theme park in Victoria, if not Australia. “We are now competing up against those leading theme parks on the Gold Coast.” LJ Hooker Pakenham’s Sam Paynter brokered the latest acquisition and said Gumbuya was also now competing with the biggest dairy farms in the region, and that any expansion to the theme park was a “massive boost for the area”. “They’d be up there as one of the biggest landholders in the area, without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. Mr Weinzierl said the eco-friendly theme park, which is involved in a number of conservation projects including efforts to re-establish the critically endangered mountain pygmy possum, was considering renewing some of the latest acquisition to suit native wildlife once the rose farm currently operating at it reaches the end of its lease in seven years. “It’s an opportunity to make sure that nature and the fauna on the site stays the way it should,” he said. “We now have 660 acres (287ha) to be developed alongside the community in as far as what we do and what we put here.” Gumbuya World’s wildlife attractions are expected to get a lift in the near future, having recently added a tree kangaroo from Taronga Zoo, they’re now investigating bringing in meerkats and monkeys. The park had its busiest ever February earlier this year, but new rides are expected to bring in the biggest crowds yet with up to 5000 people on peak days over summer and total visitors as high as 500,000 a year. “I figure it will be our hottest summer yet,” Mr Weinzierl said. Gumbuya World replaced Gumbuya Park in 2018 and with the completion of its new roller-coasters will conclude the third stage of a five-phase masterplan to overhaul it. Phase four is expected to deliver accommodation, most likely eco-friendly spaces. “The goal is that people will come down, spend a day at Gumbuya and then the next day go to a winery or Phillip Island,” he said. Mr Weinzierl added the attraction was already expecting a “bonanza” when Brisbane hosts the Olympics, and Gumbuya World would be among the attractions working to lure international crowds to Victoria. An AALARA spokesperson said the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane presented “amazing opportunities” for the wider theme park industry and that they were working with the federal government towards a “bright and exciting journey” to the international event.

We are getting a Fabbri Booster Maxx next year sometime. https://www.fabbrigroup.com/thrill-rides/booster/booster-maxxx/ It was reported in ParkWorld magazine (Spring 2022 - Part 2).

I wonder where they got their inspiration from for the SFC theme 👀 "The E-Tickets here included a FLYING MONKEY COASTER where you “fly” with the Monkey’s on a mission (inverted coaster)". https://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2013/10/gary-goddards-wonderful-world-of-oz.html

It's not a multi launch coaster. It is 100% the Vekoma SFC 450 model. And the duelling boomerang model is a clone of "Tweestryd" at Wildlands Zoo Emmenseen.

I agree with this. It is a left of field IP that is not particularly relevant with today's youth. But at it's core, Oz is a whimsical, fantasy world, that if done to a very high thematic standard (in combination with the right rides/attractions, retail and themed F&B) could lend itself to a stunning themepark land. Similarly to how Pandora - The World of Avatar has been a huge success, even though the land is based off a largely forgotten 2009 movie (with lack of widespread appeal). Because Pandora doubles down on creating a truly immersive environment with stunning vistas. The Goddard Group (now called Legacy Entertainment) designed up a whole Wizard of Oz Themepark LINK. If realised as per the concept artwork, it would be stunning. However, I just can't see VRTP being able to realise such an immersive land. And the attraction mix of only family coasters doesn't particularly suit the Oz theme. A high capacity indoor/outdoor dark ride, a family coaster and a family flat would have been a much better spread. But with many of VRTPs attractions, a ride system is purchased first, and then the theme/story is an afterthought. Usually lending itself to themeing that doesn't really suit, and overall mediocre execution. Which is the complete opposite of themepark design 101.

Rumour has it that Leviathan is going the way of Atlantis - sinking into the reclaimed land. A September opening is looking highly unlikely at this point.

Nope. That's not my instagram page, and I haven't been down to the park yet to check out the preview. I'm guessing posting photos and video of what's inside the preview centre is being discouraged by the park, otherwise instagram pages like aussiethemeparker and mittythemeparks would have posted something already.

https://www.instagram.com/aussiethemeparker/?hl=en

Is this attraction officially licenced with the Mad Max IP?

Does the lead operator have to push a button to launch the train? Or is the system completely automatic once the train has been dispatched from the load platform? If it's the later, is there control to stop the train from launching (or would that just be the e-stop)?

https://rcdb.com/20179.htm The new coaster has been listed on RCDB as a Vekoma suspended family coaster. The exact model isn't listed.

If it is indeed this model, what a perfect choice for Gumbuya World. I've always thought the SFC 450 to be a perfect addition to any of Australia's regional parks. Excellent choice for a park of this size. Now they have a kiddie coaster, a family-thrill, and an extreme coaster. That's a really well-rounded coaster line-up, and will cement Gumbuya as Victoria's #1 themepark. Very excited to see how this turns out. This is the same model that is rumoured to replace Arkham at Movieworld (along with the duelling family boomerang). I would be pretty annoyed if I was Village, to see a small regional park build it prior to me.

Coincidently I contacted them yesterday through FB:

F A C T S 👏. If passes, merch, F&B sales are ≥ last quarter or financial year, there will be no major change to product. I have never seen a manager on Village property that "walks the park and talks to guests - viewing the park through the eyes of the guest".

What do you think IS masterclass about the mini-land's execution? I'm interested to know why you disagree. I should be more specific with my opinions. I think the story, theme and name of the mini land is fantastic. Conceptually it had so much potential, but the overall execution of it was terrible: 1. The land was placed in the wrong location. Movieworld had a perfect area ready and waiting for this concept - the Arkham courtyard. This is where the land should have gone. It would have complemented the existing unofficial DC land, and Arkham Asylum theme perfectly (Joker has broken the villains out of Arkham and are reeking havoc). The old lethal gift shop could have been re-opened to sell the upcharge experience. Furthermore, the old lethal theatre could have been used for an indoor themed portion of the land (similar to the Knockturn alley mini-land at USO's Diagon Alley). Yes the available area is a lot smaller, but I think this compactness would have added a lot of atmosphere to the land (again similar to Diagon Alley at USO). The old boot hill graveyard and show stage should have been used for an expansion of the wild west area. 2. The Intamin Twin Hammer was a poor ride choice for MW and the land: Unpopular model that had a bad maintenance record with previous installations. Despite being a staple/classic amusement ride type, Intamin had only built 1 of these before (Space Attack) - which permanently closed in 2015 (1 year prior to doomsday opening). Richard wrote an article on the ride's downtime during 2015. This alone should have been enough red flags to find another manufacturer for this ride type, or a different flat ride altogether. Doomsday has been a maintenance nightmare since opening and has had a lot of downtime over the last 7 years. The themed land was designed for families, yet the anchor ride does not suit this demographic. Inverting rides scare off a lot of people, and a min. height requirement of 130cm prevents kids/tweens from riding. Movieworld didn't need another thrilling ride. It needed, and still needs, a reliable, high capacity, family-thrill flat ride with a 90-120cm min. height requirement. The ride system is unremarkable in the aus amusement/themepark landscape, and delivers underwhelming physical sensations. It's quite a dull experience for a "max thrill level" ride (as described on the MW website). The travelling Hangover delivers a more thrilling ride. Yes Doomsday is a "filler" attraction, but that doesn't mean the ride experience should be mediocre. 3. The upcharge experience is mediocre - and the negative influence it had on the land's design is not proportional to the experience it delivers. The decision to place the gift shop at the front of the land was made by bean counters (late in the project) to encourage sales of the wristbands. Because of this the spectacular Doomsday figure and sign is hidden from most guests, the land's entrance is a guest flow pinch point, and the shop obscures the view of Doomsday from the midway. All to upsell an upcharge that is dull, repetitive, not maintained regularly and not enticing for all ages. Originally a paid upcharge, turned into a free one, and now out of order. The upcharge didn't sell because the product was lacklustre. 4. The land doesn't blend in with surrounding areas. The transition between scooby - villains unleased - wild west is jarring and harsh. There is no graceful fade. It makes the mini land feel like a standalone experience that could have a separate admission fee.

Just remove the kinect games already. That whole area is a masterclass of how NOT to design a theme park land. The #1 worst decision execs made was swap the position of the gift shop and the Doomsday ride entrance - for the sole reason of forcing entry through a gift shop, in order to sell more upcharge wristbands. They hid arguably Australia's best ride entrance sign (also a very instagramable photo op) at the back of the land. And instead built a lacklustre faux brick gift shop as the land's entrance portal. This shop with the tall themed billboards obscures the 'reveal' of Doomsday from the midway (as you walk towards WWF) - making the ride look smaller and thus less grand/intimidating. Upcharge experiences should compliment an existing experience. Yet in this case, all it did was ruin any positive potential the land had. And now you can't even use the games! 0/10. Put the land and Doomsday in the bin.

Reviews on the Movieworld official Facebook, Trip Advisor and Google Reviews pages are scathing. I'm not sure if I have ever seen such a surge/large volume of negative reviews during a peak school holiday period? Or is this just a normal occurrence during these times, and I just haven't paid attention? Other than an influx of interstate visitors, and the pent-up demand caused by Covid, what else could be contributing to these issues? It surely can't just be because "it's busy because it's school holidays, duh!". Snapshot of today's wait times:

hmm I'm getting some strong mixed messages from VRTP. Price board picture was taken today.

Here is a perfect example of the arrogant VRTP culture that is bred from the top down and permeates every department within their business. Why fix your problems when you can just blame the customer! Australia’s #1 theme park (if you stop coming).

^Agreed! This is exactly how the execs need to be thinking. But unfortunately this thought process is far too considered and logical for VRTP. It is unequivocally evident that MW has significant capacity and operational efficiency issues. And has had for years. Yet their best solution to this problem is to build 3x family coasters, that can only run 1 train each. logic?! Furthermore, they just went and ruined the capacity of their only people eater family attraction (WWF). Surely they could have appeased the insurance companies, without reducing the ride's capacity? After all, this is "Australia's #1 theme park".....how about the execs start making design, operational and maintenance decisions that support this marketing. MW and it's operational staff deserve better.

Looks like Altair at Cinceitta World to me. https://rcdb.com/11082.htm

https://www.hussrides.com/en/classic-rides/top-spin-suspended I think you were looking at the wrong ride model. The TOP SPIN® CLASSIC has 40 seats. TOP SPIN® SUSPENDED has 38 as stated on the manufacturers website.

Which website?

Serious theme: Steel Python Bright green track repaint. Keep brown support structure. Track Looks like a green tree python (a native Australian animal) coiling itself around a tree. Suits Gumbuya World's overall park theme of the Australian outback and wildlife. Tounge-in-cheek theme: Killer Python *presented by ALLEN'S* Do a corporate partnership/ride sponsorship deal with Allen's Lollies. Originally an Australian company (suits the Aussie theme going on at Gumbuya). Lends itself to a perfect gift shop exit experience - the official certified Allen's lolly shop. "Brave the python. Eat the python!"

That's actually the back of the train. Looks like the leviathan tail.