WalleyWorld

^Agreed. The Beast is a stunning feat of engineering - when you see it at full swing @pin142 keep in mind the ride is not bolted to the ground whatsoever, and erects and packs itself up without the need of any external crane. Also it's really fun to stand close to the base of the ride and watch the gondola swing right over your head. It catches a lot of people off-guard if they don't realise what they are walking next too - when suddenly a giant arm swings over their head. Gets some good reactions of awe/scare!

I've also ridden both The Beast (KMG XXL), and the Claw @ DW. I agree with how @Wil_i_am_not describes the two rides. The Beast is all about the atmosphere, height, positive g's and insane speed. Whereas the Claw delivers amazing floater airtime, a greater feeling of inverting/going up-side-down, and a better seating arrangement (outward facing seating). I also feel that the Claw has a more powerful motor/drive, it really hauls you up into the sky, and then yanks you back down to the ground.

^I was thinking the exact same thing GoGoBoy!

Gravity Wave Update - June 2017. A construction video of Funfields' new Tornado Wave slide.

You don't have to pay. If you don't mind listening through the website, at a so-so audio quality, just hit the play button on the page. ^I agree! Some of the attraction concepts are incredibly cheesy, and perhaps even disrespectful to Aboriginal culture. It would probably not pass in 2017's society. It's also because the concepts were developed by American ex-imagineers, ex-universal creative back in the early 90's - the cultural appropriation by the designers was lacking.

The Disney Dish Podcast has done a 2 part podcast delving into the history and story of Disneyland Australia. Would highly recommend a listen, it's a fascinating story! Link to part 1: https://disneydish.bandcamp.com/track/unbuilt-disney-disneyland-australia-part-1 Link to part 2: https://disneydish.bandcamp.com/track/unbuilt-disney-disneyland-australia-part-2 I've listened to this podcast on and off. They have a really good backlog of episodes to choose from. The podcast mainly covers insider knowledge, history and reviews of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Universal Parks all around the world.

I have a feeling that Adventure Park is strategically installing a Tornado Wave, with very similar colours to the Funfields' Tornado Wave (opening this year) to confuse/bamboozle the GP between the two parks. Adventure Park know that Funfields is opening the best water slide in Victoria this year - so maybe this is a knee-jerk reaction to try and win back some patronage?

Nice find @Patrick Dove! For a state that is notoriously known for it's 'bad/cold weather', Victoria has seen a lot of investment in waterparks/waterslide attractions over the past 10 years. Adventure Park, Funfields and Gumbaya World are all installing new waterslides this year. And no doubt they will continue to invest into waterpark attractions in the future. It's proof that the weather argument is void. If 3 waterparks can thrive in Melbourne, then a themepark can as well.

Fair enough

https://www.parkz.com.au/forums/topic/7673-down-comes-sea-world-water-park/#comment-146990 ^looks like the ride op I talked to was telling the truth.

If Intamin built a copy of Lech Coaster (exact same layout), would that become 'something you would go out of your way to ride'?

The new Lech Coaster @ Legendia in Poland looks stunning. Would you believe it's a Vekoma?! Vekoma have really stepped up their game in the past few years. Their new family coasters look fantastic (suspended and sit down). And now they have shown their ability to design modern, smooth, custom, high thrill coasters that give Intamin, Mack and B&M a run for their money. I would love to see Dreamworld invest in a coaster like this - even an exact clone of Lech Coaster would be amazing!

Thanks for the trip report @themagician. It looks like a great park and I'd love to visit Singapore someday. I really like how the main-street roofing at USS is transparent. It allows the natural light in, AND stops the rain. Movieworld's mainstreet always appears gloomy. A roof like this at MW would make a big difference, in terms of making it feel like an outdoor street.

By looking at that nearmap imagery that @grrofunger posted, it's safe to say that AW is getting an Intamin Gyro Swing. Not the same size as the Claw @ DW, but rather their newer, taller version with lap bars. The hexagon shaped pit is the main give away. Loke at Liseberg (picture below) also features a hexagon shaped pit, where the loading platform descends into before the ride starts. I love the look of the new intamin seats and lap bar restraints - so much more freedom. You're really going to feel that airtime/hangtime at the top of the swing! https://www.intaminworldwide.com/loke-liseberg/

^This! I just want MW to do the best they can with marketing this coaster. I'd love for them to do proper cinematic style incremental videos (check out Efteling's coverage of Baron 1898).

If things continue to go bad for Dreamworld, I would love for Merlin to swoop in and buy Dreamworld from Ardent Leisure.

I see what you did there!

Nine News has also done a news story on the Gumbuya World revamp. Looks promising! Very excited. Here are some screenshots from the video, showing more concept art of attraction entrances, waterslide towers and an overall site plan of the park. Front Entrance Concept Art Zoo/Animal Area Entrance Sign Concept Art Park Plan View. Looks like the waterpark area will include a lazy river and White Water West slide tower. I wonder if that whole waterpark area, zoo and entrance will be ready for Summer this year (December 1st opening)? 2 x White Water West 4-person tube slides confirmed. One will be a Bomerango slide, the other a Constrictor/Rattler hybrid. Looks to be a fantastic slide tower.

hmmm....is a very vague answer @Mark Shaw haha! Could we possibly be seeing multiple ex-seaworld rides be transported to Gumbuya World? Also congrats on the new position at Bounce Inc! The Herald Sun wrote an article about Gumbaya World today. I've quoted some of the more important parts of the article below: LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

Very valid point! And for all the reasons you stated above, you would hope that either Zamperla, or at least a 3rd party ride safety engineering firm, was involved in the design and creation of this added restraint.

@AlexB and @djrappa I agree with it not being a grey area. But in regards to the comments "if Dreamworld has incorporated this extra restraint device, then every other Zamperla Disk'o ride will also definitely have it installed" - Every country has different amusement ride safety laws and engineering standards that they must abide by. So it is quite a possibility that this ride's harness is deemed acceptable in (for example) Italy and Germany, but in Australia it is not. Why this seatbelt/strap harness has only been implemented now? I have no idea. Maybe the australian standards changed? Maybe Dreamworld just want to go above and beyond the standards (possibly due to the TRR incident) and introduce another fail-safe/redundancy harness feature?

Very impressed by the Kraken Unleased VR experience that Seaworld Orlando has just soft opened/opened. The quality of the animation looks fantastic. What I really love is how Seaworld tried very hard to solve the operational problems that VR coasters usually have. The individual storage containers incorporated into each seat, the inclusion of headphones attached to the headset, the tethers to the harnesses. All fantastic ideas to improve the experience, safety and efficiency. Plus it's not an upcharge, and is completely optional if you want to ride with VR or not.

DC Rivals gets talked about on the latest CoasterRadio episode. http://www.coasterradio.com/episodes/1133.html#t=01:35 Looks like i'm not the only one who thinks the name sucks.

When I rode ToT in March it also had that 'jumping' and surging feeling. The acceleration was not smooth/gradual. It felt like the push/pull timing of the electromagnets were out of whack. And same with the return to the station, the pod slowly shuddered into its parking spot. Definitely showing it's age. Perhaps we see ToT 3 sometime between now and 2020? With a spruced up queue-line, major overhaul of the ride system (new hardware and tech), plus a new car that has BOTH forwards and backwards seating. Whilst your at it, try to have 4 rows of 4 across seating - thus 16 riders at a time to improve capacity a little.

I absolutely adored Tower of Terror at DCA and was shocked/saddened/upset when I heard they were changing the theme. But after watching a half-a-dozen or so onride videos and queue walkthroughs of Mission Breakout - I can say that I am pleasantly surprised. My opinions might change when I ride it IRL, but I honestly think they did a really good job. Is Guardians better than the original?? Probably not. Is it worse than the original? Probably not. Tbh I don't think either is better than the other, because of the very different emotions, atmosfear and theme the 2 rides present/presented. I loved the mystery and haunted atmosfear that ToT conveyed, and how the ride system melded so perfectly with the storytelling. But I also love this new sci/fi, humorous adventure that really brings YOU into the story - you are apart of the prison breakout - you get to help. The ride has a very energetic vibe to it, compared to ToT. Plus their is now greater re-rideability with the different audio tracks and drop sequences. I've never been on the original Tower Of Terror at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. Everyone claims that this version is the superior; and I would have to agree after watching this really damn good POV of the ride: I'm very glad this version still exists, and it on my bucket list. I love, love, love how the elevator cars move in and out of the lift shafts by themselves. A marvel of engineering and storytelling for a ride that opened in 1994!! IMO, the ride system is impressive even in 2017.