DaptoFunlandGuy

See if that was Aussie World, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. Gumbuya i'm not so sure...

Coming in 2023 - Steel Leviathan!

"in the coming weeks"

Yeah that's pretty fair, and I think what most of us were probably trying to get at.

18 months ago we were still within the early days of the pandemic. things are recovering, of course. But this all ignores the fact that this project was planned prior to that, and most of their plans would have been solid prior to covid, given how soon after we saw parts arrive and work commence. Sure, the supply chain might have lengthened a bit but they're not going to the back of the queue - they were at the front when covid hit. I do not accept that this can be SOLELY attributed to global supply chain delays and raw material availability, which is how it is presented. If they made the decision to put a hold on orders while they figured things out, and then when they asked to come off hold they found out 5000 other people had leapfrogged them, then that's on them - but thats project management, not supply chain.

I know no matter what counter arguments I make, it will just get disregarded, so i'll just call bullshit and be the chess pigeon for once.

It’s the right colour…

2022 seems to be the year of the confectionery coaster! haha! I like the idea of the green tree snake, but I hope it isn't called Steel Python - there's too much "steel" naming going on these days for my tastes. Quick Search Results (rcdb.com)

I figured this needs it's own thread rather than being buried in the retirement thread. Took a squizz at nearmap this morning and while most of the parts are still sitting in an industrial estate at Pakenham, a lone piece of track has shown up in Gumbuya World, which i'm pretty certain is Skyloop track... except it's GREEN! Looks like a new theme for it's new home - let the speculation begin - what could they theme it like?

Wow, that happened. yep I missed it - thanks for noting guys. Its a weird angle to do a render on - my guess is it only exists because they have backwards seating - but what a weird picture to show as the (only) picture in an article!

Well the front of that train is decidedly less impressive than the original concept art with the dragon's head. Leviathan parts were arriving as early (and earlier) than September 2020. What could possibly have taken 18 months to ship? Are they using AusPost?

That might open them all at once, but they’ll still need to be closed, and for safety reasons, checked by the conductor even if a guest has already closed it. (pray that they aren’t like Taipan requiring an RFID scan within a few seconds of closing or the train will never move)

They point out the carriages have lockable gates, and zooming in it looks like individual gates for each row. shorter route but longer loading time perhaps?

Wet slippery surfaces in bare feet perhaps?

The track direction has been reversed!

I've just left home to pick up my son from school early due to the weather, and in the time between when I left home and came back, the major road between us and the school went completely underwater. I know we've seen weather events impact the parks and flood - in particular the movie world carpark, but also WNW, and the parks have announced closures previously - but I haven't seen anything today about them and just wondering if anyone has seen pictures or updates of what the parks are like today? (obviously i'm not going to the park, just curious what its like - i was quite surprised the parks elected to open today considering the ongoing forecast...)

Looking on the bright side - Skeet might be around for it now...

On that same page is a link to the Leviathan Construction blog. Here's how we got to where we are now: May 2019 - VRTP Announces plans to build New Atlantis September 2020 - Slab in place October 2020 - Leviathan's foundation is 'almost' complete, early work commenced on lift hill November 2020 - we get a close up look at one of the ride's turns December 2020 - Leviathan tops out with the highest point being erected December 2020 - Vortex opens March 2021 - Final timber frame - number 660 - to be installed in the coming days ... ??? - Opening Date Announced Late 2021 ??? - Opening Date moved to Easter 2022 February 2022 - Opening Date moved to September 2022 Let's be real here, Leviathan was originally slated to open in "Late 2020" so it's more than 18 months late Even if you give them a year to account for the uncertainy of covid - it's still delayed by 3/4 of a year. Vortex was slated to open before the end of 2019 - so they don't even get to use COVID as an excuse for that one, and it opened an entire year late. Meanwhile, Trident is pushing 2 years late and counting.

Credit to @Jay Jay The Jet Plane for finding this. BREAKING: EASTER IS IN SEPTEMBER NOW.

I don't think i've ever agreed with you more.

Acknowledging of course that you don't think it is a smart move, I think it is, if only for the fact that its a clever distraction. Long term, tapping into nostalgia and doing all the old shit is plain dumb. But distracting folks while you try to literally lay the train tracks in front of them, for now, is smart... in my opinion. (And just to add to that, I don't think some barbershop singers and a steam train display are going to make people think of rapids. so long as they don't put a raft in the middle of the main street fountain, I think they'll be ok for now.)

At the speed that a train goes through the transition between the cobra roll and the loop, I can't imagine they're going to have much time to stop and smell anything!

look beyond the enclosed ride building and smoke machine. these are just examples. the point is - a ride plonked on a concrete slab in the middle of a carpark can be improved on without the actual ride model being modified or the layout being adjusted. It doesn't have to be fully enclosed. it doesn't have to be enclosed at all. As I mentioned - Hershey just 'plussed' their Boomerang by adding a tunnel. I think it's Japan that has a coaster launch "powered" by screams. There's a lot a creative can do without building a box around it. I didn't study theme park 101, so i'm not the person to ask for specifics as to 'how' to plus a ride - the point is i've got eyes, and I can see plainly that turds can be polished, and even rolled in glitter. I'm happy to wait and see how much glitter they roll this in before I decide that it's shit.

In very simple terms, what i'm saying is, just because a ride plonked onto a bare concrete slab without further accoutrements isn't considered to be anything special, it doesn't mean it can't be made special. I'm not MW, so i'm not about to tell you "what MW would do" - the point is they could plus the clone into something special. If Aussie World can turn a standard Alpine Express into one of my favourite flat rides in Australia with little more than a dark room full of theatre fog and some scanners \ moving heads, i'm prepared to *wait and see* what MW can do before I write it off... which is the only point i've been making here.

One of my favourite coasters of all time has a top speed of 51.5kmh, only just faster than the Road Runner Roller Coaster at 45.9kmh, but it feels SO much faster because of what the park did with it. It has a 'sister' ride too - built first, which only gets to 43.5kmh. Both of them would be considered 'thrilling' even though one of them is even slower than road runner...* Even though concept art has proven sorely unreliable - i'm going to wait until I at least see what they try to sell before I write it off simply because some folk associate the manufacturer as being poor, or the existing model being mild. If Hershey can relaunch their Vekoma boomerang as a new experience by adding a tunnel and theming it to Jolly Ranchers... anything is possible. [spoiler] (The original californian space mountain, by the way - also worth noting the Orlando version is slower than RRRC at 43.5kmh) [/spoiler]