DaptoFunlandGuy

on the contrary - the old trains fitted my legs, the new ones (if that's what they are) do not. As I mentioned in my TR the operators were spieling constantly about how the harnesses were quite restrictive - something i've not seen them do before.

I like the idea of an 'Aussie' jungle cruise. They've shown a willingness to have a few 'aussie jokes' thrown in with the SV and ST videos - if you could get people who were willing to play the part of Skipper well - I think a uniquely Australian take on Jungle Cruise would be an absolute winner - Given the infrastructure in place, and the fact that they can't do anything with the murrisippi to remove it, running a few little clippers on the river, chucking a few effects and writing a kick-ass script... it wouldn't take long to screen the river from the pathways surrounding it to make it a real private feel... I wish that this was realistic! I meant to mention this in my trip the other week. It was just as overgrown and covered in algae or whatever as i've ever seen it, so while I don't doubt your pictures, it doesn't take very long at all for it to grow back. Something kinetic on the river to keep it stirred up and stop it collecting and multiplying is needed - running boats - or at the very least a couple of water spouts, fountains, wheels, anything to churn it up and oxygenate the water would be better than letting it sit motionless.

I have no words for this. He was an amazing man.

I have a friend who has recently come back from a trip stateside. They were cautious but still enjoyed the trip. It's not really for anyone to judge as far as whether its a 'smart move' - you just need to be sure you set your expectations accordingly. If your bookings are insured or otherwise assured in case of shutdown or other pandemic related interruption, or you are willing to accept the possibility of those losses should they occur, then go for it - however I think we've seen the last of the broad lockdown unless shit gets real crazy. As for Disney by yourself - I haven't done it, but i'm sure its still enjoyable if you've done solo travel before - its a lot easier to do marathon days and push the limits of endurance when you only have to worry about yourself. Being a single rider makes things a bit easier too. I personally feel more enjoyment watching my friends and family experience something for the first time than doing things by myself, but if it works for you - why not?

Different terminology I suspect - i'd call a supervisor a person who isn't tied to one ride and moves freely through the park monitoring and assisting operations wherever needed. In my book a lead is the 'master console' operator or most senior person operating the ride, and this stemmed from original Disney operations being part of the 'show' where the headliner was the 'lead'. Interesting to hear about the addition of further positions in Scoob - and yes, i completely forgot about the greeter. thanks for jogging the old memory bank.

@Spotty has always had good info on both of these attractions. From what I remember Scooby has Lead, Load, Group, Unload and High Zone - so 5. West usually has two in the control room - although I don't know why. Then you have group\load, and unload. I think each turntable also had one, but by the sounds of things the latest refurb has done away with that and replaced it with cameras? So best guess for West I think is about 4 now. I think the thing to remember is that only so many leads exist for each ride. A grouper can't necessarily operate the master console. So it depends on who is lost. Groupers or unloaders can potentially be replaced with minimal difficulty, but if you lose a lead, you're in trouble. The other thing is, not all ops crew are trained in everything. They normally have a few they rotate around but don't run everything - so you can't necessarily choose which rides run based on popularity - if the leads for the popular rides go down, you can't just move someone over from carousel unless they're also trained in it... so while to some extent they'd be prioritising, skilling requirements above all would be forcing some decisions to be made that won't be popular.

and he is the only person with any say in Dreamworld's attraction lineup and design work?

Citation needed.

Actually anyone can make a prediction. Doesn't have to be realistic or based on fact. Weather reporters do it daily and are seldom right. So are psychics and palm readers mate. It's easy to be outlandish, throw a few realistic no-brainers that are open to interpretation or guaranteed to happen and you've got yourself a winner that is 'partially correct'.

The Claw bus stop is still the best GC Park 'new ride' advertisement i've seen in Aus.

Look i'm sure most of us will agree with you about the facade not fitting the location or any of the surrounding theming - however, although a recent addition, I think its fair to say that the folks who made that decision are no longer in charge of making those decisions.

Yeah, last January was pre-delta outbreak and most folks were able to move about a bit more as things started to open up. (QLD did have a minor outbreak in mid January but it didn't last long) Fast forward to now with everything open to vaxxed folk, but Omicron proving far more transmissible, it seems a lot of people aren't willing to risk it. The fact they've postponed school returning until the younger kids can be jabbed up says a lot.

yeah, being indoors is the only thing Tut's has over Mermaid Beach, and even then it's still not enough to make me want to go to Tut's. Being right near the centre of the action is about the only reason it's as known as it is - and clearly that wasn't enough to save it either. Agree there are plenty of tenancy spaces a mini golf centre could occupy in any number of centres around the coast if it were viable, but i'm not sad to see it go.

Didn't really pay much attention. Noticed little puff next to SV, saw the Baldwin on our way to MDMC. I was too preoccupied with how nice the level crossing looked without the stupid pool fencing and TOT tunnel over top to be honest. I think it's nice they've tried to bring back some of the memories of olde to tug on those ageing heartstrings of folks who remember the park like it once was - but it screams 'done as cheaply as possible' right down to the corflute sign for Kenny's Chick'n Wings (which was, I might point out, absent any 'wings' on the menu - you could order schnitzels, salad, chips and slaw, kids meal and fried chicken pieces, and while you could get a (single) wing in those meals, you couldn't just order a 'serve' of wings.

Bang on got it in one mate. I know It wasn't directed at me, but I identify most with 2004'ish post-Claw dreamworld. Yes, it had lost some of it's early day 'sparkle' but for me that was peak DW (and i still remember the bus-stop 'adverts'...)

I mean, if you've got a venue like that, i can't fault you for using it - but it screams irresponsible at a time when 'indoor' exposure is such a much higher risk than outdoor. You need the controlled environment for magic - open air stages would be far better for wiggles, IMO. Talking to a few folks since seeing the show and i think a lot of it comes down to his stage presence. I think a magic\illusion show would be a great fit for Dreamworld but it needs a more permanent home with someone a bit better at improv. Temporary stages and non-bespoke venues and facilities make it hard to do great things. It can be done but you're limited in what you can achieve outside of a residency. I saw someone on Dreamworld's socials tag Tony Laffan and he seemed keen \ open to the idea, So clearly he's still in the game and that would be another 'full circle' tribute to Dreamworld's history too - but I think some sort of immersive stage show would be good and a magic show has repeatability and is easily updated by switching out single illusions whilst keeping the overall show tight. Hopefully the park sees the positivity and goodwill of Cosentino's show as a good direction to head on a permanent basis.

But that's not the demo i'm referring to. That demo is currently catered for by Storm, Jet Rescue and Vortex, sure - and about to be Leviathan and Trident. I'm talking about the gap that is 'above' Nickelodeon, but below that. Best I can tell, from 5 minutes of googling, average teenager hits 140cm around age 11. High school age, at which point if you're 140cm, you can ride EVERYTHING already... IMO, they didn't skew "too family" - they had a great family mix including the likes of Bermuda, and they skewed 'too kids' without keeping the higher end up for the older groups - but Atlantis is covering that. Now we need some middle ground... like - dare I say - a pirate ship.

The ride itself, and the ride maintenance building are all complete, but the ride is half complete. My house is built, but the grass and plants and footpath hasn't been put in yet, so the house is half complete. Clearly they had an either expected, or planned delay to their opening day, but even if you go by build time and expected opening date we're a lot further beyond 'halfway' no matter which way you slice it. (Except for queue lines and gardens, which are apparently 50% of the ride build).

i've always been in camp "sea world" when it comes to Surfrider, but Joz's view is something I hadn't considered, and he's right - at 140cm its an extreme thrill, and it just doesn't fit Sea World's demo. it'd be closed just as often over there purely for lack of ridership. Sea World needs something SIMILAR to surfrider, and it needs to go next to JR. It needs to be mid-level thrill, low enough height requirement that the slightly younger kids can go on it - as a step above Nick land, just like the rumored MW triple coasters are a step above WB Kids. But i'm changing my position - Surfrider at SW would occupy valuable real estate that sea world should be using for rides that have a lower barrier to entry, more suited to the wider family group.

I know there's a few threads around touching various topics here, but I didn't feel like posting snippets to half a dozen different threads so here's a trip report. Took my wife and 5 year old to Dreamworld on the weekend to catch the fireworks, Cosentino and get a ride on Taipan. We arrived after lunch, as due to the park's late operating schedule, we didn't feel rushed to get there early. It was overcast and drizzling from time to time, which kept a lot of the crowds away, but fined up in time to catch the fireworks at the end of the night. We started out heading for MDMC - Master Five is bold enough now to try riding sidecar, so we gave it a go. We noticed the ride operator was spieling quite often that the MDMC harnesses are 'quite restrictive' - something i've never noticed before - and after half an hour in queue, I couldn't get the harness down far enough - something i've never had issue with before - despite previously having had issues with Claw and GIant Drop - MDMC has never been an issue for me. The operator's offered no more than an apology - and while I didn't expect anything else - We've previously experienced operators at Village not only recommending alternate rides, but also calling ahead to the ride allowing us to use fast track entrances and not have to wait again - so while as I said - I didn't expect anything, because of our prior experiences with Village this felt like a bit of a negative. We then headed up to catch the Cosentino show. It was the first time i've seen him perform anywhere, and after experiencing Millennium Magic several hundred times, and being a big fan of magic and illusions both on TV and on stage, I must admit my expectations were high (although tempered by the fact that it was a temporary, not resident show). Honestly, I shouldn't have bothered. The cattle pens they've put together to hold people waiting for the show are entirely out of place. I found myself wishing for the fluoro green tape of movie world compared to these. Once inside, seating was crammed together. There was no effort made to even appear to be socially distancing the crowd, or to wear masks, although someone at the door was confirming people had 'checked in' to the venue using the QLD covid safe app. The venue was packed out. Folks were standing in the aisles, and instead of perhaps a PA announcer or pre-recorded announcement about keeping aisles clear, staying seated etc like any other theme park show in the world, a supervisor with a walkie talkie walked along the back row literally BELLOWING at everyone still standing that they needed to sit down immediately. (Sidenote - for show venues, Ushers\Hosts should have earpieces so the loud walkie talkie noises don't distract from the show.) As for the show itself - honestly, there was no pacing. Cosentino doesn't really have the stage presence to keep my attention and after the first act I was ready to leave. I did stay, thinking perhaps it was a one-off but nothing changed my opinion the rest of the show. Very disjointed, the transitions just didn't flow. There were times he just stood silent on stage, and based on the fact he cracked a joke immediately afterwards, the impression I got is he was stopping to think of something to say. The stage had two giant screens, which I thought might be used for close-up video shots of the illusion for the benefit of the crowds seated towards the rear (especially since the seating was not elevated, and my 5 year old had to basically stand on his chair to see anything) but alas, the screens were mostly used to put static colourful imagery on display similar to the stage lighting, save for the final act where it was used to play a video to introduce the illusion and attempt to make people think it was a really super dangerous stunt. For me - if you have to resort to a pre-recorded intro piece to present your headline illusion instead of doing it on stage and in person, give up. Safe to say I was not a fan of the Cosentino show. This wasn't helped by the fact that post-show, he and his entourage headed out into the park going on the rides. Now sure, VIPs get the treatment, and its one of the perks of being a 'celebrity' and every park the world over does it - but this guy had about 12 people doing the rounds with him, and they were being front-lined on every attraction - including attractions he wasn't even riding on. I absolutely acknowledge the park's right to do this for a VIP and it likely is just a case of sour grapes and having a sook, but thats my feelings on it and i'm just expressing them - it isn't really much different to Ride Express in a way, so... *shrug*... maybe we just lucked out following the same route his entourage did. It rained a fair bit between about 3-5. We got a few kids rides in and wandered the park, stopped at the tigers and everything was fairly pleasant. I saw a staff member - pretty clearly and executive \ supervisor walking the park stop and pick up a fair bit of trash around tiger island, and it occurred to me that it was a fairly rare thing to see, in my experience, so Kudos to them for leading from the front. Taipan went down for a short while - not sure if it was just the rain or whether they were having other problems, and they did have a maintenance guy on station with a ladder, but i don't know. I finally got to ride it later on, getting somewhere around the middle of the train. The harness system was interesting - needing the RFID tag to confirm the seatbelt insert was new to me, but despite the seat being practically the same as Rivals, it was a far more comfortable harness fit. Operations were efficient, but not with any particular urgency - I did notice and enjoy the fact that the load gates seemed to be opened earlier while folks were still unloading, and for me this small efficiency sped things up for the cycle time which I appreciated. I've never done a blue fire clone. The first launch was calm, the reverse launch was quite something to make you sit up and take notice and the final launch topped it off nicely. The ride experience was enjoyable, but didn't feel 'balls to the wall stupidly intense' like on Rivals. the first half was just "fun" with the second half increasing the intensity with the last roll before the brake run hitting the peak thrills right at the end. I honestly would have loved to have seen about another 50% more circuit after that final roll, but for what it is, it was a really nice, fun ride, that doesn't require you to take a few moments at the end to concentrate on trying to breathe again and i'd give it a solid 7/10 every day. I did another two cycles that afternoon - both spinning, first with a friend and second by myself. With a friend, the spinning seat is an upgrade (as you'd expect) and elevates a fun moderate thrill into a fun high thrill. Definitely have a weight difference between riders to experience this the best though as I watched another group of riders who were all fairly evenly matched not get much spin at all as they were too close to evenly weighted. I'd give spinning with a friend a solid 9/10 Going solo however, that is the real experience. Solo spin hands down is for me the most insane thrill on the coast. Compared to my first spinner, the mid-course platform was chalk and cheese - a couple of slow rotations as the train passed over it versus Zipper-Ride-level intense spins and the amount of spin you get through some elements was just crazy. I'd put solo-spin in my top 5, but I don't think it tops the likes of Tatsu or X2, and my favourite all time is still gonna be Space Mountain - but i'll give it a 9+/10. We didn't do much else because of the weather. Tried the fried chicken pieces at kenny's (had wanted the schnitzel, but stupidly the menu confused us and we ended up with pieces) and they weren't bad. Not KFC flavour, but definitely less greasy. Red Rooster does fried chicken now and i'd rate it above their efforts, so somewhere between RR and KFC isn't a bad place to be. We didn't finish the serving, which was generous, but I would have liked something fresh - like the coleslaw that comes with the schnitty - to be on the plate with the pieces just to help cut the grease a bit. Service was fast and blessedly clear of the flies that always plagued the pizzas. Beer was cold and wet and that's a good start. We hung around for the fireworks. Taking the opportunity just before 7 I joined the Taipan line while we waited. The crew started spieling at about 7:10 that the ride must be shut down by 7:30 for fireworks safety, which is understandable if you're in the fallout zone, but considering the exit ramp for the ride is the closest to the exclusion zone and people were standing there to watch the show, I feel like they could have done this better to permit rides to continue to operate like other parks i've seen do. (Giant Drop during the fireworks would have been lit.) Putting that aside, If it wasn't possible to operate during the show, I feel like there could have been a better system to manage the queue (or the queue should have been clearly signposted as closing at 7pm, and a staff member posted at the entrance to enforce this) - Had they done so, they would have cleared their queues with time to spare and not had to disappoint a load of folks who had entered the queue more than 30 minutes before 'closing time'. Most parks i've been to keep rides running until the queues are cleared. Even if they couldn't run during the fireworks, it would have been good guest relations to guarantee everyone in the queue a ride, and run it a few times post-fireworks to clear it out. For a lot of people there, including someone I saw who had a Tailwhip wristband sold to them who was unable to use it (and based on the shop being closed post-fireworks, i'm not sure if they were able to get it refunded), it was a poor ending to a wet but otherwise enjoyable afternoon. It possibly might have contributed in some small way to reducing the congestion at the carpark as the entire park emptied out in one go. I thought the fireworks were a nice touch. Little dude got to see his first big fireworks display in the flesh and loved it. The old-school dreamworld Jingle was an awesome touch and the accompanying music plussed the show instead of just 'boom, bang, ooh ahh'. I'd love to see the park do this more often, but with better thought put into how they manage rides and queues, exclusion zones and the like. We didn't do a lot - as I said at the start, mainly it was for fireworks, cosentino and taipan, and I feel overall like we had a good day. Room for improvement, certainly, but it was a much nicer experience than on my last visit more than a year ago. We bought the experienceOZ passes when they were on special a while back, and while we're glad we bought them, and enjoyed our day, we probably - even in retrospect - wouldn't have paid full price for passes at this stage, but can definitely see the park's trajectory has reversed and things are looking up. I'm keen to see what they make of this in the next 12-18 months, and really hope they don't rest on their laurels.

Do they have any Koalas?

Carrara Tuts is a bucket of shit.

As a 39 year old that has a kid - let me just say - "goes upside down" is a huge barrier to entry. I get it, its a nice mid-step between kiddie and full thrill, but inversions are a huge chasm for people already unsure about riding... just something to consider.

^Despite my comments above on them, i'm always wary of google reviews. I've always found most people don't care to leave a review unless: They have a problem \ complaint and want to publicly call out the seller They've been incentivised (ie: leave us 5 stars for your next XXX free!) Most people don't go out of their way to leave positive feedback - although like most everything there are exceptions. End result is you tend to get a negatively slanted perspective on what is offered.

*LPS has entered the chat*