DaptoFunlandGuy

One could argue that the ToT queueline was just as arduous - as is getting out afterwards.

I saw them there on friday. my first thought was indeed movie props - I guess if they're still sitting there in 3 months time we'll know it's coaster related, but i'd say thats just advance shipping for props for a production in the studios

^^to the point that enthusiasts actually pray for (and actively do things to cause) 'non regular operation' to experience something different: Loading up your car with big blokes on Space Mountain so you're overweight and get redirected. Aiming for the first ride of the day on Superman so you can get a rollback etc I think social media plays a large part in this though. Back in my days at Wonderland - it was rare that anything made the evening news - I think even when the Demon snapped it's cable, nothing made the nightly news, and few people who weren't at the park knew about it at all. There was probably an article in a local rag a few days later as news got out, but nobody thought it was unsafe, and once it was repaired (which took a while!) everyone was back on it. These days, it'd have been on facebook media sites within minutes, with live streams from guests in the park. I know i'm just saying what we all know already - but social media is the day we live in - the parks need to have good social media management and they need to actively reply to posts or articles with tangible evidence that disproves the 'chicken littles' out there - the suggested 'educational videos' would be great to add in reply for 99% of incidents. For the 1% that aren't normal (GL wheel assembly, Smiler, TRRR) it wouldn't be that easy, but for the rest it would.

#bringbackthesarcasmtag At most, it's 5 months. The park is a seasonal park. I cbf going back to check when it closed last year, but i'm pretty sure it was a similar period. To contribute to the off-topic fright nights discussion - I know they built sheds, and I believe that was because Thor had booked out the studios (CMIIW) - but is there anything booked in the studios this year that would prevent them from utilising SS1&2?

An excellent article that should get some traction on social media and hopefully spread the word that the media are dicks. I would have liked to see it answer some possible questions though: explaining The Smiler incident, and why the block system worked (since the article talks about two trains not occupying the same block) explaining the green lantern wheel assembly incident, and other similar issues surrounding engineering, and the response to such. but that's just me being pedantic.

The noise from the motorway is not insignificant. I'm sure film makers have a number of tricks up their sleeve for dealing with noise. I doubt they would need to close TopGolf. In the past though, night scenes were actually filmed during the day. the technique was literally called 'day for night' and involved either underexposing the film in camera, or in post production, sometimes adding a blue tint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_for_night photographic purists will enjoy reading about the different filters used. This article also talks about numerous techniques used in Mad Max Fury Road https://www.fxguide.com/featured/a-graphic-tale-the-visual-effects-of-mad-max-fury-road/ but this tell it how it is:

*wait long enough that all the locals forget about the proposal* *quietly approve it* *pick up plain unmarked envelope at reception on your way out* ... *profit*

I knew that you knew what it was. I knew that Rappa knew what it was. I didn't think jbt knew, and i didn't think your joke would be seen that way by some either.

Its a product that many people are passionate about. Since you're new and haven't made many posts, I can't really get a sense for products that you're passionate about - but for instance: Are you passionate about bull riding, or monster trucks? PBR and Monster Jam regularly sell out stadium tours around the country - yet I have no interest in either - but i can see why others would make such a fuss about them There are several members on here that go nuts for the new Amiibo or whatever they're called. Again - i have no interest, but i see why some people rush to get them, place advanced orders, buy two so they can play with one and keep the other BNIB And, as @themagician pointed out, there are many people in Australia who won't visit a 'standard lego store in Abu Dhabi or Dubai' - but perhaps your argument is that Disney shouldn't have a lego store in Downtown Disney Anaheim either? because those people could just go to Dubai? I suppose you also think that having a Carl's Jr in Brisbane Airport is pointless, because people could just fly to the US to get it from a standard store? As for pricing - the Australia tax will always prevail - sure you can get it cheaper in Dubai - but you're paying a lot more to fly there in the first place!

To the uninformed lay person, its a cable. Technically it is SWR or Steel Wire Rope, so the explanation makes sense, and an engineer wouldn't usually 'dumb down' the jargon unless they needed to. I know that several here know this. this is simply stated so those that don't can understand it.

maybe it needs a massage with a happy ending too? (seriously though - your post was 7 hours ago so nigh on midnight - i would imagine most of these things wouldn't run all night...)

^2:20 segment - not enough time.

#stillnotasfarasthatpost

much as I hate to say it - i think @Jamberoo Fan is on the money on this one - repaired so that they can reopen the pathways to guests. they'll probably need to use every path they can whilst demolition work occurs.

They made such a big deal TO GET YOU TO WATCH IT. It's like facebook - He found her in bed with another woman. You won't BELIEVE what happened next! <click here to read more> The promos ran with '.... on 9 news at 6 (yet it aired at 6:53 - once most of the news had run - so now you've seen their news instead of the competitor, seen their commercial breaks and paid advertising instead of their competitor, and you've seen a small piece correcting the damage done by them and other media outlets in the preceding 8 weeks. It ran exactly as I thought it would. I would suggest they came at the invitation of the park to correct some factual inaccuracies, i'd say they were obligated to run the story given the misinformation run previously. The fact that Greg's 'final word' appears to be cut off doesn't matter because the public don't trust Greg - the public trust the reporter. They sent a big gun - he's one of the anchors - not just the 'gold coast correspondent' - the people that watch 9 news trust him, so he did most of the talking - telling people about the hundred sensors on green lantern, and the hours of safety checks, and the ride system that stops safely. The fact that they spoke to the GM only serves to give credibility to what the reporter is saying - not the other way around. I agree, but definitely good to see the devil start singing a different song. I wonder now whether we'll see the vultures other outlets like Ch7 and Gold Coast Bully and Courier Fail start to change tack.

This has got to be the first post where i stopped reading and tuned out in YEARS. Dude - time for some TL:DRs... and thats coming from ME I'll add that to the fridge.

We are already within a litigious society. Suing WnW because she valleyed on Aqualoop, and panicked and hurt her arm carrying on like a twatwaffle because she was concerned someone would come down on top of her, despite signage making it clear it wouldn't happen? Suing Movie World for falling off a garden bed? People will sue for anything these days. It doesn't mean they'll win, but its all over bad publicity. The steps I suggested would be scaleable - if you are calling for maintenance \ security \ management - then clearly it's reached a stage where a more formal procedure is needed. Documenting the steps taken is critical evidence for anything that might happen later. A little compensation, even when most people wouldn't think it was necessary goes a long way - Disney frequently does this even when you'd think it completely unnecessary. Nothing says it has to have cash value - what about a front of the line pass? A bottle of water is hardly going to break the bank, but it shows the park CARES. All you need to do is look at the detail of a lot of these 'facebook complaints' to see the biggest complaint is that nobody talks to them. I would suggest that in some cases, the staff were there, and willing to answer questions if they were asked, but most guests would grab their shit and go because they don't want to waste any more of their day. BUT - if a staff member is handing out 'something free' - people might stick around long enough to hear a quick message from park management about how\why\etc, get their bottle of water or voucher or whatever, and leave feeling that they were never in danger (content of most facebook posts), the staff cared, they were provided with compensation, and given an avenue to come back to the park if something else went wrong. If someone was e-stopped on a ride that caused them to stop violently, and they got off 'feeling a bit sore' but checked out ok with the nurse and continued on their day, but waking up the next morning they had chronic neck pain, went and saw a doctor and found out something serious had happened involving some sort of major medical issue - would you want that person to reach out via public facebook? would you like them to ring the 'infoline' number that seems to go unanswered (according to many facebook posts that say they called, left a message and got no reply), or would you like them to contact you via a dedicated process, holding a card that contains an 'incident number' so you know exactly what day, time, staff members involved, and log sheet of events? It comes down to the CARE principle - Cover Ass, Retain Employment. Ok sure - it might be considered overkill - but if the last 4 months have taught us anything - its that the parks need to have a far more detailed, structured, step-by-step guide on "how to deal with ride stoppage" that is scaled based on the event, or the impact of that event (impact being - 5 minutes stuck on Justice League is very different to 5 minutes stuck on Giant Drop) Precisely.

A constant mist of water (or even just at launch \ as the train went by) costs a few cents. to get the same effect using smoke, your cost goes up dramatically - both cost of the smoke fluid, and also cost to operate and maintain the machinery to atomise the fluid. There are other experts on this board with far more knowledge on this subject than me - but smoke is affected far more dramatically by wind and open air than a water mist is - they struggle to keep a good haze in scooby that is fairly enclosed. How well do you think they're going to go with it in open air? (I don't think the smoke on fright nights and special events can be compared because this is 'added' effect on a few special nights of the year where people have paid an additional cost to get in - the cost vs. benefits there is very different to cost of day to day operation.

My only uneducated guess would be the continual application of water on metal was accelerating maintenance issues... which i think would be the same reason for the absence of steam in the tunnel too.

hence why i suggested the barrow - which was clearly being wheeled around the precinct.

I think this is why some people don't accept that a ride has a theme, or is suited to a theme park - because too many just don't realise what 'theme' is. Everything that is more than the basic mechanical parts needed to make the ride work (including air gates etc) is theming. In green lanterns case you have: An incredibly well sculptured ride sign (as opposed to standard signboard text). Well landscaped queueline with characters from the green lantern universe - including audio effects Fencing detail, including lights giant billboard size green lantern logo that pulses at night stationhouse with GL imagery on the roof GL themed ride vehicles with the GL logo - with lights! On board audio (no "if it works" comments) right down to the green lantern pledge written on the back of each vehicle All these things weren't required. they could have just painted the track green and called it green lantern without anything else. Is it the best, most immersive theme out there? no. It IS better than most coasters i've been on at SFMM, and TBH - for the most part with an outdoor coaster on an Australian budget, this is about as much as you can typically expect - it would be the expectations I have for the new coaster too - something similar, not necessarily identical, and if it has it, it will tick those boxes for me to say 'suitable \ satisfactory theme'. Something like this at MW with the mist - would really help with those riding on a hot day. How long before they turned it off? thats the question - but i'd really like to see them bring back the fogging they used to have in the superman tunnels - flying through a mist tunnel like this would do wonders for guest comfort on a hot day - especially when your water ride\s aren't working.

Should it be up to the parks to educate the public? Yes it should - it is their product being 'tarnished' and they are the ones that stand to lose big if this misinformation campaign continues. Here's a few things they should consider: Have a protocol set in stone that is enacted every. single. time. a ride goes into fault \ e-stop. Operator to spiel using microphone or other method to all guests a short explanation - if it's guest safety related - ie: standing up on the ride \ holding loose object like a phone - then say so "guys we've had to stop the ride because someone is <reason>. We'll have you back underway shortly. If it's ride system related, then as someone said above "guys, the computer system isn't happy with something, we're going to bring you back down and quickly reset the ride - it won't be long". (The thing about Disney is the automated spiel usually isn't specific - eg: Haunted Mansion "Playful spooks have interrupted our tour. Please remain seated in your doom buggy. We will proceed in just a moment. We have been unavoidably detained by pranky spirits. kindly remain seated in your doom buggy please, we will continue our tour momentarily" Which works fine when the operator isn't sure what the cause of the stoppage is (or in the case of haunted mansion - when they're loading a mobility assisted guest) Continuing with the stoppage protocol, if the ride operator isn't able to resolve the issue within a minute (i've seen them restart Tail-Spin 4-5 times without calling for maintenance) then that's really all thats needed - but if you're going to call for assistance - maintenance, security, management etc - then there should be a 'kit' containing vouchers for freebies - a bottle of water, a snack, a meal, a free return pass - put them all in the kit and let the supervising manager on duty decide what is necessary. In that kit it would be helpful for them to have umbrellas to shade stuck riders from sun or rain (where possible). First Aid \ Park Nurse should also be despatched to provide reassurance to anyone feeling ill effects afterwards. Operator should continue to spiel at each step advising what is happening: "guys we can't get the ride restarted so we've called for a technician to come and reset the ride - won't be long" - and this should be done every couple of minutes - for a person stuck up high on a ride, a minute can seem like an hour - however the announcement shouldn't be scripted - it should always provide new information - nothing is more infuriating than someone telling you 'won't be long' repeatedly for 20 minutes. Supervising manager, or whomever is the 'senior' person on the ground when guests are released should meet the guests - in a group near the exit, or individually if it takes a few minutes to release each row, and explain in simple terms what happened, what went wrong, why they were never in any danger etc. They should offer an apology, offer the services of the nurse if anyone isn't feeling well, offer some sort of freebie, even if it is just water. Finally, they should provide them with a card that gives them feedback options - phone, email etc. This shouldn't be the generic info line - it should be exclusive to people who have been in this situation, and it should be responded to religiously and without delay. The card should have a 'reference number' or similar written on it, that corresponds with an 'event book' used to record these events. A staff member during the incident should be recording the event with as much detail as possible - ie: '10:47 - ride stoppage on Giant Drop - requested maintenance, security and manager.... 10:55 - all staff on scene. 10:56 - operator spieled to riders about delay 10:57 - maintenance restarted ride 10:59 - all guests evacuated safely. Having someone note each and every detail as it happens helps ensure that details aren't missed, and also helps to refute the claims of riders on facebook who come on and say 'we were up there for an hour and they told us nothing!' "safety videos" as mentioned above are another great idea. Not sure where you'd play them - but perhaps sharing them on social media would help combat the misinformation. you could do general videos for most flats and specific ones for more complex attractions. there are plenty of folk out there today capable of putting together a quick 30-120 second video covering the basics - "green lantern has XX sensors throughout the ride, each pair provides the same information to the computer. if one provides different information to the other then XXXX happens" "xx ride has a failsafe 'deadman' switch that requires the operator to hold it down to operate" "if the air pressure to operate the brakes is lost, all the brakes will close" "your harness \ restraint is secured by XX. it also has YY and ZZ to ensure it cannot be opened whilst the ride is in motion" I have worked for an organisation that in the past had a policy of not responding to baseless media articles. It frustrated us as staff that they wouldn't refute claims made by the media. After a change in management, they changed their policy and now actively refute false claims in the media - it has done alot for staff morale, and has also improved customer perceptions of what we do. Media outlets are required to contact the subject of their article to advise of the claims made and offer them an opportunity to provide a response - if the park responds, the media must provide that response - that's why you see so many articles saying 'media outlet has contacted XX for comment, and at time of publishing, no response was received' - but they should stick to issuing statements to the media for all but the most serious of events, and not put their staff \ spokesperson in front of camera for random questioning. This was a good read: http://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/why-rides-stop-at-walt-disney-world/ ...and while this isn't directly related, it's on a similar-enough tangent that i came across whilst googling so i decided to share it too: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201008/2049/

Not another bloody A-frame. There are way too many of them in our parks as it is!!! I think there is a need for a cart such as the food vendors have, where they're placed out in the middle of the precinct, selling them. They could then engage with people who are near the experiences, and point out that they are interactive with wristband. Oh, and by the way - did I mention you can buy them directly from me as I stand here right now? The right retail cast member could make their wages back in an hour doing that... and if things are slow you can always redeploy them - sell balloons in WB kids, capes and masks in DC superhero alley... i did see a 'spray fan' barrow making its way down towards scooby at one point - so they do have cast members doing those things - its just a matter of changing the product in the cart...

I wouldn't call it a disappointment. Having taken a ride on it today i had a couple of observations to make - but first in regards to the above video - i'm not against them using UV lighting and UV active paint to accent certain parts of the ghost train (or even the disco room I guess) - Disney use a lot of UV effects in their rides and I think it does well. Sure, the 'original' in the movie doesn't use that, and the ride was themed to be representative of the ride in the movie. I think the movie is still relevant, albeit getting on in years, and i'd love to see a 'similar' experience return, but with 'added' effects utilising UV. Now onto today's experience: Scooby was the first coaster I got my wife to go on (I lied - it worked), and it has always been one of our favourites. Today, scooby was rough. as. guts. jolting, bumping, hitting every brake hard. I'll attribute some of that to having 4 grown adults in the car, and I think 3 teenage girls in the one in front. Nice queue - only JUST spilling into the big 'cinema' room - however the modifications to the queue rails to accommodate fast track are terrible. I'd rather they loaded fast track through the exit (which probably isn't possible with the harness controls i suppose) but the split line up that narrow hallway has resulted in them defeating the purpose of the design of that room - the queue rails were designed down the centre of the hallway to keep bored fingers from damaging the walls. I don't know how long it's been with fast track like this (it doesn't matter really) but it has resulted in waiting guests queueing against the wall - and thats when boredom sets in and assholes take to scratching their names, drawings, rude words and anything else they can think of into the paint of the walls - completely ruining the look. The 'columns' too have suffered, as repeated leaning, bumps, rubbing as you walk past has taken all the paint off the front side of the columns and exposing bare fibreglass (or whatever). I sincerely hope when they take this ride down to reinstall the ride theming that they give some attention to the queue, and try something that is a bit more vandal proof. Ride experience was ok. I was quite happy to see the exposed sections of the ride - it was interesting to see the actual layout spread out in front of you. Shame they hid the exit section. I liked the sneak peak into the disco room as you approached the lift instead of the mirror. I understand why they needed to pull the themeing out, and I understand why the opened it as it is during peak - but since they were just coming out of Fright Nights at the time, i'm wondering whether they could have repurposed some halloween props - spider webs, skeletons, whatever - and just had a few things to look at that they could shine a light on. Sure it was a little extra effort, but 'a little extra effort' is their reputation - and it's sad to see them not live up to it. Its been a while since I rode, so i'm not sure how long that particular laser has been there (it changes so often! jk) but i like it - i'd only have liked it to be brighter, faster moving, and covering more area (or maybe just have 2?). Fantastic amount of smoke coverage in the room made for some excellent beams throughout which really helped - But I still would like to see those fast moving, bright green beams we had striking the mirror panels originally. All up, i'm not upset with it's current state, I know it's only temporary, and I relished the opportunity to see it 'differently'. I look forward to seeing them bring it back all refreshed, and hopefully with a little extra somethin' too.

not a day goes by without at least one of our parks having some sort of downtime. In this case it was all of five minutes. Most people waiting in the queue wouldn't have realised it had stopped for that amount of time (depending on queue length of course). I guarantee that at least one computer in my office building needed to be reset today. Somewhere in the southeast, someone had to reboot their phone. Once a week my Foxtel box needs a hard reset. And just like magic - after a reboot, everything comes back online just as it's meant to, and everyone continues about their business. This is the shit that the media is missing. As Rappa said - they should be encouraging education with these issues now, instead of likening every reset to a tragic accident that killed 4 people. If the parks die, it will be the fault of the media.... and although the gold coast has a lot to offer tourists, it wouldn't be the same drawcard without them - and it would seriously damage the rest of the coast. We have this running joke in our household where the media ties it into Christmas - "blah blah happened 'just six weeks after christmas' - they tend to do it with anything that is family oriented and within a month or so of the date... substitute it for any other holiday or family gathering time and anything that has to do with the holiday itself - for example we've also heard: just XX before Anzac Day - for things relating to diggers, or memorials. shits me to tears. Yeah I feel like they've just taken the opening time from a social media post or similar saying it's open - i've frequently logged onto facebook and found 'old news' presented as 'today' - it quickly refreshes, but I guess it depends on how long you linger on the post for it to update.