DaptoFunlandGuy

yeah but it isn't long enough - Jamberoo or Corin Forest's Wiegand Toboggan runs are way faster!

OG - As a coaster, TOTII is sorely lacking. When it was built, it was a great attraction, a record breaker - but in reality - it's experience is nothing more than a relatively fast shuttle coaster - without inversion, or any particularly good experience. It is the quintessential 'one-trick pony' fast-up-down-brakes... and quite obviously so - with the need to 'reinvent' it by reversing the car. If that is Dreamworld's Signature Coaster - it's probably quite fitting - relatively good at going fast in one direction, followed by slowly going backwards the same way that they have come. Most of Dreamworlds more modern additions are one-trick ponies. They've certainly tried to shake off that image of late - giving love to old classics - but when I think 'signature coaster' I think i view it similarly to the OP - a full circuit, experiential coaster that has infinite re-rideability, and is what the park is renowned for. You need ALL of those factors for something to be considered the park's "Signature" in my opinion.

Transponders usually only identify themselves - usually by serial number. We use them in motorsport events - a sensor beam or 'loop' is set across the track at designated marker points. Just like a toll-etag, when they hit the beam, it prompts them to transmit a signal with their identity. All the 'data management' for an e-tag isn't associated with the tag itself - all it does is say who it is. Of course, when you can guarantee the positioning of the sensor (which in coasters you can) you don't need a beam - just a sensor positioned at the right point on the track. It's a modern version of the way the Bush Beast interacted with it's PLCs. There were PLCs that detected the presence of a train (or not), and there were separate sensors that detected WHICH train it was - i'm pretty sure that was simply by having the sensor point on the train on a different side (not sure which side had which, but for example - yellow train left, red train right), and this is how the ride control system knew which train was which. In the case of Gertlauer - using multiple trains would either require multiple sensor points, or (as is the case) just using a transponder at the same point on the car, and one sensor to read them is sufficient - this tells the ride computer which train is where. If you were to get a transponder data output, it would only be the serial number of the transponder, which is programmed into the ride control system to reflect which train it is. When a transponder dies (the batteries don't last forever) they can simply replace the transponder and reprogram the ride control to accept the new serial number as the same train.

Thanks Skeet. I'd based my views solely on the topic at hand. After reading Flea's response regarding Ninja (i'd forgotten about that), i'm very inclined to agree with you. (Naysayers should note this has nothing to do with Flea being an admin, and everything to do with a very valid point made - nothing more. Understanding that the rescue has to be made safely - but a punctured lung would have required immediate treatment. 3 hours stuck up on the ride makes me inclined to think this is an exaggeration. I am reasonably familiar with first aid in an emergency incident. A person with a pneumothorax condition (collapsed lung) will be very short of breath. A puncture, coupled with a broken rib is also extremely painful. If this person was complaining of these sorts of symptoms, I have absolutely no doubt that paramedics would have been taken up to them immediately, and supplemental oxygen would have been administered. In the absence of a stable situation, they could still have placed an Oxyviva on the evac platform, and passed a mask and hose over to the person, even if they were the on the far right. Additionally, the green whistle could also have been administered for the pain. Paramedics would have been able to monitor his condition from the evac platform effectively. Unless this occurred, and none of the media outlets managed to capture it (which would have been the highlight of the event) - then I call bullshit. Broken rib i'll buy - some people can get them and keep on with their daily life for some time without anything untoward happening (other than the pain) - but a punctured lung is bullshit. You can bet that in this day and age - if someone had anything, media outlets would probably have it by now - conclusion - no such recording exists.

You're welcome. LOL!!! Once again - proof that park management and enthusiast groups can co-exist, and share a sense of humor. This is the sort of relationship we need with other parks... I like the sound of where this is going...

Actually, I'm pretty sure quite a few TPR members have been on GL. I don't know the specific ride states of each member who has, but I would suggest there are some that have. If you actually go through this thread, and take out all of the posts that are people taking the piss, predicting how others will respond in similar fashion to the previous Buzzsaw discussion, those referred to in those predictions responding to those predictions, posts speculating about whether things have happened on not when the thread already said that it did... i reckon this thread would be halved in size... and most of that i'd put down to maturity. You make a good point 2 - we're in a much smaller world than TPR is, but point three I don't think is relevant - given TPR has the same info we have - yet nobody is speculating and everyone is happy to wait for the official determination as to the cause. Edit: as an aside, I went back to page 1 and started 'multi-quoting' the comments that actually contributed meaningfully to the thread. Of course, my view is subjective, so you may get different results, but if you take out sarcastic, joking, uneducated, inflammatory comments that add nothing else to the discussion, and you then take out all of those who replied and responded to those comments without adding anything further except to shut down the original comment, I get about 13 posts out of 25 on page one alone that actually contributed meaningfully... so my comment above about the thread being halved - i would say is about spot on.

It was still featuring prominently (two different stories - the '2 bolts' and the 'incident at movie world' articles) on news.com.au this morning around 9am. Ok - i've looked. TPR had a thread - http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70031&start=10 - barely made 15 posts. I must say it's all very mature of them - the basic premise of the discussion went "well this happened... looks pretty serious... here's some closeups of the wheel assemblies...we'll have to wait until the investigation concludes before we find out what happened.... ok we'll wait". No speculation or fear mongering here...

A thoroughly well written article that neither speculates or inflames. Well done to the author - it would appear some news outlets would benefit from reading this thoroughly. Edit - Yay - news article that doesn't come up as locked!

Webslave, Ads DID say if it is shown maintenance was followed, then it would fall on the manufacturer. Wow - they must have woken him up in the middle of the night to talk about that. Has anyone looked on TPR to see if there is a similar discussion going on? I must say i'm amazed this thread hit 128 posts in a mere 20 hours. That's got to be a parkz record. I heard about this yesterday, but didn't go searching for info. I knew there'd be stuff on parkz when i logged on... I just didn't expect 6 pages! My first thoughts on seeing the wheel on 7 news (the one on the upper evac walkway, not the one on the grass) was the rear wheel assembly had failed. I wasn't aware the front assembly had also failed (and presumably was the cause of the rear failure by the looks of things). With both left wheel assemblies compromised, it's a miracle the whole train didn't cant over on it's right side, especially with the inertial forces experienced in the previous turn. I'm thinking the front assembly wasn't totally affected, and by the looks of things, the front assembly is what kept them all on the track. I'm assuming the articulated joint between front and back has a limit, and the angle of the rear car off the track is probably at that limit. I join others in the praise of the park and it's staff for quick action. QFRS for their rescue efforts, and join in support of the maintenance team who whether or not they did the best job they could (which I have no doubt they did) will all probably be feeling pretty crappy right now - some of them are possibly also feeling responsible and it wouldn't hurt VRTP to have a counsellor on site for a few days to let the guys talk their feelings out. Sure nobody was injured (thankfully) but they'll all be feeling responsibility regardless. They'll also be paranoid about anything else they work on until the cause of the failure is proven. There have been failures in AUS as a result of maintenance (space probe cable snap), but with such a new ride, i'm hoping this is manufacturing, or poor quality spare part rather than maintenance. I've got faith in the VRTP maintenance team that I hope is well founded. As others have suggested - the unique train design for GL is possibly at fault here... but we'll have to wait and see.

From past experience, I think your best bet might actually be with Mark. Parks usually keep a lot of their 'archive' stuff squirrelled away - nobody really takes much notice of it though, until the park closes down... On my 'after closure' trip to Wonderland, we found many items that pre-dated the park opening, and countless VHS (and Betamax) cassettes with old commercials, soundtracks and all sorts of things. Perhaps that's something we could hint at Mark... perhaps even a weekly 'archive' post on AW's facebook page or similar? I know how many people are nostalgic about Wonderland, and fond memories of going there growing up (I can point to the facebook pages groups to say they're in their tens of thousands), to know that many people would love a 'blast from the past' similar to the photos posted above... perhaps even a 'then and now' post would be AWesome...

What a great way to get everyone to take you seriously.

It wasn't part of the Big4 or Big5... i'm sure it was open when that term was first created.

High Thrill! What a chance for DW! They can market it as part of the Big97 Thrill Rides!

For some reason - I can't reply to the 'news article' posted about Ardent's new CEO... so I thought i'd put my thoughts here, given a new CEO at the helm might see changes for Dreamworld flowing through too... Original post follows: Christ! you gotta put a disclaimer on the thread before opening it up to a face like that! After several CEO changes at the DW level - this is the first in over a decade for Ardent. It will be interesting to see whether Deborah takes this in a new direction. Given her history with AWW and Cleo - are these possibilities? Tips on 'how to please your significant other' in the queueline for Cyclone? Papparazzi climbing safety fences to obtain your 'on-ride photo' from a different POV? Notice boards throughout the park publicising rumours about which Dreamworld ride was caught exiting annual refurb with the latest facelift? Special Edition Cookbooks available in gift shops - 'how to reproduce the food served in Dreamworld outlets' ? The possibilities are endless...

At the very least, the plumbing, power and sewer would still be there... wouldn't be hard to construct new buildings onto existing connections. The train station is a very good idea.

I'm pretty sure, if you actually read the post, he actually did say that:

Blue Lagoon was a separate themed land when it existed - I see no reason why they couldn't create a new theme suitable to the attraction, and popup a few amenties, outlets etc around it to suit... thereby also giving them another alternative theme to work with when considering future attractions, instead of "what else can we fit into Ocean Parade" (Answer: Nothing).

I bet Mack was working on it again...

You did post it - but I had thought it was the one referred to by Gazza on the Central Coast. I had no idea it was in Yarramundi (I used to live in Yarramundi about 2kms from this installation!) But now that I think about it (given your TR included Scenic World) it makes a hell of a lot more sense than driving from the central coast to do one activity, and then to katoomba for another in a day.

*groan* You're not the first, and certainly won't be the last to suggest Dreamworld be home to Australia's first B&M. Couple things though - they'll never have the budget for a good one, and there are some cheap B&Ms out there that are questionable at best. I'd rather they stuck with buying a top shelf ride from a bottom shelf manufacturer, rather than the other way around. *Disclaimer - I am not implying by any sense that the manufacturer of some of Dreamworld's recent additions is in any way 'substandard' they just aren't regarded as the 'cadillac' as much as most people do for a B&M.

I've always wanted to visit LPM, if only to experience Scenic Railway just once. There's never been anything else in Melbourne that's really interested me to go. Considering your 3 TRs for the park over more than 7 years - i'm pretty well convinced that at this stage - it's not worth the effort. Maybe if they introduce something new that is worthwhile... but that's unlikely. I really wish you'd been doing your trips prior to 2004 - I would have loved to get your views and opinions on Wonderland Sydney - my home (and first) park. Love it as much as I do - I know you'd have had a few negatives... but that's what an outsider's view is good for. Thankfully - none of us here on Parkz (as far as I know) are Brazillian... they sound atrocious!

Having just priced one for my own house, i'm fairly confident the pricing is relatively accurate... A commercial installation may extend the price a little more, however since you didn't take issue with my ~$500k slide structure, i'm fairly confident that a splashdown pool of even triple my estimated cost would still keep them easily within the budget referred to.

Yep - i'm with Joz - WnWS had to construct carparks, massive drainage, food outlets, bathrooms... they started with a blank canvas. Big Banana already has most of it's infrastructure in place. They've had "water play" activities in that area previously, so presumably theres a level of drainage already in. Bathrooms change facilities are probably there (although needing an upgrade). Based on what i've seen of the concept - they're building a pool (which one can do for $20-30k), a single tower and 4 or so slides off that tower. I'd be way off but I could see tower and 4 slides costing around $500k if they're reasonably simplistic. However did the 'old' water slide parks survive if the cost was more than that? (Coffs used to have a set of water slides down the mountain from the banana - they had about 4 slides themselves and not much more than a splashdown pool - it wouldn't have been in the millions...)

Second drop (pic 5) needs to be deeper - it goes below the second level of track:

There isn't really any change in tone or meaning with the two statements... it is fuelling the hype though.