DaptoFunlandGuy

This may end up needing it's own thread if it continues, but attendance figures at the V8 events don't tell the whole story. First of all - I accept the figures you quote as being reliably obtained from V8 management. The same figure has been provided to numerous media outlets also... however there is one small problem with attendance figures provided by V8's - they're self serving. Every 'big event' loves to toot their own horn - but here are the flaws: Unlike our theme parks, where we have a barcoded, ticketed entry system at turnstiles (I don't know about anyone else but i've seen gate staff wave a big group through and then manually turn the turnstile after scanning each ticket to ensure an accurate count) - most events run by the V8s aren't turnstiled. It's just not feasible to rollout a turnstile system for a weekend. Larger events have multiple entry points. Gold coast has around 6 different gates. Bathurst you can enter the venue through no less than 3 different gates. You can also be 'on property' prior to lockdown with resident's passes. In Bathurst, people can also enter 'the mountain' by helicopter. Tickets aren't scanned by barcode readers - they are simply inspected by gate staff, and then hole punched in the appropriate spot on the ticket. Not all tickets have a barcode either... and guests of race teams and VIPs have cards that last the entire season... Which begs the question... how do they get their attendance counts? It's quite simple really - they do so by counting the number of valid tickets that grant entry to the event each day. It's far cheaper if you plan to go for the whole weekend to buy a three day pass than it is to buy two single day tickets... There are two points to make about the pricing: it is clear that Friday as an event day isn't valued by it's price alone - it is only an additional $5 to upgrade from a 2 to a 3 day pass. The single day ticket on friday is less than half the price of a single day satsun too. Most serious race fans want to enter the paddock. Seeing the workshops and garages behind the scenes, meeting the drivers, and also touring some stalls and stands that are only available in the paddock area means most people buy the paddock upgrade. You cannot get paddock access on single day tickets, so if you want to enter the paddock - you have to buy a three day pass. so when you have tickets such as these: ...they all count for Friday, Saturday and Sunday - regardless of whether they are used. The only way to know if they are used is to count the number of hole punch 'dots' are in the hole punches at the end of the day - but even if they did that - it would still be unreliable as mobility impaired persons are sometimes directed through different gates manned by security (who check, but don't hole punch tickets). So you take that figure, and then you add on every hard card that has been issued for that event (for sponsors, general media (not television crew), and guests of race teams), and then you add on the number of 'single day' tickets that were sold for that particular day as well - like these: ...and that is how you get your attendance figure for the day. Bathurst, Gold Coast and other 'street' events are also tricky - as EVERY resident needs a resident pass as well (even kids where children are chargeable) - so imagine the number of people in the high rises around surfers that are within the GC600 precinct that would hold a resident pass - and add that to the count as well. The only people who don't form part of the count are people who are there strictly for work purposes - caterers, cleaners, event officials, track officials, tow truck drivers, media crew such as camera guys and commentators etc. Unlike stadiums, where max capacity is known, and every seat is numbered - attendance at V8s can be a shaky nail to hang your hat on - especially when you see it for yourself, at every event, time and time again.

As I've made plain in this thread recently - I volunteer as a supervisor with the V8 Supercars volunteers. I've done Gold Coast, Ipswich, Townsville, Darwin, Bathurst and Sydney events over a number of years. I can speak with experience and authority that the Friday events receive far less attendance (as the main events are usually only in practice or qualifying) than the weekend events do. This is further impacted by many ticket holders having a thing called WORK on a Friday. I usually have (and usually need) fewer volunteers on the Friday for those reasons. Although this year was different - Ipswich usually makes it FREE ENTRY on Fridays to encourage more attendance at the event. ...and just as I finished typing this - Reanimated got in - cheers bud!

I'm sorry Yoshi - but I don't think your research is going to cut it. It's like reading up on Ocean Park in Hong Kong and saying you know all about it, and how it's better now than it was 10 years ago - without ever setting foot in the park. If you had been to the park even once, it might lend credence to your views, but I don't accept your 'first six years' statement. I visited the park on opening day. I went several times a year every year. I worked there. The first 15 years of the parks life was fantastic. It was only the last 4 where it really started to stagnate, and i'm sure most people could see the writing on the wall in the last two. Since this is the off topic topic, and to avoid a double post - TPR have now posted some onride and offride POV of the Circus Circus El Loco in Las Vegas. I must say it looks like a great addition to the little park, but by comparison i'm very happy with Green Lantern. http://youtu.be/n8ZDIF-Ni90

wrong forum.

Yoshi - i'm confused - you never saw the park, but you have such strong opinions of when it was good and when it wasn't - ie: "first 6 years" Space Probe wasn't the last attraction installed in the park, although it was the last good installation. Paramount didn't wan't Wonderland - it was on the other side of the world. The takeoverbuyout was risky enough as it was there was no way they would want to take it on, despite taking on Canada's Wonderland... BUT - even if they did, nothing suggests that Cedar would also have taken the same view, and they may also have not wanted it for similar reasons. It's like the whole sea world six flags Ohio debate - many people talk coulda, shoulda, woulda... but nobody knows what would have happened had things panned out differently. The park may have suffered just as badly by having owners based in the USA as it did having owners a puddle jump away in Malaysia.

It took you 30 minutes to get onto one of the park's newest attractions (and newest roller coaster) on the Friday before the Gold Coast 600? A day where most ticket holders aren't interested in seeing practice and exhibition races, parades of drivers and the like and go... 'well - we're in the gold coast - how about a theme park for the day?'... It's not Boxing day - but I would imagine the Friday pre-GC600 wouldn't exactly have been quiet. 30 minutes sounds quite reasonable.

^one only has to point to Valencia, California to know that they could build it in Lithgow or Bathurst and it would still work if done right.

Don't forget Habitat Waterford! (lol) Ammar Khan is still around. I must say i've remained pretty skeptical over the whole process, but a simple man with a dream was Walt Disney. Ammar has a backing in real estate, and to even be on the ballot means he has a fair amount of support. I admit the website and the concept art is dodgy as hell - but it still exists at www.sydneyswonderland.com.au - Ammar is also part of the Wonderland History facebook page, and he does come on to chat every now and then. Let's remember his ideas were only first mentioned a year or two ago. I remember WnWS plans on the board around 2009 - so a 4 year timeframe from first public mention to gates open (let's face it though - WnWS should have waited longer to open as they were not ready) so 5 years is reasonable - which means he's got a few years left before we all pour shit on the idea. As I said earlier - i've been pretty skeptical over it - mainly because the talk is 'bringing wonderland back' which we all know it won't be. it will be a theme park, and it will be called wonderland. Like we all know - every theme park has to have a drop tower - so it'll have one of those, and they'll probably call it "probe to space" since they probably can't use the name space probe... but the similarities will taper off after similar ride names and similar themed areas. Good luck finding a Bayern Kurve for a new wizard's fury, or a new intamin double ferris for the zodiac as I sincerely doubt most of the original unique rides at the park would still be manufactured ( excepting wave swinger ) - can you imagine Vekoma headquarters when they received an order for a new boomerang? please. However the one thing that keeps my mind from closing entirely on the idea is Bussy. Bussy knows Ammar, and has previously expressed a lot of faith in him to make this happen. For that reason alone - my mind remains open to see what he can do - but it won't be "rebuilding wonderland" - it will be "building a new park that perhaps loosely resembles some of the previous themes in the old park, and using similar names to capitalise on name recognition to bring people back". The one reason Sydney's Wonderland still has traction after more than 18 months is it's name. If it were called Elysian World we'd have all forgotten about it by now.

But the measurement I gave was what a 'paid extra' would earn for the day +/- $90 or so - so non-cash compensation to similar value (in the hands of the 'worker') is still acceptable. You are aware that the Australian taxation system is actually set up to factor in 'non-cash benefits' and tax them at their appropriate market value right? So a free ticket to the park, valued at $85ish at the gate - despite it not costing DW that much to produce - is still considered to hold that retail price value - and therefore they are receiving the equivalent to the cash wage they would otherwise receive, without the complications of having to employ them. So a pair of Nikes going for around $110, and the sweatshop kid normally receiving around 20 cents a day - he will earn himself a nice shiny pair of Nikes in around 18 months! Now here is where you are all sorts of wrong: Insurance: Being an unpaid worker does not remove ANY of the mandatory workplace health and safety requirements, public liability workers compensation insurance. A volunteer worker who is injured is covered by the organisations insurer, and they are compensated based on any PAID work they held prior to the accident if they are no longer able to perform it. Superannuation: if the "worker" earns less than $450 per month (which they would in only a single day) then legally they aren't entitled to superannuation. Leave: Casual workforces don't receive sick leave, annual leave, or any other sort of leave. If they don't work - they don't get paid. Unfair Dismissal: You've sat here arguing the merits of paying people for 4 hours work. Firstly - minimum shift lengths in most industries is 3 hours for casuals and 4 hours for FTE. Once the worker reports for duty, the employer is bound to pay them for those minimums to offset costs such as travelling to work etc. So we're talking about a 4 hour gig here - the earliest they could be 'dismissed' would be at the 3 hour mark... you honestly think anybody would argue for that extra hour? <waits for answer> Because - newsflash - the worker would be considered to be on probation, and therefore the employer doesn't even need to provide a reason for the dismissal - it may simply be that too many people showed up and not all of them were needed. The keenness of the kids doing the work is ABSOLUTELY relevant. If the park were bringing kids in to do tasks that employees at the park already do (such as your suggested internships earlier) then it would clearly be exploitation as they would not need to pay the full time workers to do their job... However there is no clear task here being done by these kids that would ordinarily be performed by a paid worker. Park employees aren't paid to ride rides (the exceptions being pre-opening testing and that sort of thing). You wanna pay these kids you need them all to fill out a tax file number declaration - which most of them won't have. Nobody is saying a person doesn't have a right to a fair wage. But you're confusing ongoing employment with a once off marketing shoot. You are of course aware that the terms and conditions of entry to the park (yes, when YOU PAY THEM to let you in) entitles them to capture you in film or photo, and use for marketing purposes without payment or permission from you, and your acceptance of this contract is evidenced by your entry through the turnstiles? So let's scratch this whole 'organised, out of hours thing' and let's shoot the commercial during park operating hours, using real guests having actual fun - and just use their image in the commercial? Is there anything wrong with that - given that they accepted that contract by scanning their ticket and entering the park? It's in the Ts and Cs right? The only difference between that, and what they're actually doing is that they've targeted the demographic they want on the ride, and they're doing it out of hours where they don't inconvenience paying guests by surrounding the ride with equipment, and potentially affecting operations. You'd most likely be one of the first people to come on here and complain that the film shoot they were doing during hours closed down the two newest attractions in the complex when you wanted to ride them, and woe is you... Would it be different if they went outside in the morning to the earlybirds and said "hey guys, we're shooting a commercial - would you all like to come in an hour or two early (isn't early entry normally chargeable?), ride our newest rides first without queues, and get free breakfast?" The only difference to that is that they've put out a call in advance so that they can be sure to have enough people at the gates when they need them. I really don't care if you don't see it from my point of view. You can remain on the wrong side if you wish. It is clear based on our culture, and even just from those who have commented that you are in the minority. Incidentally, the current government requires independents to pass legislation through the senate - so clearly - they aren't in the majority, are they?

attaboy. Well that would depend - an example given earlier in this discussion was a suggestion of a fair wage x number of hours needed = +/- $90. The day's entry to the park, coupled with what would probably include some food or snacks would see the compensation commensurate with the approximate pay applicable to a paid worker. Is the kid making the shoes receiving multiple pairs of shoes commensurate to the value of the product manufactured? I would suggest not - and therein lies the exploitation. Couple that with the fact that the kid is probably working because his family cannot afford to eat, and therefore he would be unlikely to put his hand up to make shoes for the reward of taking some shoes home - he can't eat shoes. However teenagers in South East Queensland usually don't need to work to put food on the table (of course there are exceptions in disadvantaged families) - so when a teenager puts their hand up to be in a film shoot for a commercial, they are fully accepting of the reward offered, and happily do the task. The flaw in your sweatshop example is that the kid making shoes is supporting a family with their efforts.

I've had to condense your post, but quoted it where relevant as it's on the previous page. You're right - a lot of it comes down to definitions. Google gives two definitions for "exploit" - To 'make full use of and derive benefit from' (in which case every employer exploits their paid workers - clearly this is not the definition referred to here). To 'make use of (a situation) in a way considered unfair or underhand'. Now you have stated (in perhaps different words) that what Dreamworld (and now the V8s as well) is unfair. But is it underhand? Both organisations have put out a call for people to volunteer to do these tasks. They've been clear about what they need, and from who, and what they will offer in return. There is nothing 'underhand' about either of this situations. As for 'unfair' - The option is then on the people who put their hand up. If they feel the deal that they are getting is unfair - they won't volunteer - so regardless of whether I think it's fair, or you think it is unfair - it is up to the individual to decide whether or not they wish to do so, and therefore it cannot be 'unfair'. Anybody who views either of those situations and decides not to volunteer isn't being treated unfairly. They had the opportunity, and they decided it wasn't for them. So you cannot define the actions of these two organisations as exploitation based on these definitions. It is voluntary. It isn't depriving the volunteer of an income. It's totally optional, and in general it isn't really doing any 'paid' professional out of work. Nobody is being exploited. Yes - Neither of the events could occur without those volunteers, or otherwise they would have to hire in professionals which does add an additional cost - a cost of which will either deprive funding from other areas, or increase costs to the consumer, or otherwise the project or event won't happen. If Dreamworld can't afford to shoot the add because it lacks extras - this hits their marketing - less people hear about new and exciting things at the parks, and they get less visitation which then affects revenue, which then affects frequency of new rides and attractions - it stagnates. I already explained the affect on V8s if they were to have a paid workforce... and it isn't practical to do so for 1 or 2 weekends a month over 6 or so months. A casual workforce is a lot more difficult to manage. It's not about the viability of the business - it's the nature of it. As for olympics, comm games and other such events - there is a lot of profit out of some of those events - it's just that most of it doesn't go to the host city, and instead to many bloated executives within the international organising committees. Again to reiterate on definitions - volunteering is volunteering. It doesn't matter if it's for a charity, a sporting or major public event, private fundraising, or marketing purposes. Mystery shoppers receive token reimbursement usually only enough to cover the expenses they incur in doing the mystery shopping task - A very long time ago I did a mystery shop for Subway. My task was to purchase a particular 6 inch sub, complete a survey, and receive $10. As it was substituting my usual lunch, I got a meal, with a drink and a cookie - so that was pretty well the $10 gone right there. Basically - I got a free lunch - and they got feedback on that particular store. KFC offers you a free serve of chips if you complete their online customer service survey Hungry Jacks has a 'shake and win' app that rewards you with menu items for 'checking in' to their store using facebook (a marketing tool) Many food retailers offer samples of their newest product offering (including fast food and supermarkets) - sometimes before the product is released - in return for you giving them your views on the product. If I use my bartercard to (as you say) EXPLOIT you by obtaining your services that I need without paying you actual money, and you in turn EXPLOIT me by obtaining services that you need from me for similar value without paying me actual money - we have indeed "exploited" each other in terms of the first definition given above, but not in terms of the second definition given - which as i've stated, is the one most closely representing the views you have expressed. There is no unfairness or underhandedness. If I'd grossly overexaggerated the value of the services that I provided to you, to make you think that you were getting far more value from me than it actually cost me to provide - THEN it would be underhanded, and considered exploitation by the second definition... But to return to the main point - Dreamworld, V8 Supercars, KFC, Subway, The Olympics, Future of Fun, Woolworths, Costco and any other organisation that obtains opinion, market research, background filler or otherwise voluntary workers for any particular purpose make it ABUNDANTLY clear that they are: seeking volunteers to do a certain thing, task, or achieve an objective not offering money are offering non-monetary compensation in terms of free goods, services, merchandise or otherwise needing a particular group of people, for a particular timeframe most importantly - NOT HOLDING A FLIPPING GUN TO ANYBODY'S HEAD TO PUT THEIR HAND UP

But that's just it - its not exploitation. Exploitation is the Asian electronics market where they pay ridiculously low sums of money in the full knowledge that if that guy doesn't do the job, someone else will step up. The V8s are not exploiting the volunteers who work the event. The volunteers are quite happy with their lot - they get to see a sport they love, make good friends, and get to take home some souvenirs that aren't available to anyone else. To pay a workforce as large as the volunteer crew in the V8s, you'd be adding around $200,000 in costs per event. It's not just wages, it's the cost of administration (which is also done voluntarily), superannuation, state and federal wage taxes, as well as a higher cost for workers compensation insurance. (The events carry insurance but a paid workforce tends to elicit a higher premium). This results in higher costs to the event organisers which all has to be passed on to ticketholders. This makes going to the race a more expensive exercise, which then results in less attendance. When the organisation has less people through the gates they have to do one of two things - cut costs (by reducing staff) or increase prices further. I can guarantee you that the events run on a pretty bare bones staff as it is, so if they reduce staffing, it takes you twice as long to get through the gate, and then you complain. Or - we increase ticket pricing, which drives even further people away, which in turn leads us back to the same dilemma. Eventually we can reduce staffing because we don't need as many staff to handle as many people, but this in turn reduces the fan base - it's all bad for the sport. Do you suggest that events like the Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games (both of which cost an exorbitant amount of money) should pay all the volunteers too? What about the upcoming G20 in Brisbane - should all the folks who have volunteered as ambassadors, checkpoint and information folk be paid too? And you were backtracking. Your original statement was that ALL labour should be paid a fair price. You didn't say "except for emergency service volunteers" or "except for charities and non-profits" - so by adding in those exceptions you have in fact backtracked. You're pretty close to the money as far as the description of what the SES does in storm response... however those commercial roof repair arborers and tree loppers can still be called upon in the aftermath of a storm. In other countries where they do not have an SES or similar agency - that's what those people do - so despite the fact that in Australia the SES is a mandatory requirement under law for every state, by your own words, those guys are being exploited. And many real estate agencies and landlords DO exploit the SES - by refusing to conduct routine maintenance, and relying on the SES to respond and repair the problem. Although big storms do require follow up treatment - many a time the repairs effected by the SES are a sufficient permanent fix. And doing a job for a friend is a problem that fits. Your statement was that 'all labour should be paid' (and anything else should be illegal) - so a friends labour isn't worth the same, despite the fact the result is? You also failed to address Bartercard. I'm no Melburnian, so I couldn't describe the process, but it is a cashless transaction system that doesn't require one to be friends with the guy performing the work... and it's perfectly legal. Finally - and once again to put your 'unaustralian' claim to rest and rubbish - if volunteering isn't the Australian way - why does www.volunteeringaustralia.org exist with the support of the Australian federal Department of Social Services ? And why do we have a national 'volunteering week' every May? I restate my earlier view, that you are entitled to your opinion, but I do believe it is misguided, and judging by the comments of others, you do appear to be in the minority. I'm also happy to leave this as it is. 64 pages is a pretty long run for any topic on Parkz, and I think it's safe to say the topic has been well and truly covered at this point - it is however on topic as it revolves around the suggestion that Dreamworld were somehow exploiting teenagers, by asking them to enter the park early, ride some of their rides without queues, over and over again having a lot of fun, probably getting a snack or breakfast provided, and being able to remain inside the $80+ a day theme park free of charge, plus the perk of getting to see yourself on TV in a professionally produced commercial that is potentially shown around the country for the next 3-6 months. Sounds like exploitation to me... (not)

Don't backtrack on your comments now - comparisons to volunteers is NOT ridiculous. The point is identical. Your previous statement was that all labour should be paid, and that the fringe benefits or willingness of the worker are irrelevant. Motorsport - there are professional track and event staff that can be hired to run motorsport events. State Emergency Service - there are roof repair companies, tree loppers and arborers that can be hired to fix houses damaged by storms There are paid firefighters that could do the job of rural firies... And our Volunteer Marine Rescue has a paid counterpart in the united states... But to run organisations such as these with fully paid services - the money has to come from somewhere. Even if you put aside the emergency services listed above - take the V8s as an example. They are a corporate enterprise. They are in it for the profit of the events (as is any business). Volunteers receive 2 polo shirts, a lunch-cooler bag, lunch water and snacks each day, a program, poster, patch, ID card, lanyard, hat, free camping at events that offer it, and a free weekend pass for a friend or family member (valued at over $70 on it's own). As volunteers we are on track by around 6:30 - and usually don't stop until around 5pm... or around 10.5 hours. Even at $10 an hour, that's $315 for the three day weekend (Australian minimum wage is $16.87 - source: Google which would make it $531.41). And that's not even taking into account weekend penalty rates. Say the uniform - shirts, hat, lunch bag, ID card and lanyard (and forget the little 'fan extras') would still be around another $100. Add in water, sunscreen and other "OH&S" requirements - and you can call it $650 per person to do a 3 day event (Bathurst is worse). To use Ipswich as an example - there are usually 6 staff + supervisor on the public grandstand, another 6 +1 on the corporate stands. There are 8 on main gate, 4 on south gate, 4 on north gate paddock entry, 2 on paddock exit, and 1 supervisor for each gate. 3 Accreditation staff, 4 information booth staff, and 2 pit lane safety officers in the paddock. That's 45 people, and we haven't even gotten to the track officials, scrutineers, marshalls, flag people and all the other behind the scenes people at work. (Note this doesn't count paid staff such as ticket sellers, food and beverage concessions, and event officials such as stewards and people like the race secretary race control. So at MINIMUM WAGE - that's $24,000 before you even put a uniform on them. Counting the track officials that's easily double that figure... and Ipswich is one of the smallest events on their calendar. Then you've got to add more costs to administer the payroll, superannuation is going to add around another 10% to that figure also... but give them a patch, a poster, a program, a free ticket for a friend to come along, and a chance to watch a sport that they love for free - and suddenly you've eliminated all that extra cost... VRTP get volunteers for filming, market research and all sorts of things for the cost of free entry and some lunch. Occasionally, i'm sure they pay for focus groups and the like, but your view of 'all labour should be paid' isn't 'the Australian way' as you suggest. There is a program that started down in Melbourne called 'Bartercard' - a cashless exchange of goods products services... I know many tradespeople who quote jobs for work done at friends houses in cases of beer that is clearly not priced at the cash equivalent. (As a matter of fact there is one case of VB that has been through about 8 peoples hands at this point because nobody likes that crap). You are entitled to your view - but I do believe in this case it is very misguided to label our society and our culture as 'everything paid and anything else should be illegal' is not right - because by making anything else illegal you're also restricting the very freedoms that this same society and culture values so highly, and others from other societies value and cherish so highly that they will risk treacherous voyages on small leaky boats just to taste.

I coordinate volunteers for the V8 Supercars events. They receive lunch and polo shirts which costs a fortune. If we were to pay them - V8 Supercars would be out of business. By your definition, we also would have no State Emergency Service, Volunteer Marine Rescue, Rural Fire Service... or we would - and your rates and taxes would at least triple. Volunteer work where nobody is being exploited is perfectly acceptable. It's also a great way for people wanting to enter a chosen field to get some experience (where nobody will hire them without it) and for many people to 'give something back' to the community. Granted this isn't the case with extras for a commercial - but if the participants are willing... (and who wouldn't enjoy some ERT and free entry for the day)... then what's the harm? Or is it your argument that there are other people out there who ARE paid extras, who are missing out on a days pay because DW is using members of the public?

i'm sure the technology would have added to the price, but I think a nice little add-on would be a 'self driving car'. Industrial forklifts and the like are capable of following a little foil track on the floor (hell - grade 6 kids build Lego robots that can do it) and it probably wouldn't take much to have them all return to a home position right next to the entrance gate. Clearly they are already remote controlled for start and stop - I can't imagine it would take much more to have them set up with a 'homing beacon'... Oh well - not going to happen now, but would have been a cool little feature - would also make staff jobs much easier.

I have to agree, although allow for the possibility that I've just never seen operators with their phones out. I do occasionally see cast members having a discussion, but rarely is it social in nature and normally relates to rotation breaks handover or similar.

Agree - despite visitation (I think it benefits from it's proximity to WDW) but the educational assumption is sometimes the prominent view of many who have not visited the park. Disney's formula - incorporating it's hugely successful intellectual property in fun, exciting and often thrilling ways is well proven in parks worldwide. EPCOT frequently falls short - it's the poor cousin. Let's not forget that the original dream for EPCOT was not an educational fun park, but as a look to the future. I don't think they're going to hurt anyone by 'disneyfying" the park more than it is. This does show one thing though - Disney's confidence in frozen as a franchise. Its popularity is clearly long term. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

Dammit. Now i'll never know. Oh well... let it go.

The fence isn't new, is it? That was the fence around SeaScrew previously... They may not wish to take it out if they're going to need another fence in the future - but by the looks of things, they want a chance for the grass to really 'grow in' before they make it accessible to the public. Prior to Storm - there was a nicely grassed area in between the show building and the cinema. It was a great place to go and sit quietly as few people used that pathway. There was some shade under the trees and it was a good place to spread out a towel, and sit and wait for others to arrive. Even if that is still there, the proximity to Storm's splashdown means it is no longer the quiet haven it was. I would really like to see them open up CorkViper's area once the lawn is established. Maybe popup a few umbrellas, a few picnic tables etc. Maybe even a little shaded structure. If it's no bigger than 10sqm, they don't need a permit for it...

I don't know that any of them do 'officially', but i'm sure some of them would be able to accommodate you. Not sure on Superman as they do the height check at the start of the queue - but if you have a word to them, i'm sure they'd work something out.

well I guess this explains the farewell to SpongeBob.

*whooooooooooosh!*

There is plenty they can do about crowds... limit park capacity. Of course - it's a financially limiting decision, and for that reason they won't... but the park clearly isn't designed to handle the capacity they currently have set - so it should be reduced. WWW recognised this and frequently hit capacity in it's early days. I think WnWS underestimated the interest in the park (and as we all know - oversold dramatically on their season passes).

I think Jamberoo has pointed their noses towards waterparks. They used to have more 'dry rides' but clearly maintenance and upkeep on dry rides is more intensive that wet rides. Pool maintenance is done by many people in backyards across the country. Granted waterparks have a higher hygiene requirement, and their machinery is put through far more punishment, but it is still, essentially simpler than dry rides, with far less to break down. Also - we know that wet rides (slides) are far cheaper to obtain and install than dry rides... so it is easier for Jamberoo to build a new slide every year or two than it is to build dryflats at the same frequency.

I count two trains in the siding. The station house holds 4 - so I believe the car the POV is shot from is number 7? ie: there are 5 trains on the track. They may not have despatched others because it was a slow day, but i'm pretty sure they load and despatch in pairs, don't they?