DaptoFunlandGuy

I recently went through the Parkz database clicking all the little 'i've been on this' buttons. I found it really counter-intuitive - I did all the parks first, and then went and started on rides (not finished yet). I guess the issue as I see it is: The rides are all randomly listed. No alphabetical order (no discernable order at all), so you really have to read each listing to make sure you're not missing any. Idealy, once you've selected the parks you've been to, it would only show you the rides from the parks you've been to (had to catch myself a couple times when the attraction was the Florida version, rather than the Hollywood version). I also found it very difficult to chop and change between country state locality. It would be nice if the database was structured in such a way so as to 'drill down' each level: Pick the countries you've been to > then pick the states (where relevant) > then pick the parks > then pick the rides and shows... end result being you're only shown results from the filtered list you selected previously. I do however like the ease at which they're added (simply clicking a button to have it added to the profile is a leap and bound ahead of my expectations based on the former database). A quick check reveals i'm up to 30 parks, which i'm fairly sure is a complete list for me - the ridelist however is a little out - didn't quite get to finish that one.

^yes but how long will they operate for after installation before they're 'out of order' on a permanent basis?

Except - this is supposedly a driving school, teaching the kids road rules. Showing them up on the big screen sounds like a perfect way for the Daily Planet to get a new 'drive-thru' installation.

If someone posted on here every time a random ride broke down on any given day, the boards would be very busy indeed.

By the looks of things, all the major attractions are on the walls. They're banners, rather than painted murals. RoadRunner Rollercoaster is behind the daily planet. I can confirm the Wild West Falls are off to the right of the photos, and as shown just above green lantern is off to the left. I'm betting the two walls we cannot see include Superman, Arkham and any number of other highlights of the park. Geography doesn't appear to be their strong suit, but it's a kids ride, and I don't think the kids will notice.

I think the point they (and I earlier) were trying to make is that the three different colours indicate they're going to try a 'whitewater' wave type paintjob blended from top to bottom. If they were going with a solid colour, all coats would have been that same colour. I'm going to go out on a limb here - i'm not familiar with GD's operation, but as both GD and Probe at Wonderland are the same ride type, I'm going to say thats just your feel - the ride operation should be totally automatic - with the operator depressing (from memory 2) buttons to initiate the launch, and everything from that point on runs fully automatic, with the carrier releasing you when you reach a pre-determined point on the tower. Many people believe they are stopped, when in actual fact if you look at the tower above and over your shoulder you can see you are continuing to ascend, albeit EXTREMELY slowly. You only stop moving on the tower for the split second before you drop, as the carrier mechanically releases the gondola. I've often wondered about the mechanics of GD - Probe never slowed down that much before it reached to top - and I wonder whether GD could be re-programmed to have a shorter deceleration time. It might improve the theoretical capacity of the ride by reducing the cycle time without any real loss in ride experience.

Not sure Crofty - I don't know which part they're working on - if you could tell us (or provide a picture) we might be able to answer... i was keenly watching the work they did on her in 2012-13 because Viper was to be part of my wedding ceremony - thankfully they did get her up and running before that. Actually - saying "RIP 1982-2014" kind of implies it would be shut permanently. And if you read my post above yours, explaining how the park is going to considerable effort (and no doubt expense) to revive the ride, your statement was quite premature, and in my opinion, without merit - hence why I gave 'my opinion' - ever heard of something like that? I'm not 100% sure, but i'm inclined to think he did that on purpose.

I'm not an easy sale when it comes to photography, but your site does have some pretty nice shots.

i love the attention to detail they're going to now - these ?pole wraps? really give it that finishing touch. they could easily have stuck with generic support poles and saved the money because nobody would really care... THIS is what sets MW apart from Dreamworld in the THEME department.

I wasn't far off - the price comparison on a 'number of visits' basis is still the same - you just get extra attractions for the same price. I contemplated buying one when I first moved to QLD - which would have been around the same time... but then the Q150 came out.

Voodoo bones it would seem. I'm sad to say this but I can't see his post having any merit whatsoever.

Looking at the colouring on the main ride supports - it looks like they're going to try and blend the colours on the arm to match the wave (ie: dark at the bottom and whitewash up the top). Wyn does say the dark blue kept going all the way to the top, but it just seems weird they'd have those three layered colours and then just paint over the whole lot with one colour (unless they changed their mind halfway through.) Wyn - your critique of the buffet has one small flaw - after you see the selection, and you are disappointed by it, why did you not return to the counter and ask for a refund as the product was not as advertised? Dreamworld have confirmed on facebook the water is returning as WODWF said above ^, and i have to say the theory on the concrete (fence line move) may be on the money too - that would indicate DW actually gives a rats ass about continuity of theming, which would indicate a shift in the park's focus, and good news for those among us who like the theme and story better than the ride motion.

^must admit its one of the nicer lazy rivers i've been through.

What do you mean "another crappy kid ride" ? The only kiddie ride they've installed in recent memory was Sylvester's Pounce N Bounce, and to be quite honest - I find that to be of a far higher standard than say - Sword Swing, Big Red Boat or Gingy's Gliders... I don't think you get to use the word 'Another', and as far as the ride is concerned - they're still building the frickin thing - how about we wait and see how it turns out before we write it off? Especially if you're going to make comparisons to Dreamworld. If Dreamworlds kids rides are better than this attraction, i'll eat my hat.

"in the last two years" Viper has been up for quite a lot of that time - you may just have bad timing. Viper went down for major maintenance in the 2012-13 period after extensive issues were discovered by (what I understand) X-raying the track. The necessary rectification occurred, and it reopened and operated for most of 2013. It went down again for maintenance, and although we have no other information, it's safe to assume that they have again discovered issues that require rectifying. Although it's old news, the last "official whisper" I got from a reliable source inside the park is that management were of the view to 'do whatever it takes' to save Viper. That was easily over a year ago. The reports had been that it was 'too expensive to fix' and yet management decided to do it. Things may have changed, things may have gotten worse. It may now cost too much and Viper may be going... or they're negotiating with a manufacturer to come in and rescue the old girl. We aren't getting any more info at present because they may not yet know what they're going to do. They may be waiting for an assessment, a quote, a part, a tool, or a specialised worker. I haven't been out there in a little while, but from all reports the ride being covered with scaff, and tarps is not an indication that the ride is gone - it's an indication that they're trying everything they can to save it. They've poured tonnes of money into this ride recently, from new trains, a complete paint job, all the repair works, (and the costly diagnosis by X-ray), they aren't just going to throw their hands up now until they've exhausted every possible option. Don't write it off just yet. I'm sure theres other things to try before she goes. When Viper silently disappears off the park map, and cranes start pulling the track apart.... thats when we can mourn her and look to the next big thing on the spit.

However - prior to giving away the gate, my recollection of pass pricing on the gold coast was somewhere along these lines: ~$69 for a one day ticket. ~$299 for an annual pass for one park. Thats four days entry to cover the price. Disney is currently 7 days. And this was back in an era where the VRTPs didn't have massive upsell opportunities (except the animal adventures) Sure these days the VRTP discovery passport at $149.99 is far cheaper, and the VIP passes even moreso (at only $10 more than a day ticket) but I think thats their aim - thats their strategy - to give away the gate and work harder inside the park to up the percap spend... and by all means you can do that where you have the facilities to increase it - like animal adventures, or stunt driver rides, or flying fox and surfrider bookings. If you're not making a profit then - it's your own fault for not milking the guest hard enough. AW doesn't have that at present. They're a traditional park. They currently get by very well without offering an annual pass, charging a single day admission price, and it does them well. Their 'special online price' of $28 for a day ticket means multiple visits in the summer for locals isn't THAT bad - and still cheaper than a VIP (and travelling 2 hours), but the suggestion was should it be introduced. I'm fine for them to bring it in but i don't agree that they should give away the gate as easily as the big parks with the massive upsell opportunities. Look at the whiners who complained about WnWS' pass pricing, but look at how full they were EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They 'followed that formula' - but they bloody well shouldn't have. It is obvious the demand was there, they probably could have charged more - but instead they panicked and offered B3GOF, and free parking and all sorts of rubbish. What a debacle that was. We all sat back and criticised WnWS for making their pricepoints too low and selling too many passes. AW needs to be careful if they dip their toe into the annual pass pool, as they run the risk of doing damage to the brand as they try to evolve. By all means when they start putting in $10M attractions like Abyss where people will flock from across the country, then they're playing with the big boys and will need to play by those rules, but right now, they've got a captive market, and have survived well without it. For those that want it - they'll pay the extra... AND they'll use it. Or better yet - don't offer annual passes, and stick with the current formula which is obviously doing them just fine.

I totally get the market wouldn't accept it - but when you consider the current pricing for a family (of 4) pass as a day ticket - its $100 online. We're talking 7 trips in a year for value - locals would smash that over summer holidays. And of course they're not Disney - I'm talking $700 for a family of four. Disney charges $700 PER PERSON for their premium annual passport (which is really the only TRUE annual passport in their annual pass offering)... Considering they charge $90-100 per person for a day ticket, the pricing is relative. Just because they don't have the same offering, doesn't mean they have to charge a comparable ticket price to the offering... Disney can do that because of quantity... AW NEEDS to charge more per person to survive. If they make an AP too cheap, they WILL be overrun by locals which will reduce their per cap spend. They will (as said above) become the local babysitter during school holidays. I know the market doesn't agree with me (and thats mainly because of VRTP and Ardent giving away their own gates) but I stand by a price point of $150-200, and a family pass of $700ish (600 minimum).

Didn't AW confirm it was a Pinfari a while back?

I think it's safe to say wild is buried. I'll be interested in seeing what happens with Viper though.

I'm really not sure of the orientation of the hole in the wall, but if this is the way that faces main street - then that wall is too close to be the side of the building - in which case, they have divided it in half. (And if they've done that, then this hole in the wall is probably the 'front entrance' of the ride.) If they're reserving the other half of the building, they may just be using it for storage as previous, or they may have other plans for a completely different ride on the other side of the wall at a later date....

I'm of the exact two minds that you predict. I think Annual Passes are in quite a demand for the little park. I can't say i'd buy one, but there'd be plenty of Sunny Coast residents who would... But as you say - would that then kill the 'no queue' charm it has? If they're going to expand in these leaps and bounds, they may get away with it - more attractions means they can handle more people... the trick is that they need to set the pass at the right price point - too high and people will call them a rip off, too low and every tom, dick and VIP passholder will be in like flynn. The problem is the big parks have conditioned everyone to a $99 price point. I think AW needs a higher point, and in my opinion, they'd probably justify $150, but i think they really need it to be closer to $200-250 for it to have the right effect (or maybe like $700 for a family of 4)... the problem is - would people pay it?

If Jamberoo doesn't count, then I don't think WWW gets to be counted either.

Hardly a 'guess' when the last 5 posts have been discussing whether it was possible.

Yeah my thoughts were coloured water.

I don't know what the issues are, but if it is as you describe - ie: the chain is slowing right down at the top, it sounds like it is part of the ride's normal operations, wherein the lift chain acts as a block section, and it stops the boat from entering the next section until the appropriate safety gap is attained. We need a lot more info about where, and how it is 'breaking down'