DaptoFunlandGuy

Zacsta - I wasn't having a go at you, I was asking everyone else to stop with the bullshit sarcasm as it obviously wasn't clear enough that they were joking.

oh for crying out loud... next thing you know Zacsta posts it on facebook to his friends, all his friends talk it out at school, one of them tells their parents (who work for the Gold Coast Bulletin) and then it's in print. Seriously, enough is enough!

^right, because one corner of the park, all collected together, follows one unified theme?

it does seem as though the Start of sarcasm tags aren't working anymore End of sarcasm

But Luna Park Sydney just opened a ride almost the same as the giant drop (not as tall, but it is 'like' it) and that very same park was previously home to the Big Dipper - which later became the Cyclone at Dreamworld and nobody (except RWC who doesn't really count) has ever argued that LPS (or LPM) are "theme" parks... The Sydney Royal Easter Show is described as 'part agricultural show, part amusement park' and it covers 110 acres. The '210 acres' (or 85 hectares) listed as being the size of dreamworld is the total sum of land purchased by John Longhurst back in 1974. According to this the land currently owned is actually 104 hectares, however when the park was built, it occupied only 30 hectares (about 74 acres). Since then, expansions include the land for thunderbolt (now forms part of WWW) and country fair, gum tree gully, tiger island and blue lagoon (no longer part of the park). koala country was also built and later became AWE taking up approx 4 hectares also. Given the openings (and closures) of various attractions and expansions, as well as losses to land now occupied by WWW, a fair estimate of the park's "operational" size could be around 50 hectares, or about 120 acres. Considering the Sydney Royal Easter Show offers animals, water rides, roller coasters, flats, showbags, food, sideshows (and let's face it, a much more inviting carnival atmosphere), with only 10 acres less - I don't really consider your point (based on land size, entry cost, and the types of ride experience) is proven. Once you take into account that admission IS cheaper, but rides are pay-per-use (which they almost are with Q4U) I'm not saying it's invalid, however the items you offer as proof don't really prove your point. However, Batman, Dirty Harry, and Scooby Doo are all MOVIES, and therefore fit the unified "movie-park" theme. The Matterhorn is the boundary between tomorrowland and fantasyland and can be seen most places around the park - it still 'fits' in the position that it is in. Dreamworld is no longer broken into themed areas. It has once-themed areas broken by unthemed (or differently themed) attractions - V8 race cars at the beach (GC600 aside, it doesn't work - especially when the track isn't the GC600 track). Cyclone is a loose 'ocean' connection at best (original theme had a cow?) And an Alien-turned-zombie apocalypse laser skirmish really doesn't fit the ocean at all. The remaining attractions do make some effort to fit in, but all of their more recent investments (MDMC, AvPx2.0,) with the exception of Buzzsaw have been more about 'where can we put this' rather than 'what can we get to fit here (both physically and "thematically")' You say it isn't a very good theme park - so you're agreeing the connection isn't very good. I'm saying there isn't a connection - we're both on the same side - that the park is lacking in the theme department... I just have a firmer viewpoint on it, whereas you're open to interpretation and giving benefit of the doubt. Theres nothing wrong with that - and I never said you were wrong - only that I disagreed with you... and still do.

I've been quite vocal on this topic previously, and must disagree with you Richard. Giant fruit and rock collections aside (these are more 'tourist attractions' or 'fun parks' etc), what boxes are dreamworld 'ticking' to continue to meet the 'theme' in theme park? I will admit that it wouldn't take much for dreamworld to regain it's previous 'theme' status, but it isn't quite there yet.

...still better than graffiti hats.

^bit of a piss-take really - Joz has commented several times in the past about how some of our height limits in some cases are higher than their foreign counterparts.

The carpark is too convoluted to boom gate it. There are bays down near park wing, the big parking in front of the main entrance and then another section over by the garden wing. The 'entrance' goes straight through the middle of the three. You have to have a way for arriving guests to get there to check in. That said - I get why they don't want 'general guests' to use that entrance way, but the attraction of hopping the monorail to the resort for a nice resort lunch at the waterfall cafe, as opposed to the fare offered inside the park has long been a favourite of mine. I know they're not Disney - but if you can keep guests on property - the money all goes to the same place. Why they would want to curtail this, I don't know. I've stayed on property several times, and i've NEVER seen a queue clogging up the shop near opening time. Most resort guests planning on entering the park for the day usually attend the 'dolphin discovery presentation', and so are inside the park well before opening. It has to be a carparking issue - and that is far easier resolved - simply give each guest a 'rearview mirror' tag. We got these at many of the places we stayed at in the US, and clearly indicated the car was a guest. Then all you need to do is strike up an agreement with a tow truck company, and have any non-guest vehicles towed. This keeps the resort accessible to everyone and allows them to showcase the resort to daytrippers for future trips (as well as opening up F&B options). Fair enough - towing a guest's vehicle might be a bit harsh, but post a sign explaining the risk, the cost, and you could always arrange for the tow company to move the vehicle to the main-park carpark - perhaps in a small 'gated' area at one end (so it isn't too far away at the end of a family day at the park), and charge a fee for release that covers the cost of the tow truck. Word would get around quick enough and no 'public' cars would park in the resort anymore... problem?

The height requirement at Dollywood is 99cm (39in) so bear in mind that in a VRTP, the restriction would need to be increased to 140cm.

yeah but it's kind of hard to retheme a giant yellow headed guy with horse-shoe hands for anything else.

I think i'd prefer the 'dollywood supplied' POV put up by TPR, than some random bunch of women screaming and swearing their heads off about how it wasn't a kids ride.... does it LOOK like a fricken kids ride???

The original idea was for a mini cars movie world... keep the car driving idea, lose the mini-movieworld bit and instead make it that you're driving through lego-land - you can include all the different 'lego city' sets that you can buy inside it. Cross promote lego merchandise in the nearest shop. Sounds good to me.

I don't know why but Scooby always seems to have a displayed wait time that is well above the actual wait time... such as displaying 45 minutes, but only being 15... The good thing about scooby is the queue is constantly moving because of the constant load, so it doesn't feel as slow as waiting for a full circuit coaster running only one train.

Lot 122 is likely to be picked up by Dreamworld.

^you missed JL3D - which relates to superheroes that feature across many films... And HWSD HWSD2 are loosely based around a story of 'filming a movie' and 'filming a trailer for a movie'

Why should the government pay for an upgrade to an interchange to benefit a commercial operation? Sure the population in the area has deemed it necessary, but projected it for 2022. if Westfield will wait that long (they won't) it will be built. Govt. wants it wholly funded - and why shouldn't they - big business will profit from the approval of the DA. If Westfield is already stumping up a portion (probably at least 50%) then there is money to be made... so skimming a little more off their profit margin, to benefit Ma & Pa Taxpayer having to foot the bill.... why shouldn't Westfield have to pay for the whole thing?

'Major transformation' implies the building will still exist in some form - Reef Diver would see it demolished entirely. On Reef Diver though - I don't think it would fit in the space.

It's not the first time a major developer has paid to upgrade the infrastructure in order to get approval. If Westfield wanted to sit around until 2022, the govt. would probably do it, but the 8 year wait would lose more money for westfield than they would lose by paying for it - it's government's way of getting private industry to put a little back in... The works will be completed to upgrade the interchange, the DA will be expanded to the full size of the plan, and everybody will win.

No mention of any dreamworld involvement here - but it seems to have finally gotten stage 1 approval... http://www.mygc.com.au/news/first-stage-of-coomera-town-centre-retail-development-given-go-ahead/

Will have to check the sunny coast's PDonline unless Gazza beats me to it to see if they've applied for anything - it would be a shame to lose the 'old world' look and architecture of the building but it is severely underutilised as it is. Whatever it is - good to see AW moving forward with not 1, but THREE new attractions at the same time. . . leaps and bounds for sure...

yep - the addition of the 've' is just to indicate that it is positive or negative, and not a mathematical instruction. Re: the western show, i've only seen it the once, but I found it filled with double entendres and innuendo, but nothing crude at a level children would understand - the point is - if everything is PC and PG, so it's suitable for all ages, most age groups won't enjoy the show - eg: the Looney Tunes shows like What's Up Rock or the Christmas special shows they've done in the past. Take a look at some of the more popular animations in recent times - Shrek and Kung Fu Panda - both of which are considered children's movies, but they contain many subtle (and not so subtle) jokes by Mike Myers and Jack Black - the point is that the humor keeps the adults amused, while the high-pitched voices of the animated animals keeps the kids occupied... Of course if they've changed the script since I saw it, and the innuendo is less subtle, perhaps it needs a review. Re: Sea World Resort - i've always seen it just as the old version of the Disneyland Hotel marketed as a 5 star, but treated like a 3 star, SWR is a natural place for families to stay while visiting the parks, but unfortunately, the park still charges like a 5 star. I was married at SWR, and feel like we got really good value for what we paid, but it isn't always the way. The best way to stay at SWR is on a special offer or lastminute.com style booking (or have someone else pay for it). I do however think they designed the presidential suites very well - but the rest of the resort needs a lift to the 'next level'.

"fish tank explodes".... Could the media get any more sensationalist?

Nope - you're definitely mistaken - AA was open early for gold holders immediately after its re-launch (they still had maintenance crew there to release the restraints when they didn't work). I'm pretty sure they cut the early entry off not long after that though.

Wait - this was from the Dippin Dots guy? Why didn't you say so! Now we know it's true!!!