DaptoFunlandGuy

thats the thing though - WnW GC allow you to take in non-commercial food... whereas all the other parks do not.

it's been said many times that the food isn't necessarily 'good value' but they still make a decent edible burger... it's just not worth $20. If the OP's burger was as bad as he suggested (and if he was as concerned with it making him sick as he suggested) then i'm gobsmacked why he wouldn't have taken it back to the counter, or otherwise complained to guest relations... not even to register a complaint to come back on the next day if he was ill... yet somehow thinks his lawyer is going to fare well against the big corporation. I'm not surprised to hear about your experience Flea - its the kind of experience I expect to hear about at our parks in 90% of cases. There ARE let downs - i've mentioned a few myself in my time, but usually I will take the time to pass feedback to guest relations if i feel it's warranted... and I always make my case with a very objective viewpoint... ie: I don't make the fact that the employee is impeccably presented, looks after his body (and by account, apparently has large muscles and facial acne) an issue that implies that the worker is somehow less capable as a person... I'm not sure whether forum admin or community leaders can restore the original post, but since it was exaggerated at the least, or bullshit at the extreme, it's probably not worth it...

There are enough people here on these boards that know me to confirm that I am in no way an employee or affiliate of VRTP, their parks, offices or other tourism attractions. I know several people who are, however they do not supply me with information that isn't already in the public domain, and any and all of my words are my own. I am an avid park fan, a former employee of Wonderland Sydney (which does give me an insight into the operations of the park from a back-of-house perspective). Where have I contradicted myself? And I provide the justification I do to give the person reading my response an idea of why i'm making the statements I do. 'too much' justification doesn't imply I don't know what i'm talking about. I'm writing based on my previous knowledge, and a couple of well educated guesses. You don't want to create a fuss over anything, but they'll hear from your lawyer if you got sick today. Newsflash - if you'd worked in hospitality management and food and beverage, you'd know that food borne illness can take a week (sometimes more) to show any symptoms. You're just the same as those whingers on the facebook page of large corporations like woolworths and coles, where you want to whinge and whine about how poor the service quality was, but yet you won't actually do anything to address the situation, like take the food back to the counter, or speak to the customer service (guest relations) desk. So don't crap on about how you don't want to make a fuss after the diatribe you just posted under the extraordinarily dramatic title of 'surprisingly, today i'm alive'. "Attention seeker" "drama queen" ...and others i won't say as they stray from facts and become insulting. and of course the original post has been deleted... how convenient. is it just me, or does the writing style seem to match up to XRichardCollins81?

i take the accuracy of your statement - and agree with it - but to me, 'breakdown' doesn't seem to have the same negative connotations as 'safety systems engaging'.. breakdown is like "my car won't start" safety systems engaging is like "there was a potential safety hazard that could have caused serious injury - lucky the safety systems engaged or someone would have died!"

thats quite a shame. It really would have added something to the harbour.

So this is written in the voice of a customer talking to a proprietor - but you've posted it here - to enthusiasts.... did you also post this on their facebook wall? So let me get this straight - you observed the antics in the food outlet, you paid a fortune for the meal, you found it substandard in almost every way included edibility and a risk of food borne illness... ...and you continued to eat it. Thats just stupid. Apart from the fact that cooked beef and bacon is unlikely to harbour much in the way of food borne nasties (it can, but its not the common offender), if there was soemthing so wrong with it - take it back. If they can't replace it because they've shut down (what were you doing eating lunch at 3pm???) then they should refund it... but we'll never know if they did or not because you never tried. Regarding the Calypso Fabio - you've cast a negative opinion on him because he looks after himself well... you have no other information about him, so i'll take your assessment of his ability with a tablespoon of salt. Sure, maintenance was a little out, but it's hardly something to complain about when the park is operating an attraction when the website says they won't be - thats 'bonus' right there. As for Tornado - things happen... maintenance lasts longer or doesn't go to plan. Go back and find all the 'maintenance' discussion threads on these boards over the last 10 years and you'll see that sometimes it runs longer than they anticipate. They can't open a ride that isn't ready to be open just because they said they were going to (and the spanner jockeys aren't the web monkeys, so sometimes the website is gunna be wrong too) You went on a wednesday (midweek) in the final week before school holidays. WHilst guaranteed to be a quiet day for you, you can also bet that the park is going to be bracing itself for the onslaught of a busy holiday season, so generally you can expect: weekday staffing to be cut a little to bulk up for the first weekend of the holidays maintenance furiously running around to get everything right While I don't condone the park operating on skeleton crews, serving poor food, or maintenance blowouts, its sometimes the best business decision to make and so for that reason - you have to expect it may happen sometimes. If you want good food - eat during peak times when it's cooked fresh. if you want all attractions open - go in peak times when everyone else does. Whilst i have no idea who the person was you saw at calypso bay (and don't know anyone who works at WnW at all), the descriptors you use, and the assumptions you make (steroid induced) only point me to the fact that i need to treat everything you say as absolute bullshit.

The time taken to get people off the ride is hardly the park's fault. Sure - where there are escape stairs etc (like say - a coaster) its understandable that the ride could be evacuated by the ride operators in short order. However where each ride carriage is suspended over a void, and requires EWP access like a scissor, boom, basket, cherry picker or telescoping ladder, then the park is at the mercy of rescue personnel operating that machinery - and have their own protocols to ensure each action they take is done safely. As a member of the state emergency service, the protocols just to put a ladder against a house is quite onerous. Nobody was in imminent danger, everyone was safe, and secured appropriately - so doing a rescue safely, yet slowly is hardly something to cry about. And a free ticket valid in the next 12 months as well as various free products is quite generous. Greedy buggers just want to try and rip the park for all they can...

Question Answered! Will the new forum version come with an upgrade to Richard's avatar? I remember long ago a pic of a curly haired dude, which later became this golden waterfall type deal... sidenote - Richard what is your current avatar?

I'm curious, are you manually linking to the WNW page and the WhiteWaterWorld pages, or is this new functionality doing that automatically? Edit: ok, so it's manual. Damn - I thought that'd be a great feature!

it does seem a bit much, doesn't it?

because a re-design isn't all about keeping the same stuff you've got already... especially if its an unpopular unused unnecessary feature.

The original concept for the subs in Tomorrowland was the idea that one day, the general public would take a sub-marine tour through liquid space, the same way it also had adventure through inner space previously. The idea, although rethemed to Finding Nemo, still follows that idea that we may all board a sub, the way we'd board a bus or a train. Bear in mind that the Tomorrowland of today is meant to be a 'retro' look at the world of tomorrow... Walt's original concept was that tomorrowland would constantly change and update to always represent the future, however cost and engineering restrictions resulted in the change to 'retro-tomorrow'. Nemo subs are an example where the theme has been watered down... that i'll grant you - but the link is still suited to the area. As for New Orleans, i'm not sure how you can suggest POTC isn't suited? it was a common smuggler's port in the day of Caribbean Pirates, as it was one of the closest U.S. ports to the Caribbean Sea and therefore constantly host to them.... take a look: https://goo.gl/maps/YJi4i

Gazza - you completely missed MDMC... how does that fit? What does Giant Drop fit into, being next to Rocky Hollow Gold Rush 'old' area? How does ToT's Skull fit in? What land does it even sit in now - Wiggles World, KFPandaland or Tiger Island? (those are the three lands around it). The park has themed areas only because they once were... not because they still are.

On the 'new posts' I find the 'View New Content' is pretty much the only thing I use to navigate the forums... then I open each thread in a new tab. Depending on how often I visit, a static 'recent posts' widget is potentially showing me threads or posts i've already read. The view new content is better, because it will only show me stuff since the last time I checked in.

Ok so here's the thing - they tried that with Keiko (Free Willy) several years ago. It doesn't work. Orca are migratory - they move to different areas of the ocean as the climate warms and cools. Keiko's Sea-Pen was considered 'large enough' for natural living. Keiko died from complications resulting from pneumonia... which typically results from the cold. These orca have been captive in climate controlled tanks, with the best veterinary care and food. They are no longer able to regulate temperature in an ocean where temperature fluctuates. They can't hunt for their food, and you would be removing them from their veterinary care at a time when their bodies would be at greatest risk. Sea World (and other parks) have admitted how wrong it was to capture these healthy animals and hold them in pens, but they are also smart enough to realise that it is too late to put them back. All they can do now is keep them in the best environment possible, and utilise them to teach others about mankind's previous mistakes. As a social pod animal, they would die without that social interaction, so the breeding program is also necessary.for their continued health, and those bred in captivity know nothing else. Just because a crackpot that has never worked with Orca prior to filming thinks we should release them all into the wild, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

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.