DaptoFunlandGuy

I think I said in my original TPR that Rock N Roll Rebel was a highlight. I think I praised it enough before, so all i'll say is 'nuff said.

The best coaster I have ever ridden, despite all of the new technological marvels and new rides out there, Space Mountain CA Disneyland, with it's original Carnival De Animeaux theme music. For me thats perfection, and I don't think i'll ever see it surpassed. A score derived from a commercial track, and mixed nicely with some "for the ride" guitar just made it perfect.

Its odd, though, Movie World especially, but most theme parks, won't generally discuss the inner workings of their attractions, especially if theres a possibility of a fault, and especially since anybody answering the phone at movie world isn't going to have much of an idea when it comes to the technical operation of a flume ride, seems to me that that statement is either complete crap, or an uneducated guess made by a junior guest relations member who doesn't have a clue. Besides this, it would appear to me that a sensor on the bottom of the track, that can be triggered by weight, and the weight of a lot of water running down the chute is enough to trigger it off prematurely sounds very unreliable, and not the kind of thing you expect out of a very expensive attraction. Unpredictability is certainly one thing the designers would have preferred not to include. Who cares how long it takes for the gondola to go up the lift hill? The Turntable at the top is going to wait for the boat to arrive and stage before it revolves - or else you have a safety issue - so the lift hill "delay" is out. The turntable is then going to spin around, at which point a sensor, either by timing with the turntable or otherwise is going to trigger the doors. Now it IS possible that there is a pressure sensor on the turntable - but considering water doesnt make it that far up, theres no possibility that that could be triggered by anything other than a gondola. I can't see the designers of multi million dollar attractions using something like an underwater pressure\weight sensor, that has so many variables, to set off the attraction's finale effect, when the rest of the attraction utilises an infra-red beam sensor to detect the gondolas. It's just not going to happen. Free-motion gondolas (those not "connected" to a track) just can't use PLC's. The effects on Looney Toons River Ride are also triggered by infra-red beams (watch the walls and look just above the water line just before every effect is triggered) The fountains on Snowy were the same - Infrared sensors placed above the water line, whose beam is broken by the side of the gondola triggers the fountains. Winter setting meant they triggered earlier\later to avoid soaking you, Summer meant the timing was spot on to get as much water in the boat as possible. Free Motion Gondolas are not going to be monitored (because remember, not only are these things used to start and stop effects - they also maintain the safety of the ride by keeping safe gaps) by things as unreliable as a pressure sensor that only needs a little extra water to wash over it to fail. More likely, someone is talking out his ass. Next you will be telling me that scooby doo's coaster cars have fire sensors in their eyes, and have their own motors to reverse back down the track in case of emergency. ***Edit*** Oh and another thing I want to add - some people are talking about water being heated. Now the feasibility of this needs to be looked at - Wet N Wild heat most of their attractions in the cooler months as thousands of people a day go swimming in their pools and on their slides. Dreamworld have a rapids and a lake for rocky hollow, Movie World have WWF, and these are apparently heated? we're talking hundreds of thousands of litres of water that nobody will ever SWIM in if they're lucky, all open and uncovered and exposed to the elements. Runoff from rain is going to damage that and for what - so you don't catch a cold? If the weather is that bad you shouldn't be on those sorts of rides anyway - and if you throw a bucket of hot water over someone, 5 minutes later they will still be shivering cold - the heat would only be temporary, and 4 degrees on a body of water that size? it would cost a fortune to keep it heated round the clock, and thats even WITH solar (last time I checked - there aint no solar heating hoses on the roof of the queue lines.) Neither park is going to be bothered heating water when so much heat will be lost through exposure to the elements, especially considering it is unlikely, and not intended that anyone would ever enter that water, and if you DO get wet while on the ride, you'd be just as cold when you got off the ride no matter what the temperature was. Once again - someone is talking out their ass.

You never cease to amaze me Gazza. I am always curious to see what Idea you come up with next. Sure its based similarly on other established rides, but you've gone to lengths to ensure it is "unique". You've also done the marketing departments work too by working out the ads for it. I swear if a themepark doesnt pick you up, they're idiots.

To a point I have to agree that spending more money on a show can increase its viability. It's not the be all and end all - but a higher expenditure can be used on - Better Talent - actors Better writers (outsourced even as was mentioned earlier) Better Sets Better Effects To explain a little more - consider Wild West Falls - yes it is a ride, but much of it can be likened to a show. Pre-Fire, the final lift hill was abounding in special effects which really made the finale of the ride. The lack of effects in the final lift hill now dampens the ride. If you've never ridden it before, you wouldn't know, nor care about the difference, and still feel it was a good ride, mainly because the thrills and splashes are still there - But thrills and splashes can also be achieved by jumping off a rock ledge into a river - it just comes down to the quality of the effect and that can only be achieved by throwing money at it. The show is the same. There have been many shows i've seen at theme parks with varying quality and expenditure. Quest for the golden seal had a great set with a poor story line. (better sets) Action Man at wonderland was written for younger kids so it was a little more corny, but there was one felix in the group who really made the show (better talent) Milennium Magic \ Spellbinding Sorcery at Wonderland was mostly "stunt" based (for want of a better word) and did not have much of a script other than what Tony wrote himself - but the money spent on designing the special effects made the show (better effects) Casting my mind way back to the show Sea World had before Golden Seal - I think it was friends of the sea or something - this was written very well - like dolphin cove also - yes I know that the majority of what is written is based around what the animals can achieve but the writing was good - not corny like golden seal. There was one show I watched at Disneyland that aced it, but I can't for the life of me remember which one it was - and this all comes down to the quality of the writers (better writers) So you can throw money at a show and make it better - but you have to throw it very carefully, and with a good, experienced, practised aim. Miss the mark and you might as well throw the money straight down the toilet - Just pray it isn't written by the guy that used to head up the entertainment division at wonderland - his name was Michael I think but I can't be bothered trying to remember his last name - he was responsible for the corny scripting of golden seal, among other in-house shows at wonderland. The only good thing I saw him do at Wonderland was the Celebration street show.

Now it was a while ago now, so correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Disney do pretty much that exact thing with the Submarine Voyage prior to it's reopening as finding nemo? I'm looking to the other Disneyphiles, and frequent mousers on the boards for this one...

Of course, there can be procedures in place for any eventuality. I was myself responsible for saving part of the bush beast one time. I'm pretty sure i've spoken about this before, but in case I haven't, here it is: It was a quiet weekday at Wonderland, the usual tour buses, a few school groups, and I was teaching a new guy the ropes on some of our games in goldrush. (As it happened, it was the games stalls at the bottom end of goldrush, outside Bush Beast, which was closed for annual maintenance) A group of school kids were gathered in between the entrance to bush beast and the toilet block, pointing at bush beast and laughing, shouting out "bush beast is on fire, bush beast is on fire." Now, as far as my emergency training at the park went, the most we ever received was "call 333" which was the emergency number for the park. I dumped my money belt under the counter, told my newbie to watch the belt and call 333, and tell them there was a fire on bush beast, and ran past the school kids, over the fence and to the fire hose (for those that remember, they had a hessian cover over the top of them). I ran out the hose, turned it on, and started spraying the track that was affected. The pressure wasn't enough to reach the track, and I climbed the structure to the first cross-member, where the hose reached the track. I stood in that spot for more than 20 minutes, until the fire response truck arrived, and one of our firemen (read: security staff) climbed onto the roof of the land cruiser and onto the track, ran up the catwalk and lathered the track (and me, standing below) in layers of fire retardant foam. Now of course, this is an example of a POORLY planned fire-prevention plan. Wonderland's location meant there was a good chance of fire in the area... reading this thread made me think about this again and realise that they were lucky they had a senior with some common sense instead of a junior without a clue. The only reason I knew of the fire hose was spending years at the park as a teenager watching the bush beast cycle from that same spot.... It's good to hear that DW does have a somewhat better plan....

Or maybe, being off-peak, and entering the colder season, the timing of the jets has been changed to ensure you DON'T get soaked. Snowy's had a similar system, so that the jet's did not soak riders in the winter.

That's quite alright bikeman. It isn't ignorance in the slightest. I've worked in numerous industries where such processes exist, involving numerous discussions and market research. This was not what I was trying to say. The article itself trumpets one 55 year old man as being the vision behind the plan. I understand what goes on in the quest for the best ride. On the Disney note, yes, disney don't do "thrill", and I'm not talking thrills here much either, but quality of ride. In terms of a Disney Imagineer, a lot of the "old boys club" were part of Walt's original vision team, and some still work on it to this day. The fact is that an Imagineer is more around an immersive concept, than an off the shelf product. You send a 55 year old man to the supermarket to buy groceries for a family of 5, and chances are not everything he brings home is going to be to their liking. There have been many instances where the parks have put out questionnaires, surveys and the like to find out what the public wants, when they have narrowed their choices down. I thought that the Hippo option for seaworld was ridiculous, but I have since seen a hippo habitat elsewhere, and I know that SeaWorld has the responsibility and the vision to deliver on this exhibit with the right amount of finesse. The fact is that despite the article trumpeting one man, there are many behind the scenes of Macquarie Leisure that are responsible for bad decisions. The continued removal of rides, without suitable additions or replacements. The installation of rides that by all accounts were poor choices, biased choices, or just plain didn't live up to expectation. The spin that is put on their marketing to trumpet stuff that at best belongs in a sideshow, rather than as a flagship attraction is the problem here. I was not saying that it was a purely personal preference of one man, but this is the man that they fly around the world scouting out possible new attractions, so surely his input is valued and considered, and therefore his influence is a contributing factor. Cyclone was a good choice that was installed badly. The design of the queue system, and the layout of the ride did not allow for a flat open spread of land. If dreamworld did away with the crowd control system at the top of the queue, or better yet, put on enough staff to operate it efficiently, it would be a better ride. Wipeout has seen better days. It was a great installation and I remember when it first featured on Cartoon Connection in its hey day. But it is, afterall, only a flat ride. A good flat ride, but still a flat, and one that has also been very poorly maintained over the years. I have a feeling we will see wipeout go the way of Eureka in the not too distant future. Tower of Terror was also a good install, but for the capacity of the park it is a very low capacity ride, impacted further by the poorly designed and twice relocated queue system. Giant Drop is a good example of an impactive ride. It has reasonable capacity for a drop ride, if only they could keep both sides operating at all times. Maintenance issues have plagued this ride for a long time. MDMC is by all accounts a failure. It has increased attendance and overall the $$$ coming through the park, so it can be called a success financially. Unfortunately it has no staying power, and does not deliver on its promises. If you watch the advertisements of MDMC when it was first aired, the footage shown is actually played back at faster than normal speed. Many criticise theming aspects at dreamworld. Batwing is a perfect example of a park well known for its superb theming who skinted on the theming because it wasn't necessary, and the ride is still a good ride, with good impact. Its presence on the skyline is impressive, and the best thing about it is that you can see it as you approach the park, and not wonder whether it will be operating all gondolas when you walk in the gate. My last trip to Dreamworld was a first for a relative of mine who is absolutely petrified of heights, and we got her on Giant Drop. To remember her first time, we headed straight for the photo booth to buy the picture - except first thing in the morning, the morning sun shone straight into the camera lens and obscured the picture. We couldnt try to get one on the eastern side - because it was closed. I know after writing all of this that I have taken the discussion beyond the selection of rides and down the track of maintenance and ongoing repair work as well, but while this borders on discussions that have been had about dreamworld numerous times before, it continues to highlight dreamworld as a park that trumpets their failures and tries to spin them into a success. The figures reported from dreamworld since MDMC opened would suggest that it is a success. The question yet to be answered is whether it will stay it out in the long term. Heavy advertising, that can be at best called false advertising drew people from their homes to ride the newest thrill ride. Of course attendance will be up, expecially considering a lot of locals who aren't fanatics only visit the parks when there is something new. Attendance will always spike where a new addition is made. Whether or not they keep coming back for more is up to dreamworld. Bob Tan has been pushed out into the spotlight as the man with the vision. I for one am wondering if he needs to get new contact lenses. Macquarie Leisure are responsbile for the capex. I know they can't afford to add new thrills every year, but by god they have the money to take on WVTP, and they continuously fall behind.

Film makers have been shooting in poor weather for a long time. I hardly think all of this would go on to protect a camera, when a portable gazebo\umbrella... even a plastic bag would do. As a matter of fact, a lot of higher end filming equipment generally has its own little "baggie" to protect it from the elements.

I still have a photo album in the drawers somewhere from my first trip to MW. It was 1994, I was 12, and I was picked out of the audience as the child cop that goes out onto the tarmac. I was sat right next to Rodney (the "plant") and when Harris slams his baton on the rail, this guy did actually hit his head on the rail for real before he fell backwards. This guy was less conspicuous than he is these days (eg: not the same blue hawaiian shirt that he always wears now) I have a photo of me walking across the tarmac to the spot I had to stand on, and can still remember looking down at the two yellow painted footprints on the tarmac where I had to stand. It was a great show. I don't know about any copyright implications, But i'd love to see if anyone films the show before it closes... or better yet if MW start doing a purchaseable DVD like Universal Studios do in Hollywood, that too would be great to see.

A good spot gazza. Let me first start out by saying more power to the guy. At 55 years old, riding some of the worlds craziest rides to see what to bring to the market here is awesome. But..... While I understand that a person with a degree in engineering is a necessity for a park when considering new rides etc, its dismaying to note that the decision is still made by a 55 year old engineer, rather than by the target demographic. His favourite ride is the big red car... no wonder we ended up with the Mediocre Designed Mild Coaster. Ok - given he did choose Claw\Drop\Tower etc... and naturally he would have guidance from the directors of macquarie leisure on where they are going to go... but a 55 year old man is in charge of what rides a theme park buys for its guests, a predominantly 7-40 year old rider demographic. I can't wait to see the discussions we have here...

I'm surprised, even with the few replies so far that with the number of Wonderland supporters out there that Canada's Wonderland \ some of the paramount \ ex paramount designs haven't made it. Thats definitely on my list. I've done most of the major LA parks but 100% would do them all over again. (universal, Disneyland, magic mountain, knotts, sea world san diego) Cedar Point is up there also, and well worth the detour to Ohio. Alton Towers and Blackpool, Disneyland Paris (ever since I saw a behind the scenes "making of" Space Mountain Theres more on my list, but none of them as much as those above.

don't go. Seriously, four key words - summer, sunday, hate, crowds. Those four don't go together in a gold coast theme park. Pure and Simple.

Well perhaps if you added a Droid II bodykit, Whaletail, Pigeon Blower, 22 Inch Chromes, Double Din Pioneer with X-Plod subs and 6x9's, purple Neons under the body, and a pair of fluffy dice, you might get it.

It does sound like radio though... and thats the entire plan. Kmart have Kmart Radio. Fone Zone have fone zone fm. franklins have franklins radio. Its to try and sound cool. In reality its just a way to advertise their products and services while sounding like a broadcast.

Geez Rich, be careful mate... it's been so long since you whipped that out I just got a cloud of dust in my face...

no wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

From Page 16 Some interesting points there... QLD Government is behind seaworld, and while they haven't guaranteed the 5000 square (they say UP TO 5000 square), it looks as though Sea World have gone far enough with this plan to ensure the government allows for it in their own plans. It is also good because it answers some further questions we've all been asking for a while in terms of "where can Sea World expand?" lastly, the further development of the spit, while restrictive in terms of what Sea World could do in the future, It sure will bring more attractions towards the park, while still protecting Sea World's interests.

So what you're saying is that you currently have a huge issue with dreamworld? Because dreamworld want to be "moden" and have rides that are poorly chosen, poorly maintained, and have ridiculous capacity.

And yet, making such worthwhile contributions...

We really need poll options that allow multiple voting on one of these polls... So I can vote don't know AND don't care

Exactly, see, we have a few international members, and some of them come from non-english speaking backgrounds - their English is poor, but nowhere near this bad. All of them recognise a problem with their english, and naturally being from a non-english speaking background means thats to be expected, but all of them have said "sorry my english is not that good" or something to that effect. Whether or not he is being lazy, or if he truly has issues with english spelling and grammar, he is old enough where he should know better. It disgusts me that the education system in this country can allow children to progress through their grades without being able to spell. I can tell you right now that if we did not graduate children out of primary\state school (year 6 or equivalent) until they could pass a reasonably thorough spelling test, the kids who weren't able to spell because they didn't care, would pick it up pretty damn fast - and their parents would make sure of it, being that the child would be stuck in school indefinitely until he passed it. Now I understand those with Dyslexia could also be affected by this, but as so often happens these days, kids with dyslexia are treated as intellectual retards and placed into special classes, so hopefully this process would also aid to diagnose those with dyslexia and get them the assistance they require. This "Jake" is obviously in his teens, so there is no excuse that he is too immature, so its either his education system, or he is lazy. Either way it should have been picked up by his school, because I guarantee he would have learnt quick smart if all his friends got to move up a year and he had to stay back because of his spelling. And oh, what a surprise - he's in a "Gange" - the "Cazza Dee Boys". Reminds me of the "Bra Boys" in sutherland... and look what happened there a year ago... oh what fun it could be for Victoria to experience also....? To those who are "Defending" him... it does not take much to use spell checker. This isn't SMS or instant chat, a person has the time to type out their response, spell check it, and then paste it into the webpage without haste, so there is no excuse for laziness. I can understand what he writes, but barely. Its like having a conversation with a 4 year old... except its on a screen instead of verbal. The nearest 4 year old I know - my nephew - can spell better than that.

really makes you wonder about the education system in victoria doesn't it?

The trick with these is you need to find toboggans that have the brakes set for speed. Anything that has new brake pads... put it back. You want brake pads that have no square edges on them at all - all nicely rounded - This means that on the fast track your brake panels won't contact the track on track joins \ turns etc. Regardless of the brake pads however, if you are pushing the stick forward (not letting it rest in the middle where the pads do rub slightly) you will accelerate all the way down the mountain because it is DOWNHILL It does not seem like you are going fast on the straights, because the straights have less joins, and less welds, so the click-clack sound you hear is not as frequent. It is possible to tip your toboggans, but it comes down to weight management. Lean with the corners, but don't over lean, and you will never have a problem. When we were there at the pleasure of Jamberoo, which included walk-ons to everything with our special press passes, I took the time to experiment with the toboggans. In the end I would load my own toboggan and keep using the same one, once I found one with some good worn pads, loose wheels and a nice even keel. Being that we were shooting photos at the same time, this was a must, as I kept the brake lever pushed forward by crossing one leg over the top of it - No brakes all the way down.... nice.