DaptoFunlandGuy

the more complex the ride is, the longer it takes to do an annual overhaul on it. In superman's case, the track itself wouldn't be the issue, moreso the launches, the themed areas, and the two trains themselves. It's not a concern that it is down for this long. Most coasters would have a weeks time out. Two trained coasters normally take less time than one, because they can have the first train ontrack before the finish the second one.

Superman has previously posted photos of scooby's track stumpy... do a search on his user name and review his previous posts.

I can't help as far as discounted passes unfortunately, and take my advice - don't buy them off ebay and the like as it generally defeats the purpose and in some cases are expired or not for out-of-state visitors. EDIT: I took so long typing up responses on other threads, the ebay link above wasn't there when I posted this. I have visited that link and it only confirms a few of the things I was saying about ebay. On the first ten links I clicked on, most of them were postcode restricted (qld and northern NSW only), but also pay attention to the vouchers that clearly say "can not be sold". Sure, so they can't stop you from selling them - but this guy has paid nothing for them, and probably got a handful of them from a brochure stand, and is now profiting from it, and sure you get a discount, but if you bid $20 plus postage, you're defeating the purpose of the discount! If you are a member of your local auto club (I think its RACV in Vic - like RACQ in QLD or NRMA in NSW) they offer discounted ticket prices to their members, also if you have private health insurance, a lot of providers also offer discounted tickets as well. Remember that December and January are peak season for all of our theme parks. The likelihood of there being discounted tickets during that period that aren't offered all year round is slim, as the parks generally have special discount offers when they want to attract people to the park. School holidays does that for them, so they don't usually have that offer during that period. Take advantage of the new Warner 3 park passes. The new passes really cater to just about any sort of holiday, and allow revisits etc etc, plus they are already discounted for combining the three. Not sure if you can get these through RACV or private health, or if there is any further discount offered on them, but check them out, they may be the way to go - www.myfun.com.au As far as Dreamworld goes, it comes down to if you're visiting Whitewaterworld as well, or if you're up to a second day at dreamworld, which, considering the queue times, and the time of year, you might have to do just to ride everything you want to, find the best value 1 day ticket you can find - through RACV, private health, or through another similar organisation (I know target was giving away vouchers for 4 people - i think it was either $20 off adult or 20% off adult earlier in the year), then upgrade your ticket to a two day ticket for about another $15. This means you would get two days at dreamworld for about $40 per day, and you would have multiple days at warner village with the 3 park passes (and variations). I've just looked back and checked your dates and realised you're only on the coast for 5 days. I think that is a little ambitious to achieve 4 parks back to back if you're not regular park goers, in summer season. I would suggest a reconsideration of your timing, extend the dates if you can, or perhaps do one or two of the parks next time around. I know there are others out there that will disagree with me, but I could not do all 4 parks back to back without a rest day during summer season. Off season, spring, autumn, winter, no problems, but the heat of the day, the lack of air conditioning, the close proximity to 200 other people who can't wait to get on a 30 second ride is stifling, and makes for a great combination of heat stroke and sunburn which you will want a day or two to recover.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA..... Oh Puffy you don't know what kind of war you've just declared.... Welcome to the forums first of all, and to explain my above comment a little bit, there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to the two waterparks. There are different views from different people for different reasons. This discussion has been had out before on this thread (click to view), so I guess your first stop should be there. You will quickly see which forums members are sitting on the Wet n Wild side of the fence, and which are on White Water World. To add my two cents, having never visited White Water World, but having visited Wet n Wild only about 3 years ago, WWW has all the new groundbreaking technology, WnW has the quantity of rides, and the space to spread people out across a diverse range of attractions for the whole family. If you haven't been to EITHER of them, flip a coin... chances are you will enjoy whichever one you go to, as you don't know what the other is like to compare it against anyway, and they are both fun places, set up by two juggernaughts of the amusement and tourism industries here in australia. To get a more in depth comparison of the two parks, it could be helpful if you could tell us a bit more about the group that you are going with. Are they all adults and teens? do you have younger kids, infants or toddlers? Does Mum prefer to relax in the sun or is she a thrill junkie too? Give us a run down of the agegroups you have with you, and their preferences thrill \ relax \ enjoy, and we might be able to make the decision easier (for example if mum likes to relax in the sun, or has an infant not yet swimming, Wet N Wild might suit better because of the lazy river, and the other kids entertainment areas)

Hi There Drummer, and welcome to the forums. All of our Gold Coast theme parks have an extensive procedure for guests with impairments or diabilities. I'm sorry to hear you had such a poor time at Sea World, and Movie World, however, Warner Village Theme parks do go out of their way a lot to ensure you have a great time too. If you are mobile on Crutches, and just use the chair for ease of mobility, there are few rides you shouldn't be able to board. Warner Village has a brochure available somewhere on their website, but also available from the front gate advising you of the rides that are accessible to wheelchairs, I recall there was a thread on this site a few months back that discussed the exact same topic. While i'm not so sure about Sea World, as far as the stairs go, I do know that Movie World is quite set up for wheelchair bound guests. I think your downfall there was that you tried the road runner coaster first. While it is a more tame coaster, it is also a coaster moreso intended for kids. The cars are designed a little smaller than most, (we don't want those kiddies falling out now) and it can make life a little difficult if you don't have full control over your legs, because it needs a little fidgeting to get the position right. Scooby Doo would possibly have been a better choice, as it does have a little more access in the front seat. You don't say much about your carer - are they able to assist you in the event of an evacuation? would you require the crutches still? The best suggestion I can make to yourself, or anybody in a similar situation is to contact the parks before arrival in the first instance - their guest relations phone numbers are listed on their respective websites - www.dreamworld.com.au and www.myfun.com.au, and discuss your concerns with them there. Your second port of call if you have not or are unable to call prior, is to speak to the people at the ticket booths. In some cases, the ticket booths will be able to provide you with special park maps specific to your circumstances, or an extra flyer with information that is relevant. Your last port of call is once inside the park, at the guest relations office - from memory, sea world is to the left of the entrance plaza, movie world is halfway down mainstreet, opposite the Roxy theatre, and Dreamworld is inside the bakery - to the right of the entrance gates. If you have been unable to have your questions answered by phone, or at the booth, or with the accessibility guides provided at the gate, speak directly to the guest relations office. If you are still not satisfied with the information they are able to provide to you, or you are not satisfied that their efforts to assist you are worth the entry price, ask them for a refund and leave the park. If a park is not willing to assist those with an impairment or disability (and believe me they really REALLY should be) then they're not worth your money, and if a lot of people do that it might change their standpoint. In the end it is what you are comfortable with. If you have consulted guest relations over the phone and\or in the park, and you have the parks accessibility guide telling you what is and isn't possible, then you're pretty well set. If the guide tells you you can, and the operator tells you you can't, consult guest relations - but all in all, most operators should allow you to board provided it does not adversely affect the operation of the ride (for example, if it takes you 5 minutes to board\unload scooby doo, this would cause a cascade e-stop which would shut down the ride.) As far as your question on what rides I feel are suited to you, there aren't many I could rule out. You seem to have reasonable use of your legs, just that you require stability or support that crutches provide. Tight leg spaces in rides would be a problem, so Road runner is definitely one that is ruled out, but I can see no problem - provided you have good upper body strength, which using crutches and a wheelchair you most definitely would - in you being able to ride any of the other rides at Movie World - Batwing, batman adventure, superman escape, lethal weapon, scooby doo, wild west falls, even looney tunes river ride. Dreamworld - no problems that i can see with Giant Drop, you say you rode thunder river, but you go on to call the cabin a log? was this the river rapids in the big black tube, or was it rocky hollow in the faux log? From memory the Rocky Hollow ride uses stairs to get over the flume to the loading dock. Tower of Terror might have been a little problem as it does have stairs in the queue line, but at worst case scenario, they could bring you up the exit ramp. Some of the flat rides at dreamworld might be a little issue, but the Wipeout is definitely one that you're probably gunna have to miss. Claw should be ok though. Sea World on the other hand is a good point. I've never really thought about it until now, but now that I do, you raise a very interesting talking point - Bermuda, Flume, Corkscrew and Pirate ship, which is probably all of the non transport \ view rides in the park all have stairs on them. Understanding that the spit is a very small space and sea world have had to fit things in tight spaces, but where is the accessibility here? Especially with Corkscrew - where there IS space to fit a ramp all the way to ground level. In closing, most parks do have a fairly well laid out Disability policy. There are some rides that, purely for the operation of the ride, they cannot cater to you, But all 4 major parks should be very open and upfront about what you can and cannot ride. It should explain what you need to be able to do to ride, what assistance you might require, and what extra efforts the park staff can do if needed (for example, rides without multiple gondolas or trains can be stopped to allow you extra time to load).

The Water Wave was turned off, from what I had heard, because the moulding of the wave was leaking, and the water was seeping into the structure. I do believe it was shut off for safety, than anything else. Last time I was on Wipeout - which was in July, the water jets were still plainly visible.

Taken from a Private Message: I wouldn't want to edit it. I meant it. I don't hate your guts. I am just getting the s***s that when you share an opinion, you don't state it as an opinion, you state it as pure fact. "In my opinion, woodies suck. Because they are old and rough, and they look messy" "woodies suck" Big difference. Look, if you start speaking properly, I have no issue. What I mean when I say speaking properly is that if you had of justified your comments in regards to sea world, or woodies, you would not receive the same kind of response from people as you did in saying what you said. Sure, people might still disagree with what you say, but the response would be less of "stupid, idiot, uneducated", and more of "i understand what you're saying dreamworld_rulz, but i really think that...." Obviously you have serious issues, and quite obviously, this site is not the only place that you experience them, because you react so violently to anyone that calls you on your behaviour and comments, its obvious its out of habit, and something you are well used to. I don't hold anything against you. I won't bear any grudge against you. What gazza said above is exactly the point I was trying to make. It was not what you said, but how you said it. Without justifying what you said, it does appear to be a very uneducated point of view that offers no insight into why you feel that way. And your comments about woodies were in the same line, which is why I pointed it out. We discovered in probing further on your opinions of woodies that your opinion was based on a small handfull of australian coasters which are not up to the current modern standard of wooden coasters around the world. Without knowing why you feel that way about sea world, how do we know what you take issue with at sea world? Is it because you prefer the adrenalin thrills of ToT and GD? Are the shows boring? Do you dislike marine animals? Is the most diverse park on the gold coast offering too much variety to suit every demographic and genre annoying to you because of all the different people who visit the park?

Despite the one-sided comments of the drastically uneducated, Sea World is a great park for virtually anyone. As Richard said, If you have to have non-stop thrills, forget about it. Sea World is great for the family because it does have the thrills, as well as shows, attractions, etc. While it may not have the variety of some of the other theme parks out there thrill wise, the thrills that it does have are virtual walk-ons. I have never been to SW and had to wait more than one cycle to ride corkscrew. I am a thrill Junkie, through and through, but the animal attractions at SW really do fill up the day. If you like the thrills, see if you can book in for one of the animal encounters. A shark snorkel isn't too expensive, takes an hour or two, and there isn't much short of a B&M that beats coming face to face with some of those sharks out there. In closing, my best suggestion is to ignore the narrow-minded :woodies suck: type posts made above.

Here's a tip - don't use flash. If it is too dark, put the camera on a tripod or a flat stable surface, turn the flash off, and set the timer. use the "P" setting on your camera if you have one, and try to stand the subject in a lit area, rather than in shadow. Just like driving in fog - if you turn your high beams on, everything goes white, if you turn your lights off or to parking lights, everything is a lot more visible. (although obviously in most situations, turning off your headlights is a bad idea). A lot of cars have built in foglights too (which most tossers leave on, even when it isn't foggy, and blind the oncoming traffic - its also illegal). The foglights are not designed to cast a broad beam ahead, rather they are mean to aim low, shining light below the level of the fog, so that you can see the road. Just remember to keep the camera still while it captures, or you'll end up with a big blur.

Just remember though, international wise, that the advertised airfares do not include taxes, departure and arrival duties, visas, passport application costs, not to mention the ever fluctuating exchange rate. At least with a trip to the Gold Coast you know what the prices are going to be, and if you have prepaid flights and tickets, you know this won't change. I have not ridden MDMC yet. Depending on time, I may be up there at christmas, but having been to Dreamworld in July, and seeing the reviews on DW and the MDMC since then, I don't know if MDMC is big enough to bring me back so soon. The last time I went to DW pre-july was in the september after the opening of the claw. In that time, I have been to WnW once, SW twice, and WBMW about 5 times, which is pretty good considering I live in Sydney and I only ever spend 1 day at 1 park each time i'm in Brisbane. I'd like to look at the park experience as a whole. Is one coaster going to bring me back to DW only 5 months after I was last there? Considering the problems with the rest of the park at the moment, I don't think so. Rides are closing down or disappearing left right and center. Eureka is gone, Stingray is gone, Other rides are frequently running at low capacity or worse yet, under refurb, without anything firm to keep the numbers up. Wipeout is well overdue for replacement, cyclone's capacity is, was and always has been laughable. GD frequently runs only one side because of either mechanical problems or pure cost cutting. ToT frequently has shutdowns or rollbacks which further reduces the capacity of this low capacity attraction. None of the features of Dreamworld's attractions installed at launch continues - ToT queue has been (poorly) redesigned, the lifts aren't used, there are fewer staff, the speedometer\radar gun isn't working, and it breaks down more frequently GD only uses one side at a time, the cameras they so newly installed don't allow for the sun first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, depending on the side you ride, and all the internal queue theming is gone. The whole atmosphere of the oil rig etc is diluted by this bright yellow coaster nearby. Cyclone's theming is stuffed, and the staffing levels are abominable, cycle time sucks, and the one ride that would actually benefit from 1 person operation (eg: just open the queue all the way to the load gates) and they don't do it. Wipeout needs more staff to make load and unload faster, and it is ridiculous that they dont bring the next group through while the ride is cycling. The claw removed the SRL, and by making all loose articles in one little storage bin, instead of around the ride like they used to means a bottle neck at the front of the queue every single time. Dreamworld has also removed the chairlift, stingray, mine ride (SBNO), and they seem to be doing nothing but to hype their latest stuff, without care for the older attractions that they built their reputation on. I don't think MDMC is dreamworld's biggest mistake. I think it is more likely yet another bad decision in a series of long-term bad decisions that is going to cost them market share. The few who do like the coaster will lose the novelty quick enough, and then they will be back to square one.

You're somewhat missing the point Gazza. You raise a very good point in regards to MP3 players or iTunes, and that is the piracy issue with music and music file sharing programs - why? Because it is the Musicians special artistic skill and talent and they should be paid for each copy of their song that is distributed - which is why the iTunes music store has a digital licensed download. Musicians get paid (or should be) by every person who owns or obtains a copy of their song. This is why the US courts shut down Napster. Why is the skill of a photographer - a good photographer any less important? The ability to record or copy music has been around a long time - cassette tapes were the first mainstream option, but nothing caused music piracy to explode like digital music devices, cd burners and the internet. This is why musicians are combating these options with things like digital downloads - bigpond music and iTunes etc. Photographers have no choice. They cannot identify their work over the top of it because it ruins the image - so they can only place indicators of some sort on the back of the photo, which cannot be seen if scanned. Gazza your comments devalue the work of a photographer to no end. "all the hard work is done in creating the original" ? So by that comment, a musical artist has done all the work creating the original, and charging an exorbitant amount for their album, so the artist is just geting uptight about copyright because using cheap home computers their work can easily be copied in seconds. This contradicts your lower comment about an MP3 player, because you have devalued the copyright on music just as much as you have on any other intellectual work or property. I'll accept what Richard has said in regards to the park photos, and I agree that the exposure the park would get in most cases is more beneficial than any reproduction income would be, but its not the point. On the back of the WBMW ticket it does say photography within the park is only for private home use, or something to that effect - can anyone tell me that this intention does not extend to the photography taken BY the park and purchased by the guest? In regards to your comments about MP3 players and iTunes and VCR's - I own an iPod, I have iTunes installed, I also use Bigpond Music, and I don't have a VCR - I do have Foxtel IQ, which is provided by Foxtel to record programs to watch later, so that is definitely not breaking any copyright or creating any piracy. Despite the fact that I own an Ipod, TV recorder, and iTunes means nothing and your point is moot. Why? The TV is licensed by the service provider, and as a DJ, all of the music I obtain is paid for, and licensed by APRA. Click on the link to read through the detail of the licensing, but needless to say, of anybody with digital music - including YOURSELF, I probably have the most legitimate electronic collection here.

Oh yeah, cause i'm the one whose nick, avatar and signature are all related to a deep fried, sugar coated treat. Churros is the guy you see on SDSC where the operator is forcibly pushing on the lap bar, before releasing it and directing him to the exit door.

In the warmer months, definitely. Get the toboggan out of the way early, then slide your day away.

Gazza, this is where you will fall into problems. I used to be a park photographer, and I am now a photographer for weddings (privately) as well as - sports - www.goodsport.net.au schools - www.goodschool.net.au and new for this year - Santa - www.goodsanta.net.au (site coming soon) We maintain and enforce very strict copyright retention on all of our photos. Our photographers are all professionals, using professional equipment and design. We actively pursue those who violate our rights as copyright owners, and defend our intellectual property. School, Santa, and Wedding shots all usually have a copyright agreement drawn up with the client, and usually, if you want the rights for display, commercial use, or reproduction, you pay extra. Pre-digital, your wedding photographer would not give you the negatives unless you paid an additional fee. In the day of digital, it is somewhat harder, which is why unless you pay extra for the CD, you only see the digitals with an intrusive watermark. Some "less professional" photographers out there now who buy a cheap consumer digital SLR, who undercut professionals usually throw in the cd for free since its not much effort to do and it means they get the job over a professional... But typically this backfires on them as the wedding party is not as impressed and wow'ed as they would have been with the pro. Ruining their special day is the last thing they want and they tell everyone to go pro. Anyway to come back to your original point - that on-ride photos are no different to wedding, school or santa photos - you are right - they aren't any different, and they do maintain copyright. For evidence of this - check any professionally produced photo, by a professional - wedding, school, santa... anything not "instant printed" - and the photo paper will contain a watermark on the reverse that clearly says "do not copy"

I disagree with this statement. many car dealers now do not wash the cars to keep them looking nice - only when they are sold. They display signage prominently around the yard which explains their reasons for not keeping the cars clean. Obviously they are cleaned when they first come on the lot, and touched up if there are bad marks like bird bombs etc, but general dirt and dust - not at all. I recall America went through a drought a while ago, and the most pristine of hotels were using alternate technology to maintain image - like spraying the grass a biodegradable green paint. There are also alternatives to using mains water to keep the grass and trees green. Pumping from bores, rivers or self-sustaining dams. I also feel that anybody who pays lots of money for a holiday would comprehend that the location is in a drought and feel better that the place they are staying at \ visiting is being responsible with their water usage during the drought period, rather than irresponsible and making the drought worse for the local community.

Gazza, can you explain the "parent swap" deal a bit more?

HI Amber, and welcome finally to the forums. Those photos you have posted look really good, i'm glad somebody took some photos with something other than a camera phone (although i'm sure Ian would have some nice ones tucked away somewhere). I just need to take issue with the onride photo however. It's great to see the special effort movie world made for the on-ride photos, but these photos are copyrighted by the park, with no permission for public use or display - they are for private use only. I'm not sure what the park's stance on this is, but I don't believe its favourable. I don't suggest posting on-ride photos that have been purchased from the park. Ian \ Richard - whats the go with this?

What I was really getting at here was for all the slides... including those with long queues or rafts. I'm just sick of climbing the hills, and as far as the rafts, I hate carrying them - they're big, bulky, in some cases heavy, and if the wind picks up while you're climbing you resist take-off! I would like to see queues at the bottom of the hill or staircase, and then send up a group in a lift, or on an escalator... in the case of a lift - perhaps like they USED to do it on ToT. It wouldn't take much to make the lift open air - like a mine-lift perhaps? Anyway, Dare to dream...

Well, for me, as far as a water park goes, by far my biggest hatred is the stair climb. I'm pretty healthy myself but to run all the way up the stairs (who walks... really...?) for a wait, a slide, and then do it all over again... I want to see some form of water proof people mover - escalators, elevators, i don't care... something to reduce the walking and effort, and more relaxation and enjoyment. I know it will never happen.... but that would make any waterpark perfect. No waterpark is perfect without that.

Gazza, I think thats a great idea, but I think it's been said before - Matrix technology IS a bit too old for a new attraction. Generally the theming of the rides in MW, and other TRUE theme parks with an external movie \ genre link generally coincides with the release of the movie - either on screen or dvd. The Matrix was great in it's time - but for the same reason MW closed down the Matrix exhibit, as well as the Harry Potter exhibit - it had its day, and now its over. I think to coincide with the release of the next Harry Potter movie, MW would do better to theme a coaster to HP - maybe flying - making the train like a big broomstick or something. Movieworld already knows how to theme HP - you've got the store, the train, and the platform, as well as the old walkthrough for HP also - the skills to take this theming into a new area and create a "hogwarts" themed land would be easy. Plus if a bunch of Indians can build Hogwarts in a month for a religious holiday, i'm sure MW could do something a little more permanent and interesting with the backing of Warner Bros. licensing behind them.

i've been trying to say this for a little while now, but my vote is rather than suggest, let's do. Richard can we get a serious registration rather than a voting box? something where we can register members and non-members alike? I would love to see this get off the ground, and the sooner the better!

So now we have evidence of exactly how "thrilling" this is going to be.... not very. Look at the overhead shot - not much to see... which means to see the hippos we're all gunna have to crowd downstairs into little viewing booths. Now the viewing areas in Shark Bay are good, they're big, deep, and plenty of them... because there is more in Shark Bay than just 2 Sharks. What else are they going to have in the hippo swamp? The other thing that not many people are looking at is that this is SEA world. Not WATER world. Just because they live in water, doesn't mean they're a great addition to our Sea World. I'd personally prefer a Sea Otter display. They're active, playful, and they look cool. I give the hippos a thumbs down.

Age? nothing. I just would have thought somebody of your age would be able to come up with a more intellectual argument than "woodies suck" The rest of the discussion has been played out so I won't go on any further with this. Needless to say, as an example of how long \ where it is \ what it's made of - Thunderbolt was very long, on the gold coast, and made of steel, in comparison to Superman Escape, which is reasonably short, on the gold coast, and made of steel. I'm sure most would agree that SE was a much better coaster. In regards to a "proper one" I think this has been covered before by others - as above, so theres no need to continue to rehash on it. Lisa, I think you need to read my post a bit more before you post. I know you guys are victorian also. let me cover a few things here: 1) there was no mass generalisation about victorians 2) I did have a very good idea about whether he had ridden woodies or not 3) I also had a very good idea that if his favourite park was dreamworld, chances are he hadn't been overseas, and could only have ridden the woodies as listed above.

The talk of Disney coming to Aus has been bandied around for years. I think one of the main things that has been said, (and I think Richard said it best, though i'm not going to go hunting for the post now) is that the average attendances at all of our GC parks combined doesn't come close to that of a Disney park. Yes it would increase tourism, but I can't see it increasing that much, when most continents in the world have one now, and in some cases two. If someone has the time, can they dig up the post Richard made about attendances at a Disney park? Let's not forget that when WDW was built in Florida, all of the infrastructure support and logistics for the park were built on ground level, and the park built on top, and then the land was graded for a few miles around it. So rising the land around it would not be out of the question. When Disney does something, they don't do it half assed. As far as your prediction of 5 or 10 years, that doesn't mean to say that the rumors of talks now aren't out of the question. If we look at the timeline in the post above, we were talking year 2000 or so when they last spoke SE QLD, and they went with HK instead, and HK opened in around 2005, or 5 years later. So talks now would see the park built in 5 years or so from now... I have to say though, If Disney announce a park here, I don't care how much money I'm making when it happens, im quittin, selling up, and moving to the GC.

This discussion has been done before, with overwhelming statements playing to the majority being woodies rock, but also that those who said straight out "woodies suck" generally hadn't ridden a proper one. Living in melbourne, and with dreamworld as his favourite park, this 34 year old victorian is just talking through his rear end, as usual. Back your statement up with some fact, or shut up.