DaptoFunlandGuy

The problem is the majority of Nickelodeon movies out there appeal to those sub-primary school. You're talking an adventure ride in the likes of wild west, scooby doo, etc... You're not getting most 7 year olds on it, and that would be the target demographic of that kind of theming... With the exception of intellectual retards in Junior Highschool that still idolise Spongebob (for girls, its cute... for guys its just complete idiocy.) It would appear as a childrens ride, and you would not get your main demographic riding it - so that kind of attraction would be a white elephant. Don't get me wrong, i'm not trumpeting thrills and all that jazz. I know a park needs a good mix of rides, what I am saying is that you can take something like say - Scooby Doo - a movie that appeals to most age groups, theres the cartoonish aspect for the kids, the double entendre for the adults, the token gorgeous gals to get the teenage boys hooked, and the spunky buff guys to hook the teenage girls, and you've got a well rounded movie that appeals to all age groups. Shrek is similar - the kids don't get the adult jokes, and love the kids aspect that it is set in a fairy tale land. The adults enjoy the double entendre, The teen boys go for the dirty jokes, and the teen girls go for the love story. Both of these movies lead the way into a well themed attraction that people of all ages will flock to. Wild Thornberry's are assimilated with the Rainforest Rampage a ride that by dreamworld's own description is Not the kind of thing I can see anybody going into over the age of about 8 unless they're watching a younger sibling. The only possible thing that dreamworld could do would be to theme like Wild West is - no specific franchise to attach to it, just a well themed, good quality ride. Now first - we need to consider well themed - even if the theming IS done well, which is a stretch at the best of times for dreamworld, it will not be maintained and fall to pieces in a few years, so forget the well themed part. Now we consider good quality - all you have to do is take a look at the history of dreamworld to see what will happen there - and again due to the maintenance as i've already said, anything OF decent quality won't last long. Dreamworld should stick to bought-off-the-shelf thrills with as little to maintain as possible, because they're not going to spend the money to keep it running at top notch. They should also stop going for the record-holders, because record holders are usually one of a kind, which also means more difficult to maintain as the parts are usually a lot harder to come by. The only record holder i'd like to see them go for is a woodie - because while it would be a bitch to maintain, it would be good to have another woodie around.

At first I thought it was another teacups. The mechanics on it would be really interesting. Reasonable footprint, good solid ride, suitable for the kiddies but still fun enough for the big kids... thats a reasonable ride you found there Gazza. I realise its Zamperla, but is it available? As in the design isn't a custom for Disney\Pixar? wI know it would need to be themed another way, because Cars would be out of the question... what could you theme it to? Animaniacs? Pinky and the Brain? Animaniacs would be good - you could even do the turntables with each of their faces on... that'd just freak me out - yakko wacko and dot all spinning around in front of me...

Well it DID expand last year.....?

And by doing so, would once again make themselves out to appear copycat. Dreamworld are the ultimate imitator, while Movie World are the innovators. The problem lies with immersive theming. Movie World can pick a movie off the shelf, theme a ride to it, and it is already immersive because the plotline and story are well known, so it doesn't have to be sold. Dreamworld on the other hand have no franchises other than wiggles, nickelodeon and big brother. Unfortunately, this doesn't leave much to theme with. Dreamworld are better doing what they do which is throwing mediocre dollars at mediocre attractions and hyping them up to make it better than it is.... and then poorly maintaining them until they need to be removed. ***Make it last at least a minute? Cycle times of most of the flats in the major parks go for at least triple that. Bermuda is about 6 or 7 minutes... a more realistic timeframe would be good. Something going for a minute - geez... immersive theming? more like McDonalds drive thru (although it's rare those guys hit 1 minute either).

I wasn't referring to the topic in general, just Shadows last post as it seemed very very disrespectful. I understand his position, can see what he meant and retract most of what I said, so long as there is no screaming on the batwing - it is a moment of silence after all. There is a difference between extended trade in a screamworld style event, where the rides have already been inspected, some staff are already at the park and can double shift\extend shift it. For Utopia at Wonderland I would start at about 12 or 1pm, and go all the way through to close, thereby maximising the park staff with similar working arrangements. The difference between a screamworld and a 4.5hour Anzac day trade is that the cost of operating for just 4.5 hours, rather than a 7ish hour standard trade, a short closure and then a reopening for another 4ish hours is massive. The maintenance expense on a screamworld day would be cheaper, because the rides would operate for over 11 hours on the one inspection, as opposed to 4.5 hours operation on the exact same cost. Same costs to inspect the rides, lower operation time, lower income to be made. Staffing wise, most awards covering the themepark \ hospitality would dictate a minimum 5 hour shift. Most staff would make this extra half hour with arrival\start times before the park opened, but the parks generally need relief staff, and so would be "overstaffed" with their regular contingent, and so are faced with two choices - have the staff required to cover shift relief, OH&S breaks etc, or understaff to reduce their wages, and pay the price in capacity, and of course the reduced staff means fewer outlets, stalls etc open, and therefore less money again. If you really don't understand this, and want me to do the math on it - say so and i'll lay it all out for you in an easy to understand way.

Heartless, unpatriotic, immature, and completely inappropriate. The values we have out there in society today disgust me. If you have no dignity, no respect for those who fought and died for the country that we have today, fine. You are entitled to your own opinions and views but a blatant disrespect for those diggers is offensive, and I would hope you feel very ashamed for that comment. In regards to dreamworld; The cost of operating the attractions even for a shorter period that day, coupled with the fact that the park would not receive as many guests as they would on a weekend simply because of the trading hours reduction (which by the way is a LAW, not just a choice by the parks to operate for half a day), means that the park cannot operate with a reduced entry fee. If you aren't happy with the same fee for reduced hours, don't go. The park obviously cannot sustain the operations of the park without the full price admission fee.

At the going down of the sun, we will remember them.

Even Wonderland did this on ANZAC day. No other place closes later just because they open later to "keep the customer happy". My local westfield opens at 1:30pm and closes at 4. That's two and a half hours - I feel sorry for the employers that have to pay their staff a minimum of 5 hours at public holiday rates and only getting half the time out of them. I also feel sorry for those employees who for the sake of two and a half hours - have to go to work. Point is - let's not make this out like its big bad macquarie leisure cashing in - Just because MW decided to stay open a little later, doesnt mean its Macquarie who is the greedy one... MW is just as greedy - staying open longer to get more money through the turnstiles and in the cash registers. (and I just want to point out here before I get flamed, I am an avid WVTP supporter, and am not usually in favour of DW... im just trying to be unbiased here)

I don't think this is going to generate much discussion, but I just thought I would point out that Sea World is featuring in a new NRMA commercial. For those who haven't seen it yet, basically it is an NRMA guy pulling over to provide assistance to people - A guy bringing newspapers into a newsagency by the bundle, A couple trying to set up a tent at a camp site, A family struggling with luggage outside a travelodge, and then diving into Dolphin Cove and launching into the air with two dolphins? Now the travelodge and sea world appears to be a bit of a shameless cross-promotion. The travelodge kinda ties in with him providing "roadside assistance" and "h-e-l-p", and they spend a few seconds on JUST the travelodge logo. They spend a few seconds on the Sea World logo as well, but I don't see a tie-in with a guy being launched into the air by two dolphins as being anything to do with the commercial's catch phrase of "here to help". I mean its always good to get the parks exposure - the more people go, the more money the park has to spend on improving the park, but it seems like a subliminal message to go to queensland, stay at travelodge, and visit sea world....? (and buy a local newspaper about a guy who killed himself trying to set up a tent at a local campsite) Open for Discussion...

Good way to go through tyres quickly

It's been done. another good youtube search is RCT BOWLING

Gazza, much as I hate to admit it, I do understand that sentence. As in i've identified something that makes you jealous, so I say "jealous much?" Of course, Pixel omitted the ? at the end of the statement, but essentially he's saying one of two things: 1) it was a good piece of investigative journalism, and you should be commended by your peers and fellow reporters within the industry for such super-sleuthiness 2) it was crappy sensationalistic "report it because it's there, make it up if it isn't" current affairs style trollop that isn't fit to be called journalism, and at best qualifies for mildly entertaining material to have the fun poked at it by numerous satirical news\comedy shows such as Chaser or Good News Week. Now maybe i'm just taking a dig at Channel 7, or maybe a dig at pixel, I don't know (by the way option 1 was intended to be incredibly sarcastic... just for those slow ones out there that would believe it) But to answer your question he made a poor attempt at likening you to the television sitcom known as Today Tonight.

Yes, I believe someone did think that.... My last post before this one was one of exasperation, as I had given the most simplistic (and most likely correct) answer (Winter setting) and had some dousch claim he called the park where some most likely junior relations cast member told him the innermost workings of a fault in one of their attractions... so I proceeded to pick it to absolute pieces, and am currently awaiting a response.

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...