DaptoFunlandGuy

As I understand it, Aqualoop is not long for this earth either, though i'm not sure that the reasons for removal would be the same. Wedgie was always a poor cousin. It was rushed onto that slide tower as a way to try and win one over WNW, but the tower \ stairs never had much room for it, and especially after covid, things like distancing just made the shared queue ridiculous to manage. High staffing levels and low capacity - honestly good riddance.

Space probe TVC was filmed prior to the ride being built. It was all done on a soundstage set up. I'm sure they've got plenty of spaces at their disposal that they could mock up if they wanted to, but I agree a lot is likely to be character interaction \ parade. Given the timeslots, i'd say the early morning would be the in-park shots, and the middle of the day slot would be the soundstage filming.

The issue is few people are actually willing to put their money behind it. The Wonderland History crew fundraised to purchase the coaster trains and although quite a few people chipped in a few dollars, the bulk of the cost to purchase, transport and store the trains were primarily funded by only a handful of people. (I do hear there is progress on their current home - so probably some news about that next year sometime). The person selling the gondola is trying to recover the money they paid for it, and its unlikely a museum or similar non profit would be willing to spend that much. Museums tend to rely on items being donated by generous benefactors, not purchasing things at the asking price. The person obviously bought this post-closure, while the hype was real to 'get a piece of wonderland'. In this market, it's a big ask to pay what they're asking... it's highly unlikely it'd get purchased for the purposes you suggest.

lol. i see what you did there. I was conscious of that comparison when I was saying it, but even so, the ridiculousness of it is that Kickback doesn't really have a lot of shade to sit in either.

When they opened Dreamworks Experience, it was all in one go with (almost) everything ready (from memory some signage pointing to various parts of Dreamworks wasn't ready until the day after opening). They're still promoting Dodgems as being part of Dreamland though. They really need to get their shit together.

By the looks of things, they've got enough props. Still better than a Zacspin. Ball*. Just one. Not plural. I'd prefer they open it fully complete and with a wow, but they can't really afford to keep rides shut if all they're waiting on is themeing. Only regular visitors will see it open in stages anyway, and they've seen it during construction so not a big deal I guess. The interstate and once a year visitors are the ones who will get the wow... assuming that all the themeing is in place by Christmas, it's not really any harm or foul. I do think K&B Dreamland needs more shade, and a place for parents to sit while the kids ride (at present only the ballpit has this) and rather than just shadesails everywhere - i'd love to see a tall metal "tree" that is the basis of Kenny's Forest, with branches \ leaves set to shade some of the pathways... one can dream.

Yeah, truth be told, Dreamworld socials goofed a while back and referenced the Deep Sea Dodgems as part of K&B Dreamland, so they probably aren't even sure themselves. They have painted themselves into a corner a bit by extending Ocean Parade, it's a bit of a weird spot when you look at that map above. Perhaps they could keep the sea theme, but theme dodgems, splash pad and serpent slayer as 'under the sea' whereas shockwave, claw, goldcoaster and tailspin are all 'above the water'...

out of interest, which precinct boundary do you mean? If you mean Dreamland, the entryway near the food court is quite distinct, the bridge, the water squirting characters... and the other end of dreamland isn't finished yet. Given the construction of BRB coaster will be the boundary to the land - they've erected a pretty tall block wall across the splashpad, so it certainly seems like they're going for a distinct boundary... we won't know until they clean up and finalise the floor covering in that space... Also - the word precinct still triggers me. it's a damn land. Wish parks would just call it a land.

Is it good to see them continue to 'plus' things, and presumably the builder of the additional elements had a longer lead time than DW was happy with and so they decided to open the attractions without these elements to minimise downtime. While I applaud them for keeping the attractions open as much as possible, I can't help but feel that some of the 'wow' factor was lost. These additions, while "great" are with minimal fanfare and will probably largely go unnoticed.

I swear one of these pops up at least twice a year. This one is in pretty good condition all things considered. What most of these folk don't consider is the cost to transport something this big and heavy.

Agree, I can't imagine they'll go vertical in the next 4 weeks. A lot of construction tends to wind down around christmas. I think we'll see track builds start early next year - though i'm happy to be wrong if they decide they want to start earlier!

Here's an (almost) one year on comparison:

Nearmap's latest flyover was only 10 days ago and is now live. The last shot, which was mid-september, was pretty flat - the scenery has now changed significantly, and you can start to see quite a bit coming together! (And just as a comparison, here is what it looked like right before Arkham Demolition in June 2022)

Yeah I'm not going to get torn up about the use of pool fence on a ramp railing. I know they could do better but they're not working with unlimited money cheats turned on so if they're putting their money into the things that actually do make a big difference, then i'm here for it. I've seen a lot of positive steps from the park in the past 12 or so months. I don't think they're getting it all right yet, but my opinion of them has been helped by the contrasting experience down the road. I'm keen to see what their next move is, once Jungle Rush opens.

The "Train" did not "allow" access. The Caboose (I believe many called it the Motza Wagon due to it's italian colour scheme) was a 1980's attempt at not discriminating, and while wheelchairs users could 'ride the train' they could not do so freely with their group. You were being semantic over Magician's choice of phrase. I'm just doing the same over yours. If you really want to be specific... The new carriages DO allow for wheelchairs. Previously they did not. The raising of the station platforms, and Carriages that allow for wheelchairs.

There is a difference, I think, between the train having a ramshackle, limited space caboose tacked onto the back of the train, and having every seating row able to accommodate wheelchair users so that they can sit with their own group rather than be segregated into a box, assuming you're the only wheelchair user in the park, because if there's too many wheelchairs, we can't fit you all in... Accommodations in 1980 = we've built a separate side entrance with a ramp for wheelchair users. Accommodations in 2023 = we've ensured our main entrance is accessible for everyone.

that photo doesn't show any track has been put back...

Just to spell it out absolutely clearly - this isn't a marketing guff or silly PR piece. This is entirely about assisting those with disabilities, including non visible disabilities. So before anyone criticises this (because I feel that is sometimes inevitable here), this just might not be a product directed at you. Kudos Dreamworld - this is great to see.

Thats a damn weird analogy. but I get what you're trying to say. Counterpoint - there's always that one luddite that thinks technology peaked in 2006 and is still carrying their old motorola and they're stubbornly refusing to upgrade it. With the recent news that telcos were shutting down the 3G band, this has brought them to table-thumping outrage, and shouts of conspiracy. So to continue your analogy, I would suggest that although most of society has moved on, there are a few oddities out there that will persist with their outdated equipment (and theme) until they are dragged into the new age by something outside of their control. In a Dreamworld Context - neither of those attractions will be rethemed or otherwise upgraded until it's necessary. And that necessity in this context is going to be either a relocation of the ride (unlikely) a retheme of the land\area it sits on (unlikely for ocean parade given the new investment, and unlikely for MDMC purely because it doesn't really sit in a land), a large-scale refurbishment where the attraction is likely to be closed for several months, and the park decides "well why not while we're at it", or at the end of the attraction's current expected lifespan - where the tax depreciation has been exhausted, leading to an optimal time to inject some capital to improve and modernise it. Of all of those options above, the last two are the most likely to happen, but they're also the least likely to occur 'any time soon'.

I don't see anything wrong with Shockwave or Motocoaster's bridge \ entryway. Don't get me wrong, i think MDMC's entire theme is garbage, and it doesn't belong where it is, and it needs to change and hopefully after rivertown they find a way to do that, but as it is - the theme is exactly what they're trying for. The style is what you'd see by the track on race day. I've spent years at racetracks, as pit crew, punter and race official, and the aesthetic is usually a fastfold marquee in varying colours and sponsorships (the original queue themeing) and the bridge borrows from that - bigger teams would have archways or inflatable advertising, generally with flags (with MDMC has space for on the bridge, just not being used in the photo above). As for shockwave, it's ocean parade. the ride is a turbulent spinning attraction that was (at launch) somewhat turbine themed (as was the rest of the park). While a lot of the turbine theme is gone now, wave \ ocean can still work well enough that a retheme isn't essential. It would be nice to tighten up the link, but what are they gonna do - name it VORTEX? It's not the best themed ride in the park, but it's also a legacy attraction without an IP which makes it not a priority. I give it a pass. it's "FINE".

You're already overqualified.

That sounds very likely. It's actually quite a surprise that the park has held onto stuff like this for that long - especially given the firesale they had on bermuda aliens... so the licensing seems the most logical explanation. I'd love to see them incorporate these guys into something new - i'm sure the tech to operate them is still possible... just needs the courage to do so!

Village Marketing has no meaning anymore.

untechnically, you're wrong. We still have no idea what this is supposed to mean.

You talk about theme parks being a passion. The trouble with working at a theme park is you see what goes on behind the scenes to make things happen. So some of the magic is lost. If you enjoy creating magic for others, then that's not a loss - but if you don't, and you enjoy being immersed in a world of make believe - its going to hit you like a tonne of bricks. The reality of working in a theme park is they generally don't pay well. Guests on the whole are going to be rude, obnoxious and entitled. Management are either going to be awesome cool people to work with or absolute bastards. You're going to hear\see things that you aren't allowed to share. Some of those things will be good - like knowing a new ride is coming - and some of those things won't be - like knowing the specific details of what is wrong with a ride. You're going to have days where something special happens that you get to be a part of, and it makes your day. But you're going to have even more days where some entitled parent shrieks at you because their kid isn't tall enough to ride and they want you to endanger their kid's life for their own desires. You're gonna have days where the park is slammed with guests and you barely stop to think all day, collapsing at home exhausted at the end of it, and you're gonna have days midweek off season where its dead and you'll feel like its been hours and you only opened 30 minutes ago. As a ride operator - you're going to have people's lives in your hands. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring everyone both on, and around your ride are kept safe at all times. While many modern rides today have interlocks that prevent dispatch if a safety system isn't secured, there are still plenty of rides where this isn't the case, and people can get hurt if you mess up. You do need to be very confident to be an attractions operator. You're going to be speaking to guests all day and they're going to see you as in charge, whether you know the right answer or not.