DaptoFunlandGuy

but.... SURELY they checked with the specialised people when they first began planning, and they made these arrangements with the specialised people, and they always knew that the delay would occur.... and not that they only found out now...? /S

It has nothing to do with heritage.

Pretty sure this was a 'what if' and was purely academic. The study was on 'sustainability' not 'what would you do with this old ride' and can be found here, provided google's linking works properly. The same study references this, but the proposal was for the Sydney monorail, and they simply suggested it could be done here too. They expand on the idea further: The trouble with this idea is either it is an incomplete circuit, or they spend a lot of money building a walkway that goes out over the carpark. There's also a question of how wide a walkway could be, built on top of the narrow monorail supports, and whether it could handle the different forces put on it by a moving crowd. Either way, i think these proposals were entirely academic - they were done in 2019 before the pandemic and before most of Atlantis was built and i'd suggest their currency and relevance today is questionable, especially since they made up only a small portion of the overall sustainability proposals the university actually set out to do. Nope. The entire reason Arkham remained standing as long as it did was because they didn't need the space for something else yet, and it wasn't unsafe to remain as it was. If they decide Monorail is gone, then as soon as Sea World needs monorail space for the next attraction, it'll get knocked down - though this doesn't mean the entire thing will go either. If they cared about heritage - we'd still have Viking's revenge. The bridge. The Ski Show. Heritage really doesn't play a part here (and for the most part, it shouldn't, save for the extremely enduring heritage attractions the likes of LPS Wild Mouse or Scenic Railway.

I'm sure the guys in charge of thunder river thought there was no chance they'd kill someone either. The point is, institutional knowledge gets lost over time. People know 'what' they're supposed to do - certain things in certain orders, but oftentimes forget 'why' things were done that way over time (i'm speaking generally, not specific to the park or even theme parks in general). For some reason, the shroud has been removed. I don't know why and don't claim to. But it makes sense if that has had to be removed, to also remove the components the shroud was there to guard. Monorail's power might well be disconnected and isolated. However that doesn't mean that in 5 years time they decide to reconnect it and give it a test, and all the new guys in charge of it don't realise that once upon a time there used to be a shroud there. It makes it fail-safe, in the not-entirely-zero chance that something happens in the future that nobody could foresee.

Given they've removed the electrical componentry, this may just be risk minimisation - since the shroud is gone, they've made it safe by removing any live electrical componentry. I suspect the rail is not energised at present, but this prevents someone energising the entire circuit without reinstalling the shroud. Without the shroud, I wonder how long that stands without some idiot trying to climb it during Carnivale etc.

New Updates - 8/7/2023 - Movie World - WOZ, Flash and coaster track in the storage yard. Sea World - 8/7/2023 Dreamworld - 9/6/2023

Here's a slightly better angle from the latest nearmap 8 July 2023 (Side note - surfrider surfboard is still back of house bottom right)

Yeah I don't think the timing is evidence of anything to do at Dreamworld. USS had Madagascar & Shrek for over a decade at this point - it's nothing new, just their latest expansion.

Sitting there for 7-8 months without operating? Sounds like Surfrider, situation normal.

That was filed in 2019, well before the incident occurred. Polaris was rumored to be a front running name for Orion at Kings Island. Given that opened in July 2020, the 2019 registration of the trademark makes sense. (Polaris is the name of the North Star, part of the Little Dipper constellation, Orion is a constellation in its own right) The more I re-read this, the more the language feels off. Someone tried a little too hard to make this genuine, using 'high point' and 'top thrill' - and I think they've just took it a bit too far... It's still possible some of these things ring true - park insiders have dropped several hints both personally and on their socials (many of which have been reposted here) that the joining of the dots presented here seems believeable. There's less than 2 weeks until we have an announcement though - so all will be revealed in good time.

Steel Taipan has an actual layout beyond the launch, not just a top hat and return. They may well give it a layout beyond the hat though - especially since the launch takes longer, additional blocks could still allow them to pump trains through - but I guess we'll have to wait until the official announcement to find out.

It's ok, by the time flash actually opens, it'll have been through a QLD Summer and it'll be just the same faded arse red as Superman.

You've clearly not been a parent with a child under 6. Every time we went near Sam Train, there was at least two cycles wait. WBKids already has a coaster (although MW persists with keeping the height requirement artificially high for some reason), I honestly don't think Kids needs another coaster - what it needs is a solid attraction that can accommodate kids, but is suitable for adults to ride too (Let's be clear, Although Sam, and previously Tweety Cages could accommodate Adults, it really wasn't a pleasant experience). I'm thinking Dumbo, Casey Jr or Storybook land boats style attractions. This is why LTRR holds such strong memories for people - because that attraction was suitable for all ages. If you look at early versions of MW's kids land - you had LTRR, Speedy Taxis and Marvin. LTRR did some really heavy lifting, and since it's closure, nothing else has entirely picked up the slack. The one issue with your ridiculous statement is that i've been advocating not losing attraction space to back of house tasks. Removing superman is obviously attraction space. I'm not arguing to return the park to it's prior state, i'm arguing for back of house facilities to stop taking over 'on stage' spaces, and return them to the stage. Exactly - nobody is out there telling Thor they can't take over an AOS horse paddock for set construction. It's one company. The very idea that somehow all of the facilities within the studio precinct are somehow sacred, immoveable and untouchable is horseshit. (The sound stages are very much unlikely to move, but the support facilities and other premises aren't as hard) I've always known it as 'Spielberg's shack' and I believe he has occupied it at one time. It was an editing suite for a while IIRC. According to the studio siteplan, that building is currently used by PROXi VR. What you can ALSO see on this siteplan is that some of the buildings are "Movie World Buildings" (white) and are very closely connected to studio buildings (green): (The surfrider surfboard has been stored out near one of these buildings for several years)

The catch car has a spring loaded hook. when it reaches the gondola at the bottom, it connects (and if you happen to be sitting in the gondola when it happens you'll hear and feel the loud clunk as it slides into position. ) When it reaches the top, the hook mechanism is disengaged. If you look closely at pictures of intamin giant drops you can see the hook in the catch car - and its why the gondola usually has a 'raised' part in the centre where the catch car hooks on. What exactly triggers the catch car to release i'm not sure, but I assume it is something mechanical and fixed at the top of the tower as it isn't possible to trigger the release in any other position on the tower.

What has been changed can be changed again. There are plenty of alternatives. And as many have said, there are many things done onsite that don't need to be.

The latest i've heard is the ride requires a whole new 'lot of things'. I've heard the track went vertical today so i'd say the halfpipe will be standing within a week or two, weather depending. Getting it open will be subject to the new rules and laws on amusement devices post-TRRR. I had also heard whisper that a new train was coming too. This might not have always been the plan, from what I recall of the earlier details i'd heard - that may also contribute to delays if it wasn't ordered day one. I've got no response to the rest of what you said though - Amen.

You actually don't hang there. When you feel like you've stopped moving, the gondola continues to rise - albeit very, very slowly. If you sit on the edge seats and look inwards over your shoulder you can see the tower behind you and you will see you are still moving. The gondola keeps moving upwards until it reaches the release mechanism. The mechanism is a large mechanical release that, when the gondola makes contact, bumps the gondola as it slides into position, before reaching the release point about 1-2 seconds later. When you feel that clang, you know you're about to drop!

This is an interesting idea. The Fright Nights mazes are currently an underutilised facility as well. Many of the US parks have large facilities (See the Knott's Wilderness Dance Hall as an example) where it hosts mazes for halloween, but is used for boysenberry festival as a food and drink service area - it hosts many different events throughout the year. If the FN maze buildings were on a guest-accessible route, they could utilise these facilities throughout the year to host many different activities, offerings and such. So pure laziness activity. The departments don't "need" this space at all. You still haven't demonstrated that the chinatown alley is essential for the departments to use as BOH. As a matter of fact the more we discover about how this area is used, the less it seems like it is essential or necessary. I want you to imagine this - the park is building a huge, brand new land. Anchored by three rollercoasters, more than they've ever built in a single install, themed to a brand new, never seen in park (in a major way) intellectual property. Just like Lethal Weapon or Wild West before it, it has an immersive pathway directly from Main Street, with a huge bridge over the front announcing to the (movie) world when can be found down that path. No, it's ok. Make everyone walk through the Superman Plaza, or they can pray to find a hidden passageway behind a dining area.... I know the tree is gone, but this sure looks like the entrance to a brand new multimillion dollar land!!! Yes - this is how i'd want to present my brand new IP - by directing people to walk past the superhero or the cartoon dog.

Forgive me, I should have known given your username and how many excuses you've made for them that you are critical of Village. Because that's what "storage" is... a place to put things when they aren't in use. Besides - parade floats are stored out in the dirt behind Wild West (I can supply the nearmap images if you'd like). If you need a space to work on them, sure - but that doesn't have to be in a show building either. To be clear the highlighted area just showed a lot of empty space. Several buildings could be constructed in that area without impeding access to other facilities on the other side. Parking can always be accommodated elsewhere for short term needs - as a matter of fact, there are MANY carparks within spitting distance, and most of those vehicles don't need to be onsite. The studio support buildings around the back end also contain (or did previously contain) theme park workshops as well for various support services and trades. It wouldn't be the first time the studios and the theme park facilities shared workspaces or were neighbours. Yep - like the Sea World Carnivale floats, by the sounds of things. It wasn't multi level, just offsite across Kopps road. it wouldn't have done much for these issues.

They need staff to sell the wristbands, staff to check the wristbands and mark them off (finding a texta to scribble on a wristband takes time you know) or otherwise a device to scan an online purchase code. I assume given the different forces exerted on the backwards row that it would be subject to additional checks to the pylon and subframe. Additionally, the backwards row resulted in one less row of seats which reduced capacity on the ride. The thing about the price is that its mostly intended as a barrier to entry. You can only fill two seats per train so you need to find the balance between 'affordable' and 'so popular it's sold out at midday' I'd say if it was $10-$15, everyone would do it way more, which would lead to it constantly being sold out, and then those who want to give it a go 'once' wouldn't have the opportunity. I don't know what it is - so many of my enthusiast friends are weird about drop towers... I guess I had Space Probe in my earlier years so maybe that's why i'm not bothered by them. If it helps, my 7 year old went on Lex Luthor and just wanted to marathon it. Though the towers are roughly the same size, Lex is less 'whoa' than GD - it's not something I can put my finger on - but if there's any part of you that would try it - i'd recommend it. it's a great ride.

Jesus christ - are you in Village Marketing? Say it with me

The park operated for at least 16 years with that alleyway open. Please explain to me what this space is needed for, besides a couple of dumpsters and a place to store food carts when not in use? When Disneyland needed more space, they moved their administration team offsite so the onsite services could expand into the administration areas. When management takes space from the park, the tail is wagging the dog.

That may be the case. Either way they used to reopen it once the maze \ christmas \ whatever was cleared, and now it seems to just sit closed all year round when not in use for special events, so the point still stands.

LTRR stage Chinatown Alley Showcase (the grandstand seating is still there, just behind the curtains) Intencity (Fright Night maze remains inside all year round) Gremlins theatre (though this is used for staff training) Stars Cafe (kitchens used for AOS food prep, though the dining area and all the memorabilia is just left to gather dust) LT Diner (next to RRRC)

The property has ample open space. At the back of WOO there is around 20,000 SQM of open space and thats still allowing significant space around the water tank, and buffers from soundstages. Which in turn can be the past. If it changed once it can change again. If maintenance needs additional high-rise space, should they just close Scooby Doo too? Say it with me - SUPPORT FACILITIES SHOULD NOT OCCUPY ATTRACTION SPACE AT THE EXPENSE OF ATTRACTIONS.