DaptoFunlandGuy

Regardless, as we commence yet another turn of the circle - whether you don't have a container to put your product in, or; whether you don't have a product to put in your container, or; whether you have neither product nor container; ...this all ignores the fact that this ride was announced in May 2019 for a December 2020 opening, meaning a minimum of 6 months elapsed post-announcement, pre-pandemic (33% of original lead time) during which things could be ordered, manufactured and delivered. We've seen coaster cars, sheds, steel and timber coaster structures - all of these things have arrived. Despite semiconductor shortages, cars continue to arrive, albeit with 6-12 month delays (but still not 2 years). So, by this stage as we approach 3 years since announcement - if we're still waiting on a product to be manufactured, or a shipping container to put it in, or both - dude fucked up. Period. And now i'm off to lodge a travel insurance claim for my 2016 holiday to Hong Kong. I'll just tell my insurer the delay is because of covid. that works for everything now, right?

You're not waiting for 2 years to get a container though, right?

The number one reason not to install any sort of family friendly attraction next door.

I think the last time I rode GD was with some mates, one of whom was quite petrified of it but would still go on it anyway. I think we rode it 4-5 times in a row because there was no queue. I haven't ridden it since, primarily because I got grease or oil dripped on me from above on repeated rides and it ruined a good shirt and pair of shorts. It was like it was raining. And yes, amongst my friends, there are still a few who have not ever been on it, and having grown up with Space Probe in my figurative backyard - I just don't get it.

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Mate - being honest, i don't think you've offended anyone. I personally find use of 'credit' a bit cringe, but horses for courses. I think the main controversy is that you've expressed an opinion that doesn't ring true to most folks here and they've taken you to task on it. You note the sunglasses rule while talking about how poor you felt Taipan was, without noting it applies to pretty much every park in the country. You note the operations - but most folks here have been pretty vocal about Rivals being run pretty thin (and superman too) and i've timed all three running at above 5 minute cycles even with 4 operators. Just curious - when did you visit Dreamworld? It sounds like an off peak timeslot where even with two ops you can still fit everything in in a day... (and given you ended up at Movie World to observe the Rivals operations, it sounds like you did) Further - what was closed at Movie World when you visited? In addition to Superman, it sounds like West would have been down - was anything else down? (maybe Green Lantern - it seems to be down every other day...) With Superman and West down, it sounds like staffing Rivals efficiently was the least that they could do. How many other coasters were down at Dreamworld?

I think it's fair to say, with the first piece already on-site, it'll just be a case of waiting for each piece to get painted and trucked to the park. Given the paintwork already, I'd say it's likely we'll see an end of year opening. We saw how fast she came down, and we all watched it go up at Dreamworld, so they've got plenty of time.

I also thought referring to them as 'credits' went out of style a while ago. A simple 'i've ridden 180 coasters' conveys the same message, whilst simultaneously allowing non-enthusiasts to understand you.

You don't say?

trade and material shortage in Australia, or shipping delays? There are already several posts calling bullshit on the shipping delay excuse. I won't reagitate them. I'd totally believe if trade shortages were the issue. The local construction industry is having a really hard time finding certain tradespeople - house builders are struggling to find bricklayers and carpenters. I'd totally agree with local material shortages given the construction industry went through a timber shortage, then a brick shortage, then a window shortage - i've even referenced the fact that suppliers have reduced what colours they're producing to reduce the amount of time they spend retooling or resetting their production equipment to produce different colours - when talking about why the station and maintenance bays were done in white sheeting instead of a more unobtrusive colour... But these aren't shipping delays... which is what we're being told it is.

Didn't they only just do that like - a couple years ago?

The parallels are a bit too striking to ignore... it's almost as if the seats had slats that were spaced too wide apart... and they've filled in that spacing with a different material to make the seats functional... #toosoon? Personally I think no smoking signs would be tacky. The park's smoking policy is made very clear in park maps, conditions of entry etc etc and unless the rest of the park is signed accordingly its too far. If It became a big problem - having smokers there - then perhaps staff should monitor or patrol but giant no smoking signs shouldn't appear in this space. As for a plaque or a story to explain it - i'm with this guy. Perhaps it is better that the memorial remembers the people, not the incident and the horrible things that happened to those people. Side note - I assume that the three chairs together are the Dorset\Goodchild family and Cindy's chair is the single one on the opposite side of the path?

I personally took it to be a Wedge Tailed Eagle - similar to 'Goldie', Could it be referencing Bunjil in Australian Aboriginal culture - the creator who took the form of a wedge tailed eagle? the link above also talks of six shamans who took the form of various birds and possums \ gliders - i'm keen to know what other animals are inscribed into the pole.

I think, given the calibre for comparison locally, so is Taipan. They could (and should) definitely 'plus' it when they've got a bit left in the landscaping budget. I don't have an issue with the snakeprint on the outside fence. The ride is right there, visible from the carpark, and hiding it behind some sort of 'pretend there isn't a giant orange spike sticking up behind it' vertical garden isn't fooling anyone. Compared to what else we have here, and acknowledging that Australia is always a bit of a 'poor cousin' when it comes to coaster offerings, I think we're doing ok. Couple that with the fact that this thing nearly didn't get built due to money, and I'm prepared in the short term to cut some slack on presentation, provided they're operating according to manufacturer specs and keeping up the maintenance. They've been tidying up the park quite a bit lately - i'm hopeful they come back to give ST a little pizazz once the books balance out a bit better. (Or could they be keeping options open for another flat to go within the footprint somewhere like was once rumored for Superman?)

I think this was said when they first announced the easter date - it was a head scratcher then too.

Must have missed that. The park's construction blog hasn't been updated since February 2021, so updates have been difficult to keep an eye on I guess. That only begs the question - what could possibly be the hold up - what is that critical to the ride, that could have such a big delay?

inb4 Dreamworld responds to feedback and announces they're opening up some attractions on the nights.

I don't know what exactly they're waiting on - But since we haven't seen it yet, I'll assume the coaster train is at least one of those things. (Because let's be real, if you're waiting on "themed elements" or other non-essential things you're probably going to resign yourself to pushing ahead without it and maybe adding it later - or operating it as 'technical rehearsal' until everything arrives) If I had my order in for an opening in December 2020 (so assume original plan was for testing September 2020 latest), and I still didn't have my coaster train.... I wouldn't be waiting for the shipping company to tell me the bad news i'd be tearing every person involved a new asshole as to why my brand new multi million dollar attraction still didn't have a train 18 months on. If the suggestion is Village are just sitting by the phone waiting to be fed a scrap of progress from the supplier, then their project management is probably doing about as well as their communication.

Obviously the reservoir has a minimum operating level for pump operations. But it should also have capacity beyond that as running it at minimums is just asking for trouble. Water would be lost from the ride every day through the various measures I mentioned above. Having a range that it can fluctuate within means you can manage your levels a bit better than adding water today and then pouring it down the drain tomorrow when it rains. For the same obvious reason, they'd clearly have a maximum level, and an automatic drain to stormwater\sewer\detention basin if it exceeds that. What I meant was after all that rain, it may have needed some level of attention (filtering, balancing levels etc), and perhaps pumping some of it out to reduce it from 'max level' (but still some ways above 'min level') may have helped do that (why add chemicals to balance your max level if you can use less chemicals in a smaller volume of water?) As for troughs, I wasn't referring to the 'back half' as I clearly referred to what was visible in the pictures. In the 'front half' the pumps don't "control" the level (they do ensure enough water is there to achieve it) - the fact that the level is the height of the trough, and any excess spills out into the lagoon, that is what controls the level.

In the lagoon or in the flume? Was the ride operating in January during your visit? The Flume trough levels shown above are fairly set as any overflow spills over into the lagoon - it's not possible for them to vary much and these pics indicate the trough is full. If it's the lagoon, I can only imagine that the exact level doesn't matter too much, as long as it doesn't overflow when the pumps are turned off. The amount of water in the lagoon would vary a lot - evaporation, being carried out in the clothing of riders, leaks in the lagoon, as well as rain catchment and runoff. The recent rains we've had up here probably increased the levels significantly, and that may have prompted them to adjust the levels back to normal ranges.

I heard they closed the park yesterday without warning or announcement 3 hours after opening. A large group of school kids on a visit basically got turfed out. Not sure if it was weather or just a quiet day so they decided to pull the pin, but what's the bet their casual staff have a 3 hour minimum shift?

Being bad at communication and being bad at project management aren't that far away from each other. It's interesting that another Gravity Group \ Martin & Vleminckx collaboration, listed with a March 2020 manufacture date opened in May of 2021. That's around a 14 month build time (And by a park that was building FIVE new rollercoasters that same year) Side note - that last link was an IAAPA article about coasters opening in 2021, so there were a lot of different parks and manufacturers listed including: Bombay Express - Dubai - GCI - Still Under Construction Boomerang - Sydney - Gerstlauer - Opened October 2021 Fly With Flap - Doha - Extreme Engineering - Opened 2021 Jersey Devil Coaster - New Jersey - RMC - Opened June 2021 Kondaa - Belgium - Intamin - Opened May 2021 Leviathan - Gold Coast - Gravity Group \ M&V - Still Under Construction Monster - Sweden - B&M - Opened June 2021 Now You See Me - Dubai - Maurer - Opened January 2022 Phoenix - New York - Vekoma - Opened July 2021 Power Coaster - Tennessee - Wiegand - Opened March 2021 Steel Taipan - Gold Coast - Mack Rides - Opened December 2021 Tidal Twist - Ohio - Zamperla - Opened July 2021 Wooden Dragons - Shandong China - Gravity Group \ M&V - Opened May 2021 I guess what we can take from this is wooden coasters sometimes take longer to build?

Oh it's crazy! In really busy trade the police have been called and it's even made the papers!

Install a table like they used to do on the old intercity trains and they can offer an upcharged dining experience!

But with one row of forwards seats at the back!