DaptoFunlandGuy

It would be easy to extend cyclone's track if a manufacturer were to produce new pieces designed for the purpose. If they were bringing pieces over from Viper to join onto Cyclone, it would be incredibly difficult. The transitions would be incredibly difficult, and probably not worth it - it's not like combining two K'nex sets. Moving along - dreamworld's new ride... they've acquired the lattice maze from Jamberoo and will construct it on the site of the Wipeout. Wipeout will be relocated behind the Model T Fords - which is why it's going down for so long - they need time to move it. The wave, water, and shark will not be moved with it.

Never assume. Until they're drilling footings and we're getting hardware on site, nothing is ever concrete (pun intended)

Wyncenuros' comments prompted me to go and have a look at what 'special offers' are available on the other side of the highway. We're all familiar with the VIP pass - currently $110. The Super Pass (at $99) has been around at least since 1994, and is 28 days unlimited entry to all three parks. The Discovery Passport is the next one in line at $149 - which is pretty much the VIP pass with member discounts, as well as being 12 months from purchase, rather than expiring at the end of june. But what blew me away is the Ultimate Theme Park Pass. I don't know how long this has been around but i think it's pretty new. In my opinion, this is 'disney-esque' in it's design - in the sense that the whole idea is to keep you on property as much as possible. Let's break it down: Adults are $179.99 Children are $99.99 Tiered pricing implies better value. Adults expect to pay less for a child than they do an adult. 21 days unlimited entry to MW, SW & WnW 3 weeks is about the right amount of time to spend on the gold coast - so being able to go at any time during your holiday makes your itinerary flexible. The 21 days unlimited entry also applies to Paradise Country. It's a bit corny for some, but for those that haven't been young kids etc - it's often forgotten in holiday planning, but it is a good solid (half day) attraction in it's own right. On top of that, you also get a single entry to Australian Outback Spectacular. Considering an adult ticket to AOS is $99.99, and child tickets are $69.99, with a meal that you'd easily pay at least half that for anywhere local on a good day, its great value (and it gives you a night off having to sort dinner out for everyone). I know this is the dreamworld topic, but the main view here has always been a comparison between their rivals - in my opinion this package just absolutely shits on dreamworld, and it puts what i think is a final nail in Dreamworld's coffin. How can they compare? Offer tickets to Skydeck? *yawn*... go bowling? *Yawn* You can visit a lookout observation deck and a bowling alley pretty well anywhere. Once again - this package (and i'm saying this for visitors and tourists, not locals) is incredibly amazing value, and also incredibly smart marketing on VRTP's behalf.

But thats where most people fall down in their comparison... As a ticket buyer - most people these days are looking at the discounted annual passes such as the world pass, or the VIP pass. At $100 for a year (or thereabouts) it's one of the best value tickets anywhere in the country (especially when compared to day pricing). So what do you get for your $100? Dreamworld and White Water World - Dreamworld by all accounts is tired, left to rot, but still 'ok' with plenty of options for the kids. White Water World has some great technology slides (from 5 years ago) that WnW doesn't have (yet), but WnW is still 'biggest and best' and nobody can deny that. On the other hand: Movie World, Wet n Wild and Sea World. Although down by Main Beach, Sea World is the ignored piece of the pie in this equation. Effectively its the 'park you get for free'. We've all been comparing the two 'theme parks on the highway with adjoining waterpark' but the fact remains that Sea World as an add-on is a pretty solid 'bonus extra'. Three additional rollercoasters, a sensational childrens play area, battle boats, flume, high-ropes and jungle gym type attractions, as well as 4 additional shows, another parade, and a heap of animal encounters and exhibits. Back when Wet N Wild had their Dive'n'Movies, I'd start the day at Sea World, head to movie world at lunchtime, and then drop into WnW around 4 to catch the movie (or if it didn't interest me, ride some of the slides at night). As a standalone comparison - MW vs. DW, I can see why more of the family groups would take Dreamworld over Movie World, based on quantity of offering. But - as soon as you bring 'ticket buyer' or 'value for money' into it - its an entirely different ballgame, because you're comparing the contents of 3 diverse, varied, well set up parks with two that are tired, struggling, and just can't compete on the same level. Don't get me started on their upcharge attractions either...

I don't believe the procotols for no in-water work were in place at the time of Dawn's death - only subsequent to it. Also - she was standing kneeling in the water, not lying in the water. It's worth pointing out that many marine trainers do this with the animals they train as it's a way to bond, and reward the animal for good behaviour. The film shows several trainers coming to the aid of two other trainers who were subjected to odd treatment (not all by Tilly) - i'm wondering what was done by the spotter when Dawn was first taken under - as his actions in those first 30-60 seconds could have affected the outcome dramatically. Satellite imagery of the tank where the incident occurred shows Sea World has made good on their commitment to build fast-rising floors into the tanks. The concept of these floors is that should an incident occur, the spotter needs only to press a button to raise the floor of the tank out of the water thereby preventing drowning. My only concern is if the whales are smart enough to figure that out, and ensure that they are deliberately on top of them when the floor comes up so that their 3-4 tonne weight crushes the trainer anyhow could be an issue... If you haven't watched it yet, it's worth watching - but at the same time, I wouldn't give this filmmaker a brass razoo, so I would encourage you to see it through means besides rental or purchase.

Kids - yes. Movieworld's quality of 'kiddie' rides is sorely lacking, but as family rides, I believe MW still holds it - the 'quality' of what I consider as 'family' attractions trumps what dreamworld has.

They should just extend these hours a month at a time. These constant changes have got to be pissing some people off.

It is interesting what you say Flea (welcome to the forums by the way). As Slick said on another thread - as it stands, the park isn't bad - but because it used to be held to such a higher standard, many have become disenfranchised with the park. I agree the park has '3 times more rides' but many of us can speak from experience that a few high capacity rides run with the right staffing levels can put through far more than every ride in Dreamworld's arsenal. Operationally, their rides are a low capacity, further compounded by the fact that the staffing levels are insufficient to keep operations running without a gap. As an example - Superman Escape - the train stops long enough for the riders to clear unload. On the other hand - Cyclone, unloading is completed before the next group are brought through, resulting in the train 'sitting' for 3ish minutes in between each cycle. In summation - Quality over Quantity.

I think either greater california or orlando is probably the best as a 'starting point'.

See, you're taking our confidence in you as a reliable source, and posting stuff that could be taken either way. I find it extremely unlikely that they'd be doing this - but now I don't know what to think...

Shameless cross promotion...

A quick glance on the top left part of the photo slick shows the reason for the bargain - the right-hand rail and the spine is missing from the track - all those people are going to die...

Judging by the time it's taken to reach over $2000 (less than 48 hours) i'd say with 4 weeks left, he'll get his $3000.

Yes but not as many tourists go to the gold coast markets, whilst many of them go to Movie World - it's a no brainer - and within the theme parks, its a unique offering... not six stores selling the same stuff.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7mkqux05624iv8i/IMG_1146.JPG https://www.dropbox.com/s/a72b4gl6bkgcoqg/IMG_1143.JPG These are two photos I took yesterday while at the park. It isn't intrusive, it would be nice if they did stylised versions of the licensed characters from the park, but given that they are artist's renditions, it would be hard to carry the licensing tag. I did find it a little cheap and nasty, but to be honest, the park needs more 'unique can't get anywhere' experiences and less generic 'we sell the same stuff in 7 different locations' type stuff... it also wasn't open yesterday, so my guess is - contractors, only work when it's busy, responsible for their own P&L and have to give MW a cut of sales. It's poor form to have this kind of activityitem available, and then not open it. On that note - the 'dance-heads' shop has closed - and no sign of it remains: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vpekecsk4vc0qrk/IMG_1158.JPG I've a feeling a parkz update is coming soon because there have been a few changes in the park, so I won't spoil the rest of it, because I love the captions...

Have they posted a picture of the billboard next to the skyway?

I am also curious - and since it seems to have been lost in the melee i'll ask it again - is the 'Wild' poster still on display in the park (there was a billboard next to the skyway station across from shark bay that had both Wild and Storm - now that Storm is open, i'm wondering whether any changes to that board have been made. With just a year until wild's posted '2015' opening date, i'm wondering whether work will begin - or whether (like LTRR and the Mini-MovieWorld Cars Ride) the concept has been shelved to head in another direction.

I'd love to 'not miss' the show - but when the themeparks.com.au pocket app says shows are at 12 and 1pm, and it turns out that they're actually 11:00 and 1:50, means that when you plan to drop into the park to catch one of those shows you're going to miss them. It would be nice if the park kept the show times up to date on the app if they update it in park...

At least it was well positioned

Gate staff said the swings (which I later saw to be the star flyer) and a coaster - that was as much info as they gave. I included Pinfari because i'm almost certain someone else has already mentioned the introduction of the Pinfari Wild Wind... but of course I could be wrong - thats just relying on my own memory for that one. <30 minutes of searching later> Nope: I was wrong - Found the thread: So looks like it is a wave swinger - i didn't get any pictures but it didn't look like any wave swinger i've ever seen, and looked very much like the star flyer. Oh well - The PDonline description does say it is a Zierer model, so it's kind of hard to mistake it for anything else really. On the subject of them having swings already - my ride on the Booma Zooma (current chair swings) did have some areas of concern - the (fibreglass?) seats were chipped and peeled, especially around the mounts for the chains, and the chair was a very snug fit. Because the seat is a 'tractor seat' it has no backrest, so they've improvised with a steel band shackled to the chain about 8 inches up from the seat. the shackles were also a little uncomfortable if they sat in the wrong spot. Perhaps the Wave Swinger at the other end of the park will see the Booma Zooma retired, paving way for the park to spread out a little, and be a little more balanced...

Oh come on! Seriously? You guys took him literally? After MBA's (i think) joke about one maintenance man in Dreamworld, (and my discussion on that thread about cracks previously in sea viper), can nobody put two and two together and realise he was joking? Geezus! If it were true, it'd be the announcement that would deserve it's own thread, or at least a post in a viper related thread... not a throwaway line on an unrelated thread.

Given the discussion surrounding the many MANY cost cutting measures for Dreamworld - it's not outside the realm of possibility - you've got a guy on site to release harnesses that are locked in, anything worse than that - shut it down and let the night crew handle it... sort of thing. Anyhow - back on topic... wait - what was the topic again?

Interesting to hear... the choice of V8 utes means great drifting, and kind of fits in with the re-theme that has been talked about so far. I'm wondering whether this will conflict with any of the showtime events they usually do (eg: Ekka) throughout the year. The Showtime events aren't much about storyline - and mostly about burning rubber and flying through the air. I do hope that they've worked on something a bit better than HSD (not saying HSD was poor - but it wasn't PASS) - the talk of hiring 'fall' guys is promising.

I took the first part seriously, but the tunnel part as a joke... it was hard to tell...

I'm not aware that the cracks were an ongoing problem, although I believe that was an issue after a lightning strike some time ago... Things to remember about Viper is that the track is 32 years old, and it lives in one of the most corrosive environments of any coaster in the world. From what I know and what i've heard, Management have made the commitment to keep Viper running at (almost) any cost knowing full well what the continued operation of the attraction would cost. The issues with it may require more regular maintenance. Now that we have storm, this should alleviate some of the pressure on the park and help them keep up with the preventative maintenance Viper sorely needs Just for clarity I want to go on record that if there are in fact ongoing issues with cracks in the track (and I don't know either way), they are by no means undermining the structural integrity of the track that would render it unsafe, or the park would not hesitate to shut it down. I just feel after MBA's comments that needed to be said.