DaptoFunlandGuy

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.

I'm sure I read it somewhere else on the boards, but I can't find it. Construction well underway right now at AW at the back behind Redback and the Plunge. By the looks of things, we've got ourselves a star flyer (Obviously not this one, but one like it) They were in the process of building fixed steps, laying foundations for cement and general earthworks. There was also a tenative suggestion of the new Pinfari coaster they're putting in, but as yet - nothing has appeared on site for it. The project information said that the project was to commence 5/9/13 and complete 20/12/13... so they're a little behind! Since i'm here, a quick review ( i don't think it's worth creating a new thread) Front entrance ticket staff were extremely friendly, welcoming and helpful. 'opening times' - the park is open from 9am, where you can 'help yourself' to play putt putt. Rides open from 10am... or whenever the operator gets to the ride from the 'pre-opening meeting'... which could be 10... or 10:15. Putt Putt was a good way to kill some time - but a little upkeep on the 'greens' would have been nice. On a busy long weekend at the end of the school holidays, i'd have liked to have seen some of the leaf litter, sticks, and other crap cleared off the actual playing surface - even a leaf blower wouldn't have taken that long.... For my first ride on Redback and the Plunge, both were enjoyable (although I prefer Shockwave as an experience - but the ride envelope of redback was by far the cleaner of the two). Simple but nicely themed, it is a good sign of things to come. Rock'N'Roll Rebel is still one of my favourites at AW. It was disappointing that some of the scanners (moving mirror lights for the uneducated) were offline blown bulbs. It used to be one of their premier attractions and was maintained immaculately - not so much anymore. Wild mouse was being run by one operator. I never knew that that was possible - but essentially - with three cars on the track, he loads two, sends one up the lift hill while the other is held behind the pre-lift brake block. The third stays in the station, unattended and untouched, while he goes around to the unload, and stands by the brake lever waiting for the two to come around. Other parks have cut operations to save on staffing, but usually they've done it by improving the technology. LoadUnload may be slow, but at least it's constant. All the other old favourites - from the Booma Zooma, Mozzie Musta, Dodgems and the Voyager Simulator (Voyager has had a repaint and it looks good) - it's also great to see the large sunshade area in the middle... everything was looking good... ...except for the giant slide. It's the kind of attraction you see on level one in roller coaster tycoon that was constantly breaking down and catching fire... the last time I saw one of them was on an advertisement for El Caballo Blanco in like - 1986. It is however nice and neatly presented, showing minimal wear and tear, and hopefully is just a filler attraction until they improve their attraction base a bit more. With minimal queues (read:none) I found 2 rotations of the ferris wheel a little underwhelming. The 'town hall' cinema was open, with signage saying 'continuous showing - enter any time' - I walked in to find a nicely air-conditioned room... with no projection and absolute silence - a big thumbs down here - that an attraction listed as open (website said it was closed on 24/1/14 only) wasn't operating, and no attendant, sign or closed door to tell you it was down. Cafe staff were attentive and food was good for the simple fare they offered Gift shop staff carrying on a conversation best described as inappropriate in the staff room with the door open without even realising I was there was probably not a good look - stocking apparel marked as "XL" that was the same size as a 'children's size 6' needs looking at. Their polo shirts were $40, and is usually the first item I buy at any place I visit - and whilst I normally fit an XL to an XXL, I'd have needed a 6XL based on their sizings. External shops...Not really within control of the park - but there needs to be some spring cleaning put through the carpark retailers... some of them have lost touch with what it means to be a shopkeeper. One shop in particular had more 'dont touch, no food, no drink, you break it you bought it, parents please don't allow your children to..., don't this, don't that, that I just walked back out. The 'wood' guy had some nice stuff. Fudge co had some impressive flavours, but they needed vanilla. Lolly shop staff were by far the best on the strip All in all - we spent about 4 hours going through the park and the shops, did everything we wanted to do, and then back on the road before MOST of the southbound holiday traffic blocked the bruce hwy... the best thing I'll say about AW is that you won't queue much, if at all... something that may change once the new attractions go in...

I found the ventilation in the current subs to be quite adequate.

Queensland also has one - it's called 'Sunnybank'

It's closed until September - bypassing the very busy season of summer... so I doubt there is much truth to the rumor. The attraction opened in June 2007, and is over 6 years since it opened. Just about spot on time for a large maintenance refurb period. The materials used to make the coral and other underwater features is made primarily of coloured glass to reduce fading. I remember seeing the old subs in 1996 (two years before the original closed) and the underwater fish were extremely faded both from the sun exposure and the chlorine. Themouseforless.com says "When the attraction reopens, guests will notice the colorful, more vibrant underwater rockwork and coral." A member on Micechat proposed a theory of this attraction's demise based on rhetoric of poor capacity and running costs, and proceeded to expand on his theory with suggestions of what it could become. Not even a page later and everyone on the thread is talking like the subs have been closed already, and the bulldozers are moving in - they're all placing bets on what the new attractions will be, and how many of them there are. This is why dippin dots style rumors are dangerous - and chinese whispers cause all sorts of grief when word spreads. Thankfully, our parks don't have that kind of rumor mill, and the majority of truthful info can be found here. Relying on facebook threads from kids who like to spread garbage without base or fact means they deserve everything they get. Short answer is Nemo is ripe for a long-overhaul, and I would suggest closure to 'save money' (while keeping it closed all through summer) is probably nothing but bullshit.

I've rarely known MickeyD to be wrong. i'll accept what he says unless proven otherwise

A wild idea - and probably something best held for another thread - but here's a wacky concept - Ardent drives DW further downhill - eventually gets it to a point where they've poisoned everyone against it - revenue is down, and the park is making a loss.... ...does VRTP make an offer to buy? Why? Why not?