DaptoFunlandGuy

Good luck picking up tickets for this december... the park won't be open until December 2013.

In short - I did complain to guest services on the day - immediately after the ride. TBH, I don't think (Lauren?) took the complaint very seriously. Of course - she totally agreed with what we said and assured us she would follow this up with the attraction supervisors - but didn't write a thing down whilst we were there. (*side note - i wasn't expecting any free stuff or anything - just to be reassured the matter would be dealt with properly - In my opinion, when a complaint is received, it should be accurately documented whilst the plaintiff was there, to ensure all the details were captured correctly.) Whilst I acknowledge Rappa's comment about general politeness, and yes, we probably could have communicated our intentions better than we did - the point is - we weren't being paid to be there and provide a service - when the cast member was - regardless of a guest's particular behaviour, no cast member should respond to a guest in that fashion as it can escalate very quickly into something the cast member can't control. Had I been brought up differently, I might have responded that 'i pay her wages, and i'll tell her exactly what i'm going to do, and she's going to deal with it because i'm her boss'. Given her response to a rather benign comment, I can see her response escalating to that... certain unsavoury elements that visit the park would not see anything inappropriate with escalating that situation to something physical - i've seen it happen when I worked at Wonderland - and she's out there virtually on her own - only the operator can see what happens to her, and only if they're watching. The point is, regardless of how I interacted with her, i'm not employed by the park, and I don't represent them - she does, and should have responded appropriately.

I had a look at the zipline tower from Aqualoop. I'd say they'll easily have the room on that top deck to run both zipline and constrictor... it's not like Zipline has a 30 minute queue - people have to book timings, so 1 or 2 people every 5 or 10 minutes isn't going to be a big impact. I'm curious though - whether a raft conveyor will be installed here. If the cloverleaf rafts are similar in size to tornado, I think many would struggle to carry them up that long hill - not to mention if you've got a slow moving raft going up the ramp, the people heading for whitewater mountain will not be able to pass for much of the trip... here's hoping a conveyor is planned.

It's been a while since I went to Sydney, but weren't there plans to extend M4 under parramatta road to connect up to the airport somewhere???

I know the fire brigade attended the park during fright nights last year - but that was to Scooby (they drove round the back of stunt driver to access scooby from behind intencity) - maybe thats what you're thinking of Kujo?

In my view, the $8 fee rounds up your hire charge from $2 an hour to the $10 all-day locker rate. It's an incentive to people that if you're going to exceed the hour time-limit, you should just get an all-day locker. I fully support MW doing this, although I agree there should be a significant lee-way - perhaps allow unlimited re-entry during the first hour (you might just want a drink between rides, or want money to buy your photo), but after the first 60 minutes, you get an additional 60 minutes where you can enter to remove stuff only (so if you enter on the 61st minute, your time is up, but if you don't re-enter until the 119th minute, you don't incur a penalty). From that point on, anyone exceeding that time is abusing the process, and should be required to pay the fee. Rather than guest services or retail staff unlocking, it should be done by security - and anyone rude or refusing to pay should be immediately ejected from the park (and have their VIP pass revoked if necessary). I don't believe this is 'gouging' - the point is, they offer two different locker systems - a one hour locker (that is suitably extended if there is a long wait time) and an all day locker for $10 (7 hours for the price of 5). If you're going to exceed the time, you're safer to go with an all day option.

As has been said before though - the budgets for these other attractions usually entail the construction of a building to house the attraction - this would be a sizeable part of the budget - they aren't just a tin shed - many safety systems need to go in as well. The building in this case already has all of those systems and infrastructure in place, so the costs are drastically reduced because of it. As for 'milking' the DC brand... is Hong Kong Disneyland milking the brand by it's construction of Toy Story land? DC is one of two major licenses held by MW - the other being Looney Toons. Considering the park already has one full land, a show stage, and several parades and street shows built around that brand, they're equalising the branding by bringing the attraction count up on the DC side. What other theme would you suggest to replace a previously 'batman' themed ride, except another in the same universe? I don't think anyone is questioning the quality of this attraction. Just looking at the new facade on the old wayne manor - it is extremely well done (my partner thought it was real marble), so without 'inside' pictures, I can only predict the interior will live up to the standard we've already seen. My 'expectations' are quite high for this attraction - i'm not sure where my exceptions are though...

I went to MW and WnW yesterday. As for putting the prices up on the passes, I wouldn't complain, but I think WVTP have got their heads sorted as far as the price point goes. VIP for $100 is a bargain, but most people didn't want to shell out the extra $30 odd dollars for VIP gold. Then those who didn't complained when 4 people got into the park 30-45 minutes early, and essentially had ERT on the 'early entry' ride of the day. We both have gold passes, we only paid $80 for each pass this year, and yesterday was our first trip. Between the two parks we spent: $20 on lockers $60 on food and drink. (We bought an unlimited refill at MW, and had lunch at Rick's). So, out of ONE visit on our passes, they've just made $240. Granted, we don't always spend that much, but the in-park sales are where they're going to make their profit (as has been said already). I know that some people with VIP passes will take the cheaper option - go to McDonalds or bring their own food and drink etc - but if they don't have the money to spend in the park, then fair enough, But I don't think it's fair to say that every VIP pass holder eats outside the park. We will frequently have an 'in-park spend' whilst we're there, and at the very least - we usually need to get a locker - and an all-day locker usually works out cheaper than the $1$2 ride lockers for an hour. While i'm writing about our trip yesterday - I just want to name and shame Rachel, who was working as the grouper at the head of the SE queue yesterday. We had decided that we were only going to ride SE once, and we wanted to take on the front seat. As usual, the queueline worked so we were in the middle of the queue, and when we reached the head, we stepped to the side, and advised her that 'we'd like to wait for the front seat'. Her response? 'well are you going to ask me if you can, or are you just telling me that that's what you're doing?' To make things worse, the cycle that we'd 'passed up' ended up ejecting the front row for 'loose items' (i'm glad to see that they're actually doing this now, rather than just taking the items off them), and she immediately canvassed the queue for a 'group of 2 - it's for the front seat' while overlooking us when she knew that was what we were waiting for. The couple behind us was led forward to take that front seat. On the next cycle, when she opened the gate, she sarcastically advised us 'you can have your front seat now'. Most of you know i've worked in parks before... and to be honest - i've never experienced that kind of 'rudeness' from WVTP or Dreamworld. Hell - even Aussie world aren't that abrupt. It just irritated the hell out of me. Anyhow... I'd like to see the passes increased in price next year - not by a lot - $10 or $20 is easily justifiable - and sets the scene for another $10 or $20 the year after that... while keeping their F&B pricing the same. If they decide to keep the passes where they are, they really need to maximise their in-park offers - and while some people will eat lunch outside of the park, the unlimited refill soft drink is a good offer - so putting their focus there is probably the way to go. As I understand it from one of the staff operating one of those outlets, it's been extremely popular (albeit a little stickymessy) so here's hoping they continue along those lines as $8 for all-day drinks is a really good way to make some money - a cup of post-mix doesn't crack a dollar in costs, so theres money to be made!

Well given they're advertising it on fright nights, it will definitely open before october...

Given that it was MonTues nights on the dev site, i had a quick look. MonTues in October this year is 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 & 31. October 2011, those dates are Saturdays and Sundays (and 31st is a monday) October 2010, those dates are Fridays and Saturdays (and 31st is a sunday) So my bet is that the current dev site has used prior year dates as fillers.

My sources are private, but a former employee, who is both an accomplished horserider, breeder, working dog trainer has communicated to me the conditions for both staff and animals alike. What most might see as very good facilities for some of those animals are in fact detrimental to them. I've made that statement in my personal opinion, and I'm not prepared to go further into the detail and nitty gritty, or argue over it in public as I believe that the attraction is 'adequate' in that regard, just not 'best practise'. Is it harsh - yes it is, but then when you own both race and pleasure horses, and understand that different treatments apply to them depending on the work they're put to, you can take one look at the feeds they have in the shed for their horses and know they're not doing the right thing by the animal. As for the 'people management' that is just hearsay based on one former employee's opinion (but one who left of their own accord after becoming fed up with those practises).

A gold upgrade option would be welcomed. My Gold is fine, but others in my family who didn't see the value in it will jump at the upgrade once offered...

Agreed - work around the studios - you're not moving them. You'd sooner close the park than the studio. And also agree re: Paradise Country. Sure it isn't to the tastes of most people on this forum, but it has a target market, and delivers on it very well. Personally, i'd shut it down simply because of the poor people management, and the poor animal management practises they have there, but front-of-house, theres nothing wrong with it, extraordinarily popular with tourists, and they'd be nuts to shut it down.

Come on - tell me someone else was thinking this...

Ahhhhhhh - all you younguns... The putt putt between Zodiac and Probe was the SECOND putt putt attempt in HBL. The first course was about where they built Fred Flintstone's Splashdown, and can be seen in aerial shots of the park in 85/86.

It's funny to hear someone say that after the number of people who were whinging about the SBNO LTRR, BT, BATR.... In that last photo - there appears to be a white 'carport' style awning near one of the entrances to the mountain... I don't ever recall seeing this before - any ideas on it?

at least they've themed the fencing now so it fits in a little better - much better than the plain white sheeting they had on it before. It's kind of sad to see them demolishing the concrete channels... but i'm glad they're finally doing something with the site...

I'm not disputing it - but this is the first i've heard of 'china alley' being permanently closed. If they were just going to make it back of house, why did they tear down all the facades? Why not just put up a themed hoarding that looks like market stalls (skill games work) and leave the china backdrop? it'd at least look like it belonged then... instead of a fence?

Challenge accepted. I don't have any photographic evidence of course (they kind of prefer you don't have loose items on the ride) But I have seen a VERY small segment of the backyard in one of the previous series.

So the news article links to an On-Ride at WnWP. let me first start off by saying i'm glad we're seeing a new slide in the park. Aqualoop has been around for two seasons now, the 'Aqua Drop' didn't last, so i'm glad they're moving on, replacing a long SBNO slide. That said, the ride looks half the length of terror canyon, and nowhere near as exciting. I think most of the effect you get on that ride is because the alternating colours are twisted throughout the ride, so it looks a little like you're going crazy, when in actual fact it looks a little more sedate on the video. So I got the ride model right (thanks to a 'well educated guess'), and whilst i didn't make a statement, I questioned whether they would stick with the generic name - and it seems they are. Any news on whether there will be one, or two of these? a 3 person slide is obviously great capacity, but when you look back on terror canyon - was that a 2 person slide? (times two slides = 4people?) hopefully the system is more efficient to allow for many pph... time will tell. They probably aren't putting in two if phoenix only has one, but when you look at the little rippers - it works well with two running at a time...

Reckon they'll just sit with the generic 'Constrictor' name? or will they get creative? I mean having uniquely named rides like 'aqualoop' and 'mammoth' and 'flowrider' really sets them apart...

You're finished. I'm not. It might be cheap to buy - but that thing has got more problems than any new attraction ever has. What they'll save on purchase, they'll spend on maintenance. It's like buying a 25 year old pus-box magna instead of a relatively new modelled cheap car (like a Chery). They may both have their problems, but one has manufacturers warranty, available parts and service personnel trained on its maintenance requirements. A 25 year old shitbox that you can't get parts for - and have to custom make them, technology so far out of date you'd need to re-train your maintenance staff, the hardware (track and supports etc) being the same age, having been viciously cut (it was taken down at wonderland by a demolition crew, not a relocation crew - they didn't care what happened to it), and then gingerly pieced together by an engineering crew at the other end who had problems again and again with it, even after they'd opened. Point is - that ride has leprosy. Anyone who takes it on should be made fully aware of its past. I said before - theres a reason its still on the market - and it's not a good reason like the asking price being too high or anything of that nature. I'm not 100% - i think it was Nev involved in the reconstruction - he could attest to these problems (as could Bussy to a lesser extent). At the end of the day - Titan Demon Zoomerang is NOT AN OPTION. I appreciate you want to drop the subject because you're getting called on it, but stop spruiking it as being an option AT ALL. Regardless of the conversion rate, regardless of whether it would fit in the space, or whether it was originally planned to go in there in the first place - it's had its day. its dead and its done.

Well being that Universal have spent a shit load of money to have a HP themed land, I doubt you'll see any more HP than what we already have. Put simply - WB holds the movie licensing, and Universal the theme park licensing - shit - we might as well lobby MW to replace LTRR with Pirates of the Carribbean! Matrix is dead. It was a cult followed franchise, but it's over. it has no lastability in todays market. The matrix exhibit was shit.. and boring. A walk through attraction that isn't worth the re-rideability, and therefore, regulars avoid it like the plague. I saw it once - that was enough. To announce an attraction NOW based on a franchise that had it's day THAT LONG ago, is akin to MW announcing a new Lethal Weapon roller coaster - it's not going to happen. Themes have to be current AT THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION - unless - UNLESS that theme has long standing. The DC characters have that long standing - so does Scooby Doo, and so do the WB characters. Even the AVPX has a theme that has stood the test of several decades. And police academy - whilst it was getting on in years - had movies that also spanned two decades (or was it three?) Look at Wild Wild West Adventure Ride - themed to capitalise on the movie, and dumped once it lost its relevance. Cartoon network made way for nickelodeon... nickelodeon made way for Dreamworks. I'll bet with the demise of the wiggles that we'll see that disappear with it's lost relevance once the 'new wiggles' die in the arse (which they will). I'm all for the park expanding, and opening a new themed land with some great new attractions - problems include a lack of space to the back of the park due to the backyard neighbours (thereby requiring any expansion that way to be 'indoors' which also loses a key access route around the back of the park too). Expanding to the front has been done about as far as they can, which is why we're seeing replacements instead of new installations (GL excepted). I'd like to see them utilise the land between the sound stage and WWF, and they probably will someday - by which time franchises like the Matrix will long have been forgotten. HP will live on but only because of the fan following, and the kick ass themed lands made by universal - we won't see that install into MW. Dare I say - something still current, recent, and easily themable would be Twilight - but I hope I don't get banned for swearing... not to mention that i'd probably avoid the park like the plague if they did something like that.

[*]It's had 3 previous homes [*]At wonderland, it leaked fluid like no tomorrow [*]The track has been cut, and rewelded - in several places - several times [*]Regardless of refurbishment - you can polish manure - but it's still shit.

I think you're reaching... The WBMW is iconic - changing to DC World would involve the retheming of several attractions that would be extremely expensive - Scooby for one. Why is the park adding nothing but DC attractions? Well probably because out of all the films available to them under license, the DC are more 'long lasting' in terms of a successful comic following, as well as a somewhat successful movie following (which in some cases involves more than one movie - even more than one SERIES of movies (ala Batman). The popularity and recognisability of the characters is what keeps it alive and makes it such a desirable theme. I would think nothing of the staff members comment except to highlight that they know their characters are DC, and you were featuring Marvel. Seems odd for a cast member to randomly drop that comment to you without some form of preceding leading discussion...