DaptoFunlandGuy

Absolutely acknowledge this, but the app generally delivers something to the buyer in return. Still heavily slanted to the merchant, but for example - the wait times, the virtual queue, online ordering for food, Sure, you could web base this but there's a lot of people out there that struggle to use web-based interfaces that find apps really simple and intuitive (not to mention idiot proof). Nice hat by the way.

They're still contemptuous. They're still dancing around the fact that they closed it with not even a week's notice. They've got *checks* ride maintenance plans published until September - so don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining because "planned maintenance". It's clear something unexpected happened, and you can't blame that on "pandemic supply chain", so just be bloody transparent about it. This doesn't pass the sniff test, and the additional extension makes it smell even worse. How about they start with: "During routine maintenance we check all aspects of our ride and with Scooby Doo being nearly 20 years old, our most recent routine checks identified *widgets out of tolerance*. While we had planned to announce our exciting upgrades later this year, these widgets mean we will need more time to do so and we unfortunately need to close scooby sooner than planned to ensure the best experience for all our guests". Granted, this doesn't acknowledge the overnight extension to 2025, but with the above posted 2 weeks ago, they're on the front foot about transparency right from the get go, so when the date blows out overnight, we're already on board with "she's getting older, and needs more work than originally thought". Also - while i realise supply chain issues are still a thing - COVID was a 2022 problem and most people are getting on with the job. There is going to come a time (and I feel its very soon if not already) where any organisation should be factoring any lags or delays into their initial plans (they've had 3 years notice so far) and so when your ride upgrades are announced a week ago, you don't go blaming a 3 year old pandemic for extending the opening date an entire year.

I mean, App usage is pretty much the default these days. Both Village and Disney have app-based tickets (Although I do love Dreamworld's option to have it in your Apple Wallet so you can show your barcode on phone or watch to enter (never lose the damn thing again!) and while i'm sure parks will definitely have an alternative if you prefer to wear your hats covered in tinfoil, it's definitely the simpler way of entering the park. Purchasing backwards uses the same app as the entry ticket so if you already have it, you're not giving anything else away. Everything is "Simples" for you, but I don't see you running a theme park company, so maybe it isn't "Simples".

I had my Son height checked at a park recently. In addition to putting a wristband on him with his height, they wrote down his name and DOB as well as the height measured and the date. I asked why so much detail, and apparently it is because they've had situations of parents getting wristbands off one kid, and putting it on another, smaller kid. Ride ops can still send height-checked kids back to GS if they think the kid is too short. How easy would it be to have a camera mount checked, and then swap it for another one. Or maybe they take it off for lunch and then don't put it on in the same secure fashion that it was when it was checked? No. No fucking wristbands. No fucking turnstiles. No removing the RFID scanning system on Steel Taipan. This is Australia. Not the USA, not Europe. Or anywhere else in the world. NOBODY CARES what they do overseas because overseas might tolerate 1 injury a year, we have ZERO TOLERANCE on ANYONE getting hurt. Because what happens when someone DOES get hurt is the entire fucking industry gets the screws tightened, forcing people to do things like "no tissues allowed" and "RFIDs on rollercoasters". Any level of risk is unacceptable, and no amount of "some parks do this" from you is going to change anything.

Without knowing what was in his mind, for my own, I immediately think of: the loss of Scooby The reduction in capacity at Wild West I had thought about this when Dreamworld put out so much info about their current projects - right down to each ride's planned timeframes and scope of works. It isn't something we're used to, but the transparency at Dreamworld has been met with enthusiasm from folks who heard the news, while the closure of scooby has been met with much derision within the general public. A more fully fleshed out park that doesn't have a gaping vacant hole in the middle... plus what slick said.

hard to tell sometimes. that's why I *emphasised* my contribution to the humor.

I heard someone say the other day that they don't sell wristbands in the park anymore and it's all app-based, and for me, thats a big missed opportunity for lost revenue anytime you're having app issues (or for internationals that don't have mobile data, for example). Like - how hard is it for the photo centre to have a book of wristbands to sell when needed? If its a case of having it in the app so that you don't oversell the wristbands and can control how many are available, just have the photo staff process it on an ipad after taking payment?

Superman rescues me from the subway tunnels and i'm flying over metropolis that is packed with a mass of people? - Yes.

Now that it's on a blue pole, I totally get the Ocean connection. You know, because it's blue.

I think Universal, Warner & Rowling might take *Umbridge* at that, given their hot property is commonly referred to as "the wizarding world"

Absolutely right, I completely ignored the rest of that when I replied. thanks for the correction. The section under the launch is entirely covered by a metal roof. So, there's that.

Given how strict superman is, I see no reason to worry. We've heard from @Noxegon that not even tissues are permitted. I think we should see netting installed under the track that guests walk underneath which is a sensible precaution, but you can get closer to Jet Rescue, Road Runner and Superman Track (near the show building) much closer than you'll be close to the track in the helix. If you look at the fencing, there is currently a double fence so even if you get in those first gates, theres another fence before the helix. The overhead track right at the front of the helix is the only issue, and a net is a sensible addition. no other changes will be needed.

You'd think so, but it actually causes more issues. (Full disclosure - I am an ex-smoker, and the smell of it triggers me and makes me feel sick). If you remove areas that are at least reasonably close walking distance, most smokers will do it anywhere. Disney banned it in all their parks, but they have great cast that are very observant and will spot wayward smokers in a second. Our parks don't have that many staff walking the streets - and if you don't give smokers an area to go to that is reasonably close, they'll light up anywhere and walk amongst the crowds smoking away. (And vapers don't consider themselves as "smoking" so alot of them already do walk around vaping away) The superman area is in a corner, near the action, but not in anyone's path - you don't have to walk through that area to get anywhere. It is a pretty well placed spot and not too far from most things at the front.

*beats head against wall* Ok, read this verrrrrrrrrry sloooooooowly.... Seatbelts. and. the. RFID. system. reduce. risk, because. the. system. won't. dispatch. without. the. operator. scanning. their. RFID. tag. within. a. few. seconds. of. the. seatbelt. going. in. The insurance company can be assured that it was an operator who secured the rider because the RFID tag proves it occurred. There's no question about whether the guest or the operator closed the harness, or whether the operator checked if the harness was locked. the system log PROVES that a trained operator was present at the time. Because they recently got sued for negligence over a homemade ride with poor procedures and maintenance and having systems that are "above and beyond" industry standards is probably a good thing for the following reasons: it covers their arse it makes the general public who ride it feel like its safer because everything is double checked it makes the insurers more confident that another incident is unlikely. This. This. 1000% this. Someone isn't listening again. The RFID must be scanned within a small timeframe after the seatbelt is buckled. The seatbelts can't all be inserted in advance because it will time out. So you'd have to coordinate every rider buckling the belt just before the operator got there and if one thing went wrong, you'd have to start over. With the current system in place, allowing them to do the seatbelt is actually the most efficient method to interact with the RFID ***AND THIS IS WHY IT MAKES THE RIDE SAFER BECAUSE IT IS CERTAIN THAT THE OPERATOR CHECKED THE RESTRAINT*** rather than pretending to, which is what you're implying. I've got news for you too - Operators take their jobs very seriously. They don't want to kill anyone. They're not going to take shortcuts on purpose, so what you're alleging is just offensive. This system isn't to prevent "on purpose shortcuts" because it doesn't need to generally. It's there to prevent shortcuts BY ACCIDENT. If something momentarily distracts an operator (like my conversation with them) and they forget to do something and then dispatch - that could be unsafe. But the ride timed out because they didn't scan the RFID in time, and so they had to recheck it to ensure it was done properly. Those sort of accidental inadvertent errors is what the system is designed to catch. @Dean Barnett - please just take a step back and look at this conversation - you're on your own here. Several people have taken great pains to counter your arguments with reasonable explanations that are plain for anyone to see. You're not going to convince anyone. We all agree that our local parks are woefully slow in their operations. We also agree that there are things they COULD do to improve things. Some of those are procedural - such as opening air gates earlier or grouping earlier (but not with a fucking turnstile), and a lot of it is cultural. But, and this is a huge but - and *especially* not post-TRRR: nobody is going to favor trading off things that are done for safety in place of efficiency. Whether you think its theatre, whether you think it doesn't change or improve safety, if the control in question is done for even the appearance of safety - nobody is going to agree to remove it because that would make it appear to be less safe, and that isn't something that our park-going public will tolerate in this post-TRRR world.

You know, I absolutely knew this, but thought it was part of the same precinct. Thanks for the correction Spotty.

Then there isn't much else we can do to help you understand. Even Regie gets it. Try this: Coroner: "How do we know that a person who was trained in the safe operation of this amusement device checked that the restraint was closed and locked before the ride was dispatched?" Dreamworld: "Well your honour, here is a print-out of the ride's control system showing that RFID tag issued to *Operator* was scanned 3.6 seconds after the seatbelt was inserted into the buckle." It's like home insurance. My insurer takes into account that I have an alarm system, and CCTV. Window locks and keyed deadbolts. crimsafe or diamond grill security screens. These are all things that make it harder for someone to break into my home, so I am less of a risk. The RFID tag makes it impossible to dispatch without an operator physically being present while every harness is checked. It can't prove they physically pulled on the restraint, but it proves they were there, and all things considered, it's likely that they checked while they were there, so the risk of an unrestrained launch and potential death decreases dramatically, and therefore, so do the insurance premiums.

Not so much a guide. The regulations are backed by legislation and enforced by QLD health by penalties imposed on the smoker or the venue, depending on the offence. But you're right, i've no doubt the parks would have to provide evidence that their arrangements comply with law. Things like the V8s in Ipswich and GC, QLD Health inspectors patrol the grounds, which are entirely smoke free precincts, and issue fines regularly. The smoking area is technically against the fence, and the queue is almost certainly going through the current vehicle access gates closer to the launch. the queue will be just as far away if not more so.

The QLD regs are easy to find - so I should have checked them first - the regs state it is actually FIVE metres from building entrances. The wording is pretty straight forward: within 5 metres of non-residential building entrances Clearly the regulations would regard the standard dictionary definition of a non residential building. A building is defined as "a structure with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory." and it is clearly not residential - so I would suggest an Operator's booth does qualify, the ride structure does not. Its semantics at any rate - based on the pics so far, the operators booth will be more than 5 metres from the currently designated area.

it isn't just theatre, its ass-covering, which probably also contributes to insurance savings. How else can you PROVE that an operator was present for the locking of the restraint?

This is a ride that hasn't been built in over 30 years - which is a fairly average lifespan for amusement attractions, so to learn there is only 4 still running isn't a surprise.

Like a lot of other things you post here, you're talking crap - but i'd love for you to explain why you think this is the case?

You do actually. The morass of people between the JL store and the Rivals entrance is sometimes just plain feral. Regardless, the smokers corner is probably safe, unless the park chooses to move it. Construction won't impact it at all, and given QLD law regarding 4 metres from building entrances, playgrounds, schools etc etc, it more than adequately meets the health departments criteria for positioning.

I don't think it's in our parks best interests to have offpeak closures or midweek closures despite your preferences. Our maintenance requirements mean rides would still be closed on those opening days, because maintenance for the bigger attractions takes longer than 3-4 days.

Yeah that's fair. Its a shame its such a disappointment overall. What was intamin thinking!

It's hard to ignore the visual similarity, but a 'swinging ship' powered on the ground =\= a fully controlled and driven movement. Consider a purist's definition of a roller coaster as compared to a powered "coaster".