BNErider

Here's another one. A lot of times when I visit Movie World and to a lesser extent Dreamworld, the toilets are filthy. I mean filthy. Wet and muddy floors are the biggest thing I find wrong. I visit a lot in the afternoons, so whether this has anything to do with it. I know it's very much based on timing, but can't they commit to more regular checkups?

Around the windows and on some other sections there are still the rope lights installed.

I didn't think the facade/window lights are used during Carnivale? I agree that they may be used for events, but it shouldn't take away from the park's main purpose: a themed environment for its day-time operations. You may think it's being overly critical, but I don't think it's fair to shoot down other people's opinions in a thread like this.

Yeah, I am serious. I have almost come to terms with the icicle lights on the roof, but now they're leaving lights up around the facade windows/fixtures. I believe this is the first year they've left those up.

C'mon Movie World, take down the rest of the Christmas lights. They look tacky I know they're sometimes used for events, but they really bug me.

Thanks for the info skeetafly, it's great to have someone here who knows so much in terms of developments and planning.

I've been thinking hard and don't know if a woodie would be seen as a "great" ride in Australia. I have all these visions of people without a clue posting on Facebook how Movie World is building an "old" ride. I'm not sure if it'd be as marketable as, say, a 60m tall steel coaster. Just my 2c. I also think it's going to be a movie theme that's more relatable and modern than any Westerns. I could see Mad Max, but that's not a western and would require a re-theme to slightly adjust its surrounds (if it's build around the sound stage area/behind SCSC). I do secretly hope we're seeing a dark ride/coaster hybrid but in that case we'd be seeing some more DAs, yes? I'm actually surprised we're not seeing more anyway, unless the one for the coaster can include many sub-items like moving sheds and adding them?

I didn't take any photos backstage. But there wasn't much to see, I just walked in the door between Stars/Movie Memorabilia and there was a little office behind Roxy where I signed some forms. I then entered the back of the Roxy pre-show room and worked in and out of the main Roxy Theatre, and also on Main St. It was cool because I love theme parks, not because there was actually anything interesting back there!

^ Via my regular job, I did some event photography for an awards night in the Roxy Theatre recently. Going back stage behind Roxy was awesome!

I'm a huge fan of Orlando. I feel it's a perfect amount of relaxation mixed with the parks, instead of crazy LA. In saying that, first timers love LA because there's a lot to do other than the parks themselves. The parks' distances aren't too bad; USH and SFMM you can easily drive to if you're staying in Anaheim (but it is still a treck). Knott's is only around the corner from the Disney parks. SWSD I've done in a day, albeit it's a lengthy drive. We're going back to LA and Orlando and we're spending most of our time in Orlando. LA we are only staying in Anaheim because it's a nice location, and we *might* do one day at Disney.

Anyone know what that new shop near Dirty Harry bar is going to be yet? Extra points if anyone has any recent photos!

I have always found the carpark horrible. Until we started parking WAY up the back, pretty much as far as you can go. Not only are carparks easier to come by when you enter, you literally leave and drive on to the service road before any of the other rows try to exit.

Has anyone been to Movie World lately and took a photo of the construction at the Dirty Harry bar?

I absolutely love the "big" sets! Feels much more real. I hope they reconsider their decisions next year!

Interesting reading about the mazes. TBH, I was never blown away by the maze choices but I was hoping the two stage show mazes would be awesome!? Argh!

Definitely didn't screw up, your points were very interesting and I can't wait to see how my experiences differ. I know how long it takes to post these reviews so thanks for the effort!

TBH, I appreciated the review - thank you for providing. I think people can stop reading if they don't want to know too much. I guess a spoiler tag/message could be placed at the top, though.

I rode SDSC a few months ago and noticed the Castle bricks in the queue line were quite damaged/worn in parts. Has anything been fixed up during its downtime?

Not a bad idea, but I do also feel that people will probably get over the Blackfish thing. Some won't, but the majority will. One thing I'd love for our Sea World to do is create a larger sense of "adventure". Think of the original IoA but with animals.

Re SE effects, do the lockers/pipe steam/walls ever move anymore? I haven't seen them running for years!

They're $80 per room/group. That's actually really good value!

I've done HHN in Orlando both last year and in 2010. In general, I feel our mazes are great, albeit a little bit smaller in terms of the size of the individual sets/scenes. Their throughput and efficiencies are better, too. I think this year we'll see four A-level mazes compared to the pervious years' two, so that will mean a big improvement in terms of maze quality. It'd be nice to see a fifth maze introduced next year, though. The biggest thing I feel Orlando has over ours is that the entire park is much more vibrant (less dead spots), and is open super late. You can relax knowing you have enough time to eat, ride one or two rides and hit most (all?) of the mazes. Ours is way too rushed. Personally, I'd love for Movie World to introduce some more attractions/shows outside of the "central" area. Perhaps run a Halloween-themed show in the show stage and put a maze back where the Saw maze used to be (behind WWF). And if possible, run mazes until 11pm/midnight (it used to be 11pm anyway). I don't care if most of the rides have to stop, but surely they could open the park until midnight if they just run mazes/shows/SDSC/JL3D.

Thanks for the photos! Wow, Dreamworld has outdone themselves! I'd only make two suggestions - improve the lighting on the front of the building and fill in the windows with glass. But really, it's such an amazing improvement and really makes me excited to see what Dreamworld has in store for us next.

For me, I'd definitely like Dreamworld to spread out a little. Perhaps somewhere near the Big Brother amphitheatre, old water park, or near the log ride area. As for what rides, well if I'm choosing a roller coaster I'd love something like Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens. But I agree that something indoors would be awesome, like a well themed dark ride. I feel that Dreamworld should look at what Disneyland has done their their Adventureland and do that there. The bushland etc would be an awesome place to build it. A few cool restaurant/shops would also help make the area feel lively.

Looks good, let's hope the windows get replaced with glass!