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MickeyD

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MickeyD last won the day on January 27 2020

MickeyD had the most liked content!

About MickeyD

  • Birthday 13/05/1975

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Brisbane
  • Interests
    Life is the best ride of them all so enjoy every moment while it lasts!

Park & Ride Stats

  • Favourite Ride
    Indiana Jones Adventure
  • Park Count
    4
  • Ride Count
    8

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About Me

My first ever job was at Movie World in F&B waaaay back in 1992 on a rate of $6.36 per hour!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. .

My love affair with Theme Parks began years earlier & only grew after a family Holiday to Disneyland as a pre teen. 

Dreaming up & designing new ideas for Theme Parks was a childhood passion. Quite remarkably this gave me the privilege of one day meeting the CEO and his Chief Designer. I was barely 16 at the time!

Enthralled by my 1st visit, I began dreaming/drawing up a new family thrill ride & named it "Batman Adventure, Beyond the Screen" (seriously, no shit!) 

My version of a Batman Ride was however an indoor rollercoaster but it did have many similarities to the (Simulator) ride which eventuated. Entry facade, Library, Batcave - even the name!

A few months had passed by after posting my designs with letter, addressed to founding CEO, John Menzies before finally a letter arived in the post! 

Mr Menzies politely apologized for the delay in replying as an overseas trip got in the middle. He expressed how taken he was by my design and offered his Secretary to arrange a meeting with both himself & one of the Chief Designers!

Like a dream come true, one of the most exciting Days of my whole life had arrived! With my dear Mum waiting patiently out by Admin Security, I was gone for hours, starting with an enthusiastic meeting with CEO Menzies as well as the head of Creative and Technical Services. I have fond memories of Giddily looking over the "official" new Batman Ride schematic & artistic designs + it was such a thrill to see my very own drawings alongside, proudly on display! Hours rolled by & there were many more catch ups that happened in the years ahead.

Unsurprisingly, I began my MW career a short time later. Eight wonderful years of memories, experiences & friendships that have lasted a lifetime.

I'm a little saddened by what MW has  become today. The People who led folks like me have all moved on or sadly passed away. We were the family who lived and breathed Movie World with a passion & pride that made it the Place that truly sparkled from top to toe. We brought World class Showmanship and always soared high over the competition.

History has made me look at MW today through a rather critical lens.  Today's MW has come at the expense of all but completely erasing the original Park, but to be fair if it didn't change, it probably would have closed a long time ago.

Annual Passes changed the place, for better or worse, they were necessary to survive. By giving Visitors exactly what (they thought) they wanted - maybe we're left with a MW that's less about "magic" and more about money.

Looking ahead, renewed competition from DW will force all our Parks to lift their game, which has got to be a good thing, right?

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