iwerks

Good point Joz. I read up on some of his comments on the Australian Coaster Club website and whilst it doesn't publish the full review, he makes some good points - one of them being that you can ride Abyss more than once in a row and not feel too beaten up by it. He's also a pretty big unit and the OTSR were quite comfortable. Here's the Facebook page.. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Coaster-Club/324172401616?directed_target_id=0

No, Deano didn't say that. He actually described the ride really well, it's the WAGs and other celebrities that were waxing lyrical about it. It's a great ride - it's up there (and I love that dive loop at the end), but nothing can match Superman Escape in Australia.

Congrats Deano on the official AW quote - good to see that someone knows what they're talking about. Once again we've got "Australia's best coaster" - really? http://adventureworld.net.au/#/news-events/praise-for-abyss!/

Actually saw you talking the pics and thinking 'is he taking selfies'? Really enjoyed your reporting on Adventure World's graveyard from a few years ago.

Some people are suggesting that the next rollercoaster should start from there. To better times..

Forgot to put the link to the pics on TPR: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65854&sid=c4162e132c48a29ac1f0065a997b84fe&start=110 It's interesting that Adventure World seems pretty lax on checking for cameras - some nice pics there. Just occurred to me that their upgrades on the regular tickets are very much emulating Universal's Express and Disney's Fastpass - clever. Apparently there were some people on AW's Facebook page who thought you had to pay for the upgrade to go on Abyss. Also really enjoyed Freefall on Saturday. It's a shot and drop tower that does about four rotations on the one ride - mixing the shots and the drops so you never know what is going to happen. It gives you great views of the Perth Skyline if you are facing the right way. More pics of the Abyss from Fright Nights:

Yeah the chair and height thing attracted stupid kids all day. When you sit in the chair and bring the restraint down it goes 'buzz'. On the flip side, there were lots of security and scarers in this area on Saturday. The Guardians would have to be the best costumed characters to wander a park ever. Plenty of people were getting their photo taken with them. Some guardians were pretending to blend in with the gateway. There was also an old zombie Doc Brown-like character who was really good. All the staff either had face make-up or costumes. It was a great night.

The quick pass is for the top five rides. The access to the Abyss and Grand Prix seems to be the exits. Unfortunately there's already some signs of vandalism - note the right hand side of the sign.

Here's the link to Saturday's news announcement: http://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/adventure-world-launches-new-spooky-attraction-the-abyss-rollercoaster/story-e6frfq89-1226751557610 The same story popped up in the West and several other news sites. Here's Deano's description from the TPR forum page: Actually got a photo of him taking one of his pics.. Here are some of my thoughts on the ride: Abyss is not a huge coaster – probably comparable in size and demographic to Lethal Weapon/Arkham Asylum. Riders queue up according to whether they want to sit in the front or back row. Trying to get a large group of people on the same train is quite a challenge as the rear seat queue is on the inside of the stairwell and is quite a bit shorter. There are no on-ride photos. What looks like a photo booth is a drinks stand called ‘Below Zero’. The merchandise is yet to arrive – when it does it will be sold there and at the main shop. There’s not much in the way of a narrative. The video that you do see before you board the station seems to be more of a health and safety warning. It was difficult to hear. The station looked the part. They were quite efficient at loading people on and off. They have a box to collect any belongings that might fall off or out of your pockets. You are supposed to wear a shirt on the ride, but obviously some people didn’t. The show building is dark, but not totally so that you can’t see some of the ‘shed’. However, the tracks are black and you have no idea where you are going. There’s the voice of the guardian followed by the inside drop, which is quite dramatic. Even if you know it’s big, nothing will prepare you for it. The train races through the dark ride quite quickly. There’s a nice little fog effect at the end, before they brake you in front of the tower. I had no problems with the OTSRs. I’ve been beaten and bruised by the old Lethal Weapon and Thunderbolt harnesses – these were fine. It’s a hell of a climb. There’s a cool little moment of hesitation just before you reach the top of the tower – unnerving. The drop is over so quickly – it’s more intimidating if you’re watching. The rolls and inversions are genius – glorious fun. The airtime hill is crazy. The transition after the brakes section certainly catches your breath. The wait time was about half an hour to an hour for most of the day. The park was busy, but not quite as packed as a day in early January. There’s a fast pass available at $25 and a ‘one shot’ pass for about $10. There’s a great patch of lawn just in front of the coaster which is perfect for sitting and watching the action. This is a great addition to the park – which everyone was talking about. It doesn’t overwhelm the Adventure World skyline and it nicely compliments its other rides. Is it worth travelling across the country for? I can’t say, but if you want the credit you’re going to have to come over here and experience it yourself.

Pretty close to that. The stairs up are very underwhelming but the station is pretty cool. Of all of the Gold Coast parks mw would suit it best. You can't really compare it to scooby doo as this track is really well thought out. Abyss was down for an hour but it is back up and running again. The spotlight is tracking the trains too.

Oh oh they just had some people stuck on the last brake section. They talked them through. Nice. Inside it's the steepness of the first drop that gets you. There's the voice of the guardian and the smoke. You're also moving quite quickly for the roll.

Sweet little ride. Next to no theming in the queue area. The inside elements are surprising. There is some smoke as you leave the show building. The vertical climb is full on but the loops and inversions are very cool. Might try again when it gets dark.

I like the ministerial reference - sounds very '1984'/'Hunger Games'. New picture from AW's Facebook page - the birds are a cool touch..

Apparently it was on Today Tonight again. 20 second clip posted to AW's Facebook page - poor reporter lady is freaking out. https://www.facebook.com/AdventureWorldOfficialPage?rf=340544902623244

There are always some annoying teens who could do some damage, but the park's security is pretty tight. Once saw someone jump off the chairlift and into the pool. He got escorted out of AW pretty quickly. Let's hope they're all 'concreted' down pretty well.

According to AW's Facebook page, Abyss opens at 6pm on Friday. The Chosen Ones' ad has been recut with what I presume is local footage. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8O68erZo8s&feature=youtu.be More pics uploaded to their Facebook site - I'm quite impressed. They are also crossing to 'The Project' this Friday. https://www.facebook.com/AdventureWorldOfficialPage?rf=120416708012362

Less than a week to go now. Interesting comparison of double-page advertisements - I somehow think the Queensland one had more money spent on it. My apologies for the quality of the pics.. and when did The Storm Coaster become Australia's best rollercoaster (at Seaworld)?

I think they have 4 trains @ $250 000 a piece. Just over a week to go. Apparently they took out a double page spread in 'The West'. And from their Facebook Page: the 'concrete statues' are getting stranger...

They did something similar to this when they used their castle for a haunted house attraction in the early nineties. It was an imitation of the singing heads from Disney's Haunted Mansion. The Abyss just made the TPR home page - crazy! http://www.themeparkreview.com/

Adventure World has just announced the competition winners on their facebook page: Apparently you can enter the park from 2pm onwards for Fright Nights with fireworks at 10pm. They also mentioned that Abyss can carry 600 pph - I hope they have got a big enough queue area.

The first section being in blackness doesn't totally surprise me as this is what they have been saying all along, plus Adventure World doesn't really do animatronics. I hope they do have a soundtrack, something akin to the Saw Ride would be nice. I also hope that you are totally in the dark and not just looking at the inside of a big tin shed. Air conditioning would also be an advantage.

Report from today's West. It says the first part of the ride will be in complete darkness. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/19395857/edge-of-abyss-for-thrill-of-a-ride/

Some higher definition footage of testing on the TPR thread. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65854&sid=9e6cbbaef8ee477ae9748b534ac63655&start=70 They also noted the mysterious swaying guardians!

Someone has posted the test footage - looks pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-791ylro2xc#

Thanks Strop Good point about the PR stunts. I think they are yet to step up the TV advertising campaign - last summer's one playing on Adventure World's 30th anniversary worked quite well. There's also been a bit in print with the school holiday program booklet things. I've been telling people since March, so all my friends know, but I still think that there's a large percentage of their target market that's in the dark. I have a friend who is a teacher and none of her students had heard about it. I also know that it's way too intimidating for most of the population. Those who like coasters and thrill rides will give it a try, but the rest are going to wait for something more family friendly. On the whole I've been pretty impressed by the way Adventure World has matured in the last few years. The gardens are looking pretty green and there's lots of shade for families. The food has improved out of sight and getting 20% off for being a season pass holder is very handy. The season passes themselves are very slick and a vast improvement on the 'library cards' that they had in the 1990s. They have introduced a $20 'fast pass' system that works for six of their rides, which could be useful considering that many of their other attractions are slow loading, low capacity rides. I think they're giving it a good shot; I just hope there's more to come.