Adam

Good luck with your project, for me it's The Claw at Dreamworld.

young_aus_enthoustiast, it's not just like switching on a motor. To propel the pod using magnets it requires a complicated system of sensors and a processing device (ie. a PLC/computer). An operator would not be able to replicate that "manually".

I don't think they'd use the magnets "manually". I think you're wrong.

Come on, we shouldn't be too quick to judge here people... Sure, the website is lame - it lacks content, it contains a poor user interface, it takes ages to load, it doesn't show the ride's logo, it's hard to navigate, it has no photos, it has no information about the ride, it has the worst ride engineer interview ever - but it makes up for all of this with "hipness". I mean, you can win a double pass to Movie World to ride Superman and 'all u gotta do' (exact wording from the site) is tell your friends about the ride. Very hip indeed. Worst, website, ever. I don't, however, think that the site has ruined the ride, how could you possibly think that?

SupermanEscape.com.au is now live.

Tornado is being added separately and will be opening sometime in 2006.

At this stage I believe Extreme H2O Zone is set to open around Christmas time (most likely on Boxing Day).

Cool, I wasn't aware what the slow section would entail but it sounds like it'll be rather interesting. So do you think the section of track before the launch will be longer than the track after the launch (i.e. the top hat and all camel humps)? Yep, it has 18 trains. (In my above post it says "(ex. Scooby-Doo)" - you probably read this as "example" but it's supposed to stand for "excluding").

I don't see why it's that bad. All of Movie World's current roller coasters (ex. Scooby-Doo) only have two trains and they operate fine. It also depends on how many block zones a ride has - Superman would only have one main block (from the launch to brake run), which means it can only have one train running on the track at a time. Having more than two or three trains would be pointless.

There were two containers out the front of Movie World the day the trains arrived. Each one the perfect size to contain a train

Thanks for the photos; it's great to see the trains actually on the track. Also, with all due respect, it would make it easier for people to read your posts if they were punctuated correctly (with commas and full stops for example). I sometimes find it hard to tell where one sentence ends and the next begins.

I think they're recruiting housemates for the 2006 season. The times and venues listed are for people who want to audition.

If you read it carefully...

Yea, I think a heavily-themed smooth roller coaster would be good for Dreamworld.

It sounds alright but I don't think it'd work for Dreamworld. As has been mentioned before, Dreamworld already caters for this market (people who would want to ride a "Bouncer") nicely.

Well if the ride operator told them they're experiencing "problems" then chances are the Tower of Terror was actually experiencing problems. They don't close a ride or it's queue until they know the scope of the problem usually. Kyle, if it's a minor problem and they only need a Park Engineer to come and reset the ride then why close off the queue if it's only going to be re-opened again in a matter of minutes?

Yea I think Movie World could pull it off nicely with some live music and sweet lighting effects (which they already have around the park now - ie. Scooby's facade has special lighting).

Nice spotting there joz. Theme parks do "twist" facts all the time, especially Dreamworld. Although I don't think phrases like - "most powerful", or "most frightening", or "most exciting" are meant to be taken literally. I mean, how could they possibly know that Scooby-Doo is the "most spine-tingling coaster ever-created"? It's all mumbo-jumbo geared towards the public. It’s not uncommon for things like this to happen. Dreamworld recently claimed that their Wiggles World ride - with it's trackless vehicle system - is the first of it's kind in the world, yet ETF Ride Systems (the transportation system which Sally Corp. use) have been producing vehicles with this technology for yonks. Press releases are intended to further the reputation of the attraction/park/facility being described, and this certainly can't be done by sticking to real facts and figures...

Yep, thanks Ben.

Haha, good point Andrew...

At the moment, my understanding of the launch system is that it's basically a row of electromagnets that turn "on" one after another and effectively pull the pod out of the station at extreme speeds. If this is way off then please tell me. I've got a few technical questions regarding TOT's launch / braking system: 1. Is the launch sequence (i.e. the "turning on" of magnets one after another) timed or varied based on the speed/position of the pod? 2. If the launch process is varied based on speed, how does the system (continuously throughout the launch process) calculate the speed of the vehicle? 3. Is the breaking force varied based on speed or the position of the pod? Thanks.

I'm talking about the coaster Gazza mentioned.

Man, the lift hill on that ride is actually vertical. That'd be interesting indeed.

Does anyone know what's the go with Skylink? When's it coming down or being removed/replaced?

I'm with everyone on this, there's no way Dreamworld would build a SlingShot. The thing about the simulator is so, incredibly stupid... I mean seriously, seriously, seriously stupid. The ride is so dangerous that you have to test your body’s reaction to the forces… yeah right, like that’d work in a theme park. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but it’s actually possible to calculate what forces are exerted on a body and therefore design a ride that isn’t dangerous before it's built. And also, if you’re going to make something up, make sure it’s correct. Slingshot doesn’t use electromagnets to pull the passenger capsule down ready for launch, it uses springs and pullies. This myth is busted.