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franky

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Posts posted by franky

  1. Just as a contrasting story. I had a pass purchased as a gift last christmas for the VRTP theme parks. It's valid for 12 months.

    Now there's been time within these last 12 months where we could have attended, but really we were waiting for these new rides to open to make better use of our time. Lockdown's came and its now going to be too close to Christmas when we're allowed back in to QLD.

    So we asked VRTP what we could do, they gave us a 'refund' in the form of a credit to use within 3 years.

    Now, did they have to do that? No, but it's good PR that they did. They could have said 'sorry, but these are the terms' but they didn't, and I'm happy that they did. Instead of having something negative to say, I'm saying something positive.

    Whilst I don't agree that anti-vaxxers are on the right side of the argument, I do feel that the parks need to take their requests seriously. Remember, just because someone is vaxxed, doesn't mean that they won't retaliate against businesses that enforce their own mandate for vaccination (in addition to existing Gov. rules), some have reluctantly been vaxxed due to threats of job loss etc.

     

    • Like 2
  2. I think what's going to make it difficult for a new comer to the Aus theme park market is that there are now well established parks to compare it to.

    If you were to open a theme park with only 1 coaster (and nothing else to complement it, like a wildlife park or a garden etc) then you're going to have a hard time staying afloat when everyone will be continuously comparing you to the gold coast parks in terms of value.

    Seaworld/Movieworld existing with only 1 coaster was fine at the time, because every other park was only small and newly established.

    My mind is open and hopeful though!

     

  3. It's funny because every year my wife and I go to HVG for the Christmas Lights I always say they should put a coaster in. It would go gang busters even if they brought in a travelling model like a spinning wild mouse for the Christmas period.

    That being said, I don't think they're in the right location to be a fully fledged theme park. The area is known for it's winerys and quiet getaways in a tranquil area. Putting a bunch of screaming people in the middle of it all is not what I'd personally see being received well by the local businesses.

    The place is miles away from major public transport. Newcastle (Williamtown) is the closest major airport and it's limited in where you can fly from here.

    Locally, Cessnock isn't exactly known for its citizens being awash with money.

    However, the Christmas Light Spectacular draws in major crowds every year with tour busses from Sydney etc so it stands to reason if they get it right it might work. It's pretty easy to get to from Sydney if you wanted to make the trip up (M1 then Hunter Expressway).

    We've been to HVG during the day outside of the Christmas period and the place is a ghost town, maybe a few thrill rides will keep attendance chugging along.

    I've often thought that Old Sydney Town would be a great location for a theme park. It has the reptile park next door, is situated almost halfway between Sydney and Newcastle and is straight off the M1 and close to the train line (Gosford). Disappointingly it appears as though it's going to be housing.

    • Like 1
  4. I'm going to speculate here.

    The reason we're not seeing 3d signage any more is because of the difficulty and effort in adhering to the guidelines of double-fixing. I remember when I was reading through the coroner report for the RTRR and in it, engineers were pointing out fixings in the ride with single fixing points and that they should be addressed.

    You can see such an example in the new sign in the image above, there's the chain holding the sign as originally but also there's now an additional wire as backup.

    The incident DaptoFunlandGuy described at Wonderland is why. Something actually occurred, it was risk-assessed and now probably every insurance company for theme parks in Aus is going to require double-fixings or they'll have to pay additional premiums.

    When you've got a 3d manufactured sign, how do you guarantee double wired fixings for each element stuck on the front without making it look like trash? Sure, you can glue/screw/bolt but a bean counter in insurance land somewhere will probably say not good enough.

    There comes a point where a standard printed sign does the job well enough and is not worth the effort in fighting the bureaucrats.

    • Like 5
  5. 32 minutes ago, StingRay said:

    I'm trying to figure out how the new entry/exit queues are going to work for BD. 

    Me too, there doesn't look to be anywhere near the station track-wise that's high enough to walk under, so would they need to construct a foot bridge?

    Side question, how would people unable to use stairs access the ride? How was it done when BD2 was there?

  6. 1 minute ago, red dragin said:

    Serious question, what does a pull through achieve that a tape measure (or surveyor) can't? Or even just fitting the same clearance gauge directly to the track at points of concern. 

    Because it would be incredibly time consuming, difficult and error-prone to do single point measurements from each and every inch of the track in each and every direction. Sure there's probably something they could do with lasers (pew pew), but I'm going to bet it's cheaper to use a bent up piece of metal or a cut out of some plywood.

    2 minutes ago, red dragin said:

    Seems a very tedious process in the age of full computer design and engineering, that we'd still need to manually inch the coaster train around the whole circuit. 

    I'm sure you can count on the track etc being precision engineered/manufactured, but the rock tunnel... there's plenty of opportunity for someone to over apply the concrete, and you wouldn't want an extremity hitting that at 100+kmh.

  7. 46 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

    assuming each has a different guide, wouldn't you pull the spinner train through and test both envelope templates at the same time, rather than put the base train on the track and then pull the spinner through as well?

    I'm assuming the spinning train would have a larger envelope overall (it would exceed the standard train envelope being that its more elevated and spins), so realistically they'd really only need to pull that template through as it's kinda redundant doing the other, right?

    Quote

    (also i think it was said above that the normal train would go to the transfer track \ maintenance bay and they'd add the spinner train - isn't the transfer track \ maintenance bay the spot at which they'd add the second train? 

    Stop a train on the MCBR or even the launch transfer track, move the other train into station, cycle other train to the maintenance track, place in maintenance shed, profit!

    I'm assuming there's going to be 5 blocks (station, launch, MCBR, final brakes, maintenance transfer), plenty of opportunities to shuffle two trains around.

    • Like 1
  8. 2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

    Also - the ToT skull was in position on 28 May and gone by 10 July. I've checked and can't see it sitting around anywhere - anyone see where it went?

    I think I remember Magician saying it was removed and not kept, I took that to mean it was smashed up and put in a skip

    • Like 1
  9. 2 hours ago, themagician said:

    My thoughts exactly, or if not, some teenager could run and jump and grab onto it. 

    They'll have to put a net under the track. Can't have people throwing stuff at the train or parts flying off into guests. It's been done with rides like the Velocicoaster and Ice Breaker (Ice Breaker was testing before they installed the nets, they were using portable umbrellas under the ride on pathways)

  10. 17 hours ago, Coaster Hipster said:

    After riding The Ride to Happiness 11 times, I would argue this attraction really push the boundaries of what roller coasters can do

     

    17 hours ago, Coaster Hipster said:

    I found myself unable to re-ride Ride to Happiness in quick succession as I experienced motion sickness - something I rarely ever feel on coasters.

    I would find myself unwell after a single ride too, but if you really rode it 11 times, than it's no wonder :D

  11. Quote

    Viable future development

    Sad to see yet another ride go, but looking forward to what's to come. Like TOT2 they can start saving the expense of maintaining the ride for new things.

    Only been on BuzzSaw a couple of times during a visit, just before the TOT2 closed. It was enjoyable but not a very long ride. Kinda hurt my neck the first time we got grabbed on the lift hill at the end of the ride because I wasn't expecting it.

    I guess this would mean the last of the Rocky Hollow rustic theming too right?

  12. On 12/07/2021 at 10:16 PM, jack.c said:

    What’s going on with construction? When will testing commence? Has the station building been completed? Theming commenced? Why is this so slow ??

    It feels like they're were powering through up until DW announced Steel Taipan's opening date goal, and just went "oh well, no need to rush, we've got til December to get this all finished now"

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