aaronm

Yes, it could be any number of things that wouldn't be part of the usual annual maintenance - repainting the track/supports, replacing the launch cable, fixing the dark ride portion, for example.

^I'd replace Magic Mountain with Cedar Point and Disneyland Paris with Busch Gardens Williamsburg, but otherwise that looks like a pretty good list. Dreamworld should be nowhere near the top 50.

^Good point. And the numbers are even more in favour of the local parks when you consider the cost of an annual pass relative to wages, rather than a one-day ticket. Florida minimum wage is currently $7.80 an hour, WDW annual pass is $550. So over 70 hours' wage, whereas a MW/WnW/SW VIP Pass would only be about six hours' wage for a worker on the Australian minimum wage.

^Teenagers, right? I thought the minimum wage for adults was closer to $16.

^Wages would be a huge factor. I remember looking at a job application form for Waldameer last year, their starting rate was something like $6.50/hour. Granted this is probably OK if you're just a kid earning some extra pocket money, but it's not a living wage by any means, and probably close to a third of what an adult staff member would earn at an Aussie park.

The parks could save a lot of money by closing on Tuesday/Wednesdays in the off season and open longer hours on Friday/Saturday nights. Village could even bump their crowds around a little more strategically by closing Movie World on Tuesday, Sea World on Wednesday, Wet n Wild on Thursday etc. Basically would give them a day each week for minor maintenance and a regular day off for the full timers.

Geez. As if Dreamworld need another reason to pat themselves on the back for doing a mediocre job...

^I think that's a pretty standard disclaimer these days, have seen it on a few coasters.

So this 'best theme parks list' doesn't include Tokyo Disneyland, and wedges Dreamworld in between WDW and Europa Park. And Wisconsin Dells? Seriously? Umm...

I notice they even had some at California Adventure last time I was there! I think most guests just ignore the carny games. Of course, if Sea World went all out and really made the games look like they belonged in the park, put some theming around them etc, it would be a different matter. But kind of annoying that the park is paying people to staff those booths when just one extra ride op on Jet Rescue or Sea Viper would make a huge difference to wait times.

155k passes at ~$110 each (rough average of Gold & Silver price) equals $17m in annual pass revenue. Not bad for a park that only cost $120m. And that's before daily tickets, food, parking, fastpass sales, merch etc. They are raking it in! Operational issues are disappointing, not much that can be done about staircase configuration right now but perhaps in the off-season they can do whatever construction is necessary to sort this out. Most park fans would know that the first season was always going to have issues, not sure if the general public will be very forgiving.

Assume it's kept shut to funnel people through the food court. Seriously that park is like a maze.

^The $20m would almost definitely include the demolition of the old Bermuda Triangle ride, which would not have come cheap.The re-routing of Viking's Revenge would also have added to the cost.

^I suspect the secret is to step over the little gate blocking off the kids area from the path to Storm Coaster. No idea why that is always shut - it just divides two publicly accessible areas!

The Aqualoop scales at WnW GC are pretty friendly too - they weighed me in at about 5kg less that I actually weigh last time I was there! So it seems some tolerance is built in.

Got a couple of rides in yesterday - a few thoughts: - the ride itself is a really good fit for the park - a decent family coaster that looks intense enough to your average punter but won't scare kids away. - the theming looks great outside the ride, especially the churning water near the entrance. Inside the building is another matter - it just seems very empty. I agree with AlexB's assessment that the 'upturned ship' aesthetic is lost, is just seems like they put random crap all over the place. Not sure about the decision to paint one entire wall white either, that just seems to draw attention to the fact that there is a huge empty space. - Viking's Revenge is now Coaster Supports: The Ride. Could do with some plants or something to help with the aesthetics - I get that aircon isn't practical, but some fans or misters would be a wonderful addition to the queue. - seatbelts are overkill for sure. Even the lapbar is kind of unnecessary, although I guess it stops people from standing up. - the splashdown is fantastic. Get pretty wet in the middle seats and absolutely soaked at the back. Agree that it would be great to open the viewing area up to non-riders. - ride ops were on their game, getting boats out about as quickly as could be expected. 20 minute wait for a brand new ride is pretty good. - not related to Storm Coaster but has anyone ever seen Jet Rescue running two trains? Or is the second train just theming now? - also unrelated - anyone else find it weird that Movie World goes all out for Christmas but Sea World does nothing at all? - overall it's an excellent addition, Sea World is going from strength to strength and once they get the rest of the effects working this will be even more fun!

Anyone know the price/duration of the lockers? Used the ones down the front end of the park last time but they were pretty inconvenient, and expensive.

Are you basing this on actually riding an Intamin woodie or just watching POVs on Youtube? El Toro is one of the best coasters on the planet, and still has that great woodie feel. It doesn't ride anything like a steel coaster so I'm not sure where that perception is coming from. This would be a great spot for a smaller GCI woodie, like the Big Fun they were showing off at IAAPA last year.

Have you been on a GCI or Intamin woodie? They are awesome rides! Unfortunately I think we're more likely to see a Vekoma Boomerang or Zamperla Volare...

The rapids are a very popular family ride with very few restrictions on who can ride, and unlike most rides at the park actually has a decent capacity. Definitely looking a little tired though. For the money the park put into Kevil Hill they could have done a decent retheme/upgrade of the ride and freshened it up quite a bit.

^^The 10-2 doesn't make much sense, unless they have hard-ticket upcharge events planned for Christmas/New Year's Eve nights. Surprised Boxing Day is only 10-5. At least they have longer hours during peak periods, something the Gold Coast parks still haven't figured out.

^Themeing doesn't look too bad but I'm not sure it will even be the best coaster in the park, let alone in the country.

Would love to see a soft open happen by the 15th. Fingers crossed.

Looking at the drawing, the slide is tall but not particularly steep, and the drop tapers off quite a bit before the hill. If the test dummies start flying out they can just make the walls higher...

^I can think of at least half a dozen parks which have both a drop tower and a Star Flyer/Windseeker. Most people can tell the difference...