themagician

This ad was on tv multiple times tonight and the more I saw it the more the VRTP sound at the end annoyed me

HSD has also been testing at MW as the fire ball recently went off. It also seems Rivals has been testing all day

DC Rivals is currently undergoing testing

To that person, thank you

@Naazon I think he’s mostly referring to the very pixelated logo

It amazes me that people are getting pissed off. It isn’t surprising, but still amazes me that they do. They know COVID is a thing. They should be aware the parks have restrictions in place, hence the reason they are allowed to open.

@Naazon they have removed the maintenance link from the park information page. It’s now all under Ride information. They’ve probably just forgotten to remove it from else where on the website

Here's another shot that almost lines up perfectly with the others

People are absolutely going to notice though. If half the rides are shut and you are leaving the park at lunch time because you’ve done everything, I think people will notice. I have been told that not all the rides are remaining closed for maintenance, but because they are complex and take time to get recommissioned. We may not see all rides open at the park until December holidays

@StingRay MW will be open, but there won’t be much to ride

@Flynn_Smith to be fair, some are listed on the website but will reopen in time for the parks reopening. They always close Calypso, Surfrider and the paid attractions during winter. But never usually H20 as well

Doesn’t look like there will be much to do at WnW

Work was being done on DC Rivals today. Inspections being made on the Joker head, lift hill chain and brake systems

@AlexB that true. This year Carnivale was only on 8 nights. Plus the handful of private events they’ll have throughout the year, it really isn’t worth it. But at least it will look great when people can see it. Maybe they’re hoping for a lot of overcast days so that they can turn them and guests can see them during the day?

I must say, I do look forward to seeing the area and riding vortex at carnivale

My partner is a marine scientist and she supports most things Sea World has done. But when she saw the vortex the other day, she did question it and whether they would be returning dolphins to those pools. Dolphins heavily require sound for interaction and movement, and the amount of noise the ride would be produce will be quite significant

You’re correct. The wall that says ‘Vortex’ has a waterfall built in

I think they should utilise the theatre how they did with Planet SOS. Make it an attraction that people want to visit. It always used to get queues. I rarely saw a queue for Spongebob, even in peak periods. Put the entrance back on the other side and make it noticeable. Removing it or utilising it for something else would be great, but if they don’t want to spend the money, then create another 4D show that’s worthwhile

There were talks/rumours a couple years ago that there were plans to remove the castle, but that wouldn’t happen until they are ready to put in a new attraction

For those who visited today, how were the crowd levels?

I think maybe it’s all that solid blue. If they had created some rock work that blended the landscape, control booth etc into one, then it would’ve looked a lot better. Then have a timber ‘collapsing’ queue shelter and it would have made it feel immersive. And once all those plants grow, it probably would have worked really well TPSN shared this picture and you can see an octopus has been painted onto one of the walls to add to that ‘theming’

@Jdude95 valid point, but the red area highlighted is the entire area they are using for the queue, so they’ve only lost two disabled spaces. They’ve still got 16. The carpark was almost full today and there were still, disabled spaces available

They may have also been checking for rust Someone told me they were sanitising the restraints between each ride???

So I briefly visited SW today, did a lap around the park and through some of the exhibits to see how things were set up/operating, etc. As expected, there is a heap of signage everywhere, most of them looking like this: At the park entrance there is signage showing how to use the app and add your tickets in Some of the carpark has been fenced off, as it is being used for the extended queue area for park entry We arrived at around 1pm and there was a quite the queue to get in. Partly because there were only two booths open, but also because for people who didn't have the app and hadn't added their tickets, the staff member had to take all the detail about each person of the group. I imagine this would have been the entry process when the park opened very long and slow. Inside the park, every store has an entry and exit door, with queue markers throughout the park. There aren't too many of these, particularly around food outlets, so I imagine this could become chaotic during busy times (A staff member did tell me that they are prepared for massive crowds this weekend, with plenty of staff on). All indoor animal exhibits, have set up outdoor queue areas with green tape (as seen in the carpark), with a staff member at the entrance counting people in and out. For Penguin Encounter, they are only using the back door. For Shark Bay, they have set up a very long (back to Polar Bear Shores) queue area, as the capacity was only around 100. All touch pools are now 'no touch, only look pools'. In the underwater viewing area of Shark Bay, while there are markers for social distancing, no one was really obeying them and instead would stand where ever there was a view. The underwater viewing area for Polar Bear Shores has been closed off too. In Castaway Bay, only the splash pad and boats are open. Storm Coaster are seating every second row, so that means the capacity is now only 4 people per boat. The queue wasn't very long, but there was a 30 minute wait. Jet Rescue was closed for maintenance, but I would imagine they will skip every second row too. For stadium seating, they have marked out 1.5 metres as a guide for guests One thing that did surprise me was I didn't see any hand sanitising stations. I was on the look out for them, but could not see them anywhere. I expected there to be one at the end of Shark Bay (as it is a one way system), but there wasn't. I did go on any rides, but I'd like to think they is some at the end of each ride. Also, I can confirm Sea World's current capacity is set at 6,500 (there was a sign at the entrance). The carpark was about 75% full and the park didn't feel too busy. Will be interesting to see if they reach capacity on the weekend. Overall, the park was doing what we would be expecting and it was great to be back in the park. It was also nice to see VRTP staff happy and enjoying themselves. The staff that I spoke too/was served by were all really nice and welcomed conversation. GENERAL PARK UPDATE: No photos, but all park signage throughout has been replaced with an updated style. All references to the monorail and Spongebob 3D have been removed, this includes attraction signage.