Dig

I have so many wonderful memories, some of which have already been stated above. It's amazing how we tend to remember the smaller details but then forget the main parts. Here are the memories I really do miss from attractions in Australia. Dreamword Of course, the eureka mine ride. Not just the experience. But the smell of mechanical oils or whatever, that were also very strong in other enclosed rides such as WWF and Bermuda Triangle. It's not a nice smell, but the memories I associate it with make it something special. The Wipeout shark (and other themeing). Movie World Of course the giant orange carrots. Looney Tunes River Ride. The waterfall. Police Academy and the cheesy American theme. Movie Magic Experience, I miss the large capacity (low thrill) entertainment like this. Beetle Juice character hassling/entertaining the people waiting in the Batman Adventure queue area. Pre-Ride entertainment, Walkthroughs etc. Not just queue and ride. Backlot Tour. Harry Potter/The Matrix movie tours and displays. When WWF actually had a nice ghost town, working parts and not just conspicuous speakers everywhere. Fox Studios (Backlot) - Sydney I don't remember much. But the Titanic "experience" was so exciting. Having the choice to sink or be saved. The actors and the atmosphere is what Movie World should have today. Jamberoo The raceboat things? When it was more of a family park and less of a water park. Old Sydney Town The comedic character interactions, costumes, atmosphere and overall experience. Sea World The Thrillseeker rollercoaster, seatbelts and all. Bermuda Triangle. The 4D Pirates short. With the cobwebs (string) sliding over the audience. When everything was white and blue. Sega World Sydney Every aspect of this place was awesome. The "high-tech" rides. The fact it was indoors! The ride where you were in caged cars that shoot plastic balls at other cars was the coolest thing when I was a kid. The play area that smelt funny and had a flashing light that would keep your shadow on the wall behind for a few seconds. The roller coaster and doctor sparrow. The virtual reality shooter rides (like justice league, but it was a projection in front of the car). The roller coaster simulator with Elvira. The magic guillotine. The characters,the building, themeing and entrance. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast Double Screamer Dive in movies Terror Canyon/Mountain? Wonderland Sydney There are simply too many memories to list here. My favourites were: The crocodile, short lines, Gold Rush, Novelty Games, Ampol Cars, The Beach, Sky Rider, Silly Sticks, Transylvania and the repetitive music.

More new hours for March. I went again the other day. Apparently they now close Boomerang Bay at 5pm (with no notice anywhere). My friend bought the discounted "after dark" one day general admission ticket, he was a bit annoyed that they didn't have any notice of the lazy river being closed. On a more positive note, the wave pool did seem a bit different this time. Not sure if it's because there were less people in the water or they've changed it. The "waves" were much stronger on the walls, pretty weak in the middle. So naturally, everyone herded to the edges of the pool to fail at body surfing.

I went to the park yesterday (Sunday 9th). I got there at about 10:30am and saw both cars stopped at both of the top of the two different hills. I saw the people in the higher car getting out at the top and walking down the spiral staircase. Not sure what happened, but I was just glad it wasn't me being asked to walk down those stairs. I also went to Sea World last Monday and was hoping to get a few early rides in before the line developed, unfortunately they said it was closed until 11am as they were waiting for maintenance to fix something. Hopefully these are just issues relating to the ride being so new.

I went there for my second time last week, there were a few changes since my initial visit in December. The slide operator told us that the cloverleaf style tubes work better on the conveyor belt as it kept malfunctioning with the purple rafts. Those slides had some issues when I went, so I just decided to steer clear and line up for T5 instead. I'm not sure if they're going to bring the rafts back or just use the yellow ones from now on (the purple ones were a little less uncomfortable). The park is great fun but I don't feel it's worthy of being called a Theme Park, as there is no themeing and it has such a generic feeling to it. The sticky tar from the rushed car park surfacing sticks to your thongs as you proceed to the entrance. The wood chips around the park have also made their way into the sand and on the footpaths along with the sticky tar. Lots of different textures to walk on. A lot of people are just leaving their thongs and towels on the fencing at the bottom of the slides now. Fast Pass, both according to the people that bought them and the people who wish they bought them say that it is "so worth it" which it is, because it is so unfair. They need to regulate this somehow. The normal line barely moves and the fast pass lines are constantly soaked with water (everyone in the normal line is dry). I look forward to seeing the gardens and desperately planted bamboo get grown or even overgrown around the lazy river etc. But the lazy river is just so boring and short; It's a bit of a disappointment, so is the wave pool. They should really stop saying "Biggest'n'Best". But I am just glad that Sydney now has a decent water park, no matter how poorly run it is (considering the company history and the already existing water parks around the world they had to base it off).