Guest 239

Sorry, I didn't mean to set the impression that I'm tearing it to shreds and I hope the language I use doesn't come across a 'bitchy' because that's not my intention, just voicing some concerns. Expanding on what I wrote I still think that cream is an odd choice against other options like green, blue or even brown, but I think the rigging on the front gives way to options for theming. In the original designs there was a GIANT hedge wall with fountains, etc. but we haven't seen an updated angle of that area so it could be anybody's guess as to how they hide this. Anything in the green area should be completely fine. It seems that the current intention for the queue is that you'll enter further to the right in that image, skirt the outside of the coaster and then enter it which shouldn't not present any problems with sight lines. However, if they make the entrance straight on to that opening in the framing then I can see some problems with trying to hide the shed. Similarly it may be awkward to disguise it when you transition from Nick Jr. into New Atlantis because it seems like the entrance to the land is that portion of concrete in the bottom left but really we will need to wait and see. Now this is what I want to hear! This is the sort of stuff I'd love to see some focus on from VRTP. Considering the time frame I'm sure they're pretty much finalized so I'd love to see some concepts to really get me hyped about this coaster. I'm excited to see how this progress because I was really concerned that the load would merely be generic.

Look, hold on, that's not really fair. It's actually pretty on point for its original concept.

I hope they got plenty of these bad boys.

Cream is an interesting choice. I know a lot of people are going to argue that they'll hide this foliage or something, but it's going to be very hard to hide the giant cream coloured shed when the entrance is like 10 metres away and it'll be an eye sore from areas like the Nick Jr. precinct. There is hope that the metal frame work will hold some sort of theming but considering that angle you're still going to see a vast majority of that shed. I would have much preferred to see something similar to Sea Viper but for those playing Aussie coaster bingo you can tick off Colourbond shed.

I'm not a fan of the rocks here and it feels like it might be a liability without a fence especially considering the strange movement of the paths. Steel Taipan is going to draw your attention upwards and if you're walking towards the giant drop queue then I can picture a lot rolled ankles. Might be worth adding some sort of barrier or obstacle to ensure that people aren't cutting through the rocks. Also kids are going to adopt these rocks and transport them all over the park like a side quest mission.

None of this is supported by evidence but I feel like LPS' main objective this year was to get the rides in and then use the money generated from the hype/crowds so that they can continue to develop the area. Considering that the park was meant to be open in July I can imagine that Luna Park were hoping to have cashflow to support Big Dipper as well but very little this year has gone to plan. Still I think it's impressive that for a park literally in the epicentre of what was one of Australia's worst COVID outbreaks that they still managed to pull this off. I'll hold off judgement to see how Luna Park Sydney develops over the next few years because I'm sure that the new rides will pull in some good cash for the park and draw back lucrative patrons like families.

Sledgehammer was testing the other day (it does a full 360 rotation which is wild) but last night it seems that it was down. No official reason has been given as of yet, but considering it was down last night means that likely its not a glitch which is a shame cause it looks like a wild attraction.

I'd love to be able to attend but unfortunately I'm still unable to enter Sydney until November 1st. Be sure to get lots of pictures!

You can't deny that Leviathan ain't a fine looking coaster. Cheers for the update @Richard. Love the pictures. Agreed. If they're saying that things are closer to their final renditions then I think it'll look nice and well presented. From what I can gather based off the very limited concept we've gotten it seems that they're wanting to fill the gaps in the slab with greenery and that the queue will take you through some sort of rockwork tunnel into an outdoor area which gives you a view of the coaster. Where it goes from there I can't really tell. Beyond the attractions it seems that the majority of theming for the land will be greenery and the blue rib structures that we've seen constructed near Vortex. Also the existence of these renders means that somewhere, out there, is a 3D model of Sea World and I want it.

I agree. That sounds horrendous and really poor form. Can't argue that. A simple email saying 'Heads up!' would avoid a lot of problems.

Checking zoning maps it seems that anything beyond the entrance sign is outside of their control and would require the council stepping in. I can't imagine them doing anything if 90% of the time the roads are fine.

Legitimately I forget that it exists when thinking about the coasters at Dreamworld.

This literally just proves my point? Dreamworld having a carpark is just a bonus over stadiums, but it doesn't mean that is literally your only option to get there. Dreamworld has Coomera station which is 20ish minutes walk away but you can also grab an Uber/Taxi from here. Equally you've also the TX7 which leaves every 10-20 minutes. It's not like Dreamworld is the middle of nowhere. So what are Dreamworld's options? Cut the tickets so that people can have a comfortable experience in the carpark but more people have to miss out on the event? Also how do they plan for their carpark capacity? Do they do 1 person per car? 2 people per car? What if they plan for 5 people per car and then it averages out that only 2 people per car arrived so now the carpark is congested because there are more people arriving by car than they had planned. Can you see how that even with proper planning this can quickly spiral out of control from the human element? You mentioned in the Spooky Nights thread that you don't bother with Sea World's car park because its a hot mess and that you park in a park/down the street. Why is Dreamworld different here? Should Sea World equally take the flack for their poor car park management and only limit their event to what their carpark can contain? They're probably further away from anything than Dreamworld. Was that under COVID restrictions?

The same way we go to any event. Stadiums don't sell tickets based off their carpark capacity but how many seats they can fill. First in, best dressed. Similarly Dreamworld would be selling to what their event can take and it'd be silly to expect them to undermine their capacity to ensure that everybody can arrive by the luxury of a car. There are more ways to get to the park than just that. Even using your own examples it would be quicker to park at the Westfield and walk than wait in traffic. All of these are not Dreamworld's fault. If I get there late than I'm clearly not stressed about making the most of the event. What's another 30 minutes? When I was at WDW this happened all the time. We'd sleep in, head to a park and then be stuck in a huge crowd of people because it seems everybody else had the same idea. Even with dozens of security lanes it was like herding cats and you'd be stuck in the bag check area out the front of the Magic Kingdom for 45 minutes waiting to move. Is it the Magic Kingdom's fault that if I got there earlier then I would have avoided this? Nope. They can only do so much to control crowds and after that it's up to people to do the right thing and make sure they're being as efficient as possible.

Sorry @themagician I should have clarified that I thought it was about Spooky Nights which is why I was confused. Sorry! Looking at these though I don't know if I'm reading this wrong but it seems like most people's major criticism was regarding other people. It seems like everybody tried arriving at the park right on the event starting and it caused huge amounts of congestion. Then once that crowd sorted out their parking they all bomb rushed the front gate. The last complaint is because the family decided to go get Maccas and then got caught in traffic. Why would Dreamworld be so heartless and do this to them? Seems that once people got through the gates they had a lot of fun. I haven't been to the event (thanks COVID!) so I can't really judge it, but I certainly wouldn't be getting there right on start and expect to get through the gates easily. There's an element of personal responsibility here to make sure that you plan ahead and factor in that other people also attend these events.

I haven't actually seen that much regarding the event outside of Parkz. Where are people posting about the event? I wouldn't mind seeing the feedback.

They look different to mine as well but there a few variants and from what I can gather this is the 'Aussie Boomer'. It's all an assumption though based off the reddish stem and bright green, semi-transparent foliage. Quickly! We need somebody at Dreamworld stat for close ups of these plants!

With my extremely limited garden knowledge and a distant image these look like Lilly Pillys? I agree it looks bad and is unbelievably bland, but thankfully Lilly Pillys grow at an absurd rate of almost 1.5m every warm season. With proper care hopefully by mid next year it wont look as shoddy. All valid points but I think its just a cost thing. It's an inconsequential walkway that people will pass a few times a day but never stop. Fully grown shrubs and trees are expensive. A 2.5M Lilly Pilly will set you back between 500 - 700 each and you still need to train them so you're going to have gaps and other problems temporarily anyway. For the twelve plants this probably cost like $100 versus $7200 for the mature equivalent. I don't love that they took this route and I wish that would do something that matches the theming of the building in distance with a brick fence (see below), but I can see why they did it. also if they're not lilly pillys than just ignore this post haha.

Me dropping into this thread every day having never ridden a standup coaster.

I don't mean to be a stickler to your planning but is there any reason you aimed to get to the theme park right on the event start? I went to Hamilton in Sydney earlier in the year which was capped at about 1,500 people and got to the theatre almost an hour and a half before it started to ensure I was ready and seated in time for the show to start. I'd be interested to know whether they start processing guests right on 5:30 or whether they start letting people into the event. If they have problems with mixed crowds then I agree that a wristband system should be used and just keep people within a manageable area like Mainstreet and kick out anybody not wearing wristband. Want to generate hype for your new ride? Stuff people in the currently constructed Steel Taipan area to wait and cycle the ride a few times to generate some free hype.

I think it's fine for people to be critical because fair criticism progresses the medium. It's why I get frustrated when people tell me to lower my expectation and accept what were given regarding New Atlantis because it diminishes the capability for criticism. I know that any criticism offered now wont change the final product but it can influence future developments. That's why I've made a point of praising particular aspects that I like within Steel Taipan. They're simple changes and additions that all developers should aim to focus on in the future. I'm not saying that they're ground breaking, nothing close, but comfort, flow, ease and experience should be at the forefront of any future projects. If we point out these things that we enjoy than it hopefully all operators will listen and we will get better products in the future. As enthusiasts its really easy to talk about what we don't like and that negativity tends to permeate a lot of online discussions regarding theme parks which really brings down the mood. There are an unfathomable amount of theme parks out there (not a comprehensive list) which means plenty to compare to and on a global scale what we see can be considered as poor, but our parks aren't on a global scale. Not yet, anyway. Discussing what we don't like AND what we like helps developers set their sights in the future, but if we just focus on just the bad then we spiral into a hate hole and they look at us as entitled whingy brats who cant be sated. Honestly we've had some great discussion and I think it gives operators a good indication of what to aim for in the future. In just the last two pages they can see that guest experience should have more focus for projects, wider pathways are good, people enjoy views of coasters they're about to ride but there should be more focus on themed elements and thematic integration to both the queue, ride, precinct and load.

I think Village will be fine. They've got a solid brand that they can rest on these holidays, but I would be wary of Dreamworld if I was them. The Christmas holidays is their opportunity to show off their progress after their well broadcasted shortcomings. If Steel Taipan goes off without a hitch, the park is well-presented and the atmosphere is energetic then I reckon a lot more people will consider Dreamworld holidays in the future especially now that WWW is basically a land of the park. It's their opportunity to win back some market share and from what I'm seeing they'll hopefully knock it out of the park.

In the video at about 3:10 you can see that the awnings on the right hand side start to give way to allow more of a view of the ride. You don't get a good view of the launch (it seems to be purposefully blocked) but you can see the coaster travelling through the loop and other elements. Plus you'll get to see people coming into the brake run where you get their reactions which is always fun. Its also easier to get a sense of scale because when looking at that image it makes the area seem incredibly tight. The reason I say it's comfortable is that the majority of the queue is undercover and has fans. It doesn't seem like much on paper but adds a lot for the guests compared to a lot of other open air queues. I feel our standards are pretty low. Honestly the best queue in Australia was Tower because of its uniqueness but now it is Storm: Coaster but even that is pretty generous. Almost all other major coaster queues on the GC I have significant criticisms towards. Steel Taipan isn't the best, far from it, it's just comfortable and shows it considered the guest especially compared to other recent additions. I don't know why giving something praise where its due is the second coming. I see this criticism a lot and I don't really get it. If you gave an urban design mod VS a themed design company the same brief and budget, what changes would you expect to be made? If it's not intending to be themed or tell a story then it seems like a waste of expertise. I'm sure that when it comes to the bigger picture things like crowd management, flow and direction then the conventions used to manage that would provide pretty similar end products.

I finished watching this I have to say that the area is looking pretty great. A couple of thoughts: The lead up to the coaster will be fantastic. It's well presented and considering the queue and load are 'within' the ride itself it'll be a pretty neat feeling to hype you up with the sights and sounds of the coaster itself. Shade and fans. Kudos to Dreamworld for considering the guest experience by making the queue as comfortable as possible. Sure it's not very exciting, but even Disney struggles to engage guests in their queues now because 90% of the time guests are on their phone in the queue. Also having a spot for loose articles within the load means that people can actually use their phones (I'm looking at you Superman!) Chill spot. The area they're working on where you can chill out underneath the coaster is a nice touch. There aren't many spots where you can chill out underneath a coaster or within the ride footprint in Australia so this will be a neat spot to drink a coffee or devour a pie. The coaster and its precinct are really well presented. It's a bit generic, sure, but it's not out of place. I also like the snake accents against the more generic architecture, but I do get Planet Zoo vibes from it. I know this may seem strange but it feels very Australian. The earthy colors, choice of plants and scenery make it look exactly like what I'd expect from a premier Australian roller coaster based around Australia. I honestly wouldn't be upset if other parts of the park requiring attention went down this route in the future. Sydney Zoo is a good example of this. T H E M E D B I N S My biggest takeaway is that it seems Dreamworld really considered the guest experience with this attraction. It's spacious, comfortable, pleasing to look at and has a good sense of flow. Could it be better? Sure. But considering that Dreamworld has managed to pull this off this well after not being able to afford it earlier this year is pretty crazy. I'd be interested to see whether my opinions change in person and with crowds, but I think they've done a great job with this attraction and I'm getting really excited to ride it.

I don't mean to alarm anybody but Steel Taipan has themed bins. THEMED BINS.