Jobe

Oh agreed!! But I don’t think there is anything fair about it!! 😊

I have never heard that MW was looking at a Raptor before- how close did it come to being an reality?

Oooh don't forget- Big Dipper opening - first new major coaster in NSW in 26 years, 1st launched single rail coaster in the WORLD- Nothing but crickets.

Hmm I would take LPS's Wld Mouse over Aussie World's Dingo Racer or MW's Green Lantern. Not saying these are bad rides in the slightest but they dont have the out of control feel nor the spectacular view to go with it that Wild Mouse brings to the table. Horses for courses. Its all subjective. EFM is in now way a bad ride....its definitely not the worst in the country. It is what it is- an older Vekoma suspended Family Coaster and its a product of its time. The newer Boomerangs and SFC's coming to both MW and Gumbuya will be in another league entirely. What i am most interested in is what will be the better family shuttle- Boomerang at LPS by Gerstlauer or the new Vekoma units? The LPS coaster is a really fun addition which is more foreceful than you would expect from a family coaster. I expect the Vekoma units to be very similar.

Gee you could have at least had the courtesy to attribute this correctly- I mean the info is all there- its right in the post!!! But thanks anyway!!

You’re putting a new coaster at Dreamworld ahead of a new water or dark ride? For mine that’s where their attention needs to be focused. A new flume ride , family driven is absolutely essential and the first thing that should be added back to the park. Then they should look to a state of the art future dark ride to really round out their attraction selection. Once these are added in , only then would I even consider looking at a new thrill coaster. What that looks like is definitely open to debate but a grounds up RMC, any one of the new generation Vekoma’s would certainly fit the bill.

Thats an interesting claim. Do you have any evidence other than hearsay to back it up? Its not that I dont believe you its just that as with anything posted on this forum, the onus of proof is on the person making the claim. If not then I guess that makes it rather erroneous.

Great article and shows fleetingly the inner workings and thoughts of the Dreamworld upper management. Great insights and I think puts to bed any criticisms about the recent koala saga . Thanks so much for sharing- a great read!!

Depends on the marketing. It would certainly make Seaworld that much more of an attractive proposition and lets face it- who other than enthusiasts actually knew it was at WNW? Of course thats when it was opening and oeprating as well. I think it would be a positive move for Seaworld to acquire.

100% agree here. They are totally different in ride experience and even to a casual punter, they would never be compared to being similar. Again, 100% agree. The height factor and being blwon around by wind forces make rides like Trident actually more thrilling than they appear. I think the term Family friendly needs to be underlined in regards to this attraction. I kind of get what you are getting here, but given the previous history of where Seaworld has had a perfect mix of rides and attractions to currently having a dearth of available rides, surely having Surfrider be installed would not be a detraction? The very nature of the ride and its small footprint means that this could be installed virtually anywhere in the park with minimal issues. 140cm is 4 feet 6 inches- this is not an OVERLY tall restriction and in my mind, still very accessible for the target audience. Small to mid teens would fit this quite comfortably and since families are not exclusively made up of parents and toddlers, this allows for a very broad based appeal. I just think that it would be a win win to follow the original plan and have Surfrider installed back into a park that certainly needs more attractions to give a full day experience. It would only add to the flavour of the park. Please note that I do not think it would happen but I think that the idea has much more merit than what it is being given. Of course, I certainly agree that a new Flume ride and an observation attraction would be ideal for the park and should be a priority. However, relocating Surfrider would still be an attractive option, even under the umberella of requirements that we have just outlined. I actually agree here- this would not be a bad option at all. Surely the likes of Gumbuya, Funfields and even Luna Park Melbourne would be extremely interested if this ride was put to market. I think you will find that the majority of the issues found with Surfrider at WNW are to do with trying to make it a mixed dry/water attraction with misters and water being involved in its daily operation. I do not think that a different location such as SeaWorld would affect the ride in an overly negative way.

Yeah agree 100% here. This is not the finished product, they have obviously had delays and I think they have got it to the point that its able to open to the public. This will be huge for them. The theming and presentation still needs some work and like @DaptoFunlandGuy, I am confident that they will deliver. Remember that the awesome Funnel Web Spider was installed a full season after the slide actually opened, so there is definitely precedence here for the park. Bring it on- its going to be an excellent attraction for Jamberoo and its hould give them the sprongboard for a very busy season!

Ah. Fair enough but whilst I think Jet Rescue has its moments , for mine , it just falls under the “fun” category. I think Leviathan will certainly have its thrilling moments as well but think itI will also be intensely fun but not overly extreme. Top Spins are a different beast IMHO It all depends on the cycle. I have been on some Top Spins overseas where the cycle can only be described as insane. Sure Vortex is run fairly placidly but the ride type certainly has the capacity to be run very extreme. But as stated before, I think that neither is not a reason for not having Vortex nor Surfrider for that matter, in the ride line up at SeaWorld. It’s ride offering has required deepening for years and the addition of Surfrider would be a very positive step. IF it happens which unfortunately it more than likely won’t. But it should in my opinion. It would be best for both SW and WNW and would correct an experiment that was deeply flawed and ultimately a fail, in my eyes.

Sorry I disagree entirely with this opinion. Adding in Surfrider would only round out SeaWorld's ride offering, NOT limit it. This park is a broad based family destination but this does not mean that adding in thrill rides would limit or blunt its attractiveness as a family destination. The park has an excellent kid section that is hand on heart, a better offering than what is down the road at MW for the same demographic currently. Leviathan is being marketed as being a family thrill coaster and it should be accessible to the majority of the families its being appointed to, with the excpetion of the under 8 age bracket. Vortex , I will admit , was an interesting choice of a flat ride for Seaworld, however, its installation should not be questioned just because of its thrill factor. The ride is definitely more intense than what Leviathan will be. Adding Surfrider in to the mix adds another compact coaster which most family demographics can and will ride. It would give Seaworld a boost to the attractiveness of visitation to the park for families who may only be wanting to visit one park and are having to choose between either Dreamworld or Movieworld. Seaworld offers excellent animal attractions, newere thrill attractions and also great kiddie attractions. Its inclusion would be for a far more alluring and compelling offer for families. Finally, Surfrider at Seaworld makes far more sense than having the ride at WNW. Having a coaster like this as a token dry ( essentially) ride in a park that is entirely populated by slides and wet attractions did not and still doesnt make sense to me. I think we can all agree that the experiment of having it in WNW has been overall, a failed concept. Moving it to Seaworld now has so many pros attached to it, to not do it now that with the removal of Vikings, and the land that this frees up, would be another epic fail, for mine. All of the above. And Surfrider reimagined. 🙂👍

Its funny how many enthusiasts are visiting the same park for vlogs at virtually the same time. Just recently watched Theme Park Worldwide visit here for the first time as well as Coaster Studios. Both were extremely informative vlogs and they conveyed a good sense of the park. Great trip report Gazza. This and the aforementioned vlogs has definitely put this park on my radar for a visit.

Jamberoo has officially confirmed that the new attraction Velocity Falls will open with the new season in 6 weeks time!! This is fantastic news for the park and it should be a huge winner with the punters!! I can see Jamberoo having an excellent season !! Looking forward to visiting in February to check out the new installs.

Maybe not in Sydney but you really can if you cover all of NSW. NSW has as its major parks Jamberoo Action Park, Raging Waters Water Park and Luna Park Sydney. Victoria can include Funfields, Gumbuya World, Adventure Park and Luna Park Melbourne. Its certainly more than NSW but only by one and the existing NSW parks can compare reasonably well to their Melbourne counterparts. NSW certainly needs a new theme/amusement park ala Wonderland and at the moment we are outnumbered but certainly not beaten yet. We could also add in the very small NSW parks such as The Big Banana Fun Park ( which is adding to their water park + Australia's first ever Alpine Coaster) and also Merimbula's Magic Mountain ( which has a perfect good coaster credit in the Sapphire Speedster Coaster). Hopefully these parks will continue their consistent investment which could see them one day take a more major role in the Australian amusement park industry. Outnumbered we may be but we are definitely not outgunned just yet!!

Luna Park Sydney has appointed a new CEO , replacing retiring co- CEO's Warwick Doughty and Peter Hearne. At 37 years of age, John Hughes is the youngest CEO in the park's history and has come to this position after managing FOX studios in Sydney. As long as he respects the important history and uniqueness that is Luna Park and he strives to preserve its legacy as effective as Warwick Doughty and the previous team, then I am all good. Hopefully the place is in safe hands. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/studio-boss-who-brought-thor-to-sydney-will-run-luna-park-20220727-p5b52w.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1o9HD9U40Q5x1gF3CBzG2S0AHd02l1IyeEtbL1_giPacbmUdfZCddg7dk#Echobox=1659224458

Pretty sure it was $30 million in total. Definitely not a trivial amount. The most expensive part was the 2 coasters- one being the prototype first ever single rail launched coaster in the world. You would think that would generate hype anywhere. If it was in Queensland it would have been extensively covered. It will be interesting to see how much coverage the 2 coasters at Gumbuya actually receive. Did the preview booth at Gumbuya give any indication of when these attractions will be opened for anyone that has visited?

So….not a lot happening at the moment. Hopefully this gets kickstarted to begin in earnest soon!! It’s WELL overdue and would be a great addition to the Sunshine Coast attractions!!

Hmm. Surely the bad optics is being driven from the sensationalist media articles that are identifying this as a point to drive traffic to their websites? If the sensation was taken out of the headline and an article that just reported on the situation without any hyperbole would somewhat mute those bad optics surely.

Ok interesting. Can you explain the timeline further? From my understanding the announcement was in March of 2019? COVID hit pretty hard soon after that? We have had 2 and half years of lockdowns, border closures and disruptions since then?

This is an interesting situation. Being based in NSW , I am neither biased towards either Village or Dreamworld. From a measure of outside looking in, my take on the situation is that Dreamworld had in place a grant that was approved to build a Koala research centre for a specified sum. This was a government grant and from the looks of it , was approved and planned pre-pandemic. Then along came COVID, the priorities of the park shifted (along with revenue and patronage during this time). DW obviously decided that they needed to alter their plans and saw they had a pool of money for a planned koala research centre. Given that they found that they required help to build a bright, shiny , expensive new coaster , they asked the government if these funds could be diverted towards the new coaster , which will help the park survive in these times and lead the park through the pandemic and give people a reason to return to the park post pandemic. Given that DW is a massive part of the GC tourist landsacpe, the government not unreasonably , saw this request for what it was , a diversion of already approved funds , to help a struggling entertainment entity deliver a new atraction that would aid in their post pandemic recovery , thereby aiding in keeping what is arguably one of the states most important tourist attractions and areas solvent and viable. The government approved this and it was all above board. From my perspective, it certainly passes the "pub test" . I think we can all agree that the presentation of the Steel taipan coaster and the success and influence it has had on DW has been very positive. My overall feeling on this situation is that things change and priorities shift. To me this , what DW have done here is not something that I feel is in any way morally corrupt or illegal. I think it shows good business sense and use of available funds to aid in an unprecedented situation in order to help the business survive.

Relevant question. How many kids of the age and demographic they would be targeting are actually overly familar with the Wizard Of OZ IP? Potentially this will have more nostalgia for the parents?

Here is some offride footage from the coaster from Coasterforce. This Sartori Energizer coaster opened on 27. June, 2008 and closed on 5. July, 2008 after the front car derailed and crashing to the ground injuring four people. It remained closed to repair the damage and construction flaws until 29. May, 2009 and has operated flawlessly ever since- until today. It is a one of a kind installation.