wikiverse

2024-05-01T09:50:50Z

2 minutes ago, Tricoart said:

Where have I seen that image before…Oh, yeah!

I honestly think that this should be reported to the ACCC. Advertising a major ride against a 3-day pass price during a period when that ride is scheduled to be closed is misleading and deceptive. I would say the same for all the digital billboards with that photo. The reasonable expectation is that purchasing a 3-day pass would allow you to ride Rivals.

The ACL doesn't require anyone to have actually been misled, just that it is likely to mislead or deceive.

Saturday at 03:07 AM

11 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Why do people on here complain about the sky voyager facade so much lol it fits the theme of what the ride is about. Art deco respectfully does not scream to the average guest of a flight around australia. When it’s one of your key attractions that’s not what you want.

I get that it’s jarring but the most you could do is repaint the white a different colour (perhaps grey) and change the sign.

It doesn't fit the theme of the ride at all. It was supposed to look like an airport terminal, and instead it looks like it belongs in an industrial park.

I've detailed extensively why at the time of its construction AND given some of the history of aviation in Queensland which could have been used to build a story around the ride and the building, in this post:

And I provided examples of what could have been done here - based on actual airports from around the world:

The facade of the building is just aluminium cladding hanging on a steel frame. It would be incredibly easy to replace it with moulded fibreglass (Scooby/JL/Jungle Rush) or traditional cladding like the other buildings. The shade structure over the exterior queue would need to be torn down and replaced with something more traditional, which is easily achievable.

The glass towers around the stairs would ideally be removed. There is plenty of space inside the building's original footprint to redesign the stairs so the glass protrusions are not needed, alternatively, they could get the same facade treatment as the rest of the building. Is this costly? Yes. But fixing the terrible decisions of the previous management have been and will continue to be extremely costly. But the long term viability and profitability of the park are going to depend on it.

Aesthetics matter. Especially at a 'theme' park. It is why ToT was removed and the tower redesigned. It could have stayed as it was, but the new management saw value in the aesthetic improvement. Imagine if Disney put the SV building on Main St. or if Universal put it in Wizarding World. People wouldn't say 'but it matches the theme of the ride', they would call it what it is - a lumpy, bulbous hemorrhoid of a building that doesn't belong in any theme park, anywhere.

April 23

It doesn't make a difference. Honestly, the demand for up-charge seating is so low even on busy days that they may as well scrap a booking system entirely and just have a wireless Eftpos terminal at the head of the queue line.

If it's going to be in an app, then they should use it a little smarter - offer off-peak, mid-week discounted rides ($10-15) to annual pass holders to entice them into the park, even let them buy multiple rides for a lower price. If the ride is running with empty seats, better to get some money than no money.

That would be the only reason to need a booking system - to get people into the park on quiet days and get guaranteed revenue out of them. F&B discounts (if you offer decent F&B) would also do the same thing.

April 17

16 hours ago, aaronm said:

Would reduce operational costs, I imagine that’s important to VRTP execs right now.

Operating costs aren't that important if you're attracting enough guests, which you won't do if you keep rides closed.

April 16

April 1

12 hours ago, Spotty said:

I really don't think they would have chosen the model if they knew it was going to be so unreliable.

The only other park install of an Intamin Suspended Twin Hammer was in Malaysia, which opened in 2003 and closed in 2015 - the year before Doomsday opened - because it was so unreliable. So they should have known, or at least should have at least contacted the Malaysian park for a reference before buying the ride.

Zamperla make the Hawk model that does the exact same thing, has many more installs and is a much more reliable ride.

March 30

12 hours ago, Prequel said:

So Village wouldn't need to renew the license in 10 years?

4 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Theme parks rights may work differently to the overall rights to the book

If it is out of copyright, then anyone can do anything they want with the stories, characters, music and images and no one can enforce royalty or licensing payments. Specific trademarks - like the names of the coasters and any associated artwork - can be enforced though, and WB registered the trademarks, not Village.

March 29

14 hours ago, Morphix said:

Thought its an attraction for a 100 year anniversary

They're about 15 years too early for that.

But the copyright on the movie - including specific things that are only in the movie like ruby slippers - expires in 2035, 95 years after the film's release.

March 19

31 minutes ago, ShakeShack said:

The point I am making is, these works are all been done at the same time to minimise the downtime later in the year. Would this not make more sense, if you're already servicing the attractions, to do the rest of the works required at the same time?

I don't think anyone is disputing closing once and doing all the necessary work.

The thing that people are pointing out is that they're doing that on SE AND Batwing AND DD (which has other issues) AND Scooby all at the same time, with a lot of unplanned stoppages/late openings/closed seats on GL, Rivals, RR, and WWF. There have been several days where MW were charging $110 single day entry for people to watch HWSD2, and see Batman showcase because every single adult ride has been closed, as well as Road Runner - meaning there was not a single roller coaster or thrill ride operational.

That is an unacceptable situation to be in and is 100% due to the park's management failing to invest adequately in the maintenance of their rides, plan maintenance schedules properly, and replace defunct rides in a timely manner when it is clear that they've reached the end of their lifespan (SD, AA, DD).

But also due to the types of rides and attractions they operate. A simulator ride like Batman could operate even if one or two simulators failed - just at reduced capacity. The Movie Magic show could still operate if one of the show elements failed, other areas of the show could be padded out and the host could still explain how things work with other demonstrations. It also means that annual maintenance can occur on part of the attraction while it is still operational, reducing the amount of time it would need to be closed.

It is also apparent that there are management issues from staff attitudes toward visitors. Staff are not friendly, none of them want to be there, and replies to customer complaints on social media have shown absolute contempt for visitors that just wanted a fun day out with their family. Compare that with DW, where they acknowledge they are in a state of transition, they know most of the park is a construction zone, but the staff are engaging, friendly, courteous, and genuinely want to see people enjoying themselves. I visited DW for the first time since 2015 the other week and the staff were the single most memorable part of my day. The staff issue at MW is what really indicates this is a top-down problem because the front line workers are unsupported and have no power to fix the situation for unhappy visitors.

A theme park is a retail business, a service industry business, an art/design and performance business and a heavy machinery business. Movie World was once the stand out performer in Australia for all of these, but it's fallen behind in all of them and completely bungled the last one.

People are rightfully pointing out that 2 month closures should be unnecessary, and planned overlapping closures are just bad management. But 2 month closures when you've got so many other closures - planned or temporary - happening in the park to the point that people are paying full price entry and cannot go on a single ride, is what most people in this thread are complaining about.

Yes, DW have some extended closures for various reasons, but the difference is in the broader context of the park's offerings and operations.

March 18

17 minutes ago, Aw hype said:

IMO, it would have made more sense to remove doomsday and put it in that plot if space permitted

Thank god they didn't. It would have been such a waste. The SE helix has been an under-utilised dead spot right at the front of the park for almost 2 decades. This absolutely is the right space for a mediocre flat ride of this size.

Yea, Doomsday sucked and was a bad choice for the park, but that plot of land was well-themed when it opened and it deserves a better ride than a Surf Rider. If anything, they've missed an opportunity to update SE's story, theme the Flash to Villains and put a lot of that theming at the front of the park, all the way up to Rivals. But that would have required them to commit to replacing DD with something better, and re-theming the area - which is expensive.

If they kept the theme, there are plenty of reliable, relatively inexpensive classics that could fit there - like a Top Scan (just an example).

But I'd personally like to see a re-theme. DC is basically dead now as a 'movie' franchise. Dune and Madmax would be my picks, and they both lend themselves to immersive theming of an outdoor thrill flat, with an indoor simulator (like batman) in the show stage.

March 15

The concrete has been poured and leveled with the metal rebar for the footers sticking out of it. The footers will have concrete poured around them eventually, but onto an existing concrete pour. Which means the current concrete will be mostly set when the new concrete is poured and they won't be chemically bonded. This is called a 'cold joint'. There will be a gap between the layers into which moisture can seep, which will eventually rust the metal rebar and compromise the structural integrity of the footer over time.

My assumption was that if the footers are going to be indoors, then it may not matter. Apparently the moisture in the air is enough.

My best guess is that if the footers are inside they will be easier to seal (and maintain a seal), than if exposed to the elements, so they've decided to pour the footers later. There are footers that seem to be level with the concrete in the third image (looking toward GD), so it seems the elevated footers (with cold joints) are only for the turntable structure.

I know enough to look at the pictures and try to make some guesses, but I'm not an engineer. So I guess we just have to wait and see what they actually do.

March 14

21 minutes ago, New display name said:

I can't see the point of adding cold joints to the footings. Seems like backwards engineering. 🤷‍♂️

If the footers are inside and not exposed to the elements, does it matter? This is a legitimate question, I'm not an engineer.

March 10

@Tricoart The last time was 2015. I always remember it being rough, but i never walked off of it with actual red marks and bruises - like someone had tried to karate chop my head off - as is the case with the new restraints. It's not a fun ride, and it's never been a good layout. It's just 3 banked turns, a sidewinder and a vertical loop.

Again, it's just my opinion, and I understand that people have nostalgia reasons for wanting to keep it, but DW can do better. I genuinely believe that the current management would do better. The land it's on could be used to expand WWW or the Exhibition Centre, even the Exhibition Centre building could be used to house a ride - or part of one like Superman Escape.

That whole area of the park is just dead ends and a hodge-podge of bad choices from bad management over the years. The Exhibition Centre and GC just feel plonked down without any real thought.

To be honest, to re-imagine that whole end of the park would take the commitment to just remove an old, bad ride, and then re-work the entire area from (and including) the Wipeout plot and Exhibition Centre around to Kevil Hill. That's an enormous amount of space that could fit at least 2 roller coasters, a water slide tower, a dark/indoor ride and 1 or 2 decent flats.

I'd much rather have that happen with Rivertown level theming than holding onto a sub-par Arrow coaster that just hurts to ride. Most importantly, I'd personally be happy to pay up to $250 for an annual pass if that were to happen.

March 10

14 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Also @wikiverse you would have hated Cyclone. Gold Coaster is smoother than its ever been with those restraints

I rode it as Cyclone and Hot Wheels. It was always a rough ride and nothing has changed with that, but the new restraints add constant pressure and weight to your shoulders and collar bone and just rub the entire time and smash into your neck on the janky turns - especially if you're over 6ft.

These restraints took it from a rough ride that I was willing to go on, to one that I have no interest in riding again. It's effectively SBNO for me.

The ride was built in 1994. It's a 30 year old, second hand coaster. Thunderbolt only lasted 21 years, and Gold Coaster has been at DW for 23 years.

I personally think it's time to replace it. Removing that coaster and it's station would open up room for a much better ride that everyone could enjoy, and would allow for a cleaner transition between DW and WWW. Removing ToT opened up the land for Rivertown, and removing GC would do the same at the front end of the park, and I've got faith in the current management to do a great job of it and bring some magic back to the park.

March 9

5 hours ago, red dragin said:

I'd be happy to fork out $149 once Jungle Rush & Rivertown have opened.

I think that is fair.

I visited the park for the first time since 2015 a few weeks ago. It's definitely improved, but there is still a long way to go. The park feels a lot smaller without Gold Rush. I would like to see something substantial take the Thunderbolt plot and have that area integrated back into the park before they cross the $150 mark. It'd be nice to have an 'out of control' feeling coaster like a wild mouse or Raptor, which is definitely missing from the line up, and Kevil Hill needs to come back as the laser tag - even just for peak periods or for Night Markets.

Also, as controversial as it might be, in my opinion, Forest Flyer and Gold Coaster need to go. They're really rough and painful rides. The vest restraints on GC felt like they were going to decapitate me, and KFF just hurt. Ideally they could be replaced with other similar rides - potentially Vekoma could do a custom SFC to fit the KFF space, and Gold Coaster could be replaced with something like a Chance Hyper GTX.

Committing to killing GC would open up many more possibilities for that end of the park, since the big thrill coaster could go on the Thunderbolt plot and a smaller one - like a Wild Mouse or Raptor in the GC spot. They also need to get rid of GC's queue building.

For me, that would essentially make the park feel 'complete'. It would still be missing a solid water ride, but I think we're still a decade away from DW going down that route again.

I will say though, despite Tailspin and SS and DF being down for maintenance, I had a really nice day. The park does still feel a bit like a construction zone, and the 'flow' of the park layout is a bit messed up, but BY FAR, the biggest difference to any Village park was the staff. They were genuinely kind and friendly, even at the food outlets they just great to have around.

The food offerings are also good. The Fried Chicken was actually a decent sized meal with actual flavour and wasn't too dissimilar to what I would find in any RSL or surf club in both price and quality. If they can maintain that, I think $149 for a year is fair, and hopefully brings in enough money for them to replace some of the older rides.

March 8

Wow! I can't wait for this to be the only ride ~~within a ride in the southern hemisphere~~ operating at MW.

March 4

Hot PR tip for the person managing the social media account: If you're explaining, you're losing.

Everything in that statement prior to the last paragraph should never, ever be said publicly or privately to a paying customer.

They do not care about why the rides are closed, planned or not. They care about the fact that they've paid $110 to enter the park to watch HWSD2 while eating $20 chicken nuggets and possibly getting a ride on WWF, if it's open. They care about the disappointment they're experiencing for paying so much money to effectively enter an overpriced, extremely limited shopping mall.

Movie World's failures are not the customer's fault - even if scheduled maintenance is listed on the website, people expect the majority of rides to be open, not one ride for part of the day.

Acknowledge the unplanned stoppages and then direct people to guest services and tell them that you want to make it right. Don't say that guests are going to be 'well informed and an outcome achieved'. That's effectively code for 'Go F*** Yourself, no refunds'.

Just acknowledge the disappointment, acknowledge the unplanned stoppages, acknowledge that this is not how you want guests to experience the park and then direct them to guest services because you want the chance to make it right. That's it.

What guest services offer can be tailored to what the guests want, but don't blame the visitor because Movie World can't keep on top of ride maintenance enough to keep even ONE roller coaster operating. Right now, you're taking a bad situation and making it worse.

March 2

This is why attractions like the Movie Magic Special Effects Show and the old Batman Simulator rides are important in a park's line up.

Even if half the simulators break, or if one effect isn't working, you can still operate the attraction at reduced capacity, or stretch out other parts of the show to fill the time.

At this point they should just do a Luna Park, open the park for free and sell wrist bands to kids that want to go on rides, hope that parents spend up on food and merch.

February 27

This might be controversial, but I don't think that HWSD2 needs to be replaced with a 'stunt' show. It just needs to be an entertaining show with some big set pieces, if there are a few 'stunts' along the way then that's great.

Honestly, if they were to do a Mad Max, Dune or DC themed show, a lot of the 'stunts' could just be fully automated rigs that are completely safe and require little to no human skill, as long as they're built into the story and give the illusion of action and suspense.

I think we'd all love to see a high quality stunt show, but if budget is the issue, then rig everything. It wouldn't be difficult to create an exciting and entertaining show using nothing more dangerous or skillful than what HWSD2 offers, and it would be a much more appropriate venue for BMX (or motorcycle) tricks than Seaworld.

February 20

17 hours ago, TBoy said:

One thing I hope will happen is the Scooby elevator gets painted over, it will be weird seeing a land with very immersive theming and there is a white rectangle in the middle of it.

At least some of the elevator is getting replaced along with Scooby's track, and the shed and elevator are the same structure, so it is possible that section of the building might be pulled apart for access/installation when the time comes.

I doubt they will paint or wrap the entire height of the tower, although if the main entrance is from Superman, it would be a very impressive visual if they did.

February 14

Would you guys mind posting some examples of what you think it should look like?

Keep in mind, this serves 3 functions:

Provide a clear, visible entrance to the ride
Provide shade
Provide a physical barrier between the Superman track and people because VRTP insurance doesn't allow rides to go over pathways.

I'm just keen to see what you would want installed instead, given that this is a relatively minor flat ride.

February 9

I might be seeing this differently to others, but...

It is perfectly acceptable (and psychologically necessary in many cases) for single-sex events and single-sex venues to exist, but the staffing in those venues and events should be in alignment. Usually when community or religious groups are hosting single-sex events it's so that people can connect and relax and talk about gender specific things (like mental health or relationship issues) without having to moderate what they say lest it offend, or attract judgement from, the opposite sex. Sometimes it's just about forming the connections and the bonds so that those important conversations can happen later.

This doesn't mean people have an excuse to harass others, but this is not just isolated to men or Muslims. I've seen the inverse of this multiple times in my life where male staff are harassed at women-only events. In most cases sexually harassed, including physically. I've seen women (often unattractive) groping the genitals of young male staff who are just trying to do their job - sometimes alcohol was involved, but not always.

I've also seen men get abused by women from Vulcana Women's Circus because Powerhouse (before Vulcana moved) allowed a production company to rent the space for a day to film some scenes for a documentary - on a day when no circus activities were actually scheduled. Vulcana did not own the space, they were just renting it like anyone else to provide a womens-only circus. The women were verbally aggressive to the men, but also intentionally made a lot of noise while they were filming to ruin their takes (which ironically led to them being there longer).

The nature of exclusive events gives people a sense of entitlement and they often behave in ways that reflect this. They are attending a single-sex event or venue and have fairly reasonable expectations around it being single-sex. I don't think having a men's-only event is an issue, nor do I think it would be a problem for the women in the same community to book the park for a women's-only event. But I do think that venue has a responsibility to align their customer facing staff to the nature of the event they've agreed to host - not just for the benefit of staff, but also for the customers whose expectations are for it to be single sex.

For example, I wouldn't expect to see male staff at an female only gym, and I would expect some women to behave disrespectfully or even aggressively toward a male staff member. It doesn't make their behaviour ok, but the gym gave the customer expectations of being a single-sex venue and then didn't meet those expectations. People are going to get frustrated or, at the very least, be disappointed.

To generalise this and remove the single-sex/religious component to this story, If a venue were hosting an award ceremony for people with disabilities and then installed a stage that was only accessible via stairs, you would expect people to become angry at the staff/venue for not considering the nature of the event and needs or expectations of the attendees.

There is room in society for men and women to have their own spaces, even temporarily at events like these. I may be alone in this opinion, but I don't believe the solution is to say 'don't host events like this', I think the solution is for venues to be a little more thoughtful about the events they host - if they're providing staff they're not just a venue, they're also a service provider and need to provide a service that meets the expectation of the customer. The event organisers also need to be more explicit about the nature of the event and what staff would be appropriate on that day to align with the expectations they have raised in the people they've invited.

February 6

So, I'm just gonna throw out some WB and/or Village Roadshow titles that could lend themselves to a new show:

Lethal Weapon
Miss Congeniality
Rush Hour
Training Day
V for Vendetta
Beetlejuice
Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie version)
San Andreas (which was filmed in Brisbane)
Batman
Mad Max
Dune
The Matrix
Game of Thrones
300
Pacific Rim
Mortal Kombat
Bladerunner
Edge of Tomorrow
Police Academy

It's not like there is any shortage of action/adventure/comedy films that they could tap into for inspiration. Films like Lethal Weapon, Miss Congeniality, or Rush Hour wouldn't even require much of a re-theme of the arena and would still fit with the action/comedy style they've had since Police Academy.

February 2

Sky Voyager is not broken. Only 2 gondolas were operating this morning until about midday, and then all 6 were operating until 5pm. There was no closure and no maintenance occurring. The wait time was roughly the same for both.

The park is adjusting the capacity of the ride and the staffing levels to suit the demand throughout the day.

January 23

There is no sequel to The Flash and there never will be. It was one of the biggest financial flops in cinematic history, only beaten by The Marvels.

DC has one movie in 2024 - The Joker: Folie à Deux which is scheduled for an October 4 theatrical release.

Superman Legacy comes out July 11, 2025 - which is the first of the James Gunn re-boots.

The Batman Part 2 comes out October 3, 2025, but it (like The Joker) exists in it's own universe that is not connected to a bigger DCU.

Those are the only DC movies coming out in cinemas in 24/25. Everything else is Animated and direct-to-streaming.

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