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wikiverse

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Posts posted by wikiverse

  1. The 1939 film's copyright expires in 2035.  WB are going to milk it for everything they can while they still own it. 

    It's a classic film that parents will know and VRTP are probably getting the licensing for a very cheap price.  It's also smart because it's an entire precinct based on a very well-known IP that won't cost them a cent after 2035.

    All of L. Frank Baum's books are already Public Domain, which means Village Roadshow could do their own Oz films or TV shows in the future.

  2. I know it's not a priority for DW right now, but god damn that Sky Voyager building is an abomination. 

    It was a mistake endlessly complained about on parkz at the time, and the concept art absolutely did not translate into reality.  That building wouldn't be out of place at the industrial park across the highway.

    Here's hoping that the Main St facades (particularly Sky Voyager) get re-done with a consistent, classic and timeless theme after the new attractions are built.

    • Like 5
  3. This entire thread is kind of moot.

    WB will not be cutting ties with VRTP, unless VRTP chooses to drop them.  If that ever happened WB would start slashing licensing fees to keep VRTP attached.

    Why?  WB is broke.  They just got bought by Discovery and still have $40 Billion in debt. They've had a number of flops and are doing a hard re-boot of the DCEU, returning to more Harry Potter and LOTR movies over the long term.  HBO Max is bleeding money so they're merging it with Discovery+ to help cauterize the wound.  For at least a decade, WB has had grossly incompetent management who made some of the following decisions:

    • Removing Henry Cavill as Superman
    • Casting Amber Heard as a lead in Aquaman 2 (they're trying to recut the film to limit her involvement).
    • Attempting to build an entire DCU around The Flash with Ezra Miller as the lead (they're not even sure how they will release that movie now).
    • Making a Batgirl movie as an HBO Max exclusive.
    • Making a purely lesbian-focused batwoman tv show for CW which had no broad appeal to comic fans or CW viewers (typically teenage girls)
    • Rushing a Justice League movie without giving the heroes their own introduction films first.
    • Hiring Joss Whedon to take over Justice League from Zack Snyder
    • Cancelling Harry Potter films because the execs didn't like JK Rowling's trans-exclusive feminism
    • Attempting a Matrix sequel decades after the original film - and releasing it in theatres (expensive) with a simultaneous streaming release on HBO max.
    • Asking the company that cut the trailer to re-edit David Ayer's Suicide Squad.

    This is just a snapshot of the bad decisions that have been made.  WB is an absolute dumpster fire of a company and Discovery have got an uphill battle trying to pay down the debt and get them back to profitability. Right now, WB cannot afford to lose a single dollar of revenue, so there is zero chance of VRTP losing the WB branding, if anything they're likely to want VRTP to use non-DC IP and might be willing to discount the prices (like Wizard of Oz) to make that happen.

  4. 4 hours ago, TBoy said:

    Yes Paramount and Sony would be a good option. Highly doubt Disney/Fox or Universal would partner for obvious reasons.

    If they go with Sony, they could do a deal with Marvel (as SpiderMan/Venom is released by Sony not Disney) and try to include other Marvel properties. The rides could be:

    • Spiderman Escape (retheme of Superman)
    • Marvel Rivals Hypercoaster (retheme of DC Rivals)
    • Doctor Doom (retheme of Green Lantern)
    • IronMan SpaceShot (retheme of Batman Spaceshot)
    • Loki's Time Spinner (retheme of Doomsday)
    • Wild West Falls (no retheme, just the logo replaced on the cars)
    • Hotel Transylvania Spooky Coaster (retheme of Scooby)
    • The Avengers: Alien Invasion (retheme of JL Alien Invasion)
    • Sony Studio Showcase (retheme of WB Studio Showcase)
    • Hollywood Stunt Driver (no retheme)
    • Roxy Theater (no retheme, shows changed to Marvel/Sony Pictures Animation)
    • Street Stars Parade (characters changed to Marvel/SPA)
    • New York Film Academy (no retheme)
    • Spider-Man Meet and Greet (retheme of Tom and Jerry)

    Not sure about Looney Tunes/WoO).

    This would not happen.  Sony don't own the theme-park rights to Spiderman, just the film rights.  Marvel still owns the theme-park rights.  Marvel is owned by Disney and Disney is already using Spiderman in their own parks.

    Also, Universal already have the Marvel theme-park rights for the comic book versions of the characters - including Spiderman.

    You're more likely to see them partner with Paramount and access all of the Paramount IP - including Star Trek, Top Gun, Mission Impossible, Transformers and Paranormal Activity. 

    This would be a stronger suite of possible IP to license than Sony which really only has The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Men in Black and Underworld - all of which are effectively dead with no theatrical releases or only box-office failures for many years.

    They'd be more likely to leverage some of the IP from their own VREG (co)productions - like The Matrix, Happy Feet, Sherlock Holmes, Mad Max and Gatsby, than to work with Sony.

  5. Ride-only photo passes are no longer available for any time period.  All photo passes now include ride and candid (character) photos, with the price of the 12 month option doubling from $40 for ride photos only to $80 for rides + candid.

    Generally I'm supportive of offering bundles, but I do think that the ride-only pass should be offered to One Pass holders - a $40 add-on is a pretty easy sell and doesn't induce demand for character photos among visitors that otherwise wouldn't bother.

    Screenshot 2022-12-07 at 10.30.15 am.png

  6. 1 hour ago, Park Addict 93 said:

    Of course, the best-remember thrill ride was also the original – the Thunderbolt.

    Opened at Dreamworld in early 1982, it was famous for giant double-loop.

    “Removing the coaster paves … will herald some exciting developments in this part of the park, including the addition of some of the latest cutting edge thrill rides to be rolled out“

     

    Grammar Nazi here.  This reads like it was written by either AI or someone who uses English as a second language. 

    I can understand churning out garbage fluff articles for free websites to drive traffic and ad revenue, but this is behind a paywall and the standard should be higher.  I guess we at least can make some bad poetry out of the mistakes.

     

    Best-remember thrill ride.

    Was famous for giant double loop.

    Paves... will herald some exciting developments

    - Gold Coast Bulletin, 2022

     

    • Like 4
    • Love it! 1
  7. VRTP are finally giving Sea World some love after many years of neglect.  They're finally building some rides instead of more animal shows and they've committed to a major coaster build from a leading manufacturer even during two years of almost zero interstate and international travel.

    Cutting back on some theming isn't the end of the world given the circumstances, but let's also remember that the Hall of Justice, and Spooky Castle at MW are both Colorbond sheds with fibreglass theming applied to the outside.  Theming can change, and they may even do it further down the track when the financial position is stronger.

    What is being built now may not be the final product, and even if it is, who cares?  We're getting a brand new, custom, world-class wooden coaster and two additional flat rides at a time when it would have been easy to justify pulling the pin on the entire investment.

    Be Patient.  Stop complaining.  Enjoy the rides when they finally open regardless of how the theming turns out.

    • Like 3
  8. The Showtime shows are terrible and VRTP have gone for the cheapest executions possible... BUT... It's worth remembering that VRTP have to make shows that can be understood by both adults and children, as well as international tourists that can barely speak English (if at all).  That is a very difficult thing to do well on a reasonable budget.

    I think the biggest missed opportunity currently, is Village not using IP that they actually own - specifically MadMax.  The Fury Road film was released in 2015, had very little dialogue and was a massive success in Asia.  Some heavily themed cars and costumes could reduce the need for as many stunts and some basic car 'stunts' combined with some circus acrobatics could result in a visually spectacular show with a very simplistic 'stop the bad guy' story set in the MadMax universe.

    I doubt it will happen though.  The cost of transforming the arena and building the new cars is money that they will likely spend on a new ride to replace Arkham.

  9. I don't get why everyone is complaining about Intamin doing their take on what are effectively flat-rides.  The Ultra Splash/Power Splash is a flat ride using coaster track.  Intamin's version looks a lot better than Mack's with the unsupported single-rail track.

    No one complained when Dreamworld got an Intamin Gyro Swing instead of a Zamperla Frisbee.  Or an Intamin drop tower instead of an S&S one.  In fact, some of the people complaining were suggesting that DW should have replaced the Wipeout - a Vekoma Waikiki Wave Super-flip with the Zamperla knock-off.

    If Intamin can put a fun and unique take on a vertical coaster format like Maurer and Premier did, that's a good thing.  If they can find ways to improve the single rail concept, that's great.  If they want to do their own version of a PowerSplash, awesome.  Maybe they'll adapt that single-rail track into other things when it is tried and tested.

    As long as the ride experience is good, I don't care who built the ride. And most other people don't either.

  10. 5 hours ago, T-bone said:

    It’s not the old restaurant, rather an undercover shaded seating area next to the old restaurant. 

    Oh man, I hope they get the shaded seating area up and running again soon.  Dreamworld management must be devastated that one of their key attractions is fenced off like that.

  11. And here is the first official POV video for anyone that is interested.

    The ride is now officially open.

    •  World's tallest inversion (197 feet)
    • 220 ft lift hill (are we calling this one a Hyper?)
    • 9 inversions - the most in North America
    • Top Speed of 75mph (120kph)

     

    S&S have purchased Vekoma.  Steel Curtain and Maxx Force are the first two major custom designs they've introduced.  Should an Australian park look at getting a new S&S design?

    • Like 5
  12. I'm going to assume these renderings are fairly accurate to the layouts and models that they want to have, since they've already started land clearing.

    Based on these animations, the Top Spin looks to be a HUSS 'TOP SPIN SUSPENDED' model with the back-to-back seats.  Which is a great choice.

    Based on the supports and the Timberliner train in the video, the wooden coaster will be a Gravity Group model.  Any coaster nerd will tell you that means lots of ejector airtime and great transitions between turns.

    If you haven't ridden one of these, and you're turning your nose up at the term 'family coaster', you're in for a pleasant surprise.  Gravity Group build roller coasters that are half this height and still pack a punch in terms of thrills.  This will be a great addition to Sea World and is something that Dreamworld could learn from.

    • Like 2
  13. I hope you don't mind me throwing a non-Disney/Universal curve ball, but for young kids I can recommend going to Seoul, South Korea. This is a good (cheaper) trip suggestion for everyone that isn't AlexB as well.

    First, the country:

    • It's much cheaper than Japan, Singapore, or HK.
    • Seoul is very English Friendly (subways and buses all have English announcements)
    • Korean Air have direct flights from Brisbane, Asiana have direct flights from Sydney.
    • Cathay have really cheap flights if you don't mind stopping in HK for a few hours.
    • There are 3 theme parks in Seoul.

    Lotte World - http://adventure.lotteworld.com/eng/main/index.do

    • The world's largest indoor amusement park.
    • Dozens of rides, (mostly moderate thrills), but there is a lot for small kids as well as adults, and some good family attractions
    • They do 2 Parades each day (lunch time and evening).  The evening parade is pretty incredible (Disney-level good).
    • It is literally in the middle of Seoul (Jamsil) and attached to Lotte World Mall, so there is plenty of cheap food and accommodation nearby.
    • Discounts for Foreigners (a bit of research to find the right deal and you can get in for as cheap as $15-20)
    • Has an Ice skating rink in the middle of it (with free skate hire for foreigners).

    Everland - http://www.everland.com/mobile/english/

    • Samsung's Theme park.
    • About 1-2 hours just outside of Seoul
    • Is a resort, so you can stay on-premises if you want or stay closer to Seoul and get the bus.
    • Has a water park called Caribbean Bay
    • Is also a zoo with safari-style attractions
    • The park is massive with great theming and really good attractions (including T-Express an Intamin Woody)
    • Very family friendly
    • Beautiful scenery in the Spring/Autumn if you can go then.
    • Tax Free shopping for tourists

    Seoul Land - http://eng.seoulland.co.kr/eng/index.asp

    • A much older park (built for the Seoul Olympics)
    • Very family friendly (really cheap food, great rides for kids and families)
    • Only a short 15-20 min train ride from Central Seoul
    • In the middle of Seoul Grand Park (which itself is really nice)
    • Really cheap entry - and some websites give discounts if you enter after 12.
    • Not as English friendly as the other two parks (really made for locals), but still easy enough to navigate.

    To be honest, you could take the kids to Korea when they are any age and you'd still be able to get a lot of value out of it.  You could also do all three of these parks in Seoul and still have a cheaper trip than going to Japan.

    It's not Disney or Universal, but it's a great holiday option that a lot of people don't think about.

    • Like 2
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