Vidgamer

We went to Fright Nights on Saturday and I thought I would offer some thoughts, we also went in 2022. We paid for Fast Track Maze and Rides and I purchased my tickets as soon as I possibly could on the day they launched. I am very aware of Village's cost cutting measures and was a little worried about this leading into the event considering for 2 people it is $600. Firstly some positives; I feel the entry process is incredibly smooth, even with the security checks (which I think are a necessary inclusion considering I saw security with masks, fake knives and swords) and my fast track worked incredibly well. I was hesitant in using the app because we've used it before for VQ and it tends to play up, but it was seamless. The atmosphere is fantastic, the lighting brilliant and I feel the sound was louder this time, and better. Alcohol choices were great, I loved the themed drinks, the food was almost a duplicate from last year (Graveyard Frappe, Gore beef burgers) The improvement in the Conjuring Maze is impressive. Last year I found it to be a little lacking but I genuinely feel they made it much better this year, easily the best maze by far. Death Row a close second, some signage was added to theme it better, loved it a second time around. Some negatives The rides shut at about 9:45pm and stopped operating, our Fast track was placed on hold, i knew rides were shutting earlier than 11 but they were shut directly at 9:45pm, this seemed very odd. DCeased is a trash maze, it's essentially a glorified walkthrough, given the maze is actually so small my wife was 'punched' by Robin at one point because they stick their hands out and there isn't many places to go. It's really poor. Circurse and Hellship were 'okay', Hellship seemed very short and Circurse didn't do a lot for me, I feel the 'characters' in Hellship were good though. There were clearly less actors in the precincts and no character interaction at the main point of the mazes. Last year it was okay waiting for mazes and seeing people getting scared, this was not the case this year. The operations at Village continue to be average. We had an influencer push in front of us (physically push in front of us) for a ride on Hypercoaster, which then stalled and had no comms from staff. DCeased shut for 30 minutes at one point as well with no communication from staff. Some 'interestings' You cannot see the queue time for your maze unless you have used your fast track entitlement, a little annoying because I like to monitor the mazes and then go to the speediest one before using VQ. The entertainment is the same as last year, no change there. They didn't start accepting people in the mazes until 6:15pm. Fast Track is clearly oversold, we still waited 20/30 minutes at times, the staff really didn't want people to do the bonus rooms (DCeased bonus room was rubbish, the Circurse and Hellship ones were better) The "wrap up" music was playing in the street at 9:45pm, it's really an event that finishes at 9:45pm/10:00pm, not 11:00pm. I really like the atmosphere for Fright Nights and the event itself but even though Saturday wasn't a sold out night the operations for even the mazes were incredibly slow, staff were still getting in the groove and there just felt like 'less' than last year, it certainly wasn't 'bigger or better'. If DCeased comes back next year they need to expand it to the full show building and redo it considerably, I have faith they can do it because they improved The Conjuring so much, but it does feel like the event has been 'cheapened' a little more than previously. It feels like cost cutting.

It's almost laughable how much Dreamworld is outshining Village at the moment. Extra theming being added to a ride 2 years after launch is very impressive and shows an ongoing quality commitment, this is not to mention that the ride signage being created lately is so much better, as an annual passholder I am genuinely excited about the next things Dreamworld keeps adding. Surely in 2025 when DW's ride count is maximised and WoO is open at Movieworld we're entering a new éra' of our parks.

Great post - I think after 2024 it's time for DW to add a water ride. I think Dreamworld themselves said they have a few surprises in store in terms of attractions over the coming years. I don't take that as rides as such, but maybe things like a giant adventure playground (similar to how they have added a splash pad) would really expand the park out further too.

We were coming up to renew our passes and have decided to hold off, i thought I would give an idea of how the VQ has helped me and my family, especially during movieworld With VQ: Arrive at 9:45am, line up at kids area and we have 5 passes so 3 of the VQ are used to queue for Hypercoaster, 2 are used for Superman. As the kids area opens we do the Driving School, the Looney Tunes Coaster and the Carousel. At this point our queues are normally ready and we move to Hypercoaster and Superman, when we're finished with those rides we'll VQ for Green Lantern and Road Runner. During this time we'll stop for a snack and wait for the queues to be ready. When the queues are ready my eldest and my wife goes to GL, i do Road Runner with my youngest and generally the queues are pretty long VQ wise from there, we then do some of the other rides, look at the shops and have lunch. At this point we've left Movieworld and everyone has had a go. Without VQ we need to split up and wait in lengthy queues for who knows how long, less rides, less enjoyment and less likely to stay for lunch. It will fundamentally change our trip to Movieworld, so much so that we are not likely to renew for a while yet. Hypercoaster is great, as is Superman, but Dreamworld is a much more enjoyable 'theme park' day without the VQ option at VIllage.

This is such a poor decision, it was initially advertised as part of the purchasing process. Movieworld is kicking a lot of own goals lately. It doesn’t make the park overly welcoming to families.

I wonder when we will start seeing Coaster pieces arrive.

It looks like Part One of the teaser so it could easily be something chasing the crowd. Someone on the video commented that it is definitely 'Chucky' but I don't see it.

I paid 149 for fast pass maze and rides single use last year. how do they do the bonus rooms? If you have a fast pass wrist band you go through a separate entrance?

Drove past today and both sides were up the tower. It looked like one was testing and one had people on it. It’s been years since I’ve seen both up the tower.

I actually thought they had actually gotten 2 Ms as well but actually i think it's the font. In QLD the number plates actually have a very similar number plate where the M and W look almost identical, I think it is to do with the narrow nature of the letters.

I much prefer the 2018 map. I remember around 2018 it was my first time back at Dreamworld in several years and that map made me feel Iike there was so much more to do at Dreamworld than Movieworld. I honestly think they should go back to that style and bring back the maps in hard copy form at the entrance. They are a great keepsake and a quintessential part of a theme park visit. Dreamworld seems to have an incredible amount of momentum now and they really should be capitalising on their size, most Google reviews comment on dreamworlds range of activities and low wait times.

Oops! Typos come back to get me

Actually no, the maintenance was pushed back a week.. Source: https://www.parkz.com.au/forums/topic/10131-movie-world-maintenance-2022/?page=13

If memory serves me correctly the maintenance period for Hypercoaster was deleted last year as Green Lantern was playing up, but I could be incorrect.

In theory Movieworld could delay Hypercoasters maintenance period for a few weeks, close Superman, install Surf Rider and then call it a day.

They need to be careful of treading too much into "Dreamworld during the day", now they are giving away the Treehouse as well, I know the rides don't operate but it's a fine line (and i can imagine them opening them as 'pay per play' for one weekend only (one ride per weekend) as they seem to be continuing to up the ante with this market. I do hope Wave Swinger remains free for annual passholders to ride during the night markets.

Not sure if this could go anywhere else but today I was at Dreamworld and they have started fitting out the old store at the Wildlife Station. it looks like it will be a Bilby Discovery Centre. It looks like a much larger space for the Bilby. It does seem like Dreamworld is investing a little in wildlife lately, twilight trail has recently opened and now the Bilby area. I do wonder if this means the area near the Bilby will be shut (kind of opposite the wombat enclosure), as Vintage Cars will be relocating.

Yes just before Covid Dreamworld made it clear they were aiming for a smaller park but one that had a bit more kinetic energy, it seems they are pushing towards this. I always look at Movieworld as a much smaller park but looking at attraction count it is unbelievable to think Movieworld is about to eclipse Dreamworld. That is a concern. I vaguely remember before TRR the park maps had about '40' things to do, so it's quite a change. EDIT: Found the map chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.dreamworld.com.au/media/sc1jilq3/dw-july-2020-eng-park-map.pdf This is a much better style I think, it makes it seem like there is more.

A few years back during Winterfest they had a short Winter film on, it played from about 11-3 and the Australian film played outside of those times, so i assume that is what will happen. Having a look around Brogent's website it looks like a aquarium experience normally used on their 'Q Ride' system (the fish line up) https://www.brogent.com/en/product-q-ride.html This experience appears to use VR.

Minecraft is Microsoft, imagine the IP cost for a Minecraft world. EDIT: I have a feeling before Covid Dreamworld was teasing a Bluey expansion of some kind, but since then Bluey has gone to Disney overseas so i imagine the cost may have gone too high.

I think Movieworld has to be very careful, if Dreamworld invests in a unique Hypercoaster in 2026 then the park will be very competitive against Movieworld's offering.

Just to clarify, it was the grouper selling the tickets. They sold them as they went to load the next group. Steel taipan has the advantage of a 3 deep queue line after grouping so that made life easier.

During the peak season Dreamworld actually had a eftpos terminal so you could buy Tail Whip at the ride line up (in the tail whip line). It actually seemed to work well, so it is possible.

I believe Theme Park World Wide got unlimited fast track, this isn't possible to buy anymore, as Village sells only the 'one shot' fast passes (only one fast track per ride).

Replacement name for Pandanonium?