Vidgamer

I felt it was a little smoother, but not a dramatic improvement. It was good to see all of the seats in action though.

I went to Movieworld today which is traditionally a bit of a 'no go' zone for our family during the holiday period but thought I would offer my reflections on how the day went. Firstly, Hypercoaster was running 2 trains and dispatches were quick, the operators were ready to go and the loaders grouped people quickly, cars were out to the overflow car park and yet wait times didn't exceed 60 minutes, except Scooby Doo at 75 minutes. In fact, rides like Looney Tunes and Green Lantern were running so quickly the wait times 'peaked' and then went down, which was really wonderful to see. Movieworld has made small changes to manage the crowds, the first 4D Movie Shows at 9:45am so when you walk in you aren't greeted with a crowd of people who are on Main St waiting to be let in, the characters were out in force, every where you looked there was characters and due to the 'not overly hot' weather the characters stayed out a long time, you could easily get photos with all of the characters you wanted to. The food store staff were quick, the rides were all operational (except Tweety and the Carousel) and it was actually one of the best days we've had at Movieworld since the last Hooray for Hollywood Event. The only thing I do miss from that event last year is the 'Hollywood' Stars on Main St as you walk up. I also did look back on Hypercoaster and Arkham is being dissembled, it is approximately 1/4 dismantled and they have started with the lift hill. As you come in from Hypercoaster it looked like they were building a queue area (Perhaps for a Fright Nights maze?)

Wet n Wild actually cycles the kids slides into 30 minute blocks during Winter and has done so for several years. It's certainly not the impact of Steel Taipan not opening until midday but it's definitely something that the parks have done before, sometimes i'm convinced VRTP just shuts rides for the day to save staffing it. I think shutting it down until 12 is quite reasonable for a week day, clearly they don't have the traffic to justify it being open and it extends the life of the ride, so it's actually quite strategic. By the time you get into the park during the week it's probably already 10:45am and grab a coffee, go on Shockwave/TheC Claw/ Dodgems and it's ready to open. Ardent have the upcoming sale of Main Event to prepare for as well, so I feel they are really 'gearing up' for that sale to occur and for the next investment in the park to be announced.

Does anyone knows the costs of the rides?

Dreamworld appears to have made a small change to their website to indicate the ride is now called the 'Motocoaster', dropping the Mick Doohan branding.

Personally I am a little skeptical that this isn't just the legacy building permit from when they redid the Lego Store at the end of last year. I also don't think there are any 'Lego Worlds' in any theme parks around the world, I believe they are all stand alone parks. Having said that, if this is true it's a home run for Dreamworld + Indoor attraction in the Big Red Car + Rebrand the wheel + Open a Lego cafe + Add some more toddler rides in (there are some really good toddler rides out now and a toddler sized rollercoaster similar to Spongebob at Seaworld) At the time the refurb was announced (I believe it was in a conference call in 2019) It was heavily rumoured that Bluey was part of the refurb.

We are locals and have annual passes to Movieworld and Dreamworld. I have just noticed that Dreamworld and Movieworld have both updated their terms and conditions to prohibit outside food being taken into the parks (sandwiches etc..), which makes the parks a lot more expensive for families. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this subtle (but large) change and if it's something they can see Movieworld and Dreamworld continuing.

Movieworld has really stuffed this holiday period up, the Google reviews are scathing.

I feel they just forgot the NSW/VIC holidays only started this week. Originally the park was also going to close at 4 Monday to Friday next week which would have been a bad look for interstate visitors.

I thought I would add my thoughts on the event as I went last night with my family. Firstly, yesterday afternoon was very rainy on the Gold Coast and so we weren't sure if it was worth going but decided to proceed. We arrived at 5:00pm and there was no line and we seemed to have caught the closing the park crowd and arriving crowd so did well at timing. I had pre purchased the Street Food Festival and so I went to Main Street and redeemed my Tasting Trail pass ($35 for the 5 + 2). When we first walked in the park the Cubano and Smokehouse was replenishing food so we walked up and down main street for the first 20 minutes while food was restocked. My wife got an Ice Tea ($7.50 and you couldn't use your annual pass discount) and I got a Strawberry Daquiri (with the tasting trail) which was actually very nice. I used the first 2 of my Tasting Trail options for the Cubanos and they could be tasted, they were actually really nice and the 'sample' size is very generous, both my wife and I loved the cubanos. Next I got the brisket slider and my wife got the french cheesy fries, the slider was delicious, the meat was so tender, however the fries were nothing special. At this point I had used 4 of the 'dishes' and we had some of the poffertjes from the food truck, these were very nice and i think quite well priced ($15 for 20). I finished my drink selection off with a Mango Daquiri and my kids had a Kenny and Belinda Waffle. The tasting trail is a bargain, 5 food and 2 alcoholic drink options is a very good deal and so getting such a bargain was a highlight. As to the evening itself I felt it was lacking in atmosphere. It was very quiet and by 6:30pm the park was a ghost town. The Mexican food truck didn't open at all and the Calamari Bros were shut by 6:00pm, which I think is pretty average when you consider they were only open late over 2 nights. Dreamworld had some live music on the stage but Kenny and Belinda didn't come out at all, which I thought was poor considering we weren't at the park during the day. I wouldn't say it was much of a success really, despite the fact that the park looks absolutely beautiful at night, especially Kickback Cove (I know there are mixed feelings about replacing Wipeout with a seating area, but for events like this Kickback Cove is just beautiful).

For our Theme Parks in Australia this can only be a good thing. A debt free Ardent with surplus funds doubling down on Dreamworld really makes it seems that Ardent are highly highly confident of the position they find themselves in. This should mean continued investment in the park and the surplus land being used (or sold). over $150 million in surplus funds should allow for decent new rides but also possibly indicates Ardent is highly confident of their future plans and the park under Greg Yong.

To add a little intrigue to the occasion, on Friday last week they had an after hours event with the carpet out and props from the parade on Main Street. Smokey barrels were also outside the Scooby Doo castle. I would like to think they were filming for a commercial but it looks more to be a corporate event. Not bringing this event back from Easter continues my thoughts that Movieworld just isn't even trying anymore.

Movieworld seriously needs to invest in Teen Titans. A new tween area focused on Teen Titans would be a huge hit, the series has just been renewed again and lots of kids love it.

I think if I paid $100 to go to Movieworld and Looney Tunes was the 'draw card' I would ask for a refund. Movieworld is in such a sorry state at the moment, it's embarassing. Considering the DC Rivals Superhero Night time event didn't return in January this year i am interested to see if they run Hooray for Hollywood this year. It was all locked in before the new owners came in, since then they have invested almost nothing into the park. If Covid is the issue then Movieworld should have done what Dreamworld did and had a recruitment drive. This weekend: Dreamworld: Waitangi Event Movieworld: 3 Rides shut (at least) 4 Days Later: Batwing Shut.

So three coasters in the current ride envelope?

Sorry mate, they just refurbished the second gondola and told the stock market there were no ride retirements coming. It isn’t happening.

The operations for Steel Taipan are putting Hypercoaster to shame at the moment.

The seatbelts are actually still there, they just go around the side of each part of the seat, so you can put your own belt on, making it much much faster. The belts essentially go over your knees.

I was there tonight, actually I was on the ride waiting for the next cycle but they removed us. This was at 5:30pm. It didn't open again for the night but did look to be testing and running during the evening.

I am in park today and The Claw has reopened.

I agree, I wasn't really that interested in the triple launch but now having been on the ride it really adds such a unique element to the ride.

I went yesterday and they have made some changes for the queueing for Double Barrel and Kaboom. They had a staff member stationed at the front of the queue asking which ride you were going on and then split the queue immediately. Kaboom was intermittent yesterday but extremely popular. The area itself is stunning. They had a few food kiosks set up which was a good idea too.

Who is considered VIP? I am hopeful pass holder preview comes soon.

Is anyone going next Wednesday for the birthday 'day'? What is an appropriate time to line up for these things?

In the email Dreamworld sent they outlined that passholders should keep an eye out for a 'special' email, which i assume will be for a preview. It may just be early entry on the day.