Baconjack

Yeah it does look like it, but it seems to be the same photo over and over. Honestly it looks a tad tacky (especially in comparison to the murals and signage in the big dipper facade) and some minimal queue fencing would have been nice in that queue (such as the red they have in the exit) although I see why LPS wants to prevent an idiot from walking into the ride envelope

Yeah I thought that was the case, because from what I remember, Ranger was bought by a showman to be used as parts for renovating a Rainbow, as the parts between the models are largely cross-compatible. Whether or not that amounts to anything I suppose will be seen on the show circuit next year.

Shame we never got to see a Schwarzkopf looping coaster in Australia. I rode Olympia looping when it was in London several years back and it was a great ride!

That corner of the park has been neglected for ages, only rocky hollow being removed, ST getting built and the new paths completed has made it look anywhere near acceptable these days. And for GD, well there’s every other ride at DW and then there’s GD. Even in 2014 that “theming” was decrepit nonsense. I would hate to see what it looks like now, I even cringe looking at the Calibri text on the ride gondola that has been haphazardly placed there

I would prefer for DW to move on from this theme. It is like arguing to bring back Gold Rush. A Great Barrier Reef themed shoot the chutes (Jurassic Park style) would be pretty cool and fit with the direction that DW have taken theme wise with ST and Voyager. Could be presented as a boat tour of the reef. I would love DW to even go with a Dreamtime story as a theme - an attraction themed to the Rainbow Serpent story would be very unique, maybe a dark ride or a flume. Totally different to what you see at Village

To be fair, most European countries and America had a completely different attitude to travelling overseas when compared to ours. We aren't called Fortress Australia for nothing lol

I understand that re doing ABC isn't going to keep some people coming back but a Bluey dark ride in the Big Red Car building would be a slam dunk. DW don't take advantage of the ABC license given that show is extremely popular and has literally nothing in the land. I do think that a shoot the chutes themed to the Great Barrier Reef (think Jurassic Park but with ocean animals) would be really cool and very unique, or a dark ride/drop track coaster themed to the Rainbow Serpent. Either of those will go in what's been freed up by Log Ride and should provide a lot of impact.

It would be nice to see a vehicle from the second Big Dipper as well but the shells for the Cyclone were binned when replaced a few years back so it's very much wishful thinking on my part. Now if only they could turn that attention to what's at Maloney's Corner. The presentation for what I've seen so far for Big Dipper versus literally everything else is night and day. I was at the park yesterday and yep Boxing Day is still the plan at this stage. Given that people have ridden the coaster I would say that it should be ready for then.

Pacing looks a lot faster than the testing I saw last week for some reason

At least the video for ST doesn't scream at me "BY NOW ALL LOOSE ITEMS INCLUDING ANYTHING IN YOUR POCKETS SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH A FRIEND OR IN THE LOCKERS AT THE ENTRANCE" at an ear shattering volume.

I would, even more so than DCR backwards! We don't have a modern spinning coaster here so I definitely see the appeal of it, plus I've heard good things about coasters like Ride to Happiness to justify spending the $25 on it!

So that's where AA is going to! /s

Can confirm the track roar is very limited especially when compared to its predecessor, from what I've seen during tests. Must have put sand in the track to dampen the noise presumably. Tire launch is very quiet as well. You'd think nothing would go wrong but residents that are opposed to LPS operating as a theme park entity will prove otherwise, but that won't amount to much anyway

On a positive note, at least decals have been applied to the facade in front of the BD station to make it look somewhat authentic and faithful to the intricate facade that it sits next to. Almost serves as a juxtaposition to what sits at Maloney's Corner at present, a bunch of flats plonked on a parking lot with hardly any presentation work done whatsoever. The banner is an embarrassment but people have joked about it to death at this point. Even the cheap new screen printed signs at MW look better.

Is that the scream sound effect from Roller Coaster Tycoon I hear?

Isn't this just pretty much identical logic that anti vax use to justify why they don't take other vaccines?

I honestly thought it would have a little bit more speed at the s-bend but generally the pacing seems pretty good overall and is what I expected. Even then it is easily better to watch in person as videos typically don't do coasters much justice.

Shockwave is facing supply chain issues relating to parts coming out of Europe which explains why maintenance on it has been delayed

BD finally full circuit testing (courtesy of coasterlifeau instagram) bd test.mp4

The track record is there the residents complained when Big Dipper was built, when the park reopened with Wild Mouse and the Ranger, when Hair Raiser was built, and when they tried to build Volare, and now this. I would say they are opposed to LPS operating in its current form. After all every new ride addition there in the last 10 or so years has been met with scorn from residents.

BD is testing with water dummies no full circuit tests yet. IMG_0544.MOV

Can't just dob yourself in like this mate

Good old reliable Boxing Day openings are a staple of Australian theme parks so I'll put the 26th down as my guess

Notwithstanding the current plans for the site, the likelihood Village ever works with S&S again is pretty much slim to none considering the last product they bought from them had a fault that nearly killed people

Some bits of the blue train are still sitting under the coaster and is not on the track yet, unlikely we see a return to testing until next week potentially at this point in time