Hi guys,THIS WILL BE A HELL OF A LOT OF INSIDER INFO FOR EVERYTHING HAPPENING AT DREAMWORLD AND SKY VOYAGER ITSELF but I can't give away too much personal revealing information due to my job being on the line: but Sky Voyager is now fully operational and test runs have been happening for more than a week now behind the scenes. Staff have been invited to ride it nearly every day for the last week while ride operators are being trained up. (Additionally, insider information has suggested White Water World will be closing down for the entire winter period and not just revised trading hours. first time in its history other than the Rapids incident. The park simply isn't making enough money and the costs are higher than profits, which means lots of staff will be laid off but invited back for the summer. Which isn't gonna happen: The lifeguard staff are gonna say "See ya later" and WWW will be absolutely screwed). Also, insider word is that WWW will have its hours revised 11am-4pm in the coming weeks - while it is still summer! This is unprecedented news. Believe me if you want, but I'm speaking the truth of what I've heard. Also, certain themed areas inside Dreamworld (such as Dreamworks and Ocean Parade) will have revised hours of ride operations from 11am-4pm while Dreamworld itself will stay open 10am-5pm. As you can imagine, all staff are extremely irritated by this to say the least. Another piece of devastating news: the lazy river has been completely put on hold with no intention to bring it to life anytime soon (due to extreme cost blowouts and low attendance, it was originally going to feature an 8 million dollar crocodile enclosure as you floated past) - even though earthworks have significantly dug, there is no more lazy river in the works. Not at least for another 2 years is my opinion. The dug out earth was used to fill the old river rapids track area.
Now back to Sky Voyager *SPOILERS ALERT*, after you line up in the front queue lines, 60 people will be taken inside at one time. There are 2 x seperate holding rooms that will hold 60 people per room, and the main ride room itself will host an additional 60 riders - the ride consists of 6 x 10-seat gondolas. Two levels with 3 x 10-seat gondolas per level. So 30 on top, 30 on the bottom. There will be a total of 180 guests inside the building at any one time with 60 people for each of the two holding rooms + ride room itself. Now the experience: after you enter from the outside doors, in the first holding room guests are sorted into two separate groups of 30 (one group on the left, the other on the right). Tthe left holding room will ride on the lower level, the right holding room will ride on the upper level of the gondolas. Both of the holding rooms are technically one big room, the first has a metal bar dividing the two groups (similar bars to the queue line bars). You then move into the second holding room which is where the real journey begins. there is a screen dividing the two groups, with 30 on each side of the screen. In this holding room, you stand for about 7 minutes watching a preview video that talks about indigenous culture and Australia in general with cool imagery - but not birds eye views of locations. The sound is a little echo-ey in this room due to the size. There isn't much space to stand though with 60 people in the entire room (30 on each side). You're then invited into the actual ride entrance area, left -side staying on ground level to cater for disabled, the right group walks up stairs. Once you have arrived at the actual ride entrance, you have to stand on a sticker-marker on the floor that will determine your seat position and this is where you are briefed. You then walk in, ride, and exit out the opposite side through the gift shop.
The ride itself is pretty cool. It's very unique and unlike any other ride the gold coast parks have to offer. The ride goes for about 7 minutes. There are multiple scents, lots of mist experiences, lots of different ranges of movements depending on the scene shown on the screen. I would recommend sitting on the bottom level over the top, and ALWAYS try to sit in the middle gondola regardless of the level otherwise the screen is a little skewed if you're on the side gondolas. The reason for the bottom level is because the screen is curved at the bottom and on the sides, but not on top (which ruins the completely immersed aesthetic as you can see blackness at the top of the screen where it cuts off (hard to explain til you see it), so you dont feel 100% immersed, only 90%.The ride had a budget blowout of a total cost of $23 million dollars, making this the most expensive ride in Dreamworld's history. It is a cool ride, but i don't think it will draw crowds in like they're expecting simply due to the fact that it isn't a thrill ride (or a ride with a title of 'tallest' or 'fastest', like Tower of Terror was when it opened). I have rode multiple times now, even expecting what I had heard from other stuff, I wasn't expecting it to wow me - But it definitely did - although by the second time the wow-factor was somewhat diminished as there is only one video and no other versions in the works for the time being. This ride will amaze families, middle aged and elderly guests, but not thrill riders. I can imagine the Chinese absolutely lapping this up when they come to visit. Very, very suited to those who want a completely immersive pleasure ride (and not a tradtional thrill ride). This is undoubtedly one of Dreamworld's best assets due to its suitability to all audiences, but a definite crowd favourite with those previously mentioned groups. I predict an opening of about 14 February (Valentine's Day), but there is absolutely no hear-say on that even amongst staff - there has been no opening date set even within the park. But the merch shop at the end isn't finished yet, which is why I predict this date.
