Brad2912

Feel sorry for the TG staff, many of whom have had to now resign and seek other work

I disregarded it because what you explained makes no logical sense. The operator WAS moving around the platform visually watching the tube (as I said in my original post) and was NOT watching the panel at all. Don’t be a self righteous wanker.

No one is talking about releasing a 2nd tube before confirming the 1st has complete the course. Loading a tube but not releasing it prior to the previous one finishing causes zero risk of collision. None of that makes any logical sense whatsoever. in 100s of visits, never until yesterday has the loading OP physically moved around the loading platform to ensure they can view the tube in motion from start to finish of the ride. if the ride faults, that only affects the riders in the tube currently on-course, it has zero bearing or impact on guests either loading or loaded and awaiting release. the ride op is not going to release the next tube until they get the visual confirmation (flag) from the splashdown pool that the previous tube is clear - so therefore anything that happens on course, or anything that happens during loading with difficult passengers are entirely exclusive of each other and pose zero risk of compounding. The fact a modern theme park relies on someone to wave a flag from 30m away to signal it’s safe to release a tube rather than a electronic or sensor based system is bizarre imo.. all the unloader needs is a button which activates a light in the loading platform - which is exactly how Constrictor and other slides work.

Haven’t seen more than 1 op/loader on the tower for Hydro in many years, but I’ve never seen the visual inspection of the tube on course before. So it’s not a result of low staff yesterday, but minimised staffing overall or just poor operational procedures

Slower than they should have been as operations were just at a crawl (worth noting this is my first Aussie park visit since Japan where loading/ops is amazing). It was busy but not crazy, but still took near an hour for Green Room (from the 30min sign) and about 30mins for Rip. No wait on Bro. watching Hydrocoaster, it seems now the op is tasked with visually watching the tube through until the enclosed turns at the end. Which is painful. It means that weighing and loading of the next tube doesn’t occur until the flag wave to say the previous tube is empty. Makes zero sense. With the 2 panels needed to release, there is no reason why the next tubes riders cannot be weighed and loaded and moved to the second release block, before then looking for the flag (surely in this day and age a light would suffice). basically means it’s 3-4min between tube launches

Ended up at WWW today. Everything running except Triple Vortex. ducked over to DW at 4:30 for a couple of rides on ST which was walk on at that time

Just finished up our 2nd and final day at USJ. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wish we had another day or two, as despite ticking off all the major rides, SNW and WWoHP - so much left uncovered. Will put a trip report together down the track when I get home, but can only say it will be hard to look at and be excited by much of what our local parks have to offer now. Biggest shoutouts go to The Flying Dinosaur and HP & the Forbidden Journey who’ve firmly smashed their way my top 5 rides of all time.

Outside of peak periods where crowd management is required, I reckon in the last few years it is 50/50 whether there is a entry host or you just walk on in

Wicked (the books and musical) whilst quite amazing in its own right, is only very loosely linked to the Wizard of Oz movie, being through the witches. No Dorothy, scarecrow, Kansas, toto etc. there really won’t be much at all to tie in. It’s almost an alternate series of events to what most people know of Oz (being the reference point of the Garland movie).

Because it was a maintenance drag and when open wasn’t overly popular, and it also stood in the way of ST’s plot and visual amenity from the carpark/motorway

Brake. And unlikely it spontaneously didn’t catch, and if so, would likely result in some decent downtime to establish how/why

Can only assume they are filming the WoO characters in interactions/parade routes given none of the precinct is built yet to film within. usually keen to head to these filmings with my son but I’m interstate tomorrow.

$99 locals annual passes for Black Friday tomorrow is a decent steal for anyone who hasn't got one

Quite a cool inclusion that will likely be lost on the majority but a cool little Easter egg for enthusiasts

Theme parks supremo Bikash Randhawa has called for improved public transport to help keep tourists out of traffic, including a possible extension of the light rail to Movie World. The Village Roadshow Theme Parks chief operating officer said better connectivity was vital to ensure tourists enjoyed a “seamless experience”. “We’ve got to make sure that visitors are not spending a lot of time on the road. They’re spending more time at attractions, at restaurants, at facilities,” he said. “Certainly the congestion and the issues we are seeing with traffic is a huge concern. “I think the G:Link is fabulous, it’s taken a bit of pressure, but it needs to expand and connect to more areas in my opinion.” The light rail terminates at Helensvale station, three kilometres as the crow flies from the front door of Movie World, and closer still to Wet’n’Wild and the Australian Outback Spectacular. But tourists using it to reach Village Roadshow’s Oxenford parks from hotels must switch onto buses at the station for the last leg of their journey, something Mr Randhawa hopes will change. “It needs to be looked at. For us to have the G:Link connect between Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise into Oxenford will help local government, state government, in making sure that experience is seamless,” he said. “We would love to see that. We would love to see better public transport into the theme parks. “This is no different to any other tourism city in the world. You look at the public transport, you look at the connectivity. It happens everywhere except for here and it needs to.” Council leaders have previously said they want extensions of the light rail in the city’s north to be the next cab off the rank after Stage Four to the airport is completed. Then city planning boss Cameron Caldwell said last year: “All the great cities in the world have great public transport and it cannot just stop at the airport but we need to see stage after stage after stage. “(We need to) get it to Harbour Town and beyond because we need a network that actually works and it will make a huge difference to how people move around.” East-West light rail connections running to Robina and Nerang from the coastal strip have also been suggested, but no concrete plans have been decided. Mr Randhawa said he would also like to see more direct flights to Gold Coast airport from overseas, saying with the creation of Experience Gold Coast the city was heading in the right direction, but had yet to reach its full potential. “What’s happened with Gold Coast Airport has been tremendous. I applaud their management team. With the expansion, with the way that sits with the city, because airports are critical to our success,” he said. “What we would like to see in a perfect world is direct flights into the Gold Coast from India. “At the end of the day we are an island here that’s far away. “So what we’ve got to do is to make it affordable, to get that connectivity going and we would have millions of people coming here. “There’s no reason this city can’t be at 90 per cent occupancy all year around.” Speaking ahead of the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast forum at the Sea World Resort Conference Centre on Friday November 17, of which Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a major partner, Mr Randhawa said the city was playing a “critical” role as the gateway to Queensland and at the heart of Australia’s tourism industry. He said he would like to see federal and state governments acknowledge that role by appointing MPs from the city to lead their tourism strategies. “I would like to see the next Federal Tourism Minister come from this city. I’d like to see the next tourism minister at state level come from this city,” he said. “It is so important we get appropriate care, get appropriate subsidies, get appropriate attention at all times, because this is exactly where it all starts for Queensland. And finishes. “People come to the Gold Coast. You look at international markets, you look at India for example, typically they would pick Sydney, Gold Coast, Cairns, or it’s Melbourne, Gold Coast and up to Cairns. The Gold Coast is always a part of the itinerary. “It is so critical. You look at the millions of people we put through the door. “For us to have that position, the city needs to be represented in the tourism space. “We are number one, we are the best city in Australia, we’ve got better things than Sydney, we’ve got better things than Melbourne. “And we deserve that attention.”

Complete and utter load of shit. If you weren’t a passive aggressive turd and said “hey mate it’s paywalled can you post it”, I’d have done it no issues. unfortunately you decided to go down the tosser route so you get “get a job and buy your own subscription” reply

Lots of news stories are not paywalled. As a subscriber, i dont know what is and isnt as they all open for me. It should also be a common courtesy that people dont post absolute bullshit on here, but hey, thats life. It also isnt hard for you to go and get a subscription if it matters that much to you. In the time it took you to write your reply, you could have signed up a free trial and read and posted it yourself..

Uninspired article on GCB with Bikash mentioning yet again that it’s a “ride within a ride” that is unique, and GCB calling it a major new ride. Hoping to open for Easter https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/future-gold-coast/when-flash-wizard-of-oz-rides-will-open-at-movie-world/news-story/9288ed9ca54a1737cd008aa017e9d18c?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

We have a new font on the signage in front of the globe

Demo update

Turns out there is also a crocodile made in the send material as the snake at ST located on top of the woodshed And another at TI Progress on the wiggles coaster

Looks pretty cool - will look better when it’s darker no doubt

It’s a disaster of a ride.

It’s my first visit since Carnivalle, and it was running 2 then. Previous to that was back a couple of weeks after Levi opened and it was running 2 then as well