Brad2912

Haven’t seen said photos, so obviously not taking those into account. However you must have the VTP app on your phone to enter, and that clear as day shows the closures.

All of which were known about however. what’s happening later isnt disappointing a visitor today Unplanned, happens multiple times everyday in any park around the world. i stand by the fact that anyone attending could not possibly be oblivious to what is going on the world and that what had happened has changed operations. All VTP can do is communicate what is and isn’t operational - and they’ve done that. People can make up their own minds if they wish to spend their money attending or not.

Severely disappoint? Outside of GL being down, and no parade as that is banned due to covid, in what way are people being let down vs attending last July holidays? There was no government restriction on what jobs could be done, but I am assuming financial wise it was more viable to have them at home? The company was bleeding money, so they would have looked to save absolutely whatever they could during closure

SE and WWF are always down at this time of the year, so really the only major that has been added to the maintenance list is GL, and last I know that was in the middle of a repaint prior to covid. I don’t think there is much for they could have done other than keep their maintenance crews working as normal despite closure which they clearly weren’t able to do financially

Yes, but thats no different to any other trading time, it’s not unique to this post-Covid opening. I don’t believe any of the MW current closures are due to trying to Save money. It’s already been stayed that apart from a skeleton crew in now and again the maintenance were not working during the covid closures until about 4 weeks ago when they were back on deck for checks and maintenance

When the coast is full of nsw tourists why wouldn’t you try and attract them? They need to maximise revenue at the moment. the only kids rides closer are Yosemite’s Railway & Pounce N Bounce - so what were the kids complaining about? Queues? They’d be longer in a regular holiday period. the ride closures are on the maintenance Page, everyone is aware of the COVID related changes, so anyone disappointed with what they get only has themselves to blame...

That’s what I was thinking

Well I would say no, because if they were bankrupt, Ardent Leisure would legally have to disclose that as it’s a publicly listed company

The Fed Govt pulling the emergency funding deal at the last minute was likely the final nail in the coffin. the second wave that now seems unavoidable (thanks Vic), will just seal that coffin in cement. and if you are relying on the govt to stay afloat, are you really worthy of the money? Same Argument was raised regarding Virgin when there was talk of a state govt bail out, and not many were supportive of the govt paying to prop up a business who thru its own inadequacies being debt ridden and unprofitable

I reckon if you skip forward 6 months it will still be in the exact same place, unless it’s been on-sold to another park..

Who told you that? it’s entirely wrong.

Ok, it’s not THAT good....

That’s fantastic! They could legitimately use that for a proper TVC campaign imo...

Playing devils advocate, were some voluntary redundancies? They have have offered them to many prior to forcing them, I’ve personally seen they happen at many a business. People with many years of tenure may have jumped at the chance to get a bulk redundancy payment in times like these?

Fantastic write up, thanks @Gazza ive never really considered Japan as I’ve always said I’d rather take the family to the OG parks in the US before we go to the others, but with our US trip cancelled for this year due to covid and potentially no change on the horizon with the situation over there, Japan may become a real viable option. are all the rides/shows in English or dubbed/subtitled at least?

Village Roadshow preparing to reopen more Gold Coast theme parks, Vortex ride ‘almost ready’ as part of Atlantis precinct The finishing touches are being put on Sea World’s latest attraction as the park celebrates bumper crowds on its return to business. But there’s one more thing that must happen before it opens. A NEW thrill ride is almost ready at Sea World as more Gold Coast theme parks prepare to swing open their gates once the border opens to interstate visitors. Village Roadshow is putting the finishing touches on the Vortex, part of the new $50 million Atlantis precinct ahead of the border restrictions easing on Friday. The company has welcomed back up to 3000 of more than 4000 workers before Movie World and Wet’n’Wild reopen on July 15. Sea World is open and limited to 6000 guests, which it has not yet hit. Outback Spectacular, Paradise Country and Top Golf are already open. Village Roadshow Theme Parks chief operating officer Bikash Randhawa said it has been a big job readying to reopen, particularly at Wet’n’Wild. “In terms of Wet’n’Wild there’s a lot of water quality issues we need to address. We need to refill the pools, we need to have the water running through the rides and we need to make sure the chemicals and quality are to standard. Once it has stabilised we are in a position to open rides,” he said. “We’ve been doing necessary maintenance, critical maintenance.” Mr Randhawa said work on the Atlantis precinct, which will include a huge wooden rollercoaster called the Leviathan, was their “main focus” and the Vortex was “almost ready”. “We’re just waiting on engineers being allowed to come to Australia from Germany,” he said. “Once they arrive they’ll commission the ride. It takes between 4-6 weeks and the ride should be ready. “I can tell you that ride looks absolutely amazing. We’ll be only place that has an attraction opening during this time. Getting the Vortex going will be a big tick for tourism. “And we’re working through the wooden coaster to see when that will happen. The ground works are completed, now it’s a matter of getting the Americans down to install the ride.” Mr Randhawa said Sea World “has gotten fairly close” to 6000 guests some days. “The borders haven’t opened, we have zero interstate visitation and zero international. When you look at that, we feel like the domestic market has embraced Sea World well,” he said. Village Roadshow typically hosts about six million guests per year. “It’s evidently clear that theme parks play a critical and crucial part in driving attendance and driving visitation to the Gold Coast,” Mr Randhawa said. “It will a big blessing in many ways to have all the parks open and operating at a reasonable level to start with and then the hope is it ramps up towards September. “We should see a reasonable attendance. It will be quite interesting to see what happens on open day.” Dreamworld, operated by Ardent Leisure, has announced a staged reopening of the park and WhiteWater World “in time for the September holiday period”. Specific dates have not yet been announced. https://www..com.au/news/gold-coast/village-roadshow-preparing-to-reopen-more-gold-coast-theme-parks-vortex-ride-almost-ready-as-part-of-atlantis-precinct/news-story/714ae4165a3a8babbff72a5dfe34f34a So nothing new really. still months away from Vortex opening, and with news that we need Americans to arrive to build Leviathan then that will be a LONG way off

“Upgrade to the Top Rail experience and get the best seats in the house to take in the extraordinary immersive experience of the Australian bush and Outback life in Australian Outback Spectacular's Heartland. Your package includes a pre-show beverage, a souvenir program, an exclusive photograph plus more!“

They’ve got a lot bigger problems than the clarity of their website logo. I’d hope they are more focused on the bigger issues.

Height wise it would put off most that age. I agree the overall ride design isn’t intense.

They don’t choose capacity and social distancing rules that have negated or reduced entertainment opportunities. Ride maintenance is preset on, generally, annual timelines so again, that can’t be helped for the most part. VRL isn’t a charity, but nor is it forcing you to remain a member.

Sorry the pandemic didn’t ask for your permission before arriving in Australia....

Enjoyed a fun and relaxing day today at PC. Don’t think numbers would have been above 100 in the time I was there, Only noticeable impacts from covid were social distancing in the seated show areas (1 row gap), no buffet component with meals (as expected), no damper to share (self explanatory) and all seats and contacts points wiped down after every cycle of the tractor ride.   oh, and the marmoset says hello

moved post to the more relevant thread.

Looks like a less exciting, albeit smoother, version of AA...

Bad news for the parks... QUEENSLAND’S ailing theme parks have been dealt another massive blow after the sudden collapse of a deal that would have delivered millions of dollars in funding support from the Federal Government. Just days ahead of Sea World’s planned reopening following a three-month coronavirus shutdown, the Bulletin can reveal that eight-figure loans earmarked for Village Roadshow and Ardent Leisure’s Dreamworld have been taken off the table. The blow comes with theme parks bleeding millions of dollars a month during the forced closures. Theme park bosses yesterday expressed their shock and disappointment at the decision, which Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones described as a “kick in the guts”. However, Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham rejected suggestions the Morrison Government had turned its back on Gold Coast theme parks, pointing to the millions of dollars in JobKeeper payments to help employees during the enforced closures. He also took a swipe at the Queensland Government’s ongoing border blockades. Theme park officials had been in talks for several months with Export Finance Australia about securing loans to help battle through the coronavirus crisis and as recently as last week were under the impression the money would be forthcoming. However, those talks have now collapsed, leaving theme parks, among the Queensland tourism industry’s biggest ­employers, without access to millions of dollars. Village Roadshow CEO Clark Kirby said the decision had blindsided the park. “For months we’ve been negotiating with Export Finance Australia to contribute funding to Village’s reopening plans (and) without warning, we were told last week that those negotiations were over,” he said. “It’s disappointing to say the least. “But the State Government has been great. “We continue to make positive progress with the State Government regarding their funding support to help us get back to business.” His comments were echoed by Dreamworld CEO John Osborne. “We were extremely disappointed,” he said. “We had been working with them for three months and had every indication it was going to be successful.” He would not be drawn on the impact of the decision on Dreamworld’s future but would continue to seek other forms of assistance throughout the most difficult period in the park’s 38-year history. “We’re grateful that our staff are receiving JobKeeper and we’re still working with the Queensland Government on various funding options,” he said. Ms Jones said the decision made a mockery of the months-long negotiations, but Mr Birmingham defended the Federal Government’s support of the theme park industry. “The Federal Government is providing these two ­companies with more than $80 million in support via JobKeeper and other programs,” he said. “With these attractions starting to reopen, the best way to support them would be to see some interstate visitors flowing through their gates.” He also said the Federal Government’s $1 billion recovery fund to help industries “disproportionably affected” by the coronavirus pandemic had directly helped Queensland tourism businesses. Sea World and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary will reopen to the public on Friday, with Movie World and Wet’n’Wild to follow next month. Dreamworld is expected to announce a return date in the coming weeks. https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast-theme-parks-rocked-by-collapse-of-federal-government-loan-deal/news-story/d9dba37cb703e9291f171813bca0e76a