Noll_57

Because it’s an easy way to make extra money. Whenever I visited the old arcade, it was always pretty busy. I think there’s still enough interest in arcades these days to justify having one (the success of Timezone and Iplay proves it). Plus I’m pretty sure Village already own a bunch of machines from their Intencity arcade division. They could easily plop down a few redemption games (hopefully in a nicely presented building/area) and find success.

Absolutely. Ever since BGH Capital’s takeover of Village, the guest experience has taken such a dramatic nosedive and their poor management and cost-cutting is destroying the park’s reputation at a pretty alarming rate. It’s clear they only care about profits and don’t have a clue what made the park so special in the first place. So sad to see a place I loved so much fall so low.

Those speakers aren’t even new, they’ve already been up in that tree for at least a couple of years. Really all MW has done is bother to actually turn them on. The fact that this area and WWF have gone for years without any audio whatsoever is absolutely pathetic, that’s why I still consider this to be a positive “step” (even though it’s the absolute bare minimum). Real progress will be when they finally fix the rest of the speakers in the area and around the park.

I’m pleased to hear that they’ve finally added music back to the area after having nothing for so long. But the park really needs to get the ground speakers around the Splash Zone and the rest of the land working again too, as the only place you can currently hear the music is directly under the tree and nowhere else. You used to be surrounded by music throughout the entire Looney Tunes area and it really added to the experience, but most of the land is still without audio at the moment. The WWF area also desperately needs its music back, as it hasn’t played there for years. Still, it’s great that the park is at least attempting to sort out some of their audio issues and this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Absolutely, WWF is by far the most immersive and detailed themed area MW has ever built and they’ve never come close to matching it since. I’m quite certain the main reason why some effort was originally put into theming the DCSV area was because the park realised they could monetise the wristbands you needed to interact with the land when it first opened. Otherwise, I’m willing to bet it too would’ve ended up just another generic superhero area with basic 2d comic book theming. As soon as it became clear that the whole wristband thing was a massive flop and they were discontinued, the park gave up on the area pretty much straight away and it’s been rotting and decaying ever since. Is it true that the reason Justice League had a major overhaul recently was due to DC complaining about the horrible condition the ride was in (claiming it wasn’t up to their standards or something like that) or was that just a rumour? Either way, I do wonder what Warner Bros think of the poor state the park is currently in.

Things really aren’t looking good at MW right now. Apart from all the previously mentioned issues (such as constant ride closures, poor operations, temporary fences at every turn, lack of music and atmosphere in most areas, a large amount of dead/disused spaces, rude/disinterested staff and terrible communication with guests), general presentation and upkeep around the park is severely lacking. There’s so much exposed wiring and conduit all over the place (some in very noticeable locations like the Scooby Doo facade and Wild West Falls), lots of broken equipment, numerous severely faded and worn out signs and gardens full of weeds. The whole place just feels very neglected at the moment. Here are a few “highlights”. I could go on, as issues like these are literally at every corner of the park and are so consistent that you can’t help but notice. It’s so disappointing considering how well kept the place used to be.

Already found this one on Productreview.com.au (where Movie World currently only has a 1.5 star rating). Here’s a sample of some of the other reviews on the site:

Dreamworld have already well and truly overtaken Village in terms of guest experience and presentation IMHO. Dreamworld’s effort is being rewarded in that the park is finally seeing an increase in attendance and is receiving plenty of praise and positive reviews. That good word of mouth will certainly help and people are slowly starting to realize this isn’t the same park it used to be. Things will be even better after Rivertown opens up. Many of my friends and family have noticed and commented on what a poor state Movie World is in currently compared to Dreamworld. People do pick up on this stuff.

I agree. The sad part is, it never used to be this way. In the 90’s and 2000’s all our parks really were world class. It’s just that current management have run them into the ground and taken away a lot of the magic they once had. With that being said though, I do think Dreamworld (under Greg’s management) is making some pretty meaningful progress and I’m really excited for Rivertown. I’m hoping OZ will be decent too (though I’m not sure how much I trust MW’s current management), both can potentially help turn things around in a pretty big way. There are simple things the park can do to liven up these areas again, but they seemingly just can’t be bothered. I know I’ve brought this up a few times before, but simply just turning the background music back on around WWF and other areas of the park (like the Loony Tunes kids zone) would instantly make a huge improvement to the atmosphere and it boggles my mind that this still hasn’t been sorted out after years of neglect. If a low-budget, regional park like Funfields can have consistent, themed audio throughout the entire property, what’s MW’s excuse? There’s just no spectacle in the park anymore and it’s no longer a nice place to be in. Movie World has always been my favourite theme park in Australia, but these days I always come out disappointed. I never feel that way with Dreamworld.

Liseberg have made an official statement about the incident. Sadly, Oceana is pretty much a total write-off as the entire building has been completely destroyed.

TBH, Luna Park Melbourne is probably the lesser park compared to Gumbuya and Funfields right now IMHO. LPM haven’t added anything major for quite some time (the limited space doesn’t help), while GW and FF have continued to invest in new attractions, park upgrades and expansions every year. GW and FF both pull in very decent crowds (both are always packed whenever I visit) and the presentation/theming at them is quite impressive and far exceeds anything LPM has ever done. The “classic amusement park” charm and historical significance of some attractions are about the only things going for LPM currently. Adventure Park does focus more on water attractions compared to the other Victorian Parks. However, it’s still home to a number of flat rides and even a small coaster (something Funfields desperately needs), so I’d still classify it as an amusement park (though it has a much lower budget compared to the other Vic parks and definitely isn’t what I’d call “major”). Getting somewhat back on topic, if a new park was ever to establish itself in QLD, now is probably the best time given the upcoming Olympics and the exposure it could bring. I do wonder if the likes of Merlin and Parques Reunidos (both long rumored to be keen in expanding further in Australia) could finally consider biting the bullet and making a bigger splash here?

I’m pretty sure Gumbuya World, Funfields and Adventure Park are all non-Luna Parks.

It’s been announced that a new highly immersive Bluey themed attraction will open in Brisbane in August next year. Said to be “twice as big as any other immersive experience that's ever been in Australia”, it will feature highly detailed, life-size, walk-through recreations of locations from the show and include attractions said to incorporate interactive technology, soundscapes and play features to “make it feel like you’re in a Bluey episode”. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-03/bluey-childrens-program-tourist-attraction/103182824 https://www.bluey.tv/blueys-world/ Image from Bluey’s website.

The Big Banana has already closed the Demolition Derby and is now removing the ride from the park.

Honestly, I noticed the roof way more on LTRR than Overboard. People seem to forget that Australia has been home to many great, world class dark rides over the years (Gremlins, LTRR, Bermuda, Lassiter's). We’re clearly capable of producing and supporting quality attractions like these, it’s just that current park management aren’t interested in doing so which is a shame. As it currently stands, Overboard is by far the best and most immersive dark ride in the country, visible roof or not.

I stumbled across this gem uploaded by “A&A Home Movies” on YouTube. It’s an incredibly in depth look (over an hour long) at classic Movie World from 1992, containing full recordings of numerous defunct attractions and shows in decent quality. (For some reason, YouTube won’t let me embed it, so here’s a link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4S1WKrhi8E Also found this video from “Roger Garrod” showing the park under construction in early 1991!

I wouldn’t be surprised if WOO gets a third entrance from WWF too (through the gate next to Boot Hill/the smoking area that’s currently only opened for FN). The original concept image shows a path that appears to lead down that way.

According to reports, a major fire broke out in the Spanish area of Europa Park, causing a park-wide evacuation: https://insidethemagic.net/2023/06/europe-park-massive-fire-breaks-out-ld1/

What is this monstrosity?

While at the park today, I noticed they’ve now installed permanent lighting over some of the monorail track.

Wasn’t Movie World originally looking at getting an RMC Raptor to replace Arkham? If VRTP are already considering them, I’d say it’s fairly likely they’ll eventually invest in an RMC at some point in the future. Not sure if any other Aussie park operator would though (at least at the moment).

The “LD” letters are lit up in blue tonight, everything else is still in the dark.

I’m pretty sure Rivals and Topgolf were already being planned well before the accident. But as others pointed out, I did misremember the timeframes of other attractions being announced/opening (particularly Atlantis and Dreamworld’s announcements), so I’ll gladly take the L on that one. While VRTP are definitely heading in the right direction in terms of refurbishing/upgrading attractions and general park presentation, I still fear they’re heading down the Six Flags “amusement park” path rather than offering immersive theme park experiences like they have previously (especially when Time Warner were involved). But yes, the exception to this of course is Atlantis, which is outstanding in terms of its theming and immersion. If this is the standard that Village will continue to push for, then I’m very excited for the future. I know a similar level of theming and immersion has been promised for WOZ, but recent missteps like ditching the themed uniforms still have me a little worried.

There used to be a massive industrial fan hanging from the ceiling, not sure if it’s still there now though.

We’ve already seen that happen. Remember after the TRR accident when VRTP announced they no longer saw Dreamworld as competition? That was when investment and upkeep of the Village parks took a nosedive and has been on a decline ever since. It’s only now that DW have started turning things around in a big way and regional parks have begun stepping up their game (combined with BGH Capital’s acquisition of Village) that VRTP have started reinvesting in their parks to a reasonable level again (though their overall presentation still leaves a lot to be desired IMHO). So yeah, a monopoly is never good.