TBoy

Pico Play recreates The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros. Movie World Words: Rebecca Hardy 25th March 2024 World’s first Wizard of Oz land is set to open in late 2024 Pico Play, a global leader in the planning, design, development and construction of world-class themed attractions and entertainment, has revealed that it is partnering with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and Village Roadshow to recreate The Wizard of Oz in a theme park for the first time. At Pico Play’s fabrication plant in Johor, Malaysia, a group of 95 artists and engineers are meticulously crafting the lands and realms from the famous 1939 film. These include the busy streets of Emerald City and the eerie forests of the Wicked Witch of the West. The project is expected to open at Warner Bros. Movie World in 2024. Homage to the iconic movie Pico Play and Village Roadshow’s Warner Bros. Movie World have collaborated for the first time on this pioneering project in Australia’s Gold Coast. The project includes two new roller coasters, unique ride themes, and immersive visitor experiences. Darren McLean, executive director of Pico Play, describes the company’s innovative approach to the project, which includes impressive facades, sculptures, projections, and audio: “We want to offer guests more than just a rollercoaster ride. The experience is more than the ride itself. There’s a story, there are characters and there’s excitement, anticipation and entertainment leading up to the rides.” The new area is themed around the movie’s beloved locations and characters, with sets which pay homage to key scenes. The immersive experience will transport visitors from Dorothy’s house in Kansas to the famous Yellow Brick Road. McLean describes the project: “The load station for Flight of the Wicked Witch, a suspended family coaster soaring 19 metres high, mirrors the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle complete with flying monkeys, vultures and haunted trees. “Guests will load and unload for the Kansas Twister, a family boomerang racer rollercoaster with dual tracks, amid a re-creation of Dorothy’s Kansas farm as the tornado comes through and whisks her off to the land of Oz. “The stories and the characters are so rich and perfect to recreate for a theme park environment.” The design replicates the original film’s innovative use of colour. Sepia tones are reflected in the Kansas sequences, while the Witch’s Wasteland evokes the movie’s monochrome palette. The land of Oz then dazzles with bright colours, from Munchkin Land to the Emerald City and the Poppy Fields. McLean says: “We are also crafting sculptures of Dorothy and Toto, Tin Man, the Lion and Scarecrow, strategically placed for guests to link arms with them for a photo opportunity, recreating the iconic image of the characters, poised to embark on their journey down the Yellow Brick Road to the magical land of Oz. “Scenes from the movie will also be projected in queueing areas and we are recreating the original soundtrack with a local sound studio to be played in different areas.” Synergetic collaboration Before building began in early 2023, Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment personnel travelled to Malaysia to inspect and approve specific aspects of the project’s design. Bikash Randhawa, COO of Village Roadshow Theme Parks says that the multi-million-dollar redevelopment has revitalised the retired Arkham Asylum area, and is one of the largest investments in its 30-year history. “There is a wonderful synergy between Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Pico Play, with both organisations sharing a passion and dedication towards delivering world-class experiences,” Randhawa comments. “The Wizard of Oz precinct is different from anything we’ve previously undertaken at Movie World. Our goal is to extend the storytelling from the film and make this one of the most beautifully designed precincts in any Australian theme park. “We engaged with Pico Play to expand on this concept and they truly helped us to bring our vision to life. “The precinct will have incredible theming and state-of-the-art technology complementing the physical ride elements providing a unique and world-class guest experience for visitors to Movie World.” Innovative approach Pico Play’s use of Glass-Reinforced Concrete (GRC), a unique material developed by the firm in Australia, is crucial to the development of the new area’s cutting-edge storytelling techniques. The innovative material enables the team to create sophisticated designs, forms, and textures. This approach uses panels which can be connected and engineered to fulfil Australian and international standards. Over the next six months, 50 shipping containers will bring each item from Pico Play’s Malaysian plant to Australia, ready for installation. The arrival of the first shipments has heightened anticipation for both industry professionals and park visitors. Before the precinct debuts in late 2024, Pico Play—which is renowned for providing the best end-to-end service in the industry—will install and test every component, including the sound and visuals. Earlier this month, Pico Play announced that it is creating more than 50 new jobs in response to a new pipeline of projects. The recruitment drive will enhance the firm’s expertise and meet the international demand for its services.

Off topic, but I just realised the shortened word for Jet Rescue and Jungle Rush are both "JR" I guess we will have to change one of them.

Is it just me or based on the construction, could WoO open before Rivertown? Rivertown hasn't gone vertical yet while the track for FotWW is done and almost done for KT. Also testing would take longer for Jungle Rush as you have a brand-new element never seen on any coaster, so you would need to get that done right while the WoO coasters are models that have been done multiple times. Imagine if WoO opened in the summer but Rivertown didn't. I guess that would put the "Dreamworld fast Village slow" people to bed.

The Emporium has been repainted to remove the bright red, replaced with a better looking brown which gives it a better vibe. Apparently the whole of main street is being repainted to make it look more timeless. I think it looks great, and am happy to see the rest get painted the same. (thanks to Gold Coast Theme Parks on FB)

The question is do the Simex-Iworks films come with pre-shows? It could be that there is no pre-show provided, just the main ride so you cannot really fix that.

Hopefully there is an option for the Kansas Twister where if one goes down, the other side can still operate so you have at least one side operating unless something happens where both need to close.

IIRC the Kirby's still own 22% (according to the AFR article posted a few months ago) so the company could acquire BGH's stake and own 78%, with the Kirby's owning 22%.

I am hoping if BGH does end up selling Village Roadshow it goes to an operator like Merlin or Parques Reunidos, if it is the latter WNWGC and RWS will be reunited, as well as Movie World and the other WB parks. But I cant see a sale of the parks without the cinemas and studio, which I can't see Parques or Merlin wanting.

I think that is the main problem why Movie World seems most affected by the closures. Lets say Sea World and Movie World both have 4 rides closed. At Sea World, there is lots of shows and animal exhibits, while Movie World is more ride focused, the only show they have is HWSD2.

I think I saw @Ogre's latest video that also had western cafe with the QR codes, so I guess it is park wide. I guess we can expect it to come to Dockside Tavern and the other Sea World restaurants soon if not already, if its not there I guess they will be trialling it at MW and bringing it to SW later.

I would personally like a dark ride, the question is what theme could it be? I would personally like to see a Tom and Jerry dark ride, it would fit next to Scooby. If you wanted to reuse some of the city pieces from Doomsday you could, loosely tie it to the 2021 film.

Im guessing that was earlier in the day, and the others opened up later?

Still, it will be a bit scary sitting up the top while waiting, I guess it will be like the FreeStyle rides where you sit up the top while the other side loads.

Intresting to see seats on both sides. It will be a bit scary sitting upsidedown while the other seats are loaded.

I feel a bit sad realising I will never be able to experience the fastest accelerating coaster in the world. It's likely that no coaster will ever be able to beat its record, as many manufacturers would not want to make a coaster that accelerates as fast as that due to the injuries. In fact, its a bit sad that the fast accelerating launch coasters are slowly disappearing, with their replacements being LSMs which launch much slower.

Lift hill has been installed (thanks to jesse_1767 via Jaggs Journeys)

It is sad to see MW start to look more like an abandoned theme park than a operating theme park

The first two images look fucking pathetic. It is sad that the cost cutting has gone so high that they let the concrete get destroyed, leave wires out and try to leave fixing their rides as long as possible. And in a matter of weeks they have shuttered Aqualoop and now possibly Doomsday, what is next? It has gone downhill since the BGH acquisition. BGH have shown they are not fit to run a theme park. Time to sell the parks to someone else who can actually have the rides open, not leave wires everywhere and who can fix up the park.

I think the land was sold off to developers IIRC

I don't think our parks would do seasonal operation, if Village did for example it would be sacrificing its dollars from tickets, food etc. to Coast, which would encourage more people to go to Dreamworld and spend their money there instead of Village. Many people from interstate head up to the GC in winter deliberately to escape the coldness from down south, and our parks know that. It would also give one operator a complete monopoly of the GC market, and if Dreamworld closed for the cooler months, Village could cost cut in winter even further as there wouldn't be any competition.

So basically 1 ride for teens/adults open? That is even worse. Imagine walking down the DC pathway and seeing absolutely nothing open, then you walk past the fountain to see Superman and Flash closed, then you turn left from main street and Scooby/Doomsday is closed. Something needs to be done. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing everything but the kids rides closed one day. PS I just checked the QueuePark and Marvin and Road Runner are closed. This means all 5 rollercoasters are closed. Imagine going to a Six Flags park and seeing all the rollercoasters are closed.

I emailed Village and this is what they told me: "Following guest feedback, we have decided that customers prefer rides to be closed rather than operating. Thank you for understanding." Also heard that was the reason for Aqualoop closing. Being serious though, surely this is a cost saving measure. Imagine being a family on holiday who cannot wait to ride DCR, Scooby, Superman etc. and it is all closed. Maybe Village should rename the park "Warner Bros. Maintenance World"

The first helix has been installed for the SFC (thanks to caleb_the_captain via Jaggs Journeys)

One thing Village need to do is beg Greg Yong to come back. Greg has changed Dreamworld from run down to a great park, while BHG seem to cut costs as much as possible.

It doesn't say anything related to MW or HSD in the post, so I assume this is a personal thing he made.