GoGoBoy

VRTP have always excelled at making an audience plant convincingly seem like an actual audience member. I recall back to Police Academy Stunt Show days and the amount of people who believed, pretty much right to the end, that Rodney was just a normal guest.

$139 for 3 great parks for a year? Incredible value. It’s just been too low for too long and it’ll probably take people a while to adjust.

In that video above the misters in the geyser area aren’t working and it doesn’t show the final explosion effect at the top of the hill unfortunately.

Those are train wheels (or mine cart/trolley or whatever you like).

I’d like to know how you’re reading into it, Richard!

It’s a shame to hear that the new chairman doesn’t seem too keen on investing decent sums of capital, despite his earlier comments. However, a new flying theatre, waterpark expansion and dark ride are certainly not nothing. They might not be the world class coaster that DW needs, but taken together they will be a really positive step forward... if they all happen. Perhaps not enough credit is being given to these ideas. One issue that concerns me is the way they are speaking about a refresh as if it’s almost a one off thing. The nature of theme parks is that you must continually invest, every few years or so. DW needs to take a number of actions simply to get back to a decent base line, then continue to add strong attractions every few years after that.

Couldn’t agree more! Beautifully put.

I think the website’s great and I like the detail given for the rides, especially the model names. This website was incredibly overdue! But Movie World, that map, that map!! In the smaller version you can’t even make out the hypercoaster (and only the lift hill features anyway). And all those shadows. And the ugly yellow banners everywhere. They desperately need to go back to some type of illustrated map that gives the artist the flexibility to change sizes and perspectives and make it all work. And make the hypercoaster fit!

I think Parkz prides itself (rightly) on producing articles that are in another league compared to the very downmarket and general Gold Coast Bulletin, with a level of technical information that most people with a genuine interest in the industry appreciate.

I'm not gonna lie, you make a very convincing argument. It certainly wouldn't have been ideal if another incident had occurred anytime soon. But if it happened years later, I think it would be forgiven if the key factor turned out to be rider behaviour. I guess because of the magnitude of the DW tragedy, something had to be done. But I certainly agree with Parkz, that this wasn't it! I'm a big believer in looking to world's best practice, and not re-inventing the wheel (poorly), as Parkz was also arguing. But having said that, what we don't know is where the decision to install this specific design came from, and what the advice and processes informing it were. So we are making generalised judgements without knowing the inner goings-on, I'll admit to that. I also agree with everyone else that it is still a big positive that the ride is open, so long as these canopies do not lead to bigger problems down the track that may again lead to its closure. I am very happy for all of those families visiting DW that can now enjoy the log ride again. It would have been nice if they added a bit more theming and ambience to it in sections -- not hard to do -- but still, it's open.

If these canopies hadn't been fitted and another person became injured from standing up on the log ride in this period following the TRR tragedy, I am sure the public would be forgiving. People would understand that the fault lay with the rider, not the ride. The only expectation should really be sufficient warnings. There have been countless fatal incidents at parks overseas where people have fallen out of roller coasters, and indeed log flumes (a rider was killed on Splash Mountain Disney World after getting out of the log mid-course), but generally no modifications are made to these rides and they continue to operate. Why? Because they are isolated incidents relating to rider behaviour, not the safety of the ride itself.

35 is a great age And to answer your question: yes.

I love log flumes, and most operate without incident. But as I referred to earlier, there have been a couple of cases overseas where a log has flipped and caused serious injuries. I'm guessing that this could be the reason for the cages, although of course we don't know. In the first incident overseas there was reportedly not enough water on (or possibly at the bottom) of the final drop, causing the log to flip. In the second incident, the boat slid back down the lift hill, flipping and trapping the riders temporarily underwater. Links to articles about the two incidents: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031306/Grandmother-loses-leg-thrown-log-flume-ride-girl-4.html https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0721/Cedar-Point-accident-Log-flume-ride-malfunctions-injures-7 Update: Richard appears to have poured cold water on this theory in the post he just wrote above this one. The cage as a prevention method to discourage people standing, as bizarre as it is, I suppose also makes sense as we know about DW's log ride incident where the guest, from memory, stood up and fell out.

I approve of your life priorities/choices. How tragic, we were all so young when we first started chatting on these forums. I was just a little twink. Now many of us are getting a little long in the tooth. Without wanting to derail the topic with too many off-subject posts, how old are you AlexB, if I can ask a lady that question?

Agreed. And if they can get a decent dark ride going, the park will well and truly be back on track. I do think there will need to be some sort of full circuit coaster at some stage in the next few years though. Doesn't have to be massive or expensive, just something clever, that will get noticed, and with reasonably broad appeal.