Slick

I think in the process of trying to be right you forgot the difference between implying something and actually saying something. All good. Fun fact, apparently you don't need to be a sponsor anyway, so your whole argument is moot.

FYI, capex = new attractions. I didn't write that you said "every dollar should be spent on context" either, so no need to try and distort the context of my opinion either. Furthermore, asking enthusiasts if they'd rather two million spent on attractions instead of advertising would net you the same kind of confirmation bias you'd get from asking Trump supporters whether or not he was the best president ever. It's like saying The Star should've kept the 3-4 million and made their rooms cheaper, or Griffith Uni should've kept their money and spent it on building more classes, Optus on more towers, Woolies on more Apples etc. etc. etc. Suffice to say the world doesn't actually work like that, and if it did there wouldn't be any games to begin with. Also - you presumed I said VRTP should be a top tier sponsor (fun fact, I didn't). The point I was actually making was that for the 500k or whatever you'd need to spend to be able to be a part of the games in a minor role and in turn be able to do cool things with the athletes would be money well spent in terms of both goodwill and advertising return. Update: Quick @rac2703 - go get the council! Someone's up to no good! https://www.parkz.com.au/article/2018/04/13/604-Dreamworld_Joins_Commonwealth_Games_Celebrations_at_Broadbeach.html

With respect to both you & @rac2703, the idea that every single dollar should be spent on capex "needs more brain." Let's keep in mind my suggestions are firmly rooted in a fantasy world that doesn't exist, as @Skeeta mentioned the reality is that the whole Gold Coast has actually suffered economically in the short term from the Games because of a crazy amount of price-gouging and fear mongering about crowds. However, judging by how packed The Star is (a CommGames sponsor) at a time when no one else is as busy, the 500k or whatever it is to let your PR people come up with games related copy and events is money well spent IMO.

Sweet. So the second largest Gold Coast employers and the most integral part of tourism on the Gold Coast today should 100% be a sponsor the games then. To me it’s a no brainer.

Why aren't there giant billboards on the side of busses that say "Verse your commonwealth rivals on the country's best coaster? As @joz mentioned, why aren't there different countries having a race down the aqua racers for a bit of good fun and commonwealth spirit? How many other commonwealth countries have baby tigers or the beautiful native wildlife we have? Every day there should be something incredible going on with the athletes and our parks. There's an opportunity to tap in to dozens of countries and gain new influence and advertise what's on offer that's totally been wasted in my opinion. For Dreamworld, there could've been: - "Freestyle divers take on the freefall of Dreamworld's Giant Drop" - "Dreamworld helps gymnasts cool down next door with a splash with baby tigers" - "Kenny Koala and a dozen of his koala friends get cuddly with athletes at Dreamworld" - "Local and neighbouring indigenous athletes get one on one weapons training with 16 year-old Dreamworld Corroboree rockstar." And as for Village Roadshow Theme Parks: - "John Citizen & athlete go head to head on the country's best coaster, Rivals HyperCoaster"" - "The Flash takes on gold-winning marathon champions" - "What's faster? A roller-coaster, Superman, or a gold-medallist runner? We find out." - "Sea World's dolphins impart vital message about conservation to athletes in one on one" - "Athletes tour the country without leaving the Gold Coast at Australian Outback Spectacular" - "Surprised guests catch a wave with Usain Bolt at Wet 'n' Wild" And this is without considering the fact that the games are ripe for guerrilla style marketing. Where was Bugs Bunny cheering on athletes at the Marathon or popping up randomly and being part of the spirit of the games? I would've loved to see Kenny Koala pop in next door in a Model T Ford and for Dreamworld to give out a stack of free passes. Could you imagine if Dreamworld still had a barbershop quartet and they randomly popped up on the strip? Why not do a games challenge for the public? Can you do all the biggest rides on the Gold Coast? Win a free limited edition hat with all the park's logos on them. And there could be so many live events that encourage athletes and volunteers to stay after the games and take the parks up on the opportunity to go for free. The ideas go on and on hey, but what do I know, i'm just some random whinging online.

I tried dozens of times to crack that net but failed. Admittedly I was probably only 13 at the time, maybe needed a bit more weight.

I've created this for total clarity. A) Food (mainly fish & chips) and merch building for Blue Lagoon with a large shaded eating area. B ) Not too sure off the top of my head, believe it was just a storage building which had some lockers built into it along with the Food & Merch building. Had the Dreamworld logo on one side as you would see it clearly in shot during housemate evictions. C) Where the kiddie pool was. D) Toilet block for Blue Lagoon E) Entry way for housemate evictions plus plenty of production facilities throughout the building F) Temporary space that would house production facilities. G) Service building that would sell merch etc. H) Dreamworld Amphitheatre & entry way for non-Dreamworld related productions. I) Train Shed J) Blue Lagoon's main mountain. The two fibreglass slides (Aqualoop Flume & The Toboggan) have been removed, leaving only the concrete tube slide. K) Entry split for Dreamworld Amphitheatre and Blue Lagoon. L) Splashdown for The Toboggan. M) Where the main pool and splashdowns for The Aqualoop Flume and Krakatoa's Revenge (the concrete slide) used to be. The reason why the main pool was filled in and The Toboggan's splashdown pool wasn't was because management at the time believed they could use it as a fully wicked sick event space. On a few occasions it was used to house seasonal walkthrough attractions and the like. I could be wrong, but I believe the same building that Evilution is housed in was the same one that was placed over Blue Lagoon's main pool at one point. I believe that answers most of the questions from @themeparkaddict - as for the other buildings near Tiger Island, they're all for maintenance etc. I'm sure the engineeer/projects/fitters at the park keep an eye on that space to keep the buildings standing up, however at one point it was looking pretty average so they've since placed a huge wall up a long the train line so guests can no longer see in.

Truth be told it's probably a question better and more accurately answered by the park's social media team.

That's what I thought. Hasn't been open since lsat time I checked.

I'm not sure of that, i'll ask him next time I see him. Disney did come out to see the animatronic show. If only there was land ten miles out. You're welcome. Chatting to a couple of other fitters and engineers of that period, apparently some of the wood that wasn't completely ruined wound up in what is/was the Big Brother Cafe. So, based off part one and two, what else would everyone like to ask John and any of the original engineering team? Feel free to add your thoughts below and i'll ask the best ones on your behalf.

We had chatted about both but it wasn't recorded. He still absolutely loves those steam trains.

For sure - at this stage i'm going to let these two circulate for the next several days and then go to work on the next part. Given how many ex opening day employees have been in touch with me after I put these out, i've come up with some new ideas on how to add to this series that go beyond John's original stories.

Cheers for the kind words! It's not in the stories yet, but fun fact - contrary to popular belief, Disney had no involvement in development of the park.

I think the point that @Richard is trying to make is that that if it wasn't a piece of mesh flapping in the breeze on a 400 foot tower right near moving parts it'd be totally fine.

Not at all, really great feedback, it's re-assuring to know you reached the same ultimate conclusion I did in regards to the narrative - had I approached it as a fact-finding mission for Parkz/OurWorlds I would've made it far more impartial and clear-cut, but I think putting it on my personal blog and it being in many ways something quite close for me I figured i'd tell it the way I wanted to, which I think was important for initially setting up why I did it in the first place. So yeah, great to hear you enjoyed it, i'm honestly really glad folks are getting something out of it - from what i've seen I think it's really hitting home for a lot of people who grew up with place.

Part two is now up, which covers John building Dreamworld and the many relationships he forged a long the way. John Longhurst's Dreamworld Stories - Building The Impossible - Part 2

Interesting you mention that - I did a fair chunk of research with @Richard (and by research I mean we were both going through Pinterest & RCDB) trying to figure out where the first Mine Ride came from as the original designer in America (B A Schiff) sold the plans to make it to none other than Butlins. (See here - https://rcdb.com/7452.htm) I just found out recently however that the one we originally got at Dreamworld was indeed from America (apparently the Oregon Pine only comes from one place).

Everyone here knows i'm a huge Dreamworld fan, and this year I had the great fortune to spend a day with the man who built the park with his bare hands, John Longhurst. After our first meeting, I came away with a recorded conversation about Dreamworld's history that lasted over an hour and a half, and has been later transcribed into some 16,000 words of what I reckon is some honestly brilliant stories. It also goes a little bit into my own personal history with the park; suffice to say you'll start to understand why i'm so passionate about the place when you read through the article. You can find the first part in a series of stories here - John Longhurst's Dreamworld Stories - Origins - Part 1 I think the magic in this piece comes from simply reading through John's own words, so rather than spoiling the stories at such an early time i'll instead post the pictures that are seen on the jump. Comments and questions are totally welcome. Some of John's many books about Walt Disney. Mr. Day's Coomera property the day John Longhurst bought it. One of John's many books containing a series of incredible photos. Hollywood Cottage, now defunct. As former General Manager for Special Projects, Bob Tan, mentioned to me recently, "As for the cottage, it was very unfortunate. I recall a buyer wanted to take it away and re-erect it at his property on the Gold Coast, but the management of the day decided we disassemble it and store it for future use. It ended up consumed by termites." Dreamworld's Main Street was heavily inspired by Walt Disney World's Main Street of the same name.

Yeah there's about a 50 seat difference between the theatres so Canada you're spot on that Canada's auditorium was slightly larger, however Dreamworld also have some breathing space (lobby, the now closed Boost Juice shop etc.) to fit queues etc. Interesting thought - folks just queued for Imax sessions out in Main Street, although I don't see this ride eating up hundreds of people at a time. Not even close. Here's a great comparison: (Being real super nerdy, Dreamworld's IMAX was the first in the country and had an old school GT projector.) The Dreamworld Cinema was originally an IMAX Theatre. If you've never been to an IMAX Theatre showing something on its unique 15/70mm film, you're missing out. Still to this day nothing comes close. Back in the day, traditional IMAX (by comparison to a traditional theatre) meant a giant picture in a deep auditorium, 15/70mm film (compared to 35mm film that also contained the audio waveform on it) & impressively powerful sound inside the theatre. However, because of the insane costs to running IMAX theatres, from the physical cost of huge platters of film, or the licensing fees to the super delicate consumables like lamps, the landscape of what makes IMAX has changed over the years, especially with digital IMAX (2x 4K dithered laser projects which is still arguably not as good as 15/70mm showings) superseding or taking over the majority of IMAX showings in cinemas globally. If you're in Melbourne, go to the IMAX theatre there and see something on film. It's just incredible. Quoting John,

All solid questions I’ve been wondering too. If you look at the picture above, Canada’s variant has a lot of space between the gondolas and the floor, so in the mindset of keeping the project cost as low as possible, you’d have to presume to avoid un-necessary digging and building changes that the orientation is staying the same. But I dunno, this is all guess work until something more concrete comes out.

Sure did!

Just thought i'd add a little snippet of what's to come, if you can't picture it yet I can almost guarantee it'll be like this: This is a construction picture of Flyover Canada from Syncra Construction , an almost identical project where an IMAX theatre of a similar size was converted into a 60+ seater i-ride. If you're curious as to how that happened, InPark Magazine interviewed Rick Rothschild (who worked on Soarin' & Flyover Canada) and had this to say: I did some research about both auditorium sizes prior to their respective conversions and updates, and there's a marginal difference of approx. 50 seats or 3m of screen height between the two, with the IMAX theatre in Canada being the slightly larger one. TLDR, i'd be surprised if they don't go for the 60+ seater version, especially when it's already been done.

Not even close. I spent the day with John Longhurst just recently and had a chance to interview him about this - feverishly working through the transcriptions as we speak so stay tuned.

So suspect.

Once upon a time there was an attempt. They basically tore apart an old printer (amongst a few other things) and as you got inside there was a whole heap of dials and knobs you could play with (it looked like old terminals that controlled the ride). Then it started to break, then instead of fixing it, it was all just removed.