Gazza
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Posts posted by Gazza
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1 hour ago, Naazon said:
isn't Metropolis on an Island? couldn't Aquaman be saving people on boats or some other bullshit. I dunno, I'm an analyst not a creative.
Lex Luthors Oscilotron or something like that?
Big generator that creates earthquakes?
That all said, Metropolis is the area around Doomsday. The superman area I didn't think had an external theme outside the ride.
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4 minutes ago, New display name said:
Cheaper to fly to America than buy a whopper from HJ (better for you too). I just purchased return flights on Qantas to America for just over $1200.0. Last year it cost me $2600.00.
What dates are these for? I've been looking and it has all still been around $3000!
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For a larger ride it would probably be more of a trolley with larger tubs rather than a single tub.
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Not allowing rerides without exiting platform
When is anyone getting re-rides these days? The queues are rarely that short.
And if the park is empty enough that there are spare seats for re-rides, they probably don't need a 2nd train that day.
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Put it in Nickelodeon Land.
Avatar Airbender or Timmys Halfpipe Havoc.
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2 minutes ago, Naazon said:
If #1 was the spot, where would the covered queue go?
Anywhere? The pathway could just be a narrow straight one like Green Lantern. Doesn't have to be a set of switchbacks.
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So what is a reasonable number of rides to do on a busy day and feel "satisfied"?
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It's the same model as Bombora Bounce at Aussie World.
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At any park it’s not physically possible for everyone to rope drop, and as the crowd surges in, someone is always going to be at the back of the pack.
So inevitably a large number of a guests on a busy day can encounter long waits right from the start. Cant all be first.
Example: When I was at SFOG and they had added VR onto Dare Devil Dive, capacity was horrible.
I literally rope dropped that and was on the first car of the day. About 5 mins later when I exited, the wait time was already up to 2 hours.
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Yes, that "MUST SEND" light on the console is a really good motivator - but does that not then hamper operations because they'll end up sending empties to keep ahead of the cascade?
You need to see the forest for the trees.
Overall if Scooby is pumping, then the occasional empty pair of cars isn't huge setback in the scheme of things.
I think the stated capacity of Scooby is 1000 pph. Say you had to send an empty pair every 10 mins to catch up. Thats 48 out of 1000. Boo hoo.
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BTW Have seatbelts become optional again now too? Big Dipper and Leviathan don't have them.
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I think perhaps the solution is to design procedures in such a manner that it is easy for staff to work efficiently and staff members arent "rushing" to do a good job.
Like if you look at the videos @Dean Barnettposted of Europa park, the staff aren't exactly running on the platform to do their checks. In fact they look quite relaxed and comfortable with their work.
The other point I'd like to make is that rides CAN go fast here when required. Eg Scooby when it has all cars on by definition has to load and check quickly or else it causes a backup and then a cascade stop with the block system. And even if the line is long, it still is always moving because it runs pretty well IMO.
I think it would help to do the following on major rides at our parks.
-Always ensure the load gates have a couple of groups staged. Should never be a situation where the train is just sitting in the station empty and the sorter is still letting people in. No sacrifice in safety to do this, since everyone is behind the gates.
-Explain the safety rules more regularly, instead of when the train is sitting there and people are waiting behind the gates. It can waste 10 to 20 seconds when the train is parked. Instead, perhaps have an auto spiel saying something like "For those of you joining us, please do this, this and this"
They dont need to "stop everything" for the briefing.At Cheddar Point staff on the platform have a headset and loudspeaker so they aren't constantly having to yell strain their voice to explain the rules. They are able to explain in quite a catchy and friendly manner, and people follow.
-Open the gates as soon as the train arrives. The people coming on actually encourages people to vacate the seats quicker. No sacrifice in safety here because the train cannot dispatch with more than 1 person in the seat, so extra people clear out quite well.
At the moment some rides wait until everyone is well and truly out the exit before opening the airgates.
Eg In that video of Europa park, on the Mack water coaster you can see people are filing through, entering and exiting simultaneously, which works very well.
-At some parks, the operators will start moving down the train and close harnesses for you.
Those nips and tucks would help create a smoother flow imo.
The goal isn't "Faster Operations", it's "Higher Capacity"
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29 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:
I really would prefer we didn't put ops under pressure that may lead to critical safety errors.
But don't the rides these days basically prevent you from sending a train if both the belt and the restraint aren't in a safe position?
Of course, safety is the #1 priority, but having heaps of random pauses and gaps between each step of the process wouldn't enhance safety either.
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32 minutes ago, joz said:
Don't know how to break this to you but there was never such a time. I remember on very early visits as a kid getting lost around the castle/flume/plaza. I would say that's almost part of the charm, but I think that's more down to my own weirdness. I quite like going to cities I've never been to and being lost and exploring.
Stupid poll idea:
What was more confusing, the ramps around Vikings Revenge or the ramps around Giant Drop?
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1 hour ago, Slick said:
@Flea c'mon you're better then that.
The nostalgia bit of me says those skinny few months where Thunderbolt and Cyclone were both open was peak Dreamworld. Still had steam trains, chairlift, IMAX, Mine Ride, River Rapids, Australian Wildlife Experience, Tiger Island with the cougars and still plenty of remnants of old school Dreamworld.
Adult Slick agrees with @joz - having seen a ton of old school pictures of the park over the years it's clear to see what we're missing out on today.
Vintage cars still in Rivertown too....
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That the problems with X bankrupted them.
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This one?
Ok, looks like that's a new find!
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On 19/01/2023 at 9:03 AM, jjuttp said:
I think when it was first opened someone did a TR and said it was.
Also, do they let you get a step or 2 run up on the octo racer, or do you need to start hovering over it?
The start tub design has two rebates for your feet so I think the intent is to not run up.
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On 12/12/2022 at 2:54 PM, rappa said:
So here is a genuine question…
Given Village (or Dreamworld) don’t just invent painful load procedures and extensive safety systems for the fun of it; they jump through whatever hoops the government makes them.
How do the carny operators get away with not doing half the safety stuff that the parks have to do?
Here's something I ponder.
Firstly, I know someone fell out of some janky old hangover ride at Cairns in 2020, but that didn't even have secondary belts.
It seems like a lot of attention gets paid to load procedures even though it doesn't seem like guests being incorrectly restrained has been a cause of incidents.
When incidents have occurred in Aus, it was due to to other factors like the engineering of the ride itself.
Like on ST for instance I thought Mack trains were already a very good design with good monitoring, and a restraint failing has pretty much a nil chance, so I wonder why there had to be the RFID thing they tap on each seat on top of that?
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Just wondering, does anyone know of any roller coasters operating at those random summer / foreshore carnivals at the moment.
I know that Jurassic coaster is at Huskisson, and Nitro coaster failed to appear at Lakes Entrance this year.
But i haven't heard anything about chants "Wild mouse", Crazy Spinning coaster, and the old Thrillseeker (who even owns that now?)
@HussRainbow87 @Spotty what do you know at the moment?
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I think a certain number of people will always pile on, much the same way people pile on whenever something goes wrong at Qantas.
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12 hours ago, Noxegon said:
Speaking in extreme generalities here – water slides tend to be more or less the same experience wherever you happen to be, whereas coasters are much more likely to be unique layouts or have different theming.
I challenge anyone out there to say one ProSlide Tornado is a materially different experience to another ProSlide Tornado.
I enjoy water parks but I very rarely bother with them. If I want the water park experience, I can go to an indoor one close to where I live; I don't need to travel half way across the world for that.
I guess slides can have different layouts, and some are much better than others. Re Tornados for example, the ones at Jamberoo are a genuine step up from the one at WnW.
With water parks, I'll make an effort if it's a slide type I haven't done before, or if the park has particularly nice theming or a unique setting.
Within Australia, I'd go to most water parks "Because I can".
Overseas, where I'm more limited for time, I'll pick and choose.
Thinking back to the ones I've visited overseas.
-Wild Wadi: Because of all the interconnected masterblasters
-Wet n Wild Orlando: A few of the slides had some interesting theming, particularly Disco H2O
-Typhoon Lagoon: Because it's Disney, and for the theming.
-Aquatica: Wanted to try out the transparent slides through the dolphin tank, and they had just installed a Proslide Topsy Turvy.
-Splashin Safari: At the time had one of the first TornadoWaves, and of course Wildebeest and Mammoth water coasters.
-Carowinds: They have those really large threatening looking turbo tunnels, and I'd always wanted to do one.
-Galaxy Erding: Heaps of unique Wiegand and Klarer slides, including the infamous Ski Jump slide.
-Miramar: Had a double looping water slide, a rather savage drop slide, and a few quirky ones with special elements.
-Kokpunkten: A very cool setting
-Super Aqua Club: Had the worlds only rocket blast / flying saucer at the time.
Otherwhise, a lot of the more generic SF Hurricane Harbour parks I wouldn't bother with since they have the same slides as within Australia.
There are still a few I'd like to visit overseas, notably Atlantis, Siam Park and that one in Qatar and probably Soaky Mountain. Would go out of my way to try a Slidewheel too.
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Photos: https://www.parkz.com.au/search/photos/location/jamberoo-action-park
This summer I decided to do a road trip down the Princes Highway from Brisbane to Melbourne.
I had not been to Jamberoo Action Park for about 10 years, but the addition of Perfect Storm and Velocity Falls made for a good excuse to make a pit stop.
Dates and timings meant I had no choice but to visit on Boxing Day. Normally you’d avoid a park on a public holiday in the middle of summer, but my fears were unfounded and it turned out to be “busy” but not unbearable, helped a bit by the operations being good.
I drove down from Taree that morning so didn’t get there till about 11. First impressions, wow the trees have certainly grown a bit. If there is an award for the nicest looking car park, Jamberoo gets it.
In fact, the park as whole is well hidden. The boundary is surrounded by a line of trees, so you see none of it until the entrance to the car park.
I headed in, avoided the crowds by getting the lockers near the mini golf / pizza place and actually started on Taipan.
Last time i was here they only had left side running, so made sure I did the right with the helix instead.
Similar comments as my last visit, its quite a fast slide and quite lengthy so it feels like a bit of a space warp. It doesn’t wash wildly onto the walls like Mammoth Falls. Due to its tucked away location it was a walk on.Right, time to take on Velocity Falls.
At first I was wondering how they spent $10m on a mat racer and a couple of drop slides, but really it's an entire major new area with pathways everywhere, literal mountains moved for earthworks, several new bridges, and even 10 ‘luxe’ type cabanas that more resembled a proper caravan park type cabin than a picnic shelter. Yeah the plants need to grow in and yeah some minor things need to be finished, but judging by the rest of the park it'll look very lush in a couple of years.
Heaps of rockwork, and even some waterfalls running underneath (The bridge for the bobsled also doubles as a footbridge)
Stinger Twist is a skybox drop slide like wedgie, but it is followed by a few enclosed twists and turns down the hill, not unlike the River Rapids at WnW.
Surprisingly less intense than i expected, after the initial helix, it actually peters out a bit and you do the rest of the turns at a steady pace. Not much water spraying in your face either so thats a plus.
If you've ridden Wedgie you’ll know it can be quite full on with its forces, this one is more moderate.
Stinger Bump is the other one and is more just a very drawn out speed slide. This one seemed to throw an absurd amount of spray up so ended up riding half squinting all the way down until eventually there was a bit more water around me, indicating i had reached the runout. Couldn’t really feel the drops because they were so gradual.
Both slides had about a 20 min wait. They are popular with thrillseekers, though obviously capacity is limited. They did seem to have an issue with people getting in the wrong queue (and lifeguards would constantly make announcements to the queue to tell you to make sure you are in the right line), and having two similarly coloured slides doesn’t help. I’d suggest extra signs and stencils every few metres along the queue to help, to supplement the sign at the front of the queue.
Octo Racer (Why did they pick sea creatures for the ride names in a waterfall themed area?) is a highlight. Excellent capacity, they were operating in a common sense manner starting one race as soon as the previous one had crossed the finish line (Plenty of time for people to clear out before others reached the bottom). The intermediate open air “rally points” sort of don't work since they are so short, so you seldom see other competitors, especially if they are more than a few body lengths ahead or behind. It’s not really until the final stretch where you see everyone at once.
The enclosed sections are good. I preferred starting from the ‘middle’ lanes, because the helix on those lanes gets tighter towards the bottom so a sense of increasing force and speed and It gets even faster in the twister section.
Also have to give credit for the little things. It has a good timing system, with beeps, not just lights, and it gives you your time in addition to your placing. The start tubs are nicely designed, positioned at waist height so you can lean into them instead of crashing onto your chest.
Ended up doing 4 laps, trying each relative lane position from the middle to the edge.
The last new slide I had to tackle was Perfect Storm.
The line was huge, stretching a good 50m down the hill from the load area.
Again, high capacity saves the day. The park had four staffers at the top. Two pulling rafts off the belt and two loaders, so they were more or less able to send people down as quickly as they would load, so the line moved quite fast and was probably only 20-30 mins.
It helps too that the queue line is really nice, with trees on both side, so its very shady.
As for the slide, it's surprisingly rapid fire. Normally these tornadoes with long lead ins can be a bit lumbering as you make your way around the turns an helices.
On this, you drop almost immediately into the first funnel, a brief S bend leads into the next funnel, and from that its pretty much a straight away into the big drop, so it wastes no time at all really. My 2nd ride was in a fully loaded raft so crazy airtime, and almost a little scary since it felt like we were headed towards the pointy end with too much speed. In fact the final helix is very fast too, you can expecct to bank high.
The main letdown is that the big funnel had none of the thunder and lighting SFX, and wasn't all that dark. Still a good ride, but I would have liked to have ridden it in its prime. At least the outside looks cool, and quite impressive how much stuff that structure could take.
Also, was the school bus in the theming supposed to be a South Park reference?
Surprisingly, the line for Perfect Storm was only slightly longer than Funnel Web. Yeah Perfect Storm is better, but not that much better would you believe.
Jamberoo Express is a trackless train that does a lap around the park, even running steeply up the hill along a high road behind Taipan, Velocity falls and Perfect Storm. The driver commented they are getting a more powerful engine, since the current one struggles a bit with the hills. We had to stop a couple of times to make sure it didnt overheat.
The park has evidently spent heaps on roads up here, since there are full on concrete bridges at a couple of points.
Was hoping to get some shots of the rides, but the trees they have planted obscure most of them. A good problem to have I guess?
I did one go on the Bobsled to reaquaint myself The main wait seemed to be for the chair lift, but the Advanced track itself was quite empty (Most seemed to be going on the beginner track and it was hilarious seeing the number of slow riders with 7 or 8 people backed up behind) It's good how the park actively discourages slow people from using it.
It seemed the top area was a bit of a bottleneck. The line for the easy track seemed to block the hard track, which meant the capacity of the hard track wasn't being used that efficiently. Was good for me though since i could do a no brakes run to the bottom, and it's a pretty good run overall.
The new tunnel under the walkway to top of Velocity falls is a real headchopper, but you lose a bit of speed on the new bridge.
I'm not sure why I skipped Rapid River last time I was at the park, but I'm glad I did it this time!
The park was enforcing a single lap policy, so it was only about 5 mins to line up and get a tube. It's the nicest lazy river in Australia, heavily shaded by mature trees, and a few elements on the way. From the entry point you drift past some low fountains that shoot across the channel. No avoiding these and plenty of giggles from everyone. On a long straight section you pass over some spa bubblers, which dont really generate much movement but do tickle your feet.
The course is built up against a hillside, so the best part is a cave, which also features a wave generator. Holes in the ceiling have water trickling down through, much like rainwater seeping into sinkhole.
Finally, you pass a set of cascades running into the channel, so drift towards these if you want to get wet.
Went for a dip in Outback Bay, its rather quite shallow, even 2/3 of the way out you can touch the bottom. Credit to them for playing the Boxing Day test on the big screen!
I decided to close out on the one freefall attraction I haven't ridden in Aus. The Rock.
Slight nerves on this one, but hey, if little kids are jumping off so could I.I built up to the 5m jump by doing the little drop slide that's 2m up first.
Anyhow, it's not too bad, over quicker than you expect, and very refreshing!
Overall, Jamberoo is a great place. The whole day felt hassle free. In the space of 5 hours (had to leave at 4pm) i managed 13 attractions, which wasn't too bad considering I was just ambling along amongst the crowds. It's clear capacity is a huge focus, staff were good and the park feels nicely presented and easily the best landscaped in the country.
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Wet n Wild SurfRider taken off website
in Theme Park Discussion
Posted · Edited by Gazza
Could it be Mr Freeze?
World's coolest coaster.
*****
Does this also count as a multi-type coaster? 😁