Gazza

I think the Americans where most of the B&Ms exist are just a little spoilt, even the most boring 'B&M' would beat out basically everything here, I mean Silver Bullet is supposedly "boring" but I loved it and queued 45 minutes twice to ride when I was at Knotts. Its not the clear cut Smooth and Boring versus Rough and Thrilling, B&Ms aren't boring, Intamins aren't Rough. Dont underestimate the importance of smoothness, it is just such a great experience to go through a ride and feel every element executed precisely as the designer intended, no bumps or jarring distracting and ruining the ride, just plain awesomeness. Have you ever ridden a B&M? I doubt you would say it was boring....On a side note, how could you find ANY coaster with drops and loops boring, I guess people just have short attention spans and get bored easily

Oh whoops, didn't notice Busch Gardens in there...I thought 10 mil was for SW alone. Still, even if Disney were to open here, I cant imagine the other parks losing the customer base they have built up over the past 20 years, I mean just look at WnW and its attendance when WWW opened...there was no effect. Actually, I belive a Disney park here would cause a sort of Critical mass, there aren't many other places in the word with the number of parks we have all together in the one place, Disney would be the sort of anchor you would need to give the GC the reputation for being an "Orlando downunder" I personally would only expect a Disney park here to do 3 mil per year, for that it would basically be half the size of DCA...I could deal with that , even if all the $100million E tickets weren't there, the other aspects of the Disney magic would make up for it. Just clone everything, and work with cut capacity versions (Eg A Tower of Terror with only 1 drop shaft rather than the dual set up MGM has)

So the Disney water parks get over 1 mil per year, so for Disney dry parks that's about 43 million. Given there are 4 of them it averages to about 10.75 million per park . To me, on a per park basis Disney is on par with the other Orlando parks...seems to me the other parks are well in the game, Disney is bigger, so of course they are going to pull more visitors just because they have twice the number of parks as the next competitor. If Universal had another 2 gates then I think both Disney and Universal would have similar attendance.

Yeah, I've felt for a while a B&M inverted coaster would go down nicely...I just really doubt DW would ever build something of that quality

Just saw it, laughed when I saw how when the showed bits of onride footage they sped it up. If nobody has taped It I think you can get it off the ninemsn getaway page after the show.

Well, from looking around, the current installations are about 3 million EUR (4.7 million AUD) for that small 25m high model...Ideally Id want to see about 10 million spent on track, and a couple more cars so it can run at 800pph. Ill admit the current model is under a minute long, which is why you'd want a bigger with more elements, and possibly a couple of static or slow sections where the story is told or special effects are encountered. That 50m model would be pretty sweet....I actually think a good thing would be to lift it up to 50m, and then dump the train straight down a 50m drop...it would be like having a drop tower and roller coaster in one ride. Edit: Something along these lines (Side View) Though again, there are still other attractions I'd want to see ahead of something like this.

That Intamin Zacspin has been a source of constant interest for me, as I think given its compact layout it has great thematic potential. Naturally if MW were to get one of these you would want to extend the layout a bit. I keep thinking the Tomb Raider theme world suit (I guess if the 3rd movie comes to fruition it could work...Movieland Studios in Italy recently opened a Tomb Raider themed ride anyway...) Star the ride off indoors with essentially a clone of the existing models, theme it with appropiate "booby traps", such as an encounter with some sort of beast at top of the lift, air darts (like on Indiana Jones) on the straight sections, walls of spikes where the track does those vertical U turns, leg choppers at the bottom of the drops etc. Where the normal ride would end after that tight artime hill, have a set of block brakes, and feed the track up a second lift hill, this time higher (approx 30m), this would lead out of the building at its highest point, and there would be some sort of climax as you near the top of the lift (such as a roof of fire), the track would then leave the building, continuing through more drops and hills and u turns. The support structure would have faux bamboo attached to give it a rickety look, and thick woody vines would wrap around the structure. Given it is a fairly linear sort of ride, it is the type of thing you should shove in behind anywhere, the whole thing would only be about8m wide. I keep envisioning it slotting in behind police academy, with an entrance sort of where the steam engine is now, with a high walled/indoor queue linking the ride to the park. Another option could be an entrance through one of the shop spaces opposite daffys five and dime. I think MW is missing rides with nice lush theming, a shame because I have always loved that sort of look. If you want, PM me with quotes of the posts where I have attacked you as a person, I can clarify or sort it out.

^Well, that's your choice then, just don't expect me to take people seriously when they just blurt stuff out, and then aren't willing to stand by what they say and back up what they are saying, instead opting for that weak "well, its my opinion, that makes me untouchable" argument.

Its not case of not agreeing, it was just a random statement you made with no basis in logic or argument to back it up, which therefore makes it stupid. You are missed the point completely of why I think MW/WnW should have onsite resorts. I mean, there are loads of theme parks out there which have resorts/hotels complementing theme parks, its not just Disneyworld, there are heaps....PortAventura, Europa Park, Heide Park, Alton Towers, Universal Orlando, Cedar Point, Phantaisaland, need I go on? I just think because the GC is a major holiday destination, WVTP could differentiate themselves by being a destination within a destination. More guests = bigger parks. ^Also, re rock n roller coaster, I think the coolest aspect with these sorts of rides is not being indoors, but just the fact the trains have speakers. Its hard to explain, but rides like Space Mountain and California Screamin' are not just cool for their track layout, but because they have soundtracks that match the ride movements...nothing can describe how cool it was on space mountain how the music builds as you approach elements, and then matches the motion of the element as you go through it. IF MW did the whole onboard speaker thing it would be sweet. Also, people are suggesting a dark indoor coaster....what about Scooby Doo?

It either goes directly to a park and gets constructed straight away (just as if it were a new ride, and the parts were arriving from the factory) or it can just sit on site at the theme park until they get around to putting it up (Eg a coaster has been sitting at Darien Lake since the start of last year: http://www.rcdb.com/m/ig3472.htm?picture=4 ) Sometimes though, on the way the coaster parts will go via the manufacturer or some other steel fabricator etc. for a bit of maintenance, modification etc before then going on to a new park.

Perhaps reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park_Sydney could give you a better understanding of the park, where it was, where its going and why.

Id be interested in reading about your experience in the American school system actually, just use spoiler tags when typing it.

IMO coasters should be designed in such a way that riders do not feel any pain.

What I meant by that is, say if you get wedding photos, the bulk of the work has been done in actually taking the photos, and printing the first round of originals. Similarly, with music, the bulk of the work has been done in producing the music in the first place, and actually making the physical album. In both cases, this is reflected in what you pay, the artist/photographer has made their profit. If you want to make a duplicate for personal use then I see nothing wrong with that. I would rather pay cents for a CD-R to back up something than to pay $20 for a whole second copy of an album. IMO its the same thing with photos you have paid for. I'm not devaluating the work of artists/photographers. What difference does it make wether it is you that makes duplicates of original photos or the photographer. If effect all the photographer is doing is providing a service, not using any special skills, that's what I'm getting at when I say "the hard work has been done", At the end of the day people are only usually going to buy one copy of photos anyway, its not like they are missing out on much. I guess photos are a little different to Music, with photos, the only market for duplicates is the person who bought them in the first place really, with music, the market is everybody. No offence, but it comes across as a bit dorkish/toolish to even raise the copyright issue when a new member posts an onride photo on a coaster site. I mean if they were doing a genuinely bad form of copyright then fair enough, but really, who the hell cares if somebody posts an onride photo, it seems only you.

What about if the ride is a walk on? Running means you get more rides in. And people do go past you, you see that phenomena quite clearly on stuff like White Water Mountain. I guess people run because that excitement sets in, you wanna be on that slide NOW.

So how exactly is somebody posting an on ride photo on a website damaging? Something else I might point out, PortAventura installed on ride video cameras on Furius Baco when It opened, and since then Youtube has seen a flood of these videos being uploaded, the park has actually embraced this, seeing it as free publicity. I really dont think MW would care at all about people posting on ride photos. Again, nothing indicates you aren't free to use them how you wish personally. The only reason photographers seem so uptight about copyright is because they know consumers can produce their own duplicates at home using fairly cheap printers and scanners rather than being charged exorbitant fees for a duplicate in a commercial setting. The hard work has already been done in taking the originals. Hate to say it but I guess these days It is a lot easier for people to make copies of content that was previously quite controlled. I would hope you don't own an MP3 player (or have iTunes installed) or a VCR as that would be hypocritical. Basically what you are saying is that guy should only be allowed to show others his photo by getting it out in person.

^In that case, I think you are set, It might be best for the thrill seekers to agree to just "cut and run" and move quickly on to X and then on to the other good rides. (By the way, if X is not open, go straight to Tatsu) At the park gate you can buy those flash passes, but its cheaper online, read about them here: http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/tickets/flashpass.aspx, always suss out the queue first before you go using one, if it seems like you are walking past a lot of empty sets of switch backs, and you end up close to the station stairs then that is probably a good sign. You cant really trust the wait time signs. Essentially you are paying $5 per queue skip, but I felt it was worth it given I knew I wouldn't be going there again for a loooong time. Me and my sister got everything we wanted to get done in about 10 hours...we wasted time on Deja Vu because we didn't know single rider existed, and we spent a while waiting at the bridge for X to open (since it wasn't open at park opening time). I mean I guess if you are short on time then skip the flume rides (no different to what we have here, and no better than Wild West Falls) and skip superman since it is just exactly the same as TOT. Aside from coasters, there is not a lot there, there are a couple of nice kids areas, but not a lot of in between stuff except for water rides.

Well, I just looked and SFGAdv offers it, so maybe for next season SFMM will offer it, but to quote a fan site:

^Well, if that's the case then definitely get flash passes. You pay extra for them, but you go in a separate entrance and board the ride quicker. At the end of the day if it means getting to ride Tatsu and the others it would all be worth it. Deja Vu and Riddlers Revenge both have single rider entrances through the exit, so use them. X2 is opening some time around then, so you can bet that will have long queues (or maybe not if the improvements they are planning on X for this make the capacity decent) I was there during spring break and it wasn't that bad actually. They seemed to have picked up a bit on their previously horrendous operations so its not that bad. Thomas Town is opening there too in the near future, so the 3yo might like that. Id suggest getting up there before opening, and getting to X2 quickly, if its open go for it, if its not, just move on straight to the back of the park and hit those rides because they will be dead. Though, the park is open later I think, so try to stay later if your schedule permits, the 2 flume rides and the rapids become empty later on in the evening actually. PS, will your 10 year old go on the bigger coasters? I know some kids will, if they will it might be easier. Im not sure about what parent swap options there are (I know Universal does it) but if its available then use it, hopefully Six Flag's shift towards family friendly operations will see this introduced by next April, perhaps email the park to ask?

To be honest, you would probably get sick of them long before you get fat anyway, yeah they are nice, but at the end of the day a doughnut is a doughnut. QFT For every new unhealthy place, there seems to be a juice bar anyway. People should just worry about themselves, not what companies are doing, and just eat in a way that keeps them healthy.

Well, one of them was there well before the drought, and the second one was probably in planning well before the water situation was desparate. They aren't going to close places that cost tens of millions to build, they would exhaust all other avenues before something so utterly drastic. NomuchGanstaG! At the end of the day water parks are still going to only be a small total of water use (I mean the total volume of water in WnW would be far exceeded by the water in that swamp next to MW), but given their economic benefit I guess governments are willing to put up with them. I mean I think a water park would make more money and provide more jobs per litre used than a lot of other industries. I dont know what WnW are doing (aside from signs in toilets saying to save water), but WWW have reportedly invested in more efficient filtration systems etc, I guess in an effort to appease authorites and the public alike. A couple of side notes: -I think WVTP could collect a lot of rainwater off the roofs of the film studios and ride buildings at MW (and the roof of Outback Spectacular). The huge potential for this would help offset WnWs water use. -WnW and WWW cant be made guilty parties in all of this, they are established (Especially WnW) and it isn't fair to make them close down when Goverments have under invested in water infrastructure, contributing partly to the situation we are in, and are only now trying to play catch up at this late stage to try and make up for decades of underinvestment.

Just looking at some stats from here: Visitor Numbers (all overnight and daytrip visitors) 10,370,714 Visitor Numbers (overnight visitors only) 4,419,309 Visitor Nights 23,211,233 Average Length of Stay (overnight Visitors only) 5.25 Number of visitors the Gold Coast hosts each day 73,426 The parks have a total combined annual attendance of about 6 million, and interstate/international visitors represent about half of that from memory, so I think the parks would play a fair role, but I dont think it is as clear cut as your question puts it. In my trips there, it has been solely about the parks....I certainly wouldn't fly up there for their <cough> 'unspoilt' beaches. The other aspects such as shopping, night-life etc arent exclusive to the GC, so I'm not sure about their role. Though I think another major factor in drawing people is just the resorts/hotels on the GC, I mean if people get a room at a nice resort, and have theme park tickets, they are pretty much set for a good trip.

I just grabbed my SE photo and cardboard holder, and nowhere does it say anything that restricts its use (Apart from " TM & © DC Comics."), nor was anything on display at the time of purchase (apart from the usual no photos sign to deter people from taking free photos of the screens) In any case, posting the photo on a forum is well within the bounds of fair use IMO, and at $15 a pop I would hope that price would allow those who buy the photos freedom to use it for any non commercial purpose. I don't see how any On ride shot is any different to things like school photos, Santa photos, wedding shots etc , they are all shots taken by somebody else commercially, but I don't think your wedding photographer is going to come after you if you decide to use your shots how you like. Besides, other coaster sites often have on ride photo forums/threads, and on ride photos are a popular idea for an avatar (even here). There was never an issue before now. Edit: And now Ian does have pics: http://ozcoaster.net/index.php?option=com_...8&Itemid=27 2nd Edit: Churros, when you dressed up as Jonah Takalua, did you write Dicktation on your shirt?

Are you from NZ? I think the way the park is now will be how it stays for a while at least. The current owners seem to care more about diversification than the core fun park business, which is a shame. When they aren't even prepared to spend $1.2 mil to salvage a wonderful 19th century carousel that doesn't give a lot of confidence for the future. I hope that eventually it is bought again and somebody with vision operates it and returns some of the quality and charm these parks had.

What about the standard of the theming, and the rooms? did everything match together well, and was the theming of high quality? Or was it just a mixture of random scary things.