Bussy

I agree that the engineers would put loads more time into a coaster than they would for a flat ride and that is reflected in the cost. However a lot of the cost would come in the construction of the ride. A flat ride lets take 'The Claw' for example would weigh a fraction of a coaster. Most coasters are well over 1000 feet long and are made of steel. Tell me which would cost more to manufacture and construct, a ride with 4 uprights, a crossbar, a vertical, a bunch of spokes and a circle OR a coaster that’s about 3000 feet with probably at least 20 uprights? The engineers involved with setting the programming of flat rides would find the optimal program for a ride and then would work out how far (faster/slower) on each side of that would not put to much strain on the riders and the ride itself. They would hardly allow a ride to be operated where it was not safe (human factor i.e. stupidity not included). "The Bus is now leaving for Engineer Range, Tasmania"

Yep that must have been some life threatening illness. You managed to get off your deathbed and go to Dreamworld just 24 hours after being struck down. Isn't modern medicine amazing? "The Bus is now leaving for Illiadoctor Swamp, South Australia"

Richard the following quote, to me does suggest the contrary. I don't consider the design of a ride i.e. track or train design as 'programming' of a ride. To me the programming of a ride is how the ride is controlled by the computer. For example Bounty's Revenge had it's computer in the control room which dictated the number of revolutions and the speed of the ride. Yes that is correct, the two are different rides, however they are basically the same, they swing and spin. On the Mondial version there is a touch screen which displays various bits of information. This was used to also change any settings of the rides computer including spin and swing speed and cycle time. These could all be changed easily by the operator with the turn of a key (which the operator did have) and the touch the screen. Who cares if the name was 'copying' or 'stealing' the name from Hersheypark's? There can only be a finite number of names that would be suitable for rides, after a point names are going to be 'copied'. What would everyone suggest as a better name for this ride, don't worry about how it's going to be themed, just come up with a name. My suggestion would be 'Whirly Spinny Thingy" "The Bus is now leaving for Lake Nameless, Tasmania"

Programming a flat ride is completely different to a coaster for one thing the cycle time cannot be changed, unless you set trim brakes to hold the train for a long time. Yes manufactures have a pre-set program for each ride but that doesn't mean that it cannot be changed without any major repercussions to the ride itself or the riders. The Gyro that I have operated is at a North American park and is the one shown on the Mondial site. GoBoi just tell them you are from Dreamworld and if they answer a couple of questions they could win tickets to the park. Disclaimer: Kiddies don't do this as it's illegal. "The Bus is now leaving for Naughty Girl Creek, Queensland"

If it was this Monday (today) then Gazza missed it to. It's on at 7:30pm and he posted at 8:45pm. I guess we all missed it. "The Bus is now leaving for Missed Bore, Western Australia"

I think I can safely say that I am the only person on this site that has been in the operators booth of a Gyro Swing and started/stopped and generally operated the ride I think I have a fair bit of insight in to the workings of it. The speed which the ride swings and spins and the cycle time can be adjusted like all rides (coasters being an obvious exception). Now onto the survey. GoBoi you have hardly produced a convincing result by asking only 4 people. Next time your out at the shops ask 100 people a question similar to Richard's question "Dreamworld is getting a ride called The Claw what do you think of the name?" I think you will find that the majority, if not all of them will say "Oh really, what kind of ride is it?" not "Yeah I’ve been on The Claw at the Easter Show." Can someone please provide a link to somewhere on the Intamin site where it states what size the three versions of the ride are. I can see where it says three sizes are available but not what those sizes are. "The Bus is now leaving for Missing Link, Tasmania"

Does that mean that i is "Tsaoc Glog eht no Doowylloh"? or "Gold Coast on Hollywood"? "The Bus is now leaving for Hollywood Senior High School, Western Australia"

Ok so I went on a bit about the colour and theming. But how does that mean that I can't discuss aspects of the ride? Why do you think Dreamworld should have purchased the largest version of this ride? I’m presuming that they got the medium version of the ride that has a capacity of 32. Considering Dreamworld doesn't get huge attendances why would they bother with the largest version? How can you say "It's also useful to add that in terms of forces, intensity etc., the size of the model doesn't matter - it's all the same." and then go on to say "The only difference with the larger ones is they spin faster, swing faster and go higher.” Call me stupid but surely spining faster, swinging higher and faster makes a difference to the forces and intensity of the ride. As for 'the majority' of people assuming that "The Claw" is a travelling ride, what a load of crap! If I went and did a survey of 100 people in Pitt St mall in Sydney and asked them if they knew what "The Claw" was I would put money on 100% saying '"The Claw is a ride'? Or "A claw is what I had for lunch at Harry's Singapore Chilli Crab in Surry Hills". If I did the survey at a building site I would get the answer "It's what's on the back of a hammer, and if you don't leave now I’ll hit you with it." "The Bus is now leaving for Survey Point Z, South Australia"

Richard, please re-read my post and you will see that I said "Just because everyone here knows about rides doesn't mean that 'The Claw' is a bad thing.". Not "You all think this ride is crap". What I meant by my comment was that you are all whinging about the name, size, colour, theming (if there will be any), placement (does it fit in with Ocean Parade?), why can't you just be glad that there is a new attraction coming? As for the name, what's wrong with it? "The Claw" fits well with the Ocean Parade theme, after all crabs have claws don't they? They live in the ocean don't they? I’m pretty sure that a large group of crabs moving together is called a parade. "The Bus is now leaving for Crab Claw Island, Northern Territory"

This would have to be the most cynical group of people I have ever come across. Just because everyone here knows about rides doesn't mean that 'The Claw' is a bad thing. I have ridden the Mondial Revolution version of this ride and found it to be the most enjoyable and smooth ride I have ever been on. I also think that the Mondial version looks much better than the Intamin one. For the majority of people who go to Dreamworld this will be a very exciting addition to the park and it will bring alot of people into the park to experience it. What did you expect Dreamworld to put in the press release? Dreamworld's version. What you want. "The ultimate thrill ride" - "moderately thrilling ride" "the most terrifying talon in the world" - "boring swinging thing" "the most powerful pendulum on the planet" - "swinging thing that has a bit of power" "the ride of your life!" - "you will fall asleep on this one" "now you’re in the merciless clutches of The Claw" - Yeah I have to agree this line is just stupid. "perch perilously close to the edge" - "you're nowhere near the edge so don't worry" "the ultimate rush of pure adrenalin" - "adrenalin? You won't get any on this ride" "the most menacing of its kind ever built" - "there are others but they are better" "fingernail-biting, spine-tingling, knee-knocking nightmare" - "yawn, scratch, fart" Come on Dreamworld are trying to sell this ride to the public not turn them away. You have to remember that it is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere and most people will love it. I'm tipping it to become one of, if not the most popular ride at Dreamworld. "The Bus is now leaving for Popular Gardens, NSW"

This is not just an issue about having protection for the control panel during rain. What about protection during summer for the operators? Surely this is the most important issue. If there is no protection for them by the coming summer (I'm talking more than just an umbrella) expect operators to be dropping like flies. It happened at Wonderland and they had operator's booths. If the operators wanted to they could go to WorkCover about this and several other issues that I know are against the OH&S act. I think you will find that wet weather gear being supplied by the employee not the employer is against the OH&S act. The act actually states that all safety equipment necessary to do a job must be supplied by the employer. This includes clothing that provides adequate protection from the elements. "The Bus is now leaving for Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area, South Australia"

I have heard that the Department of Fair Trading has received a lot of complaints from Wonderpass holders saying that the cheques they have received for refunds have bounced. Have any of the ex-Wonderpass holders here (Flea, Jaggie) had any trouble with their refunds? I know that some are still being processed but that’s an absolute joke. "The Bus is now leaving for The Rip, Western Australia"

I got this article from the industry magazine, Funworld. It's the July 2004 edition so it's accurate. Sorry about the size of the file but I kept the pictures in with the article. If the one with the pics is to big try the one without the pics. "The Bus is now leaving for Magazine Point, Tasmania"

I'm with Rappa on this one, Freak's site would have to be one of, if not the worst site I have ever seen. Half of the pictures don't work, half the screen is empty. However the forum is going off with all of 3 messages, all of them posted by the same person. Schwarz you might want to try and pick a nice colour scheme and stick with it for the whole site. By the way my answer to your poll question is 'Crap'. Richard I don't think you should worry about him advertising his site. Have a look at it and have a good laugh like I did. "The Bus is now leaving for Pooh Corner, South Australia"

If you did that you would go out of business very quickly and wouldn't have a chance to re-build the park. Do you think that demolition is free? Demolition is a very expensive exercise. I think that about sums up Shifty's ideas for when he gains control of Macquarie Leisure. "The Bus is now leaving for Mount Utopia, NSW"

After reading your post several times I finally understood what you meant Shifty. What you have described is called 'Property Development' it's a craze that is sweeping the globe, where companies or individuals buy land and then sell it for a profit after either putting buildings on the land or offering services that where not there before. I think you will find that ING will sell some of the land but will lease some so they will make money for years to come. "The Bus is now leaving for Sale Special Developmental School, Victoria"

Or good even. Whilst on the subject of themed restaurants has anyone been to Medieval Times in the States? The theming there is outstanding. "The Bus is now leaving for No Good Bay, Tasmania

I have got to meet you. For you to be able to see the boats while driving past at 110km/h is bloody amazing, even seeing it from Wallgrove Rd is astounding considering you cannot see any part of the ride from the either road. He wouldn't know what to do with it Scream, unless there was a string attached to it. That’s enough of that topic. If Daniel gets hold of it were in for trouble, he's very experienced with things that require inflating. "The Bus is now leaving for Ah See Creek, Queensland"

There's a good example for you. "The Bus is now leaving for English Gap, South Australia"

That would have to be the longest post in this board’s history. Like Daniel I have a very short attention span and got as far as "As per my offer yesterday," and knew what was coming so I didn't bother reading on. I might have blacked out as well because I’m missing about 10 minutes of my life, and before you all start, it wasn't aliens. "The Bus is now leaving for Spanker Knob, Victoria"

How doesn't Skyrider count? Just because it wasn't a ride that people didn't come to the park specifically for does that make it any less a ride? By that logic the Merry-Go-Round, Baby Bumpers and Antique Autos were not rides either. Before you post comments like that think about the feelings of those poor rides that looked up the bigger one and thought "one day I’m going to be like that". "The Bus is now leaving for Look Up Creek, Victoria"

The rides have been cycling regularly to ensure that when they are moved to another park, if they are going that is, they can still operate without too much work being done after the move has been completed. As for potential buyers, during the last month or so there where loads of people coming through the park looking at buying bits and pieces of the park. I won't be surprised if it is still happening now. "The Bus is now leaving for Buyuma South Australia"

Hi Pattie, please have a look at this thread and this one. To be sure, to be sure. "The Bus is now leaving for Irishman Ridge, NSW"

TILT was/is a chain of amusement arcades like Timezone. I remember going to Manly on the ferry and seeing the rides on the jetty and they did run, this was in the early to mid '90's and TILT was operating at the same time. The only ride that I remember was the Ferris wheel, but do recall other rides. "The Bus is now leaving for Tilted Chasm, Tasmania"

There is as much chance of a drop ride at Luna as there is for Scott to shell out $170 to go on bridge climb. The residents would have a fit and would probably loop a rope over the top and attach it to a nice million dollar boat on the harbour and pull the thing over, either that or drive the truck off the site. "The Bus is now leaving for Buckleys Point, NSW"