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I went back in January - bad timing because of a number of coaster closures, but here are the parks I went to. - Lotte World: probably the park I'd recommend the most. This place is jaw-dropping. As Ogre already mentioned, it's Disney-esque in its level of detail and theming. Features Atlantis Adventure, which is a great coaster and really well-themed; French Revolution, possibly the best-themed Vekoma MK-1200 in the world; and don't sleep on Comet Express, one of the world's only Intamin Twist and Turns and actually a fun little coaster. This place had me dazzled all day, it's breathtaking in its scale and brilliance. It's very accessible from the Seoul Metro. - Everland: the obvious drawcard here is T Express, but this park is quite large and very beautiful with a good selection of rides. Also, don't miss the zoo and gardens, which are changed to a different theme every season. But of course, T Express is one of the most sought-after credits in the world, so it's worth the trip for that alone. About a 30-40 minute bus ride from Seoul. - Gyeongju World: a bit of a trek from anywhere you're likely to be visiting for any other reason, but it features a B&M Invert and a Dive Coaster. A pretty good-looking park as well, although I found it was by far the worst in Korea for its operations and upkeep. Gyeongju has a high-speed rail station, but it's another half hour or so by bus from the station to the park. Still, Phaethon and Draken would be worth the trip from Busan. - Lotte World Adventure Busan: a brand spanking new park by Lotte, opened in 2022. It features a Blue Fire clone and a PowerSplash. The park looks fantastic and definitely has the potential to live up to its sister park in Seoul, but it's a little sparse for the time being, which is forgivable since it only just opened. I'm sure it will expand gradually. Busan is a great city, and the park is a train ride from the city, so worth a stopover if you're there. - Seoul Land: the coasters here are awful (a couple of head-banging loopers, an abomination of a Wild Mouse that is baffling in its very existence, a Zamperla twin helix and a wacky worm), but the park itself is really very beautiful and has a large collection of rides and attractions. Entry is cheap and it's accessible from Seoul Metro, plus the location around it is absolutely picturesque, so it's worth a visit if you're looking for things to do. I also went to Grand Children's Park for the Vekoma SFC credit, but I would not recommend that for anything more than the credit. It's poorly maintained and runs rough.

I've never been myself, but the three that come to mind are: Lotte World in Seoul. Big indoor / outdoor park and very Disney-esc. Atlantis Adventure is a fun looking and unique Intamin coaster. Everland. Main reason for going would be T Express, one of only 4 Intamin pre fab Woodies in the world, but the rest of the ride selection also looks pretty good. Gyeongju World: Another good looking park with a couple of big B&M's. There's some detailed vlogs from all 3 parks on this YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/@ThemeParkBlitz/

While the Wiggles video has had a lot of help from locals and was put together well, Defunctland's decidedly clickbaity approach to videos leads to false narratives (like his Wonderland video claiming that the native wildlife were simply abandoned and left to starve) that are never redressed. It has left me to apply a healthy dose of skepticism to any video he publishes - though many of his deep dives - like disney fastpass - are really well put together, the track record always leaves me doubting everything said. They're good for entertainment purposes, but don't expect everything you see to be factual. This video mentions BRC was the first dark ride in 'nearly 20 years'. If we ignore boat rides like Bermuda (11 years) and LTRR (14 years) we're still left with the likes of Gremlins (also 14 years) which is hardly 'nearly 20'. It does of course depend on where you draw the line, but every line I could think of fell well short of 20.

Much as I'd hate to see Monorail go, if a skyway was brought in as the substitute, can they please do a continuous load rather than pulsed? (a la disney world \ sentosa island cablecars) Capacity on the old one was dreadful, and the stoppages of the rope for loading and unloading (especially at (Australian \ Village operations speed) just kills any chance of the attractions success. Side note on the affordability here - $3M USD is around $4.5M today. As we've learned previously from @Mark Shaw, the ride purchase cost tends to be about half the total cost of the project - so this is likely around $9M AUD - potentially with the extension to SWR adding a good chunk of that on top... so call it $15M? sounds like a good park addition to me. One thing i've experienced on cable car \ big wheel attractions around the world are onboard dining experiences. While the ropeway is relatively short, one could offer multiple circuits in a premium car for VIPs, with dining or beverages offered would be a good revenue generating add-on too - something i'd happily pay to experience at least once - and being connected to SWR makes catering that easy with access to Shoreline and Hatsuhana kitchens to provide a unique tailored menu! Below is one of the Mount Faber cable car ropeways to Sentosa Island in Singapore - just one example of what such an experience could look like!

To be clear, I understand why the bean counters have made the decision. Disney is making a number of austerity measures also. Everyone is feeling it. It's still short sighted. To quote Tom Cruise - it doesn't matter what you know, it matters what you can prove. And you're not saying anything which means it's not information available to the public, and therefore, speculation will be king. The writing is on the wall for anyone who can read it, yes. My implication was that because they are actually doing it now, it's clear its a major impact to their valuation - ie - they have to fix it before they sell it or it won't be worth what it should be worth. By that method of deduction, the problems with the attraction seem very serious indeed. But "we" (collectively and generally) still don't know what the actual issues are, which is why I said that.

So they're moving futher away from Disney/Universal level and heading closer towards Six Flags

I was just about to comment on this post and let @New display name know to check out BSF! Jake is amazing - been following him since he started his abandoned series. I love going back to his old videos and listening to how awkward he sounded talking - and how professional he sounds now! I'm with you there - never seen Closed For Storm, haven't figured out a way to watch it yet! I even looked into *cough-torrents-cough* but to no luck. Which sucks, because I would love to support him by watching and recommending what I am sure is an incredible film, but I can't. @New display name As well as Bright Sun Films, I would also recommend checking out The Proper People. I also love Adam The Woo - he is mostly a Disney vlogger, but in his past he has visited a whole host of lesser known theme parks https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL047A057E91EFDA70 I would also recommend the below. Quite a few of them focus on abandoned Disney attractions, some focus on international parks as well (especially Expedition Theme Park, who has covered Wonderland, and some old attractions from Movie World). https://www.youtube.com/@YesterworldEntertainment https://www.youtube.com/@ParkRideHistory https://www.youtube.com/@ThemeParkHistory https://www.youtube.com/@ExpeditionThemePark I would love to chat all things abandoned theme parks, or abandoned/closed attractions, so please feel free to reach out!

The parade incident was over five years ago. Disney uses pyrotechnics thousands of times a day at a minimum all around the world. This is not a common occurrence.

It crossed my mind that it could have been some what purpose full for publicity or insurance but I don’t think Disney is that desperate.

Rare freak accident? I'd say it's actually quite the opposite of that, considering the Malificent dragon in the Disney parade also caught on fire a year or so ago and was covered all over the news

Sure would have made that show interesting! 😬 . Really hope nobody was hurt. Seems like quite a freak accident. Rare for Disney in some ways.

I am super interested in abandoned theme parks! I've never visited one myself (if anyone knows of any in Victoria, hit me up) - but my favourites to learn about are Six Flags New Orleans, Nara Dreamland, and River Country. I especially like if there is no real story as to why it closed, and even more so if it was just left there. River Country is a great example - Disney said "this park is getting too full, lets build two more bigger ones", and then in the same breath "ah, well no one is coming to River Country anymore, just leave it there" - and they did! I am devastated it's gone now and I'll never get to see it in all its abandoned glory. Six Flags is wonderful because its closed because of a natural disaster, but Six Flags said "it's too hard" when it came to rebuilding it - and almost 20 years later, it's still there and no one can decide what to do. Nara Dreamland was such a beautiful looking abandoned park. A Disney park with a touch of home made charm Also sad it's gone now - it seemed to have been highly respected by urban explorers, and was in relatively good condition all things considered.

I mentioned in another thread i'd just returned from a trip to California, and while we were there, we did the Universal Studios VIP Tour. I also said that now i've done it, i'd probably never visit the park again without it, and I thought i'd go into some detail as to why. (Your mileage may vary). I've read some of my thoughts below as i've drafted this, and i'm conscious this comes off like a paid #ad. I can assure you that this isn't sponsored, and i'm just that impressed with the product that i'll happily spruik it for free. I should add that i've included some photos here where i had them, but we mainly just enjoyed the day and didn't take a lot of photos - plus the photos you see on the USH website are far better illustrations of the experience than i could ever do. This is the current link to the experience Pricing \ Costs - First up - the economics. A lot of people said to us it was expensive. Others just told us to do two days in park to save money. We had an extra day planned in our itinerary in case we needed it as we stupidly booked a trip right in the middle of spring break. 1 day general admission is posted at "from $109" and the VIP experience as "from $369" though these prices can vary on the day. I can't remember the day ticket price when we booked, but the current pricing on the website for this friday 14th April is showing $149 for a day ticket. Universal Express is an additional $160 per ticket and gives a one-shot express to included rides, attractions and shows (excludes Mario Kart). The express pass also gives you a one-time entry (without reservation) into Nintendo land. All up, this is $309. You can also add 'early access' to nintendo land - one hour prior to park open - for an additional $20, so your single day entry with these perks comes to $329. On the same day, the VIP pass is currently selling for $489 - an extra $160 on top - however the perks you receive for this additional price are absolutely worth it - and i'll cover these below. The Experience We decided to book our experience first thing - a 7:30 timeslot was the earliest available, and this meant we would have our VIP pass for use throughout the park for the entire day. Our first inclusion of the day was free Valet parking at Jurassic Valet (located inside CityWalk) so we were able to drive into the garage, drop the keys and start our day. Valet runs you $50 per car for the day, so as a single this is a huge value to your VIP experience, but as a group arriving in the same car, the value does diminish somewhat. After clearing bag check, we proceeded to the VIP entrance to the side of the main gate, where our parking ticket was immediately validated, we were checked in, given our VIP passes for the day, and escorted upstairs into a private dining area for a light breakfast (included). Breakfast included pastries, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, coffee, juice etc, and there were several 'travellable' items you could pop in your bag to munch on later. It was on par with a 'very nice' hotel breakfast that you'd pay in the realm of $25pp for. The entire facility was filled with cool behind the scenes pictures, and movie props, award statues, etc. Our VIP host - Donna - met our group of 10 (about 3 different family groups) and took us aside to explain how she intended to run the day, plus usual housekeeping. We discussed what everyone was looking to tick off today, and those who wanted to dine inside Nintendo land were given a QR code to make their reservations early avoiding disappointment. Donna was absolutely incredible as a host all day and I cannot sing her praises enough for the experience she gave my family throughout the entire day. We then set off through the park alongside a second tour group (most groups are paired for some experiences) and shoutout to Michelle who was our other guide that day for her awesome hosting skills also. We passed through the rope-drop-queueing guests with ease, and as the 7:30 tour we got to experience something few people get to see - an entirely empty Hogsmeade and Springfield. We paused for photos before pressing on into the studio tour. Unlike the standard 6-car tour trams, our tram was a single vehicle, well appointed with luxury seats, onboard drinks cooler, and plenty of space for all, and we begun our tour early in the day. While the standard studio tour takes about an hour non-stop, the VIP tour can take more than 90 minutes, as the tour stops at various points to let you step out and explore the sets - On our tour we explored the crashed 747 from War of the Worlds, "little europe" and sets from 'The Good Place' (NBC\Netflix). We also toured the prop department, and did the usual tour experiences including Kong, Jaws, F&TF, Earthquake, etc - although as our tram was only one car long, our driver would sometimes reverse back down the stage to prolong the experience for us. Unfortunately an advertised highlight of the tour - the Hill Valley \ town square set - was closed for filming the latest season of American Ninja Warrior (boo!) I should add that you are allowed to take whatever photos and videos you like while walking the sets - only the prop department forbids photos! After our studio tour, we took a back door entry into Hogsmeade, and bee-lined for Hippogriff. The tour guides are familiar visitors to the ride operators and they immediately cleared a path for our group to board the next train. The hosts try to group the VIPs into as few carriages as possible so they don't add to the wait more than necessary, and it was great to see Ops and the hosts working together to make things as smooth as possible. The hosts waited at the exit to the ride, captured the photocards for on-ride photos and distributed them to the groups on exit. They were great at engaging with each guest about their experiences, their thoughts on particular rides, especially for the kids in the group (3 total). They also carried bags and other loose items, though in hindsight, a backpack is definitely not needed whilst on the tour. We moved immediately to Forbidden Journey, and through clever doors were able to walk right to the front of the line with ease. Again, Ops worked well to accommodate us and we were on in moments. It was my first time riding and it was an impressive experience to say the least. We moved onto Despicable Me (another backdoor trick to get right to the front) before finally breaking for lunch at Moulin Rouge. This place is set up for private VIP dining, overlooking the San Fernando Valley, with chef prepared buffet lunch offering something for even the fussiest eaters - salads, carvery meats, seafood, pasta, pizza, kids options, plenty of sweets and pastry options, gelato by the scoop, hotplate cookies, cooked to order scampi - the works. Plenty of drinks options as well as a charging station with plugs to suit literally any device you can fit in your pocket. I'd have happily paid $50USD per person for this and still think I got a bargain. They even had private bathrooms with luxurious fitouts that were probably nicer spaces than anywhere else in the park! Dining also had guest characters appear (Doc Brown made his appearance during our lunch), and a very generous hour was allotted for us to enjoy our lunch, relax, and decompress from the bustle of the park. Some of our group took the extended break to ride Simpsons, and returned about 10 minutes late to the meet up point (don't be that guy). We met outside Secret Life of Pets, and again, a very secret backdoor put us right to the front of the line. (Many of these backdoors can't be used without a host present). Given our early start, our lunch had concluded before midday and so by noon we had done everything topside other than Simpsons (we'd be skipping this during the tour but were free to come back after our host had finished for the day). So it was time to head down the hill. Coming down the hill it was clear the spring break crowds had arrived. (Remember, this was only just midday - it got more crowded by mid-afternoon). We quickly hit Mummy, Transformers, and Jurassic. Everything continued to be an absolute walk-on despite the ever-lengthening queues around us. The tour provided a plastic poncho for Jurassic, though it was a hot day and not really needed. We ticked these off, again our host captured our ride photo for us and had it ready as we exited, allowing us to move onto the next experience. Now, by this point, I think you'd have to agree that it's a finely balanced thing as to whether this is worth the extra $160. Sure, it was a great lunch, and the parking and breakfast adds some value, but as inclusions, it's still a little short unless you can put a value on the walk around experiences in the backlot. If you'd put a price on these extras and charged them separately, some folks would happily pay them and some wouldn't, so at this point, the VIP is not for everyone. Until this point. Donna explained that Nintendo Land was the one challenge to her job. That for all the express, vip, special doors, Nintendo was still too new, and too busy to be quick. She explained that on quiet days, she can get her group into Mario Kart in around half an hour, but that she had had it take longer than 80 minutes. We were stood outside the exit to Transformers, and at this, curiosity got the better of me, and I started a stopwatch. Donna lead us from Transformers to the 'queues'. This morass of people were queueing to get admission at their reservation time. every half hour, another group would add to the queue. Beside them, the express lane. These were the folk who got a one-time entry into the land once per day. they were being admitted only as fast as they could be scanned in, by a single express lane operator. Then there was Donna. With her hand raised in the air for our group to follow, she marched confidently through the masses. Politely but assertively weaving through the groups, picking her path well in advance from years of experience in theme parks, the cast manning the scanners recognised her coming, and cleared a path for us the last few metres. We paused only long enough to be scanned into the land, and then proceeded straight into the Warp pipe. We came out the other side to be smacked in the face by how incredible the land is, (and how full of people it was). Donna tells us that the land has had to be evacuated twice today (once because someone in the MarioKart queue pulled a fire alarm) so it's busier than usual. and you can tell. We head straight into Mario Kart, sidestep a small barrier and we're into the express lane, rushing past miles of switchbacks in a blur barely long enough to register the theme inside each room before pressing on. And here is where we start to see why it takes so long to get through the ride. It's been about 6 minutes since we left transformers, but now we hit the first pre-show - how the gameplay works. Its unavoidable (and necessary to enjoy it) so we stall while we wait for the room to fill and the pre-show to play. Donna passes down to our group not to stop in the next room for helmets - she will have them for us and we need to press on into the next queue area. We do so and skip another good chunk of humanity all trying to collect their mario hats. We pause again on the stairs, and she passes out the helmets. We can finally see the load station, and we're close. As soon as we round the corner, Donna waves to an op on station, and again the path opens before us. Next minute we're on the ride, and its over before you know it. We unload, and exit Bowser's castle. It's been 46 minutes, and Donna has excelled at her job once again. On a day when Mario Kart was posting a 180 minute ride wait time, 46 minutes to enter the land and get off the ride was insane, and more than makes up whatever dollar value you felt was lacking in the pricetag for this experience! At this point in the day, our tour is over. Donna has seen us get onto every attraction in the park except The Simpsons, and it's barely 1:30 in the afternoon. Before leaving, Donna recapped with every party the things they had wanted to get done on the day, and confirmed these had been done or that plans were in place. She provided showtimes for Waterworld, the light show for Hogwarts (and even mentioned showtimes that were not advertised, but would happen today due to the high crowds). And at this point, I was satisfied we'd had our money's worth. But it wasn't over yet. The park is open until 10pm, so we have more than 8 hours left in our day to explore on our own. She has shown us every special entrance we can use (and even a few special code words to use in places like Ollivanders) to skip the line. Unlike the standard express pass you can buy with your one-day ticket, the VIP pass is unlimited express, and you can literally marathon the same ride all day long without waiting if you chose. The rest of our day was largely free-play. We knocked Jurassic and Mummy out a couple times, and spent a bit of time exploring Nintendo land \ Mario Kart. We headed up the hill to do Simpsons, and then went back into Hogsmeade to do Hippogriff and Journey a few more times. We wandered around the upper lot just taking things in, shopping and taking some photos before Waterworld started. Although we still had several hours left, we were heading out the gates around 7pm, happy with the day we'd had and without needing to spend the additional 3 (increasingly freezing) hours in the park. (LA was seeing an unseasonably cold spring, and there was still snow on the nearby mountain ranges). Valet collection was also painless and quick and we were back onto the freeway in no time. So ends the VIP experience review! _____________________________ **I do want to add one thing - my Son had had a popcorn bucket at the park he'd been asking for most of the day. I'd gotten it before Waterworld, but we had stopped at the photo counter to ensure all our photos for the day were captured. Somewhere along the way it had gotten misplaced, and only missed once we were at the Valet. It had been the one thing he had asked for that day, and not wanting to disappoint, I went back into the park to retrace our steps, but neither the photobooth nor the main Universal store had seen it. I tried to see if I could just buy another one but they all appeared to be sold out. The Universal store directed me to guest services, and I walked in not expecting much. The GS cast member who greeted me was great. Admittedly we'd had a long couple of days and I got a little emotional about this damn popcorn bucket as it was the one thing he'd liked and asked for as a souvenir. The GS cast (I'm appalled I cannot recall her name) brought me into a waiting room, got me some water, confirmed exactly what bucket it was, and then left. In less than ten minutes, she returned, with a replacement item in hand, as well as a giant bag of freshly cooked popcorn. We'd been at SFMM the day prior and experienced really poor service all round (which is kinda par for the SF course) but I honestly hadn't expected Universal to go this far outside of the VIP experience and this gesture by the GS cast member genuinely surprised and touched me. All round, while I still think Disney's long standing attractions have got Universal beat - the gap is far FAR closer than it ever used to be. However on levels of service - Universal (in my opinion) is now beating Disney in terms of simple guest experience. At some point, i'll get around to putting my thoughts down on the other parks we visited (this has taken at least 2 hours already) but overall I couldn't be happier with our time at Universal and will gladly pay the same again to have that level of experience, but I added this last point to demonstrate that Universal's service extends beyond the premium payer into a level that they genuinely care about each and every guest's experience in the park, as it should be (and to the nameless GS cast member I cannot remember the name of, thankyou again for saving our day!)

Darkhorizons has reported the following terrible news for Disney team members. "Around 28,000 staff members at Walt Disney’s theme parks have been laid off according to Disney’s parks chief Josh D’Amaro. The cuts will come at all levels although two-thirds of the hit will fall on part-time workers. In a memo to employees, D’Amaro called the move painful and said it’s one Disney had hoped to avoid. But as the COVID crisis dragged on becoming more than a short-lived phenomenon, that became unsustainable Disney Parks worldwide shuttered in March. Many are open again now but at reduced capacity, including Disney World in Orlando. Disneyland in Anaheim remains closed. Disney will be scheduling appointments with affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. They’re also discussing next steps with unions right now. Parks have traditionally made up one third of Disney’s total revenue – most of which are from U.S. locations." The global pandemic and its impacts are being felt by even the biggest of companies. More than ever, as things hopefully get closer to normal, we need to get out and support our local parks and industry.

Unfortunately I doubt it would still be here if Wonderland survived, as Disney would've most likely taken it away at the end of the licensing deal.

According to Blooloop.com, Disney fans are petitioning to the Walt Disney company for there to be a Disneyland in Australia. Do you think this petition will succeed? Or will it been ignored?

I also had the chance to do Cosmic Rewind - and let me just start with - visiting Walt Disney World now sucks. It's very expensive, and requires heaps of planning etc. I only had time to visit for one day - which cost over $300 for a park hopper, which you can't hop to 2pm.. etc .. just really stressful and not a great experience - Universal is a much better option. Anyway my day started at 7am at my hotel, anxiously refreshing the app to get a boarding group for Cosmic Spin - I got one - but the 660 minute estimate was disheartening... then this I obviously had plans to be not be in Epcot at 6pm. Anyway once the park opened - I did Mission Space (I still can't believe a ride that pulls that many sustained G's exists inside a disney park) then Test Track SR then I got this The queue building is amazing There's a middle section that runs videos which sync up with several double projection screens - along with holographic type displays (spinning leds) There's 2 preshows, one which employs the fake room trick like Posidens Fury - after that there's a safety video (wow!) which explains the boarding process You end up on a ramp between the two load stations I found the joins between the trains pretty interesting The ride experience is incredible - you start with a reverse launch (the train is technically launching fowards - but the cars are rotated backwards) - from then it was sensory overload - the projection parallax effect is bloody bang on - then you do a helix around planet earth.. it was just such a brilliant ride - basically Space Mountain 2.0 with a banging soundtrack. Would love to do it again... but I couldn't.. the paid lighting lane option ($25AUD, cheaper than the MW/SW offerings) was sold out. It's exactly what Epcot needs, but would be great in Magic Kingdom.. if that makes sense.

I got to do a Cast Member preview back in late April last year, so I have a pretty unique perspective on the ride. I think I managed to get on it around 25 times in my time as a Cast Member during that preview window. I would show up before work and get on it 3 times before going to my shift. Overall, I think the ride itself is pretty bang-on with what Disney parks need. A moderately thrilling family coaster much like Slinky Dog Dash fits perfectly in EPCOT. The ride system is unique and provides really interesting thrills with how it spins. The backwards launch is also very exciting. My biggest issue with it, and much of what Disney is doing nowadays, is that it seems very barren on theming. Imagineering has been on a shoestring budget for a while now. It can be felt very heavily on Guardians. The pre show and actual ride seem very light on theming, with original concept art showing off animatronics and so on. It’s a shame the ride couldn’t be fully realised. All said, it’s a fine addition to EPCOT, if a little weird. I still hate the virtual queue system and glad I managed to ride it as much as did when I was working there. I hope EPCOT sorts it’s identity crisis out soon. I think I ate Chipotle for every meal through the summer. $11 burritos are ridiculously cheap when you’re earning $15 an hour. I could get through maybe 3/4s of one and save the rest for breakfast.

You’re not taking into account the rubbish exchange rate and the huge inflation in the states right now. The cost for the skip queue was cheaper than a burrito bowl (and drink) from Chipotle (their mad mex etc) Where as at movie world - the cost is the equivalent to around two burrito bowls worth. The only real line I waited in was Big Thunder - was posted at 60 minutes, was actually 25 mins. The operations are incredible at Disney and Universal - on cosmic spin the trains move very quickly between the ride and the station etc. The train was always secure before the track was ready for it.

If a Disney or Universal Park came to Australia, my bet is that it is either Disney/Universal have a minority stake in the park or none at all. The Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai parks are not 100% owned by Disney and the Paris Park wasn't when opened. Disneyland Park, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris: Owned 100% by Disney Hong Kong Disneyland: Only a 48% minority stake by Disney, the other 52% owned by government of Hong Kong Shanghai Disneyland: Only a 43% minority stake by Disney, the other 57% owned by Shanghai Shendi Group Tokyo Disneyland: Not owned by Disney at all with The Oriental Land Company having full control of the park. It is the same with Universal as the Orlando, Hollywood, Beijing and Japan parks are 100% owned by Universal however the Singapore park is owned by Genting Singapore and Universal has no say in the park.

Yeah our government probably wouldn’t find it worthwhile to invest that type of money, there just isn’t enough international market nearby to support something that big, especially that now there’s a concentration of Disney Parks in Asia. Universal did say they want their smaller projects to ultimately bring in more people to their big resorts, and from a geographical standpoint Australia would well support the Singapore park, and considering the Texas park is being built in a satellite city of Dallas, I’m sure an international destination like Sydney would be able to gain support for that type of smaller project.

I think Disney's expansions are more "pay us and we'll come". Every investment outside the US has been with heavy local investment or concessions by government. Disney has looked at several places in Aus over the years but have always wanted local governments to chip in a massive contribution towards civil works and concessional arrangements, which - for the benefit of a foreign commercial enterprise - would be decried from the rooftops and the elected officials would get slaughtered.

Ye I don’t think DisneyLand will be coming down under anytime soon, their parks are always “go big or go home” type projects, stuff I couldn’t see being viable for our country, at least not after the 90s Disney gc project went to HongKong sweeping up the South East Asian Market. I do wonder however, with Universal trying to tap into regional markets, with their announced kid sized park in Texas and permanent haunt attraction on the Vegas strip, I think it’s a high possibility we see something original pop up from the mouse’s biggest rival in the next 10-20 years. Universal has stated their interest in different markets, and they re-branded their Parks and Resorts unit to “Universal Destinations and Experiences” just days ago. https://www.stltoday.com/travel/universal-studios-expanding-regional-theme-park-concepts-in-us-and-worldwide/article_ffa33c0e-521d-5e04-b709-2c98d9fa6f3d.html

Another thing that will most likely happen. This time for a Victorian Disneyland. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/hope-for-a-disneyland-in-victoria-has-not-been-lost-as-the-disney-ship-sails-into-melbourne/news-story/d8f149ea145a11d590d415c00177797e

A few things that people should probably keep in mind: The area isn't finished. Let them put in all the theming and rides they have planned before making judgements. The theming inside the area is far more important than a sign you'll just walk past. A reasonably generic sign allows for unlimited theme and ride changes within an area of the park. With a Dreamworld owned IP, they can theme rides to whatever they want inside the land, add and remove rides as they need to, and build their own IP. Kids in that age group do not care about ABC Kids as a brand. They care about specific characters and shows. A fairly generic sign also allows for seasonal and event theming at the entrance to the area which could be far more visually appealing. 'ABC Kids World' is additional licensing that Dreamworld would need to pay for. Personally I'd rather they sink that money into new rides rather than new signs which can be changed in a few years anyway. Linear television is dead. ABC Kids & ABC Me branding will eventually all just merge into ABC iView branding which is where most people are watching ABC Kids shows anyway (on SmartTV or mobile devices). Investing in promoting 'ABC Kids' as a brand or a themed land doesn't really serve Dreamworld or ABC in the long-term, particularly since kids are already experiencing the ABC brand as iView. This isn't my opinion, this is what Libbie Doherty - the head of ABC children's has repeatedly said at industry events. After 20 years of bad decisions and outright neglect, Ardent are finally investing some money and attention into the park. They've hired the right people to do it, but they don't have an unlimited budget. Sure, we'd all love to see incredibly themed areas, particularly with what was lost in Madagascar Madness, and Gold Rush, and the absolute abominations of MDMC, SkyVoyager and the mess of land-locked waterslides crammed into the front of the park. Realistically, our parks do not, and will never get the daily attendance required to build and maintain sprawling themed lands with licensed IPs. MW couldn't maintain the DC villains area and have struggled to maintain WB Kids. Every element of detail and theming on every ride, every themed building, character statue, sign, speaker, screen, fountain, shade sail, queue rail, garden bed and path is something that is going to be exposed to the harsh QLD sun and storms and abused by millions of visitors a year. It all costs money to paint, clean, maintain and replace. Every dollar that is spent on repairs and maintenance is a dollar that isn't spent on new rides and attractions. Baking those hard costs into your designs up-front is not a wise business decision, and is not sustainable unless you're Disney or Universal. A fibreglass 3D sculpted sign for a kids area is not going to increase visitor numbers or increase in-park spending. Improved theming/painting/lights on the GD will. New rides and attractions will. Personally, I think the sign is fine. I think using Dreamworld IP in K&B is smart. I think DW is making a lot of good decisions, the best being to bring back Rivertown and move all the kids rides into one themed area.