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CLARK Kirby’s career has come full circle since, as a child, he helped clean the cinema of his then-fledging family business Village Roadshow. Village Roadshow commenced operating in 1954, owning and managing one of the first drive-in cinemas in Australia in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon. “I have a long history with the theme parks her — my grandfather Rock Kirby started Village Roadshow, back in 1954 in Victoria, the drive-in cinema down in Melbourne. “Entertainment is well and truly in the blood. My original background was in the cinema industry — I like to say I worked there when I was four years old when I started to clean the amusement rides down at Sorrento. “I worked every school holidays for the family in the cinema we had down there. “Then I completed one degree up here at Bond University and then went on to study at a number of other universities and ended up in investment banking associate director of mergers and acquisitions with UBS Investment “It was a great opportunity because I advised a lot of entertainment companies here in Australia — including PPL, Channel 7, News Corp. “It gave me a broadbased understanding of different business models and management styles within the entertainment world, some incredible companies. “It was very diverse, and very interesting trying to impart advice. “Then I came back and headed up corporate strategy for the group then since 2012 I’ve been chief operating officer of the Village Roadshow Group and sitting on the board of the theme park group. “In May this year I assumed the role of CEO and executive chairman of the theme park group. “Really because we do see it as our most important business and a business we see enormous growth in here and internationally.” What do you love about the Gold Coast? “I don’t believe there is any city in the world that can rival the family friendly lifestyle we enjoy here on the Gold Coast. “The weather and sublime beaches promote a healthy lifestyle and world class attractions mean kids and big kids will always be entertained and inspired. “I am also in awe of the incredible sense of pride and community spirit of the Gold Coast. “Initiatives like the Gold Coast Community Fund have been so generously embraced by locals wanting to help out those doing it tough.” What do you think can be done better on the Gold Coast? “We need to ensure there is sufficient planning and investment in essential infrastructure such as public transport and traffic management to deal with the existing congestion and to support and encourage private investment and development. “Coming from Melbourne, I have also seen the incredible power of sporting events to drive tourism and investment. “The Commonwealth Games is already electrifying the city and I would like to see a sustained calendar of major sporting events through the year.” In your travels, what have you seen being done elsewhere you think could work well here? “Universal City Walk and Downtown Disney are great success stories. “These retail, dining and entertainment precincts create a vibrant, fun and safe destination for all ages. “We are moving towards creating our own version of this alongside Movie World when Australia’s first Topgolf opens after the Commonwealth Games next year.” If money, laws, time and approvals were no issue, what is one big project you’d undertake tomorrow? “A cruise ship terminal — provided it meets all environmental requirements and the appropriate traffic mitigation solution is implemented, a cruise ship terminal would be phenomenal for the Tourism industry on the Gold Coast.” What conversations should Gold Coast movers and shakers be having? “We need to consider what our city is going to look like in five, 10, 20 years. Is our infrastructure going to be able to keep up with rate of growth predicted for the Gold Coast? “Where are the jobs going to come from and are we providing our kids with the relevant training and opportunities to succeed? “The long term future for the Spit is another important issue for me — there is so much uncertainty around development on The Spit. “We desperately need a masterplan to ensure that any development includes sufficient investment in infrastructure to ensure residents and existing businesses are not negatively impacted. “In the more immediate future, we need to ensure that we fully capitalise on the incredible exposure the Commonwealth Games will bring to the Gold Coast.” http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/opinion/village-roadshow-ceo-says-gold-coast-is-golden-but-needs-to-keep-up-with-the-rest-of-the-world/news-story/796eedbff960121e90826c41e46f17ee

Source: Open House Food Service Magazine

Hi there! I haven't visited the gold coast since 2010, and I'm thinking about returning for a trip later this year in December. Could somebody please offer a quick summary of the current state of the parks there? I'm specifically interested in Dreamworld/White Water World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet n Wild. Those are the parks I'm most familiar with, but I'm sure there's way more worth visiting on/around the coast. So if you could offer what your experiences have been like recently, it would be very much appreciated. What's the best? What's the worst? Looking into other forum posts, and the recent news articles - I've got the feeling Village Roadshow Parks isn't doing so hot lately. But maybe I'm mistaken on that, what do you think? Thank you for your time.

I just found a website where you can view high-quality historical satellite imagery of the Gold Coast. It is amazing seeing the theme parks in such detail in the past. Just an idea to 'past the time' until MW's hypercoaster track/support pieces appear, if anyone wants to see something specific of a Gold Coast theme park, just post below and I'll upload one (or the most popular request) each day until then. I'll provide the link to the full website (and thus, the source of the imagery) when the pieces arrive if there was something you wanted to see that had not yet been posted. To start off, here is Sea World on Tuesday the 10th of July 1973:

QLD’S FIRST DRIVING ADVENTURE PARK Embrace your wild side and take on the best drive of your life! Wet'n'Wild BUGGY is the newest and coolest purpose-built adventure track right here at Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast. Strap yourself into our army spec Buggy and get ready for a 1km long track riddled with rocks, water obstacles, crazy tunnels, hills, jumps and more! Drivers (Licensed) can drive on their own with the safety of an instructor to assist with navigation of hardcore obstacles and getting the most enjoyment out of the experience. Non-Drivers (Non-licensed) are accompanied with an instructor in a dual control-buggy to assist in turning, breaking and acceleration to guide them through our Wet'n'Wild Buggy track. Embrace your wild! 50+ challenging obstacles Water obstacles, jumps, tunnels, 7 tyre obstacles, 7 x log obstacles, 45 degree walls, 30 degree long bends and hills! Purpose-built track covering a land area of 30,000 square metres Natural bush track accessed through Wet’n’Wild 1km of pure excitement Army spec vehicles Wet’n’Wild Buggy experiences are not included in the price of entry and need to be purchased separate to park Admission and Season Memberships. Tickets can be purchased here: https://buggc.bookingboss.com/experiences.cfm

From The Courier-Mail:

Dose anyone know what is going on with the Super 8 Aqua Racer at Wet n Wild I have seen it is missing its slide all that is there is framing.

Just spent the first half of the week up on the Gold Coast, post-Schoolies and pre-Christmas. I've got some interesting developments from Sea World, Wet'n'Wild and Dreamworld, and I'll be headed to WhiteWater World and Movie World tomorrow and Saturday. Pics are coming, my phone is glitching at the moment. Sea World was seemingly running on half-capacity to try to make everything perfect for peak season. The SpongeBob Coaster spent the first half of the day closed. New Kids' World is pretty awesome, and includes the Zamperla Demolition Derby that for some reason, Parkz lists as "announced". Storm Coaster suffered a moderate technical glitch which saw the ride closed for most of the day, and mechanics climbing the lift hill on foot. When I rode later, the lift hill had decreased in speed dramatically. Further, Ray Reef was closed for maintenance, which appeared to be some sort of bird-proofing. Wet'n'Wild had the Constrictor closed for some unseen form of maintenance or renovation. The entire area was surrounded in worksite fencing, complete with "DANGER: CONSTRUCTION SITE" signs. Any ideas? SurfRider broke down around midday, but I was assured by a staff member that it was a minor glitch, and they just wanted to make sure, what with peak season around the corner and all. There were a LOT of primary school pool parties on... So much for going a week early to avoid the lines... Contrary to the other two, Dreamworld was running full-pelt, with every ride, bar the Cyclone for obvious reasons, operating for the whole day. However, all of the special effects, notably in the Tower of Terror and BuzzSaw, had been replaced by annoyingly out-of-context music videos. Rather than your average bone-chilling wait for the Tower of Terror, I was put through Magic's "Rude" and some other cheery songs that really ruined the pre-ride feel. Construction on the Motorsport Area is going ahead nicely it would seem. The "Grid Burger Bar" is looking fairly complete, and there's a lot of promising construction going on. I couldn't catch a glimpse of any activity around the dormant Cyclone tracks, though. I'll update from the other two parks on Saturday night. Cheerio.

What do you personally consider to be the most intense ride on the Gold Coast? I expect to see a lot of people saying either Giant Drop or Superman Escape but I actually consider the AquaLoop water slide to more intense, standing on that trap door and awaiting the drop is terrifying (but the anticipation is half the fun), and then there is the actual drop and the loop.

Personally, I think the super 8 aqua racer's getting a bit old. They should replace it with something a bit more modern... Like a Proslide Kraken Racer - that keeps the mat racer element and it's not like the BRO at White Water World. It also brings back a bit of the twister... http://www.proslide.com/ride/krakenracer/

I'm heading up to the Gold Coast in November, and I want to visit some theme parks while i'm there. The only parks I have been too before are Dreamworld (I was only tall enough for the small rides back then), Movie World (back when the Superman Escape was only new) and Wet n Wild (before the AquaLoops, and I dind't go on the Jetsteams as the lines was too long). Now I'm going when it won't be holidays so there are no long lines. What is the best choice for a thrill seeker, Dreamworld and White Water World or Movie World, Wet n Wild and Seaworld. Note that the Cyclone will be closed a Dreamworld when I'm at the gold coast