Search the Community

Is this normal for Surfrider to be closed without a re-opening date?

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:

From The Courier-Mail:

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

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.

Source: Open House Food Service Magazine

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