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Theme Park Nostalgia


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I was watching Demolition Man the other day and it reminded me about the Cop Cars they had from the movie there for a while. Does anyone know where they ended up? Also, I remember carrying the 50kg (or at least they seemed it) toboggans up the hill at dreamworld when they had the slides there. The studio tour at movieworld as well... What do you miss?

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That one was so much better. The story made sense and the live action video made it feel real, not the computer generated world they have now.

TOTALLY agree with you. I loved the original BA:TR! I went on the new animated one and all it did was make me feel really sick - seems they went a little overboard on the motion side of things. Wish they hadn't changed it. I may be showing my age here, but I remember a LOT from the 80's-90's! Seaworld: I remember the adventure playground and giant ball pit inside the castle, which is now a 3D theatre. I remember the Pirates of Paradise ski show. The false killer whale that used to perform with the dolphins in what is now the "Fish Detectives" sea lion area - but it was called "friends of the sea" or something along those lines at the time. The kids adventure island, which was literally an island you had to get a ferry out to, and back from! The Thrillseeker mini-coaster. The speed slides in the water park. The aquarium theatre where you'd sit in a cinema and the curtains opened to reveal a giant tank with sting rays, sharks, giant fish etc. and divers used to go in and feed them. Also remember all the controversy with the sharks for Shark Bay being kept in the water park swimming pools until construction finished - was working there at the time that happened! MovieWorld: Everything from when it opened... Young Einstein gravity house, Great Gremlin Adventure, original Batman Adventure. The Police Academy stunt show, the Maverick show. Those funny little carrot shaped houses they had in the kiddy area, which had touch screens in them. The "Western" themed area before they added Wild Wild West. The original parade! The studio tour - including when they had the Riddler's Lair from Batman Forever. The whole main street BEFORE they put that giant cover over it. The Lethal Weapon pre-show, which showed a 2-3 minute clip from the 2nd movie. My best friend and I had year passes at the time and saw it so many times, we knew it word for word lol. Wet N Wild: Cades County!!!! Wave pool, the Double Screamer, the Twister, the Speed Slide, the original water slide mountain. The pirate show in the kiddy pool area where you would go bounty hunting for treasure! MATILDA when she actually used to work - regularly turning her head and winking!!! Dreamworld: The music jamboree show, the Thunderbolt (RIP), the Kodac skychairs when they used to work. Grundy's in Surfers Paradise: when they had the water slides and then the 'Krypton' spinning ride after they took them out. The MASSIVE bumper car area! The ghost train, the Go Gator rollercoaster. The 'wishing well' - a massive wall of water that used to come down from the ceiling in the middle of the Paradise Center, and people threw their money in the pool at the bottom. Oh, and don't forget Koala Town and Magic Mountain, I loved both of those :lol: Edited by OceanGirl
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What does get me when people say the park and its rides use to be all about the movie making experience. I really beg to differ, all the rides at the park were the same as today immerse you into the theme of the movie, give you a story and take you on that adventure. I mean the original Batman Adventure might be better, but it does the same as the one today immerse in the world of Batman and take you on an adventure. Gremlins Adventure took you into that movie and immersed you in that story, Scooby does the same with theme from the movie and you at the end saving the day. Even PA immersed in the world of PA it didn't teach you about making movies if anything Hollywood Stunt Driver gets you more into about making movies. Looney Tunes closet thing about making movies was it was set in a Hollywood studio where Bugs disappears to Australia and you have to find him so they can keep making it, from their your taken into the world that is Looney Tunes. LW may not have the pre-show anymore but according to what most people say it didn't have anything to do with the ride really Wild West takes you into that theme of Wild West movies and the craziness that it is. SE takes you into Metropolis (I do wish the area outside SE was themed to this) where something bad happens Superman saves you, it takes you on a story/adventure of the world of Superman. The only thing that really isn't taking you into the movie is Batwing and yes I wish they had made some attempt but saying that the area that surrounds it is very nice. I do wish as well the dogems and games surrounding it were either theme to that area or not there at all!! Really the only two things that showed you how movie were made was the studio tour, which I will say I miss and think it was a very interesting and important part of MW and the special effects show... which I mean in the end wasn't very popular and after all MW is catering to a mass cliental not a small one and they wanted something like SE and MW delivered very well on this and as a consequence the tour had the right amount of room and wasn't popular so I'm sad its gone really. Now MW's roof has some pro's and con's it now allows you to get out of the rain and our of the Sun in Summer, it now can provide great events like the Christmas, Halloween and DC Parade events I'm sure its all a great source of revenue for the park for functions and keeps in the noise from nearby residents. However MW's Main Street may not have the same feel for some people with something covering it, those big trees gone and fake grass in the middle and the poles in random places that seem to cut out details on some of the buildings. Same goes for the screen, I mean if your in the wrong spot and the action is happening somewhere else on Mainstreet you can't see or someone tall is front of you, you can look at the screen to see what's happening, plus I think it adds to the movie theme of camera running up and down Mainstreet. However, it blocks out a great building that it the Daily Planet and seems to be randomly placed. Maybe it should get placed in front of a DW building, it might be still a nice building, but with those colours that you need sunglasses to protect yourself from the brightness the screen would do very well to cover that!! I mean I miss these attraction, I mean I also miss the show on the paddle boat at DW , Terror Canyon at WnW and the Ski Show and BT at SW but what I want to finally say (I know this post is long) we can't forget the past we come from, it made us who we are, but we can't get bogged down in it we have to live in the present of what we have and plan for the future!

Edited by Original
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Hey Oceangirl, If you have any pics of those attractions, particularly Batman. Please post them up, I'd love to see what it used to be like!! :D

I don't have any, I'm afraid :( Just fond memories!!! :) My best friend and I took ones of each other in the Wayne Manor library one time, but I have no idea where they are now... haven't seen them in years....

LW may not have the pre-show anymore but according to what most people say it didn't have anything to do with the ride really

I remember that it was supposed to tie-in with the movie footage they played to you before the ride. The footage was of the car chase at the beginning of LW2 (with car jumps, rolls etc) and we were told that ride was meant to simulate that car chase experience... somehow!

Now MW's roof has some pro's and con's it now allows you to get out of the rain and our of the Sun in Summer, it now can provide great events like the Christmas, Halloween and DC Parade events I'm sure its all a great source of revenue for the park for functions and keeps in the noise from nearby residents. However MW's Main Street may not have the same feel for some people with something covering it, those big trees gone and fake grass in the middle and the poles in random places that seem to cut out details on some of the buildings.

Its been so many years since I went to Movieworld, the last visit was when the Scooby Coaster was the latest ride built? 2003, 2004 maybe? :blush: I haven't been there since they added the roof to the main street. I've seen photos of it, though... not sure if I'm a fan, from what I have seen. Makes the main street look VERY different ^_^ Plan to visit MW later this year when we make our trip down to the GC, so I guess I'll find out then if it changes my old 'feel' for the place!
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  • 2 months later...

Seaworld: I was 3 and my mum/dad took me. The only thing I remember (probably because I seen photos of it) was being about scared SHITLESS over the Seaworld Pirates (with those big green masks). There is a photo of me, my mum and my dad up the front with one of the pirates posing for a photo and I'm crying hysterically. LOL Dreamworld: Must of been about 5 (so 1993). I remember the small kiddy plane ride, the snow mountain (not going on the ride, but I just remember what it looked like hehe). The paddle steamer, the cars, the lolly shop. Movie World: I was about 9 (so 1997) when I went here the first time and got my photo taken with the Lethal Weapon cast so that my face was in the middle - lmao I still have that somewhere. I remember going on the Lethal Weapon by myself because my gran obviously wasnt going to go on it. I didnt get to Wet & Wild until 2002 and that was because I won tickets in the Sunday Mail. Does anyone remember a rollercoaster in the Brisbane city (somewhere in a shopping plaza)? I keep thinking its a figment of my imagination but I'm sure there used to be one...

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Does anyone remember a rollercoaster in the Brisbane city (somewhere in a shopping plaza)? I keep thinking its a figment of my imagination but I'm sure there used to be one...

Yep. "Tops" at the Myer centre. Was closed several years ago to make way for the cinemas. Don't remember much of it but for a shopping centre ride, it was pretty decent.
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  • 5 weeks later...

Wonderland Sydney: I was 12 the first time we went there, rode the Bush Beast several times in a row and actually thought that the Beastie was a rougher coaster. My Dad wearing a garbage bag on Snowy River Rampage and the rest of us arguing that he was defeating the whole purpose of the ride. The photo we had with Yogi Bear, eating overpriced hamburgers for lunch in my first (but certainly not last) encounter with bad theme park food! Sea World: Bermuda Triangle, the old "Pirates" 3D movie starring Leslie Neilsen as Captain Lucky, the waterski show, Dolphin Cove, the huge coachload of Japanese tourists who seemed to move as one unit everywhere. Movie World: Wild West falls (and how impressively it stands up to similar rides overseas), the Police Academy stunt show (especially how long it took to realise that "Rodney from Tasmania" was an actor and part of the show), Batman Adventure (seen both versions and actually prefer the computer animated one, Mark Hamill IS the Joker!) and the storm that shut most of the park last time I was there. Disneyland: Haunted Mansion (one of the most atmospheric rides anywhere), Indiana Jones and how fast and impressive it is. The pre-movie version of Pirates Of The Caribbean, Space Mountain with the cool guitar music (I believe that they've changed it), Star Tours and trying to actually see the drop coming in the middle of Splash Mountain just after seeing Brer Bear's big rear squeezing into a hole (it's impossible!). Universal Hollywood: Realising that I miss Back To The Future (they could do an amazing ride with today's technology), the final plunge on Jurassic Park, the annoying woman saying everything was "super" in the T2 preshow, ET Adventure - the forest at night queue area was stunning!

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  • 2 years later...

I have so many wonderful memories, some of which have already been stated above. It's amazing how we tend to remember the smaller details but then forget the main parts. Here are the memories I really do miss from attractions in Australia. Dreamword Of course, the eureka mine ride. Not just the experience. But the smell of mechanical oils or whatever, that were also very strong in other enclosed rides such as WWF and Bermuda Triangle. It's not a nice smell, but the memories I associate it with make it something special. The Wipeout shark (and other themeing). Movie World

Of course the giant orange carrots. Looney Tunes River Ride. The waterfall. Police Academy and the cheesy American theme. Movie Magic Experience, I miss the large capacity (low thrill) entertainment like this. Beetle Juice character hassling/entertaining the people waiting in the Batman Adventure queue area. Pre-Ride entertainment, Walkthroughs etc. Not just queue and ride. Backlot Tour. Harry Potter/The Matrix movie tours and displays. When WWF actually had a nice ghost town, working parts and not just conspicuous speakers everywhere. Fox Studios (Backlot) - Sydney I don't remember much. But the Titanic "experience" was so exciting. Having the choice to sink or be saved. The actors and the atmosphere is what Movie World should have today. Jamberoo The raceboat things? When it was more of a family park and less of a water park. Old Sydney Town The comedic character interactions, costumes, atmosphere and overall experience. Sea World The Thrillseeker rollercoaster, seatbelts and all. Bermuda Triangle. The 4D Pirates short. With the cobwebs (string) sliding over the audience. When everything was white and blue. Sega World Sydney Every aspect of this place was awesome. The "high-tech" rides. The fact it was indoors! The ride where you were in caged cars that shoot plastic balls at other cars was the coolest thing when I was a kid. The play area that smelt funny and had a flashing light that would keep your shadow on the wall behind for a few seconds. The roller coaster and doctor sparrow. The virtual reality shooter rides (like justice league, but it was a projection in front of the car). The roller coaster simulator with Elvira. The magic guillotine. The characters,the building, themeing and entrance. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast Double Screamer Dive in movies Terror Canyon/Mountain? Wonderland Sydney There are simply too many memories to list here. My favourites were: The crocodile, short lines, Gold Rush, Novelty Games, Ampol Cars, The Beach, Sky Rider, Silly Sticks, Transylvania and the repetitive music.

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  • 1 year later...

Finally transferred across some dodgy video 8 footage I took when I visited Fox Studios Backlot in 2000. It looks more like Super 8 than Video 8. It will give you a chance to visit the Luhrmann-esque park. I do tend to remember that there was a lot of queuing for very little reward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVwWnYslgok

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My memories (these were mainly recent ones, the oldest dates back to 2007):

SW: Sea Viper (im surprised nobodys mentioned this yet), Bermuda and the Sea World Eye.

MW: Main Street without the roof, LTRR, Batman 2.

LPS: Flying Saucer, I wish I was able to ride the two Big Dippers and the Wildcat. The Tango Train will be added to this list eventually....

AW: Turbo Mountain, the coaster they had before Mark's arrival and long before Abyss.

DW: Avalanche, when Cyclone had theming, the Wipeout shark, Reef Diver.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Thunderbolt on this topic...

Also after watching Iwerks' video on MW, how long was LW painted white and blue supports?

Edited by XxMrYoshixX
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I'll never forget riding:

the gremlins adventures ride at movieworld.

Watching the police academy stunt show.

The old blue lagoon days.

Seeing two steam trains running around dreamworld on the same day and ridding in the old box carriages

Driveing the model T fords

Before they even had the roofs put on. And parking under the tower of terror track waiting for the cart to get launched up the tower and getting to see under it lol.

Being at dreamworld the day the tower of terror open but was way to small to ride it then and the day Tot closed taking its last passengers for one last ride forward :(

The day thunderbolt closed.

That old blue coaster that use to be at SeaWorld were shark bay is.

The old SeaWorld railway.

And the double screamer slide at Wet'n'wild were buccaneer Bay is.

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