What will be the next attraction to open at the GC parks?

[Gary86]

Dreamworld's old Blue Lagoon area is perfect for a woodie. It would look great behind the log ride.

[rac2703]

My original point was that our parks could not afford a high thrill wooden coaster (they couldn't afford the money or space for an El Toro like coaster), thus my comments about them building one on or below par with the cyclone. The ongoing maintenance of wooden coasters make them far more expensive to maintain and run in the long term, they need constant lubrication, and regular re-tracking to keep them running - Do you really think Dreamworld would invest in such a ride? simple answer is no.

[themeparkgc]

Outlaw Run cost US$10 million. The Intamins cost another 2-3 mil on top of that. With Vekoma now doing international licensing for Rocky Mountain rides, I'd love to see an Australian park get one. With the high demand for Rocky Mountain coasters though (they are booked out for the next year or so), I think a park in Australia, even if they had the money, would be further down the list than say a larger amusement park operator.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

In the most recent Future of Fun email it referred to the fact that feedback provided on the ride was clear that the next ride at MW should be a family friendly ride that caters for kids, adults and grandparents. So not exactly - but indirectly

Well, the kid's car ride at the old LTRR is surely the next area on the cards, so family friendly ride there is quite plausible. It still doesn't rule out the concept of building Doomsday inside SE - only perhaps that it may take a year or two longer for it to eventuate.

Do we even have the room at any of our parks to fit a substantial sized woodie?

It's been said several times that DW has the room several ways depending on how you lay it out.

• along the southern boundary as an out-and-back, but this may impact on the tigers.
• across the island in the murrisippi (they've already destroyed what little charm this area had, so why not?)
• Along the northern boundary taking out skylink and surrounding areas (concerns about animals should be allayed unless they go too close - TOT is far worse than a woodie would be)
• extending out towards Big Brother
• down the WWW boundary and into the carpark (doable, but it would ruin the street frontage while still looking awesome)

Sea World doesn't have a chance - space is at a premium already.

Movie World could go either way. Closing off the studio entry beside green lantern would enable a woodie queue to run through that area - running out into the carpark wouldn't ruin the park frontage like DW would, but could have an impact on the studios.

The alternative would be to run it out to the east (left) of Wild West Falls, behind the show stage and scooby soundstage. This is an area that has long been speculated over as the potential site for a new attraction, and a woodie would fit perfectly into the Wild West theme.

I never rode Cyclone (dipper) at LPS, but in it's current place at Dreamworld was where I proposed to my wife, so I do hold a special place for it for that reason...

[alex_1]

Do we even have the room at any of our parks to fit a substantial sized woodie?

We probably wouldn't have room for, say, an Intamin woodie or larger GCI. But GCI's big fun concept looks great and would certainly be a lot more fun than Cyclone. It is quite compact at 83m x 27m. I assume most parks could probably fit that in somewhere? I agree with the thought of putting a woodie in the Wild West section of Movieworld, it seems like a very logical place as AlexB said.

I still think Movieworld could get RMC to do a compact woodie, and though it'd probably cost more than Outlaw Run's $10 million I'm sure Village Roadshow could afford it at some point, considering they spent $18 million on Storm Coaster. An RMC woodie, as I said before, would be probably the best ride in Australia and one of the best in the world. And it'd be easy to market to the public if it had a near vertical drop and inversions, as most RMC coasters do.

Really?? What is your definition of a "proper wooden coaster"?? I am sure LPM and Scenic Railway may contend this statement or even LPS and Aussie World with both examples of Wild Mouse. These 3 examples all definitely come under the umbrella of "Wooden Coaster", I can assure you.

A more accurate statement would be perhaps "Australia doesn't have any MODERN wooden coasters".

I probably should've said "traditional" or "classic" woodie, or indeed, "modern". I didn't include the wild mice as they are a one car, untraditional wooden coaster design, and I didn't include scenic railway as it is a side friction coaster that uses a brakeman. In that way I meant that Australia doesn't have a traditional wooden coaster - at least since the removal of Bush Beast.

Edited December 10, 2013 by alex_1

[aaronm]

The thing with intamin woodies is that they are "pre-fab" coasters, the wood is precision cut in a factory and assembled on site, this means the coaster is very smooth and ultimately loses it's woodie charm and may as well be made from steel. Most of the public visiting out parks complain about the roughness of some of the coasters, such as the cyclone. So why build a new wooden coaster that would have similar or lower thrill levels than the cyclone yet with the same "roughness" as the aging ride. I say build a new steel coaster that had higher thrills, less of a footprint, for a fraction of the maintenance requirements and costs.

Are you basing this on actually riding an Intamin woodie or just watching POVs on Youtube? El Toro is one of the best coasters on the planet, and still has that great woodie feel. It doesn't ride anything like a steel coaster so I'm not sure where that perception is coming from.

The alternative would be to run it out to the east (left) of Wild West Falls, behind the show stage and scooby soundstage. This is an area that has long been speculated over as the potential site for a new attraction, and a woodie would fit perfectly into the Wild West theme.

This would be a great spot for a smaller GCI woodie, like the Big Fun they were showing off at IAAPA last year.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

Dreamworld's old Blue Lagoon area is perfect for a woodie. It would look great behind the log ride.

Or they can add it in the useless Car Park: B:

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yeah... because even on the busiest days, it's totally easy to get a park at Dreamworld as it is.

[raymond265]

I keep on hearing Dreamworld have two rides planned for next year. one is a replacement for an old flat ride and the other is a roller coaster. As with everything I wil believe it when I see it but I have heard the same rides mentioned by 3 people who would be in a position to know.

[thunder001]

I always had hope that DW would build a large hyper style coaster in the old blue lagoon area, and now with the new style of S&S coaster, we can have a vertical lift hill to maximise space.

I believe at one stage the Island, as well as the river at DW were under an environmental protection order...but not sure if this is still in place, so not sure if the island can be used.

DW still have the old mine coaster area to use, and what to do here is anyone's guess.

MW could mix things up along the rear boundary line of the park, but this area is currently used for prop storage and staff requirements. The option to open the access road behind the coasters has been looked at in the past and if this were to happen, the first sign is the relocation of the staff canteen in this area.

WWW has DA approval for the expansion of the park, and these either last 1, 3 or 5 years depending on the fees you pay at the time of lodgement. They can also apply for an extension on the approval of works as long as the original design does not change.

WNW has just had the new Constrictor slide open, and with Sydney WNW now open, the park may just sit back and see how the parks go over the current xmas period and then choose which park will get a new attraction, if any in the next 12 months.

Sea World is a bit of a given at the moment so leaving this one out.

Of course this is just my opinion and as we all know.....only time will tell what the parks do next.

Oh, and its good to be back......

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

...The rear of MW is not just prop storage and staff requirements - it's also sound barrier. As it is, the park has had to retrofit Wild West with scream shields because of resident complaints - how well do you think they'll do if they build closer? - Nope - behind the show stage would be as far as they'd go IMHO.

The approved plans for WWW to expand will, (in my own opinion) never eventuate. That said i'm pretty sure the plan approvals were for 5 years. THAT said, aren't we past that now? Hasn't the time since the approval exceeded 5 years?

Constrictor hasn't 'just' opened. It opened well over a year ago (September 2012). It's already had it's debut season.

[Jobe]

Thunder, it is very good to have you back!! Hope you will make your presence known more often!!

[Reanimated35]

Who be this thunder fellow?

[thunder001]

Who be this thunder fellow?

I have been "missing" from the forums for a while (almost 4-5yrs now I think of it).

I just bounce around the parks taking photos of the rides etc, although I am also involved in the construction industry in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Sadly most of the information I do know or find out, I can never say due to contract requirements....although most know me due to the photos I did of the Cyclone and Superman coasters under construction.

Jobe....nice to be back, just work and family has taken my time in different directions over the last couple of years.

All that aside, what I can say is this....don't you think that the parks would time any new major attractions in the next couple of years to maximise visitors to the state due to other reasons.....lets say something happening in 2018?

Criptic I know, but that is as much as I can say at the moment.

[aussienetman]

Interesting point thunder. We know that the studio next to Movieworld will be home to the table tennis and boxing, but it makes perfect sense to open something huge around this time!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I realise what you're trying to say Thunder, so i'm not doubting it - but in my own opinion, opening new attractions in or just before 2018 would be a waste.

My logic is this:

The parks bring in something new in order to drive attendance. A new attraction brings more visitors, which in turn leads to an increase in revenue.

In 2018, regardless of the most recent addition, the park will get some massive attendances because they are within 'that area'. Athletes will visit... officials and other organising groups will visit. People who are staying on the GC for the games will go on a day that 'their' sport isn't on.

In my view, attendance in 2018 will be driven by the games. A new installation isn't needed at that time to drive revenue... just my 2 cents.

[Reanimated35]

I have been "missing" from the forums for a while (almost 4-5yrs now I think of it).

I just bounce around the parks taking photos of the rides etc, although I am also involved in the construction industry in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Sadly most of the information I do know or find out, I can never say due to contract requirements....although most know me due to the photos I did of the Cyclone and Superman coasters under construction.

Jobe....nice to be back, just work and family has taken my time in different directions over the last couple of years.

All that aside, what I can say is this....don't you think that the parks would time any new major attractions in the next couple of years to maximise visitors to the state due to other reasons.....lets say something happening in 2018?

Criptic I know, but that is as much as I can say at the moment.

Coolies, welcome back then.

I realise what you're trying to say Thunder, so i'm not doubting it - but in my own opinion, opening new attractions in or just before 2018 would be a waste.

My logic is this:

The parks bring in something new in order to drive attendance. A new attraction brings more visitors, which in turn leads to an increase in revenue.

In 2018, regardless of the most recent addition, the park will get some massive attendances because they are within 'that area'. Athletes will visit... officials and other organising groups will visit. People who are staying on the GC for the games will go on a day that 'their' sport isn't on.

In my view, attendance in 2018 will be driven by the games. A new installation isn't needed at that time to drive revenue... just my 2 cents.

I'd have to agree with you on this one. With the games due to start in April, if it were up to me, I'd bring in 1-2 smaller attractions (or re-theme some existing ones) between now and 2017, then open a new, large attraction in September 2017. This way there is constant interest in the park with a spike at the end of 2017 with enough time to iron out all the bugs before the mass increase of people in 2018 for the games.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

I keep on hearing Dreamworld have two rides planned for next year. one is a replacement for an old flat ride

Sounds like Reef Diver or Wipeout could be closing soon if this rumor is true. Mostly likely Reef Diver...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Sounds like Reef Diver or Wipeout could be closing soon if this rumor is true. Mostly likely Reef Diver...

Why would you assume that?

Perhaps the "replacement for an old flat ride" refers to Stingray or Vortex as the 'old flat ride', rather than signalling that yet another old favourite is going? (ok, yes - it's dreamworld so it likely DOES mean that another flat is going... but that just goes to show how entrenched we are with Dreamworld's poor showing in the attractions front...)

[T-bone]

Sounds like Reef Diver or Wipeout could be closing soon if this rumor is true. Mostly likely Reef Diver...

Reef Diver has been "closed until further notice" since november. If Reef Diver is pulled out, it would be nice to see that whole Reef Diver/ Stingray area re-worked and fixed up. This is Dreamworld though, so don't get your hopes up.

[maxstar]

A record breaking freefall body slide from the BRO tower @ WWW.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

A record breaking freefall body slide from the BRO tower @ WWW.

I'm pretty sure the tower is pretty small for a free fall water slide like that oh and there's already another ride at the top that tower. The Rip..

[themagician]

I messaged WWW about it and I posted what they said here: