Speculation and media beat ups - Thunder River Rapids incident

[razza1987]

I went through the entire thread and nowhere did I see the news about a memorial being set up with four trees and possibly the flowers that are currently outside of Dreamworld. That part of the article is why I posted the story 

[Jamberoo Fan]

I never disputed that part of your post. That was new information I believe.

[razza1987]

13 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

I never disputed that part of your post. That was new information I believe.

What am I supposed to do? Post the link that has new information or don't post it because the news article also has old news?

[JeffreyMoore]

lets hope now that we know the parks not going to reopen until the funerals of the 4 killed have finished .

that the media now back off a bit and let the family's deal with laying there loved ones to rest and the police get down to finding out just how this incident happened .

and the rest of us can try and take in just what has happened for me im still just as upset by this as i was on tuesday afternoon. haveing grown up going on the thunder river rapids who knows how many times since i was 4 years old it has hit me hard this could have happened

[Jamberoo Fan]

38 minutes ago, razza1987 said:

What am I supposed to do? Post the link that has new information or don't post it because the news article also has old news?

Post the link but just point out any new information - not any old information.

[razza1987]

2 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

Post the link but just point out any new information - not any old information.

That was what I thought I did in the post about the memorial. I don't think I posted any old information. I posted about refunds and the part about the memorial trees 

[Bailz]

It is a very smart idea to make a memorial as I imagine the backlash that would have been a leashed if they did not do this. It is great how they are going to use all the flowers to make it. 

I wonder if the memorial will be put on the site of the Thunder River Rapids or out the front, or somewhere else around the park.

I think they should put it out the front somewhere so some people who want to give their respects to the 4 victims shouldn't have to pay to go do it. That would be totally disgusting if they did. 

[iwerks]

^It sounds like the River Rapids area will be closed for a while. I wonder if they did continue with the ride if they could convert it to an elevator lift or if there's room to create an exit for the ride before the current lift hill.

[Theme Park Girl]

29 minutes ago, iwerks said:

if there's room to create an exit for the ride before the current lift hill.

That's an idea. 

[themagician]

Do people think the ride will ever reopen? Because I personally am not sure if the park would modify the ride, or they just wouldn't risk it, despite the likeliness of this type of event happening again is very unlikely. And I imagine there would be quite a bit of backlash from the GP if they were to reopen the ride. But I imagine their are quite a few people who don't think the park should reopen (and I do know a couple of people that think that), but I don't think thats an option. It could take years before people gain trust from the parks again, or this event is not the first thing people think of when they visit the park or go on any rides, but eventually the park will return to its normal self. I know that as soon as the park reopens, as soon as I can I will be visiting the park to show my support.

[bladex]

if it is going to re-open it needs to be redesigned either put an actual belt on the conveyor NO MORE SLATS or as 1werks suggested get the people of the damn thing before you even get near the conveyor. also a new safety measure has to be put in a staff member must be watching this conveyor all the time and if a raft gets stuck they have to run over and kick/push it loose.

Edited October 30, 2016 by bladex

[Tim Dasco]

I think it is going to take a long time before the GP trust any parks. I was at AW's Fright Nights last night and I heard people saying they don't want to go on Abyss due to the Dreamworld accident.

[Brad2912]

I personally don't believe we'll see TRR operational again. If It was a ride that was recently extensively refurbed, or a newer addition to the park, then potentially they'd look at the recent investment and deem it too valuable or a waste of ROI to close it for good, but neither of those scenarios are true. 

The ONLY way I could see it reopening would be for basically an entirely new ride to be basically be built using the shell/troughs of TRR. New theme, new name, new boats, and most importantly no conveyor (it would cause WAY too much innuendo/questions/skepticism) or at least no conveyor used with passengers still on board 

[razza1987]

1 minute ago, Brad2912 said:

I personally don't believe we'll see TRR operational again. If It was a ride that was recently extensively refurbed, or a newer addition to the park, then potentially they'd look at the recent investment and deem it too valuable or a waste of ROI to close it for good, but neither of those scenarios are true. 

The ONLY way I could see it reopening would be for basically an entirely new ride to be basically be built using the shell/troughs of TRR. New theme, new name, new boats, and most importantly no conveyor (it would cause WAY too much innuendo/questions/skepticism) or at least no conveyor used with passengers still on board 

What does ROI stand for 

[webslave]

ROI = Return on investment.

Personally, given the likelihood of having the area closed off for so long it would be too tempting to use the time to remove TRR and the SBNO mine ride and start fresh with the area.

[Richard]

Moving the unload platform to the bottom of the ride does nothing. Either they fix the problems with the conveyor belt and associated systems and it operates safely, or they don't and there's still a danger of flipping and destroying rafts. There's nothing inherently wrong with a conveyor belt lift hill on this style of ride; plenty use wooden slats too.

It doesn't matter what they do: fix the immediate problems and reopen it, vastly re-engineer the ride with completely new systems and build superfluous unload platforms, leave it standing but not operating indefinitely or bulldoze it swiftly. All of these will carry considerably public scrutiny and press interest. If it reopens, the lift could be be a similar conveyor belt, an elevator or Balinese geriatrics... regardless, the ride will carry a stigma with it forever.

Industry trends would normally suggest that the logical outcome is that they remove the three closed 30+ year old rides in this area and look to significantly redevelop it with modern attractions. But Dreamworld tend to eschew most industry conventions when it comes to their overall business strategy.

[Themeparkfan]

26 minutes ago, webslave said:

ROI = Return on investment.

Personally, given the likelihood of having the area closed off for so long it would be too tempting to use the time to remove TRR and the SBNO mine ride and start fresh with the area.

I totally agree  I can't see gold rush country reopening the way it is now with 3 SBNO gold rush attractions eureka skylink and now TRR and the incident now attached to it.  I think they will either demolish the current ride system for TRR replace it with a new intamin system With a new name 

or demolish everything minus buzz saw and possibly retheme the whole area  but I think the first option would be the cheaper and more logical way to go 

[joz]

Yeah I'm more of the opinion that you scrap that whole area and start again.  Keep Buzzsaw going as is for now, but once you've got a plan for a new area, close it, and re-theme it to a new area.  What you put there is what they'd have to be thinking about, but I'd honestly be looking at some sort of whimsical gardens with big open areas for functions, and no thrill rides, maybe the most you could do is a slow train ride around the area.

 

Where would you re-build the rapids?  You don't.  I reckon it's pretty well over for that type of ride in Australia for a very, very long time.

[Brad2912]

As you guys just mentioned, clearing the whole area and starting from scratch (minus a re-themed Buzzsaw) would make the most sense, fix the current issue with SNBO attractions, remove the 'stigma' of the area, including the hundreds of comments saying the area looks so old & rusty (ugh, that was the point..) 

only thing is, I don't see Ardent/Main Event wanting to splash that much investment into the park anytime soon, especially with the financial losses that have come about in the past week, those which will only get greater over the coming 12 months, as well as a no doubt drop in attendance and annual pass sales. 

Ardent have shown an 'interest' in selling their theme park division previously, I think anytime in the next 12 months they are ripe for the picking, with a deflated value due to what has occurred meaning a potential buyer can purchase and invest the savings into the park 

Imo, and not based on any inside knowledge, DW will have new owners with 2 years, and then we'll see some significant investment. 

[iwerks]

 

30 minutes ago, joz said:

Yeah I'm more of the opinion that you scrap that whole area and start again.  Keep Buzzsaw going as is for now, but once you've got a plan for a new area, close it, and re-theme it to a new area.  What you put there is what they'd have to be thinking about, but I'd honestly be looking at some sort of whimsical gardens with big open areas for functions, and no thrill rides, maybe the most you could do is a slow train ride around the area.

 

Where would you re-build the rapids?  You don't.  I reckon it's pretty well over for that type of ride in Australia for a very, very long time.

Yes, I would think you'd be on the money there, Joz, even though a raft ride like the Jurassic Park one at USS would avoid that type of conveyor belt system or even a boat ride like It's a Small World, you'd think they'd probably spend a number of years redesigning the whole area without a boat ride at all and even remove the log ride while they're at it.

[joz]

Can't say I'd be in a hurry to close the log ride down.  Not unless OH&S or the insurance company mandate it.  Spending the money to demolish it seems like a real waste when Dreamworld will really needs all its family friendly attractions right now.

 

One thing I should just add; this is so early to be having this particular discussion.  At this stage, it's not the most important issue at hand, but it's the nature of internet discussions.  It happened less than a week ago, remember to stay respectful.

Edited October 30, 2016 by joz

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

6 hours ago, iwerks said:

^It sounds like the River Rapids area will be closed for a while. I wonder if they did continue with the ride if they could convert it to an elevator lift or if there's room to create an exit for the ride before the current lift hill.

Snowy River Rampage was originally designed with an unload point before the conveyor. The problem with an unload point below the conveyor is that when the pumps shut down, the water level rises above the level of the unload platform, and what sits underwater for 12+ hours each night ends up getting incredibly slick and slimy. Yes you can go on and on about rubber matting or metal grating or whatever but it becomes very industrial and cold - and even then - still doesn't guarantee a slip-free environment. 

Wonderland resorted to top station unloading almost immediately after opening... and that was the 80s. You'd never get that sort of system built these days - too much risk.

I also don't think a 'solid' conveyor (rubber belting) as I think constant dunking in the water would be too slick for the flat bottom rafts. Take a look at this type of ride all around the world - and notice that every single one of them uses wooden slats. Of course - the others use MORE slats - but I think this is literally the only necessary change to the physical construction of the conveyor that is required. There is plenty of other modifications required even before we get the results of the investigation, but thats the only mod i'd make to the conveyor and unload system. The rest would be computer controls \ redundancies

[razza1987]

One of Queensland's most experienced natural disaster recovery experts will steer a healing process and aim to restore international trust in Dreamworld following the theme park's fatal ride tragedy.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/10/30/03/32/tributes-to-feature-in-dreamworld-memorial?app=applenews

 

Edited October 30, 2016 by razza1987

[Santa07]

Yeah I got it too, it's very thoughtful of them to do it because it wasn't needed for most and the people complaining just needed patience. Refunding/extending 1/3/7/21 day tickets is understandable but annual pass holders could have held back for a few weeks I'm sure.

[razza1987]

I'm still impressed with Movieworld cancelling its event tomorrow out of respect for Dreamworld