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Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster Reopening [Dec 26, 2016]


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14 minutes ago, elemist said:

I'm curious how the park passed the recent inspections with theming that didn't meet standards?

They've got their own standards.  They decided a few years ago that they weren't going to use foam for any new attractions, but that everything already installed was fine.  There's nothing illegal or even inherently dangerous about it, particularly with the fire suppression systems in place.  For whatever reason though, Village have decided that it has to be removed immediately, even though they're not ready to replace it. 

Edited by djrappa
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This is shocking news... by the looks of things they've turned it from one of Australia's best coasters into a wild mouse in a shed.

They definitely need some sign saying it's under refurbishment, I'm sure even the GP would notice how awful it looks in there and pick up on something being wrong. Imagine if it was your first time riding and you were expecting the elaborate theming all your friends told you about then are met with temporary fences and dark walls...

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32 minutes ago, djrappa said:

Seeing these photos makes me think that this would surely cost millions to rebuild the themeing back to what it was... Which surely must be the plan. 

 

But it is that smart? Would that money be better invested giving the ride a new theme and thus a chance at ROI?

Im sure many are attached to 'Scooby' but is that an attachment to THAT theme? Or just an immersively themed coaster?

^

This.

100% spot on here @djrappa. The Scooby brand is old and has been pointed out numerous times, is dated and frankly, past its use by date. To remove all the themeing and then just replace it in the SAME theme does NOT make business sense. I sincerely hope that it does indeed get a whole new makeover as a new, more relevant theme. This then would allow the park to market this as a new ride and as Rappa has pointed out, get some much needed ROI. To do anything else is just bad business IMHO.

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42 minutes ago, joz said:

They've got their own standards.  They decided a few years ago that they weren't going to use foam for any new attractions, but that everything already installed was fine.  There's nothing illegal or even inherently dangerous about it, particularly with the fire suppression systems in place.  For whatever reason though, Village have decided that it has to be removed immediately, even though they're not ready to replace it. 

Assuming this is correct - it makes it even stranger. Why not wait until the replacement theming is ready before ripping out the existing stuff.

Unless thats exactly what they've done - but there was some delay with the new theming and they needed to get it opened agent for the peak period.

 

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If the reason for taking it all out is in regards to health and safety, and a potential fire hazard, they can't take the risk and just wait for the new theming before ripping it out. Otherwise they would have to keep the ride closed until it all arrived, if some has been ordered. 

I do hope they keep it themed to Scooby Doo, and this allows them to update the theming inside and animatronics. It is a great ride and hate to see it make a turn for the worst. Before I have faith in MW that they will bring the ride back to its former glory. I also hope they have a sign out the front of the ride saying something along the lines of 'This ride is currently going under a refurbishment, resulting in the removal of a number of elements and theming inside the ride. We apologise for any inconvenience'

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24 minutes ago, elemist said:

Assuming this is correct - it makes it even stranger. Why not wait until the replacement theming is ready before ripping out the existing stuff.

Unless thats exactly what they've done - but there was some delay with the new theming and they needed to get it opened agent for the peak period.

 

Given that they were constantly extending the maintenance period, I wouldn't be surprised is this were the case.

Edited by mba2012
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3 hours ago, joz said:

If Disneyland closed down pirates of the Caribbean and re-opened it as a ride through a warehouse it wouldn't be 'Great of the park to get the ride open for peak season'.  Having the ride look like that can only be called an utter disgrace.

Great point. The difference, of course, being Disneyland would never, ever do that. It's called standards.

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Is anyone else slightly terrified that the theming replacement will be a job similar to Wild West Falls final room post-fire? ie. all static and a fraction of its former self? Or the changes queue area for Lethal Weapon where they just got some dodgy artist in to spray graffiti everywhere? Makes me shudder to think.

Edited by GoGoBoy
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27 minutes ago, GoGoBoy said:

Is anyone else slightly terrified that the theming replacement will be a job similar to Wild West Falls final room post-fire? ie. all static and a fraction of its former self? Or the changes queue area for Lethal Weapon where they just got some dodgy artist in to spray graffiti everywhere? Makes me shudder to think.

I'd like to think that MW is well past the times of doing things half assed like that, especially after all the effort they've gone to this year to bring the park up to scratch.

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Managed to get a ride on it earlier in the day.  I'll share a few thoughts.

 

First thing to say is the queue is untouched, so guess the foam can't be that dangerous right?  The station is still the same, except that instead of seeing Scooby in armour from the queue, there is nothing.  

 

There's not much to say for the ride.  It's as bad as you'd think it is.  Nothing to see at all in the dark ride section.  In fact there are 2 themeing elements left; the swinging blades (they aren't lit but we're randomyl swinging) and the random Spider in the disco room. Of all things to leave, the spider?  Really?  Ring of Fire room is just an empty room with a random blue light pointing at nothing.  All the themeing has been removed all the way to the unload station, but the themeing at the station has been left untouched.

 

Overall, pretty awful.  The closet to nice things I can say is; it's darker than it looks in photos, the reality isn't quite as bad as the photos suggest, but it's not exactly much better.  It's also a refreshing change for Village to have a preference for a ride being open, but it looks bloody sad.

 

It's sad seeing the ride as is, if it were me I'd fog the shit out of the dark ride and add some strobes in ala the freezer/film vault mazes that get around as a desperate measure to get through the school holidays then close it to get new themeing in.  Ring of Fire room could also do with having anything put in it, and plywood walls with lanterns installed between that room and the unload station.  

 

That is the stuff they can do NOW to lessen the shitness, before fixing it properly.  A Scooby Doo figure wouldn't go astray either.  I like to think the plan isn't to leave it like that, but I'm not optimistic.

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Today the World was shocked by the loss of another Musical Legend.

Early tonight I find two minutes to relax, only to find Australia's favourite Dark ride Rollercoaster has been Raped and left to live on in a pathetic shadow of it's former self.?

Right now I could fill paragraphs with frustration on the matter, what will that do? Sadly, about as much as pissed off Park goers I guess. Nonetheless I am still in shock from this.

Presently MW is on top with no competition. What really fucks me off is the way they are responding to that fact.

Edited by MickeyD
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Late to the party on this news as haven't been online today, so most of my thoughts have already been shared. 

All i'd say is at what point does brand damage outweigh the need to have an open attraction?

Sure, DD is down and that was unplanned & likely unavoidable, so family options are limited, but hey, 4 months ago it didn't exist and people would have got by fine if Scooby had an unexpected outage..

operating the ride like that is abhorrent. A world class theme park, hell take theme park & world class out of it, any organisation with a ounce of pride in their image wouldn't open that or let cash paying members of the public inside.  

I'll also add that I'm not sure if the investment required to completely re-make all the theming that area is worth it given it brings zero return. 

Unless they are completely modernising the Scooby theme and elements, then they may as well start with a blank canvas which they basically now have and re-theme it. 

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It is ironic that at the same time as potentially Australia's best and most expensive attraction is being built, our parks are in some ways being torn apart. This might sound overly dramatic, but I'm sure many others have this same sense at the moment. No doubt the recent tragedy, combined with a touch of poor management and questionable decision making, is having wider repercussions than we initially might have thought and is responsible for a lot of the actions being taken.

Edited by GoGoBoy
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Possibly I might not be the only person in Australia that likes dark rides after all!

I won't make detailed comment because it's all been said already and I agree with most of what's been written in this thread so far. I just hope they have something absolutely awesome planned, but even if they have I agree that they should:

1. Not have started a major re-theme of the best ride in the park during the peak Christmas holiday season, and

2. Have closed the ride during the re-theme, and ensured there was clear communication to advise what was happening (apart from that being a courtesy to loyal guests, it could also be a great marketing opportunity that they appear to be disregarding.

Whether it's an intentional and (very poorly) planned re-theme, or whether it's an unplanned but necessary safety fix, either way it's being executed extremely poorly.

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