For the first time in a couple of years, I have an annual pass to Dreamworld. This means that I have had a little bit of catching up to do in the last couple of visits, since they have had a fair amount of change in that time. In short, all of it is great (the Dreamworks Experience and Ocean Parade enhancements particularly), and I'm looking forward to the ABC Kids World adding another dimension to that. I thought it was fitting to do a quick review of their most recent ride: Tail Spin.
The ride itself is a Gerslauer Sky Fly which opened late last year. On this ride, the rider controls the experience, by moving paddles on the "planes" to attempt to flip the ride vehicles over. The ride peaks at 72 feet high and reaches a top speed of 33 km/hr. Personally, I was not that thrilled when the ride was announced as I believe Dreamworld has enough flat spinning rides. I thought adding another one was mostly white noise. To a certain extent it is, but when riding it I was pleasantly surprised how different it was to Dreamworld's other spinning rides. I choose not to attempt flipping my plane, and I had a very relaxing and fun "flight". The ride is smooth and fun, and the ability to control your own thrill level (although some what of a binary choice) meant that everyone got a slightly different ride.
When I say it is a binary choice, I did see first hand some evidence of the major criticism of the Sky Fly models, which is that it is hard to make them flip, and when you really get it flipping it can be hard to make it stop. To be honest, watching a few dare devils on there, I have no idea how they didn't spew when coming off that ride.
Overall, I would give the ride a 6.5 out of 10. That is pretty good for an off the shelf flat ride.
Here is a POV of the Ride that should give you a sense of it, thanks to our friends at OurWorlds:
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Monday, 18 May 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 19th May 2015
After a huge week last week, things have returned to normal in the world of Theme Parks. Well, as normal as things can be in the world of Theme Parks.
The big news for the coming week, is the 60th Anniversary of the opening of Disneyland. Changes for the celebration have been slowly coming online over the last couple of months (including the Hatbox Ghost mentioned last week). This week we saw a couple of great articles on Theme Park Insider outlining the new Fireworks show and the new Parade.
Theme Park Insider also posted an interesting quote which sheds a little bit more light on last week's news that Nintendo would be teaming up with Universal. There are two big takeaways from this article, which is that Nintendo wouldn't have worked with Universal without the success that Universal has had dealing with Harry Potter as an external I.P. (which in turn wouldn't have happened if J.K. Rowling hadn't heard about how well they had handled the Dr Seuss I.P. in Orlando), and also that Universal pitched to Nintendo with a very detailed proposal. This hints that pretty thorough plans had been developed for this I.P., which doesn't necessarily mean a short wait to see Nintendoland, but it does mean that Universal is happy to throw money and creative talents to get the right I.P. That's good news for everyone.
Staying with Uni, but switching coasts, this week saw the dedication of the Springfield land and Universal Studios Hollywood. This land had soft open a couple of weeks ago, but it's good to get the official opening. I have friends who happened to be touring California this week, who are Simpsons fans, and they said that they could happily spend a few days enjoying the Springfield. It looks really wonderful.
Opening this week at Knott's Berry Farm in California was Voyage to the Iron Reef. Long story short, Sea Monsters are attacking Knott's and it's up to us to save the day. You can see a full ride through from ThemeParkHD here, or an official exclusive look here.
Port Aventura also posted a video this week about their upcoming Ferrari Land. Screamscape have had some good analysis of the changes that have been made recently in the concept art, which is interesting. It looks like it's going to be much like it's sister park, in that it will be based around a couple of very major thrill attractions.
Now, if you want to see some cool future Theme Park technology, check out this Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality coaster experience that is under development by MACK Media (part of the MACK group, which owns Europa Park). In the video, you'll see coaster riders enjoying a rich Virtual Reality experience, while feeling the physical motion of a roller coaster. This is such a different approach to how a lot of people are going, but this could have potentially very interesting outcomes. Check it out:
20th Century Fox have possibly selected a location for their second resort (after the one currently under construction in Malaysia), with this article suggesting that they are looking to build a theme park on Yeongjong Island, Incheon in South Korea. It was known that they were looking at sites in Korea, as well as in China and Brazil for future developments. I don't mean to sound like a skeptic, but let's count the chickens before they are hatched.
Legoland Florida this week opened their new Legoland Hotel! This has been underconstruction for a little while, so it's great to see the final product. I think it looks very impressive, and I'm certainly considering it for a future vacation to Florida, if nothing else but for total convenience.
ThemeParX has shown photos of initial construction getting underway at the rumoured Warner Brother's theme park in Abu Dhabi. Not much to see so far, however. But if you want to see some real construction on ThemeParX, you should check out the Shanghai Disneyland page. Posted to that board this week is a look inside the Soarin' Over the Horizon theatre.
Star Wars Weekends has kicked off in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. The event is a showcase for the now Disney owned Star Wars franchise, which will no doubt get bigger in the coming year with the release of Episode 7. Mousesteps has some really good coverage of the event.
Dreamworld on the Gold Coast is also getting in the spirit this weekend with their annual Stormtroopers Weekend coming up this Saturday and Sunday. The event is in aid of a very important charity the Make A Wish Foundation, and Dreamworld will be donating a percentage of their profits to the Foundation, as well as collecting donations from theme park patrons. This is a great cause, and I support it fully!
The weirdest Australian theme park news this week is that Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast have announced a new event for this July called InvaSCIon. Little is known about it, but it is said to be designed to connect to the cosplay/science fiction/pop culture crowd. While we have conventions along this line in Australia, we haven't ever had a theme park trying anything similar to this. So this will be interesting to hear more about in the next couple of months.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
The big news for the coming week, is the 60th Anniversary of the opening of Disneyland. Changes for the celebration have been slowly coming online over the last couple of months (including the Hatbox Ghost mentioned last week). This week we saw a couple of great articles on Theme Park Insider outlining the new Fireworks show and the new Parade.
Theme Park Insider also posted an interesting quote which sheds a little bit more light on last week's news that Nintendo would be teaming up with Universal. There are two big takeaways from this article, which is that Nintendo wouldn't have worked with Universal without the success that Universal has had dealing with Harry Potter as an external I.P. (which in turn wouldn't have happened if J.K. Rowling hadn't heard about how well they had handled the Dr Seuss I.P. in Orlando), and also that Universal pitched to Nintendo with a very detailed proposal. This hints that pretty thorough plans had been developed for this I.P., which doesn't necessarily mean a short wait to see Nintendoland, but it does mean that Universal is happy to throw money and creative talents to get the right I.P. That's good news for everyone.
Staying with Uni, but switching coasts, this week saw the dedication of the Springfield land and Universal Studios Hollywood. This land had soft open a couple of weeks ago, but it's good to get the official opening. I have friends who happened to be touring California this week, who are Simpsons fans, and they said that they could happily spend a few days enjoying the Springfield. It looks really wonderful.
Opening this week at Knott's Berry Farm in California was Voyage to the Iron Reef. Long story short, Sea Monsters are attacking Knott's and it's up to us to save the day. You can see a full ride through from ThemeParkHD here, or an official exclusive look here.
Port Aventura also posted a video this week about their upcoming Ferrari Land. Screamscape have had some good analysis of the changes that have been made recently in the concept art, which is interesting. It looks like it's going to be much like it's sister park, in that it will be based around a couple of very major thrill attractions.
Now, if you want to see some cool future Theme Park technology, check out this Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality coaster experience that is under development by MACK Media (part of the MACK group, which owns Europa Park). In the video, you'll see coaster riders enjoying a rich Virtual Reality experience, while feeling the physical motion of a roller coaster. This is such a different approach to how a lot of people are going, but this could have potentially very interesting outcomes. Check it out:
20th Century Fox have possibly selected a location for their second resort (after the one currently under construction in Malaysia), with this article suggesting that they are looking to build a theme park on Yeongjong Island, Incheon in South Korea. It was known that they were looking at sites in Korea, as well as in China and Brazil for future developments. I don't mean to sound like a skeptic, but let's count the chickens before they are hatched.
Legoland Florida this week opened their new Legoland Hotel! This has been underconstruction for a little while, so it's great to see the final product. I think it looks very impressive, and I'm certainly considering it for a future vacation to Florida, if nothing else but for total convenience.
ThemeParX has shown photos of initial construction getting underway at the rumoured Warner Brother's theme park in Abu Dhabi. Not much to see so far, however. But if you want to see some real construction on ThemeParX, you should check out the Shanghai Disneyland page. Posted to that board this week is a look inside the Soarin' Over the Horizon theatre.
Star Wars Weekends has kicked off in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. The event is a showcase for the now Disney owned Star Wars franchise, which will no doubt get bigger in the coming year with the release of Episode 7. Mousesteps has some really good coverage of the event.
Dreamworld on the Gold Coast is also getting in the spirit this weekend with their annual Stormtroopers Weekend coming up this Saturday and Sunday. The event is in aid of a very important charity the Make A Wish Foundation, and Dreamworld will be donating a percentage of their profits to the Foundation, as well as collecting donations from theme park patrons. This is a great cause, and I support it fully!
The weirdest Australian theme park news this week is that Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast have announced a new event for this July called InvaSCIon. Little is known about it, but it is said to be designed to connect to the cosplay/science fiction/pop culture crowd. While we have conventions along this line in Australia, we haven't ever had a theme park trying anything similar to this. So this will be interesting to hear more about in the next couple of months.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 12th May 2015
I miss one week of blogging and the whole Theme Park world goes nuts!! I can't believe how much has happened in the last two weeks. Buckle up, because this going to a huge Theme Park Nut News update.
Let's start with what I think is the biggest theme park news of the year so far. This week it was announced that Universal had struck an international rights deal to bring the characters of Nintendo to their theme parks. This is a huge deal for both Nintendo and Universal. While Nintendo have proven time and again that their franchises have staying power, it comes at a time when their profits have been incredibly flat, and the world is waiting to see what is coming in their next console. For Universal it comes at a time when profits are on the up, and they finally have the money and talent to do something decent with this kind of IP. This is exactly what Universal have always needed. While they have some great IP, they have always been behind for the younger kids. I'm just saying that Popeye and Woody Woodpecker mean nothing to any kids under 45. However, Mario is the closest thing in the world to a Mickey like globally iconic character.
I have to stop myself from thinking about this, because I genuinely think that it will be tough to live up to the hype that has already been generated by this announcement. Geeks (like me) are salivating at the prospect. I must also confess that in the past I have planned out an entire Nintendo theme park, so I'm sure there is plenty of fertile ground for Universal Creative. Now, we just have to wait and see what they will do and which parks will get the updates first.
Strongest rumour I've heard is that "KidZone" at Universal Studios Orlando is on the chopping block. Time will tell.
Staying at Universal Orlando, some news that was somewhat over shadowed this week, the return of King Kong was official announced! Wait, hasn't that been announced like a million year ago? Nope, it had been leaked, re-leaked, partial confirmed, accidentally confirmed and construction is over half complete, but it had not been officially announced. So good news, that you already knew, King Kong is coming to Islands of Adventure. Long live Kong.
In Disneyland, another long rumoured return has occurred. The Hatbox Ghost has returned to Haunted Mansion. From all reports it's impressive in person, but I can't say that it is totally effective on video. Still it's nice to see a classic part of Disney folklore come back to life (so to speak).
Two big expansions were officially announced for Tokyo Disney in the last two weeks. Tokyo DisneySea is going to add an entire Frozen land, and Tokyo Disneyland is expanding it's fantasy mini-lands. Although I'm sure people are meant to be excited about Frozen, I'm much more excited about the mini-lands. They are to be themed to Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland. While Beauty and the Beast have good representation at Disney parks world wide, I feel Alice is really under used, so it's good to see it come to a Disney park. If anywhere that it is going to be done properly, it will be in Tokyo where money is (seemingly) no object.
In news that I don't care about, Universal have given a preview of the Fast & Furious attraction. I'm sure someone cares, but I don't.
Six Flags Magic Mountain have announced the opening date of Twisted Colossus, the world's longest Hybrid Coaster, to be May 23rd. I do like the trend of re-tracking old wooden coasters so they can have a second life, and I'm hopeful that Twisted Colossus could be the best yet.
In Australian park news, I was checking out Dreamworld last Tuesday (on my birthday, which is why I didn't get to posting), and I notice a fair amount of work going on around Wiggles World. I was going to mention it as a curious foot note in today's post, when low and behold Dreamworld announced that they are expanding Wiggles World and re-theming it to ABC Kids. The ABC Kids World section is expected to open in June. While the announcement is a surprise, there were swirling rumours about 2 years ago about ABC wanting to get into the theme park business. I think it a great idea. For our overseas readers, the ABC is a government owned entertainment network, that runs a special channel (sort of) entirely for children. They have been responsible for a large amount of Australian kids entertainment production, and are a very recognisable brand within the country. They will continue to be home to the Wiggles, which will still add international appeal to this area. It should be a great move by Dreamworld. Let's see what gets added to the existing area in the next few months.
The good folks at Parkz took a tour of Sea World last week, and had some great pictures of the progress of the Creatures of the Deep and the destruction of the Sea World's kid's area Beach Break Bay. Progress continues on both at break-neck speed.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 28th April 2015
Let's start off in Santa Claus, Indiana tonight, where the wonderful park Holiday World is located. This week saw Holiday World week opened Thunderbird in their Thanksgiving land. It is America's first launched Wing coaster. I must say it looks great. I must say this park has a lot going for it, and it would be much higher on my to visit list if it wasn't a little bit tricky to get to that part of Indiana from Australia. Still they are doing great work!
In Universal Orlando, they have announced that they are making the metal detectors at coaster entrances a permanent security change. There are a lot of people have been complaining about this, but to be honest I think it was kind of inevitable. I wouldn't be surprised if more parks around the world started doing this.
Staying in Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando have confirmed that they are adding a new coaster in 2016, and it sounds like it's going to be a big one!
Here is a rumour from PortAventura in Spain, the Ferrari Land second gate that is soon to be constructed, they are going to have the tallest roller coaster in the world. The rumour posted by on Screamscape says that it will be 3.3 feet taller than Kingda Ka. Small difference, but it counts!
Meanwhile in Australia, the friendly crew at Parkz have visited Sunshine Coast park Aussie World this week, and gave top marks to the new Pinafari Wacky Worm "Bug Run" for theming. I must say I agree, it's as well themed as any coaster in Australia (with exception of Superman and Scooby Doo). Kudos to Aussie World on doing such a great job! Take note bigger parks!
On the forums at Parkz this week, one user Rachel uploaded a couple of videos of Australia's Wonderland, the former park based in Sydney which closed down eleven years ago. I only went there once, but I do have a couple of memories from the park. It is sad that it isn't still around.
Over at Sea World, the new kids area is under construction in earnest. As with the Sea Viper, they aren't mucking around either. Things are well underway with Creatures of the Deep as well, so it's definitely all action as Sea World this year!
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
In Universal Orlando, they have announced that they are making the metal detectors at coaster entrances a permanent security change. There are a lot of people have been complaining about this, but to be honest I think it was kind of inevitable. I wouldn't be surprised if more parks around the world started doing this.
Staying in Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando have confirmed that they are adding a new coaster in 2016, and it sounds like it's going to be a big one!
Here is a rumour from PortAventura in Spain, the Ferrari Land second gate that is soon to be constructed, they are going to have the tallest roller coaster in the world. The rumour posted by on Screamscape says that it will be 3.3 feet taller than Kingda Ka. Small difference, but it counts!
Meanwhile in Australia, the friendly crew at Parkz have visited Sunshine Coast park Aussie World this week, and gave top marks to the new Pinafari Wacky Worm "Bug Run" for theming. I must say I agree, it's as well themed as any coaster in Australia (with exception of Superman and Scooby Doo). Kudos to Aussie World on doing such a great job! Take note bigger parks!
On the forums at Parkz this week, one user Rachel uploaded a couple of videos of Australia's Wonderland, the former park based in Sydney which closed down eleven years ago. I only went there once, but I do have a couple of memories from the park. It is sad that it isn't still around.
Over at Sea World, the new kids area is under construction in earnest. As with the Sea Viper, they aren't mucking around either. Things are well underway with Creatures of the Deep as well, so it's definitely all action as Sea World this year!
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 21st April 2015
Sudden Sea World (Australia) news leads this week leads our News Update.
With a relatively short statement on their website, Sea World have announced a major re-theme of the kids zone area in the centre of the park as soon as the school holidays ended (yesterday). It now reads:
"Beach Break Bay is currently closed to make way for a brand new kid’s area opening later in 2015. The expanded multimillion dollar precinct will feature Sea World’s first ever mini rollercoaster plus an array of kid-sized rides. The fun filled zone will replace the current kid’s area and will include four brand new rides plus some of your favourites like the iconic carousel. Please check this page again for an official opening date."
It's good news, they are adding a mini coaster! So, why not shout it from the rooftops? Well it could be because closing Beach Break Bay cuts out a huge slice of the park, and leaves it very very low on attractions for the younger kids (which Sea World counts on). They are already speculating on Parkz forums, but I must say it's taken a few of us by surprise. Well done Sea World!
If you are interested in the big Parkz story from last week, where one enthusiast/idiot broke into the SBNO Eureka Mine Ride, they have split it into it's own thread. Parkz have taken the images down, but also been somewhat protective of their user's information. Kudos to them for treading a very fine line in an elegant way.
At the US SeaWorld (no affiliation) a new Sea Lion show has opened to positive reviews. It has been a difficult few years for this chain of parks without question, so I'm kind of glad to see some straight out theme park news from SeaWorld.
Over at Disneyland Resort, permits have finally be filed for Luigi's Festival of the Dance. The replacement for Luigi's Flying Tyres. There doesn't appear to be any major surprises here, but it's good to see some movement on the project.
If you are a nerd like me, the biggest news of the week was the second Star Wars Teaser Trailer dropping, and boy was it a big one. It even added $2 Billion to Disney's share price, if only temporarily. Theme Park Insider thought it was a good time to see, whether it's readers thought that Disney should be focusing on building for Star Wars or Marvel. Overwhelming the response was Star Wars, and I couldn't agree more!
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 14th April 2015
We start this week on a sad note. On Sunday there was a fatality at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando. This has never been my favorite attraction, but it is sad to hear of deaths in anyway connected to theme parks. Ironically the attraction itself was due to close in a couple of months anyway, to make way for transportation improvements (i.e. a car park). While there is inherent risk in all avenues of life, and especially racing fast cars, it is still never nice to hear such sad news.
In other WDW news this week, the Boathouse Restaurant opened at Downtown Disney Springs. One of the major new restaurants being added as part of the Disney Springs makeover, sounds like it will be incredibly popular with the Florida set. I do love the amphibious cars, I can't deny.
On the other coast, Disneyland finally announced some of the improvements as part of the anniversary celebrations. We are getting enhancements to Peter Pan, the Matterhorn and Haunted Mansion. It was great to see some light hard fun being poked at improving a DL Yeti when the WDW Yeti has been crying for a fix for years. I am intrigued by the return of the Hatbox ghost, who knows what that will be like, but they are certainly building it up.
In Singapore, Universal Studios at Resort World Sentosa has opened up a pretty cute looking Puss In Boots coaster in the land of Far, Far Away. For Australians in the crowd, this is like Dreamworld's Escape from Madagascar on steroids with themeing. So, safe to say it would be awesome.
Staying with Dreamworld for a second, they are celebrating the Easter school holidays at the moment by having animal shows in the centre of the park called "Wild World". It's nice to see them putting on a bit of an event.
They have however had something of a security issue today, where a Parkz Forum member has broken into the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride (which is rumoured to be reopening someday) and worked the entire track. As much as I am interested in the pictures. It is not cool to break into secure areas of theme parks. I've been known to peak through fences, but I would never enter an area like that uninvited. Totally unacceptable. I suspect that he will get life bans from Dreamworld, if they can find out who he is. To be honest, they can probably press charges against him for trespass. It might be worth it to make a statement. Imagine the Health and Safety liability issues for parks if people are going to ignore signs and break into restricted areas. Madness!
Over at Movie World a huge event is going on at the moment, Carnivale! If you follow me on twitter, you probably saw me complaining about my cousin who went along to last sundays event and had an absolutely ball (as facebook tells me). It is truly becoming a great event, with some Parkz forum members even saying they now prefer this event to the White Christmas and Fright Night events.
Movie World is also hosting a massive World Record attempt this Saturday. It is part of an attempt to get the most people in the world dressed as DC Comics Super Heroes. It would be pretty exciting I imagine. You have to register to be involved so check out the link above for details!
Sea World is continuing work on the Creatures of the Deep exhibit. For most things to do with Australian parks, you should check out the Parkz.com.au forums. They have the best information anywhere. Have I mentioned Parkz enough today? I think I have.
But you should occasionally check out their Facebook too, if you want to see photos of Aussie World's new Wacky Worm 'Bug Run'.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Theme Park Nut News Update - 7th April 2015
It's the first week of April, so let's start off this week an April fools prank from my home town Brisbane. The Queensland Times reported the reopening of the defunct Amazons water park on a new site in Ipswich. This is of course bogus, since that park is long dead, but there are a lot of young to middle age Queenslanders who remember Amazons with fond memories, thus being perfect prank fodder. Kudos to the Queensland Times.
In real theme park news this week, we found out that Lionsgate plan to bring the 'Hunger Games' into the Dubai theme park Motiongate, as an attraction (rumored to be a launched coaster). While it isn't unreasonable that a major movie franchise is introduced into a theme park, they certainly have their work cut out for them with a series based our children battling to the death. There is no question that the visuals of this series are suited to a themed environment, it is the tie-in with the plot of the movies that is the trouble. Sounds interesting none the less!
In Europe, one of my favorite parks Europa Park is turning 40. This week they released a video (sadly in German) showing off the attractions and additions for this anniversary year.
Coaster Chit Chat have posted some photos on Facebook from the upcoming Sally Corp dark Justice League: Battle for Metropolis at Six Flags Over Texas. While I can see some similarities to the MovieWorld Justice League ride, I can't help feeling that this will be a bigger and better attraction. Still good to see Sally Corp churning out some great attractions. Can't wait for the first full ride videos.
Sad and disturbing news from Universal Studios Hollywood this week, where a shooting suicide took place in the park. Reportedly the shooter's former girlfriend worked at the park, and reported him to security before he took his own life. This is a sad thing, which will no doubt have ramifications for the security at all Theme Parks across the U.S. It will have no effect on U.S. gun laws of course, which as an Australian seems crazy. I agree with Jim Jefferies.
I can't pretend for Australia doesn't have it's fair share of idiots. For instance, let's have a look at the 5 injured riders of the Super slide at the Easter show that received extensive injuries this week. They were riding this after the show had closed, and in the rain. The ride had been closed during the previous days because of the wet weather.
In Australian theme parks this week, Carnivale opened at Movieworld on the Gold Coast. You can check out MovieWorld's Twitter for more highlights but it looks like they've done a great job with it again this year!
Last we reported that Aussie World has opened Bug Run and Professor Bogglesworth's Illusionarium just in time for the Easter school holidays. And this week we have a cool little video of the opening of the latter attraction. Tacky but entertaining, great job Aussie World.
Dreamworld have had some rough news this week. The news is that a former park employee is suing the park claiming to have sustained a wrist injury while securing harnesses on the Tower of Terror. The claimant is suing for $290K which is still enough money for Dreamworld to have to fight the claim, which means even more money taken away from this park. I'm not blaming the victim, as I don't want to see anyone injured in the work place. She has every right to test whether Dreamworld's processes are lawful, it is just sad that it has come to this.
The good news this week for the Coomera area is that Exit 54 off the Highway has been officially green lit. This will be great for the Coomera Town Centre which is being build over the next few years. The development of this corridor around Dreamworld and MovieWorld can only be good news for the park, and this definitely looks like this is going to happen which is great news.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
In real theme park news this week, we found out that Lionsgate plan to bring the 'Hunger Games' into the Dubai theme park Motiongate, as an attraction (rumored to be a launched coaster). While it isn't unreasonable that a major movie franchise is introduced into a theme park, they certainly have their work cut out for them with a series based our children battling to the death. There is no question that the visuals of this series are suited to a themed environment, it is the tie-in with the plot of the movies that is the trouble. Sounds interesting none the less!
In Europe, one of my favorite parks Europa Park is turning 40. This week they released a video (sadly in German) showing off the attractions and additions for this anniversary year.
Coaster Chit Chat have posted some photos on Facebook from the upcoming Sally Corp dark Justice League: Battle for Metropolis at Six Flags Over Texas. While I can see some similarities to the MovieWorld Justice League ride, I can't help feeling that this will be a bigger and better attraction. Still good to see Sally Corp churning out some great attractions. Can't wait for the first full ride videos.
Sad and disturbing news from Universal Studios Hollywood this week, where a shooting suicide took place in the park. Reportedly the shooter's former girlfriend worked at the park, and reported him to security before he took his own life. This is a sad thing, which will no doubt have ramifications for the security at all Theme Parks across the U.S. It will have no effect on U.S. gun laws of course, which as an Australian seems crazy. I agree with Jim Jefferies.
I can't pretend for Australia doesn't have it's fair share of idiots. For instance, let's have a look at the 5 injured riders of the Super slide at the Easter show that received extensive injuries this week. They were riding this after the show had closed, and in the rain. The ride had been closed during the previous days because of the wet weather.
In Australian theme parks this week, Carnivale opened at Movieworld on the Gold Coast. You can check out MovieWorld's Twitter for more highlights but it looks like they've done a great job with it again this year!
Last we reported that Aussie World has opened Bug Run and Professor Bogglesworth's Illusionarium just in time for the Easter school holidays. And this week we have a cool little video of the opening of the latter attraction. Tacky but entertaining, great job Aussie World.
Dreamworld have had some rough news this week. The news is that a former park employee is suing the park claiming to have sustained a wrist injury while securing harnesses on the Tower of Terror. The claimant is suing for $290K which is still enough money for Dreamworld to have to fight the claim, which means even more money taken away from this park. I'm not blaming the victim, as I don't want to see anyone injured in the work place. She has every right to test whether Dreamworld's processes are lawful, it is just sad that it has come to this.
The good news this week for the Coomera area is that Exit 54 off the Highway has been officially green lit. This will be great for the Coomera Town Centre which is being build over the next few years. The development of this corridor around Dreamworld and MovieWorld can only be good news for the park, and this definitely looks like this is going to happen which is great news.
For more Theme Park coverage, follow me on Twitter @themeparknut. Until next week, Cheers!
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