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2/11/2015

Seaworld, Australia

It’s been nearly a whole year since I’ve done a blog post, and what an amazing and quick year it has been. I’ve been given many great opportunities in bettering myself and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it! Seeing the amazing work at Seaworld today I couldn’t resist putting up a few shots of the new Nickelodeon Land, home to Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob Squarepants and the ever amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

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This blog is currently closed down for human work maintenance

As of this Thursday I will be officially working for a theme park, an inner desire I think everyone has at one point. As such I will not be posting anything in regards to reviews of any theme parks to be fair and unbiased.

This isn't the end of this creation of this blog.

I am leaving up what I have done previous, and possibly, to keep this blog active, I will post only public knowledge of new things happening.

But I will not be posting anything related to any theme parks that are not for public knowledge or have not come out yet etc.

Thanks for joining me on this brief but fun rollercoaster of a blog. I will be back, -but when is unknown.

Have fun, Ride those thrill rides and keep a lookout for future posts from me,

-TheAussieParkReporter

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Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios Singapore - Bigbearsg

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Universal Studios: Singapore Edition - Revenge of The Mummy Ride

Yes I've actually been outside the great land of Aus' and have traversed to gorgeous Singapore and its very own Universal Studios.

Universal Studio's Intro music

Two of my very best friends that put up with me and like Shrek.

Today's post though is about one of Universal Studio Singapore's big attractions, which is the highly addictive and thrilling ride called Revenge of The Mummy.

Ah good times.

It doesn't help that The Mummy films are some of my favourite movies to date. The movies being charming, funny and classic in my eyes, I therefore saw the opportunity to go on a ride based off of the franchise as among many of my bucket list of thrill rides I had to achieve.

And achieve I damn well did.

You cannot talk about this ride though without commenting on the amazing decor inside and out and around the ride. The dark ride is housed in a building made to look like a tomb/temple entrance, with big statues of Anubis, God of the Dead everywhere you look. The queue line is inside and is a bit of a walk to get through where the carriages are if you go in off-peak season and it feels nearly no one is at the park. We ended up waiting approximately 5 minutes maximum for any one time we went on this ride.

In any case the whole area inside and out is expertly designed to create a hyperealistic representation that you do feel that, if not for the queue rails etc, that you are actually in the film's Egyptian environment somewhere. 

Even if it is raining outside.

Unfortunately I have no footage or imagery of the inside queue line myself as this ride requires you to have a locker for any loose items, so you'll have to take my word for it's fantastic hyperrealism attempt, discover it for yourself or dwelve into google images. I do though have a few outside images.

(I've linked a Youtube video after this post that has footage.)

Main entrance corridor.

Feeling short at the entrance to the ride.

Now for the actual ride experience!

It is a great thrill ride and it really had to be. There are two other The Mummy theme based rides similar to this in other Universal Studios (Hollywood and Florida) that were created before this one so it had a lot to live up to and also to maintain in excellence. Supposedly the Florida version is very similar to Singapores but as I've never been to Florida's Universal Studios, let alone Florida I don't know how similar.

Like myself, Lucy is fond of rides and not afraid to give many if not every thrill ride a go. Lydia as previously mentioned in other posts is not a fan of rides at all and was tentative about this one and at the last moment decided to give it a miss the first time around.

The area and dark ride was built in early 2010 (manufactured by Premier Rides and designed by Universal Creative), is 670 metres long and goes an average 64 kilometres per hour. The ride goes along a small story line of finding the Book of the Living and vanquishing Imhotep back to whence he came, whilst getting your fair share of flesh eating scarab beetles. 

Managing to convince Lydia to have a turn on the ride after a couple goes without her eventually was great, as whilst a nervous rider both she along with Lucy and I enjoyed ourselves immensely each time we went on once again repeatedly due to no waiting.

If you do have a friend that really, really just wants to hang out the front and hold the bags they might get the chance to see the adventurous and charming Rick O'Connell like I did or get some snaps with a few other face characters.

My newest awkward photo is now out there.

Singapore's Universal Studios is one that I highly suggest people go to, to experience themselves, and this is just one post from this particular park, but there will be more to come!

Watch out for the scarab beetles thrill seekers! 

- TheAussieParkReporter

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Fast Forward GoPro POV Footage of The Wild West Falls Adventure Ride @ Movie World on the Gold Coast

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Thrill Ride Thursdays: Wild West Adventure Falls

Near the Wild West Falls there are scenic views as far as the walls can see.

In Australia on the Gold Coast it's still Spring but Summer is already roaring it's blistering heat ray gun so let's talk about a water ride.

I'll just say that yes I did hit upon The Wild West Falls from a later post about the School Holidays with Hope, but I think I need to give this ride a bit more justice than a complaint about school holiday waiting times.

The Wild West Falls is one of Movie World's longest rides both in time and track due to the scenic tour you take before the big splash at the end. This particular flume ride has been running since December 1998, built by the company Hopkins Ride. 

So much scene.

It has had an interesting history, particularly in regards to names. Originally it was going to be named Rio Bravo clearly after Rio Bravo, but then along came Will Smith and his Wild Wild West movie crew and that got blown out of the water. The name game didn't end there either, as legal disputes made the name change once more to officially forever be Wild West Adventure Falls via myfun.com.au and Wild West Falls: Adventure Ride by old signage.

Caw Caw (Image by Dave Keeshan via Flickr)

It does have a near replica flume ride built after it at Parque Warner Madrid, which does call itself ironically Rio Bravo (built by Intamin in 2002). I've watched a POV of the Rio Bravo and apart from a couple things that we have and they don't, vice versa it's pretty much the same ride.

It's had its various ups and downs like any other ride. Part of the mountain peak got lopped off by accident before it officially opened so that had to be fixed, and years ago there was a small fire after hours on the peak that put it out of commission for a few weeks. It's still standing though, strong and completely drenching it's passengers in 2014.

Viewing spot of the drop for spectators.

A nice fine high spray, just in case you didn't get wet at the dip and dunk.

There are better times during the day for this ride, particularly in the morning as everyone heads towards the roller coasters, kid's rides etc based at the front of the park. If you don't mind getting wet straight away go straight for it, as the afternoons and midday it will start to get a line going, especially if it's summer and it is hot (or if it has been raining). Thankfully though you'll find that the waiting line is all undercover how ever the weather goes, and on off peak there's hardly a wait at all.

I've searched for some stats on the drop and on a few websites (one from wikipedia, I know bad research) has said that;

Riders can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) as they descend the 20-metre (66 ft) drop.

Not bad for escaping a mine supposedly blowing up.

Even if your male friend ducks at the front they are still going to get wet.

If you are worried about this swift drop don't be (or do). The ride is as safe as houses. (Actually probably more so). I'm one of those people who throws their hands up everytime and I've never felt like I'm going to fall out at any point. The staff are also fantastic at getting you situated and ready. I mean they really have to be because the boats don't get stopped at the queue line, they just keep floating on.

'Get Wet, Go Wild' Thrill Seekers!

-TheAussieParkReporter

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The Storm Coaster POV - Sea World GC

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Storm Coaster at Seaworld on the GC (Gold Coast)

Welcome to my first Sea World GC post

Shocking I know, but I do go to other theme parks other than Movie world.

Apparently like Target Aus', Sea World GC has no real affiliation with their respective overseas counterpart. In Sea World's case though I'm sure the set up is fairly close, we just don't have orcas, we have whale watching tours instead.

You can also touch Sea World's starfish and stingrays.

This park does have it's charms and quirks but this particular theme park isn't for thrill seekers, (it really, really isn't), and with The Storm coaster being just under a year old to be honest it hasn't helped or changed matters significantly.

Loving the logo.

The Storm Coaster is a roller coaster that goes on track and in water. It's essentially really just a flume ride, but it is known offically as a 'water coaster'. Coincidently Sea World's Viking actual flume ride is just right underneath and beside.

Here there be Pirates Vikings.

The ride was built by MACK rides (A German company who also built Movie World's Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster) and was opened in December 2013 in the spot where the nostalgic Bermuda Triangle lay desolate for a good few years under supposed 'maintenance'.

You were so beautiful Bermuda Triangle. - (Image by Gavin Anderson, Flickr)

So I specifically came to Sea World to try it out for the first time. I had watched a POV video of it on YouTube the night beforehand and was already relunctant to waste my petrol on going over there after university. 

With the lure of a ride that could actually, just maybe be good I went anyway.

Also we have Polar Bears, I can never say no to Polar Bears.

Best excuse for a Polar Bear photo insert.

Let's start off on the positives.

The Theming

There's shipping containers everywhere, thanks P&O.

This is clearly where all the money went. It is executed beautifully. The outside with its few scattered boats, various overturned cars and multiple shipping containers is just a glimpse of what awaits you when you finally make your way inside the building to line up. Also if you are wondering where all the water is, this ride has alot of it in the main waiting zone, just look down. There's alot of damaged things inside, think of the aftermath of a storm near a harbour.

There's dim hanging lights swaying with the wind from all the fans and red lights flashing to create a nice emergency like atmosphere teamed up with the Storm alert horn going off every few moments.

The theming doesn't stop from the inside either. As I said before, going on the ride you can see alot of 'Storm damaged' things. When you are on the ride itself, before you head up onto the main part of the ride you can see even more upturned boats, and cars and can even see a blue coloured obsolete Queensland car rego on an overturned vehicle.

The more you know.

The waiting time for the ride was about 15-20 minutes and the staff were diligent in getting people on and off the ride in good time. There are 8 people per carriage/boat/raft(?), so big points to the team at Sea World for being efficient.

Whoever likes water raise your hands.

The Negatives

My biggest pet peeve are mandatory paid lockers ($2 AUD for just an hours rent) to get on a ride. I don't know if there are many like this overseas but Movie World and Sea World are littered with them when it comes to their big roller coasters, so if you are there all day just grab an all day locker so you can breeze past these monstrosities.

No matter how you decorate them it's a disappointing sight to see.

Ignoring the locker fiasco the ride itself seemed really promising, especially after seeing all the effort into creating a great themed ride. I was getting a tad optimistic.

It ended up being a pretty average ride.

There are a few dips in the track before the end splash zone, but they aren't anything too special. I was actually a bit worried about how drenched I would get, but I got nothing but some water on my shoulder whilst sitting at the back on the big dip and got the wettest by the 'leaking' roof just at the end of the ride. Maybe I was just lucky this time around, if I ever get completely drenched I'll update this.

The beginning and the end of the ride.

It's an interesting fact that there is signage in the waiting line warning people about what happens in the event of a 'highly unlikely' possible 'stoppage'. I'm assuming this means your carriage doesn't quite get enough momentum or something similar and you are left stuck high up in the air with people you do or do not know. So if you don't want even the remote possiblity of that happening to you then by Murphy's law don't get on the ride. You are though seat belt buckled in and have a lap bar for anyone curious about safety.

This theme park is truly about the animals, particularly its sea creatures (though it did have a few dinosaurs for awhile). So in one sense this ride not being the most amazing new roller coaster ever isn't the be all and end all. This just means you are probably coming to Australia's Sea World more for the animals rather than their newest water coaster upgrade.

And boy do we have some nice fish.

Happy fishing thrill hunters.

-The Aussie Park Reporter.

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Part Two - Fright Night Saturday

This is Part Two of the 2014 Fright Night review so no spoilers once again on what happens purposely in the mazes will be shown until Part Three when the whole Fright Nights Event 2014 ends.

Part One is HERE

As Mick Taylor’s cackling voice shuffles out the unwanted day guests with threatening undertones, many brave souls enter into the park for the 6pm start and our mate Lydia is one of these people. Costumed up, she joins us for the main night event for her first time ever as I transform into a Hufflepuff student for the evening.

The Hogwarts Fright Night tradition continues now with a Ravenclaw in the wings

The night starts off with an opening act on main street, so be sure to get as close to the front as possible to catch the ghoulish action. Once the opening act finishes and all the demonic forces force their way out and into the crowd, access to all of the mazes are then open.

Daylight picture of the stylish maps that are located throughout the park in case you find yourself lost in the dark with a zombie eating your arm.

Katie and I being repeat Fright Night offenders and Lydia not, we let her choose the first maze which ended up being Wolf Creek 2. We had gotten our fast track maze passes we pre-ordered online earlier so we went straight over. I cannot reiterate how nice it is to wait 30 seconds max to get into a maze, and implore people who do want to go to every maze it’s pretty much a must, and if you want to enjoy your evening and see the other entertainment at a nice spirited pace.

Wolf Creek 2

Yes, I really, really like Mick’s Ute (legit film used Ute), also you can see the entry conga line behind me.

We were at the back of the line, myself being the last person in the group. It was a bit crazy ridiculous that in Wolf’s Creek 2 the group let in after us somehow caught up, though pretty sure that group was speed walking out of pure terror, and as such grabbed onto my shoulders to create a longer line.

I’ll let you know, you really don’t want someone to join up on your shoulders in a horror maze. Especially when then as the new group turns the next few corners, see Mick Taylor doing his thing (no spoilers) and just as you pass, said serial murderer, have someone let go of your back and then start hitting your back in fright.

You see you have to watch out for the teenage guys, they’re usually the ones most terrified or the ones that act out alot, but usually harmlessly*.

We made it through somehow not getting lost or further pulverized by people younger than ourselves. Lydia was shaken but not stirred, scared, but not in shock, whilst Katie and I were on an adrenaline high so we went straight next door to The Evil Within.

The Evil Within

The Evil Within is just behind, as we take a break beside the Police car.

We were in the middle back for The Evil Within, and this time I had a young kid hanging onto my shoulders but I let him just grab my cloak’s long hood for ease, the poor kid was pretty short but his Dad was crazy tall. This maze is very well orchestrated and there’s one scene that will give really give you heart palpitations but I’ll talk about that in Part Three.

The Ripper 

Held in Johnson’s Livery stable it’s so unassuming during the day.

We assumed that out of the last two, Cannibal Clowns would be our downfall, also Lydia was, at the start of the night determined that she would only participate in two of the mazes, but we convinced her to join us for The Ripper. We came just at the time for a new line and I got the lead. It’s based off London and Jack the Ripper and let me say this maze was insanely well done. Up until this time we had mostly found the other mazes terrifying but enjoyable, granted we had seen them in the day time.

Don’t get me wrong this was enjoyable as well but for myself, who has no sense of maze direction, and, to quote last years leading line job where I nearly walked my line into a wall and a nearby actor because it was pitch black, I felt we were going in constant London alleyway circles. Disorientated slightly, with a serial murderer jumping out at you at nearly every opportunity that does crazy things to a person.

But we made it.

Somehow.

Cannibal Clown

We left this as the last maze because well, Clowns. All three of us took a deep breath and lined up determined to do all four mazes. Being the lead once more, this time I actually didn’t get the brunt of the scares somehow and this maze ended up being the least scary of the four for me, though Katie and Lydia probably would say otherwise.

The Side Shows + Food

There were a couple things happening throughout the night, sword acts were involved, stunt shows, demonic presences lined the streets scaring unsuspecting passersby and smoke machines were everywhere blinding you in moments. There’s also food and drink, such as the lovely Blood bag that is literally just sweet syrup and not for the non-sweet fans at all but well worth the $6 as well as Jelly Syringes and Specimen Jar desserts among other things.

Oh Doctor, Doctor.

Don’t forget to take numerous selfies with mates in main street either, because you can get some great shots because everyone wants to join in;

and you can meet some people who know some hilarious Harry Potter pick up lines;

There has been a rumor circulating that Movie World has put more time and effort into making Fright Night better than ever and it’s clearly evident, so if you can go, go! Have some fun!

Enjoy the screams this October thrill seekers!

Part Three regarding spoilers will be posted early November!

- The Aussie Park Reporter

Also just a big nice shout out to all who came over and said hello and or shouted out Harry Potter phrases to us both! We loved meeting/seeing you all and or giving a wave. It’s really nice to see Harry Potter fans are still alive and kicking! 

Kt photoing our Witch Selfie -yes we have a decent handle on technology

(Thank you Kt for once again helping compile all these images together with me!)

*Joking but that teen was really freaked out, like no one’s business

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Mick Taylor - Wolf Creek @ Fright Night opening end part.

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And so it begins. Part One - BEHIND THE SCREAMS TOUR

No spoilers for the mazes etc will be posted until the end of all Fright Nights of October in a new post. Only unidentifiable images and vague explanations because you have to come experience it yourself! 

Now meet the Fright Nights Saturday Team

Kt

Katie is a damsel that is not in distress, proving this point once again with this year being her second round of Fright Night. Katie is an amazing fellow fan of theme parks, loves films and her niece to crazy adorable bits.

Fear level: 4/10 - Intimidated by horror but more than happy to participate. 

Next up is Lydia;

This regal Ravenclaw would be the first person to succeed in escaping a horror film due to her in built common sense and her deep seated fear of clearly horrific things. This will be Lydia’s first heart pumping foray to Fright Night at Movie World.

Fear Level: 7/10 - Not a fan of horror, much if at all. Thank you. 

Lastly, myself;

Apparently a Ravenclaw by J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore test but denying it, determined that she is a Hufflepuff, and a fan of getting scared out of my wits, this will be my third executive year going to Fright Night at Movie World.

Fear Level: 3/10 - Loves the thrill through out, but still get’s a bit antsy at times at the start.

We started off as a split team of 2 and 1. Katie and I have the great budgeting skills and also real want to also go to Movie World’s Behind the Screams tour, and so we did.

11am to 10pm @ Movie World attempt initiated.

We recieve our fancy lanyards, giving us the ability to go to Rick’s Cafe for brunch at 11:30am and a tour that starts at 2:30pm, with the allowance to take photos and meet with a couple maze developers.

All you can eat Buffet with Bat bread. I can feel the 1960s Bat approval, and it is glorious.

The tour itself begins 'front of house' (inside the park), our tour guide Crystal meeting us in front of Rick's Cafe. It's a small group of 9 and Crystal takes us around main street, pointing out little facts that the average park goer would not notice or realise with a few photo ops put in.

The moment before I get the priviledge to do a Marilyn Monroe skirt moment for the group.

We continue through the park and then head to the two mazes that are behind the locked gates in two of the studios, Wolf Creek 2 and the Evil Within. There are no cameras allowed until we get to the maze entries due to it being a working studio area.

I've become a bit of a fan of the Wolf Creek movies so getting to go through the maze, take photo ops everywhere inside and getting a background understanding was making my inner fan gush. A lot of the props used in the Wolf Creek 2 maze are actual props used from the film and Mick Taylor's ute from the films sits out the front of the Maze like a beast.

It looks even more intimidating at night with the light's on blinding the waiting lines.

As I've specified at the start of this particular post, I won't be going into depth of either of the mazes and only posting not easily identifiable pictures as this tour and the Fright Nights continue until the end of October and I'm not going to spoil it for those coming over to walk through them, in daylight or night.

If you have a friend who is scared out of their wits or you are curious about how the mazes are developed etc, the Behind the Scenes Tour is a great experience, because it can put you or your friend's mind at ease for the night maze experience and you can learn more about the back stage workings.

Watch out, Mick Taylor could be anywhere.

The Evil Within maze is right opposite Wolf Creek 2 in the studio lot, the waiting lines are mirrored with a police car opposite Mick's Ute on the other side, and inbetween the cars 'Black Betty'. A black amalgamation of a car/truck and top notch sound system so you can't hear the screams during the night as you wait.

The only friendly reminder that The Evil Within hasn't even come out yet.

For those worried that there are some major spoilers in The Evil Within maze it only focuses on a couple chapters of the game. As a person not interested in the game unlike my older brother who will most likely grab this game as soon as it comes out this will be a bit of a relief. Though there is this one bit that...-oh god. Amazingly well done and scary as heck, like you would not believe, especially when I saw it through the night run through.

Gotta love mazes.

We also got a chance to meet with Charlie and Steve, two other people who have worked in and around to make the mazes as amazing as possible (sorry, not sorry). As well as a character in full regalia who the majority of the group all assumed was an animatronic til' he spoke (You really had to be there).

The Behind the Screams tour overall was fantastic and one I'm fairly confident I'll be participating in again if they continue to do it next year.

Stay spooky theme park fans!

Part Two, about the actual Fright Night event is coming to this blog very soon.

(A BIG thank you to Katie for helping me gather as many photos as possible!)

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Will Smith Wild Wild West Song Also a constant played video at Wild West Falls, Movie World, Gold Coast, Australia

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School Holidays @ Movie World or The Great Wild West Falls Wait of September 2014

So we've just past the second Monday of the school holidays in Queensland, and this is no doubt probably not the best time to come from overseas to enjoy Australia's sunshine state theme parks. As like any other theme park in the world the holidays are usually fraught with families with kids and or groups of teenagers of all ages being let off to wander, and a lot of them end up at a theme park at least once.

I had the grand experience, along with my good friend Hope to see how Movie World deals with this surplus of people into their park during holidays and I must say I was particularly impressed this Thursday just past.

(Whilst that Cap' America backpack is amazing Movie World is a DC centered park, sorry Marvel fans)

Hope, a good friend of mine and I wandered into Movie World a bit late, about 11am though there were still many people being herded in from when the park opened up at 10am. We didn't realise that our best laid plans to hang out was set smack bang in the middle of a school holiday season until we were heading there in the car, but we went in and grabbed ourselves a locker located further in the park ($10* for whole day) anyway.

To be clear Hope is one of my 'I'm up for nearly anything' adrenaline ride junkie friends so we headed straight for the Superman Escape (which you can see its first arch in the above image). This ride is unfortunately notorious for its maintenance issues, breakdowns and horrendous wait times so we were ready to stand there for the usual 50-60 minutes with possible ride closure mid-wait due to something or other. Shocked, we waited an approximately rather quick 25-30 minutes, where the employees were the quickest and most efficient as they'd ever been.

This wasn't a freak incident either as we headed straight over to the Green Lantern Coaster and were able to jump on it after a rather quick 20 minutes approx' wait time. 

Sadly it's in these moments of 'who needs a fast pass** these waiting times are fantastic' that our line streak ended, after a short wait time at the Justice League and Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster with our downfall at the infamous Wild West Falls. 

We should've clued in on the demographic by looking at main street.

The Wild West Falls is a popular ride that pretty much everyone can have a go on. It has just had under a good months renovation maintenance previous for the school holiday rush, and when we arrived at it's entrance it displayed an approximate wait time of 60 minutes.

That's nothing, we uttered, it'll be quick, we believed.

It wasn't. 

I also never thought I would dread Will Smith's Wild West music video ever.

So sorry Will, I've failed you.

Having only ever to wait for this ride before for a max 15 minutes, this line felt never ending. I lost Hope for a moment as she admitted defeat and sat on the ground, back against the 'western' wooden wall in the line to stop the foot ache half way. All whilst Will Smith's Wild West music video played on repeat between a Warner Brother's Classic West movie compilation sequence. But we made it.

Getting through that line was worth it and it always will be, especially on really hot days. It is one of Movie World’s longer rides compared to the roller coasters. The maintenance that the ride went through seems to be mostly in the scheme of things a safety issue rather than cosmetic, and as I’ve never had to wait for the Wild West Falls where the TV’s that are in the waiting line are, they may actually be new. So if they are new that’s a fantastic upgrade for long waits, though more variety on screen is desperately needed to quell the masses boredom for 60+ minutes.

All in all it was actually not as bad as it could've been. Other holiday periods that are less spread out are most likely worse, but you will not know until you get there. My best advice still, especially if you are from overseas and want to do as much as possible at the parks, is to plan around all holidays or you may be paying extra for a fast pass on the day and that can put a dent in your pocket linings.

You've been warned thrill seekers!

- The Aussie Park Reporter

*Australian Currency

**You can skip the lines for a nice fee

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Dreamworld - Gold Rush Opening Ad

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Missing Ride Monday - The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride

If there was ever a ride I hate the thought of no longer existing it's the officially named Eureka Mountain Mine Ride, usually just referred to as the mine cart ride. This was based in the Gold Rush section of Dreamworld, a section that at the time of it's inception (1986), was really well themed.

Nothing says join us at Dreamworld more than this gentleman.

I was a kid in the past (no kidding), terrified of fast and seemingly dangerous looking rides until about my early to mid teens, (yet look at me now, Dad). This ride though was my saving grace in primary school, long before I overcome my 'safety first and adrenaline is bad' + fear. I actually went on it at my older brothers behest but it was worth it, and every single time after, which reached up to alot.

Evacuate quickly, there's a mad man in the cart.

Let me explain a bit about this particular mine cart ride that really did give you that 'everything is rickety and going to fall apart' feeling.

It came out right at the beginning of the Gold Rush Country, along with the still continuing River Rapids ride. Considered a 'wild mouse roller coaster' (built by then Australian company Hyfab) it was originally a two person per cart, cart system that ended up upgrading to fitting four people to a cart.

The ride's title does speak for itself, but it had this underlying charm to it, with it's neck jerking turns and two second moments out in the sun on a bend that on some rides felt like the cart would topple out and into the water below. Even my Mother went on it once and that's really big news.

My one distinct memory was the miner that was behind this mesh steel jail like piece. I can't remember if he moved whenever I went on, towards the end of the ride's closing down, but I do think he cackled or said something, it was mainly the sharp turns before and after that were fantastic.

The ride was shut initially I believe for 'maintenance' but then never reopened and it's remnants have been sitting at Dream World still to this day. I think one of the major reasons were safety concerns which is a shame.

Unfortunately, and this is truly depressing, I have yet to find any rider POV footage of the ride online. I will put up a post of the Gold Rush classic ad though, as it has a couple snap shots of the ride and the ad is so Australia 80/90s styled it's just too gorgeous not to post.

Stay Gold fellow Thrill Seekers.

- TAPR

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Fright Night October

For those of you who decide that it's an excellent idea to forego your own respective theme park horror filled nights for one of Australia's own then October is really the only time to do it for one main obvious reason;

It's Fright Night at Movie World month.

This years Fright Night is happening on each Friday and Saturday of October 2014. The earlier times of the month being the $29.99** purchase variety. There's a little fright on the 11th by the price of entry jumping to $39.99**, and then soaring to a heart stopping $49.99** by Oct 31st.

For these varied park entry prices you get access to the park from 6pm to 11pm only due to their normal hour trading and then pre-hour final set ups.

So what can you expect from this years round of horror? 

Four new mazes.

Themed food and beverages (blood bags anyone?)

Live entertainment. (This most likely will feature various undead and everything demonic under the sun.)

Other good things to note is hopefully their continuing re-use of the fog machines throughout the park, as this sets the mood perfectly when a mad man appears out of nowhere. Let's not also forget their use of perfect halloween characters like Beetlejuice, Shaun of the Dead and even Sweeney Todd etc that wander the darkened streets and pathways.

My friend Kt was invited for a shave.

If not you at least have the great opportunity to hop on the Arkham Asylum, Green Lantern coaster, Superman Escape and Batwing spaceshot from 6pm-9pm, and if you want a bit of light hearted childhood scare run down to the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster that stays open with all the other Fright Night attractons operating until 10:30pm.*

As you've probably guessed by my fog machine and character remark I've been to Movie World's Fright Night in previous years, twice in fact. Both times I've been a Harry Potter dork and donned my Hufflepuff tie.

Dork with No Regrets 2012

I'll most likely be wearing it again this year too, but with my cloak in some vain attempt at creating for myself a Fright Night Tradition. You too can also choose to wear a costume or douse yourself in fake blood but there are some rules, particularly about the face. Essentially no face masks and only light make up etc due to safety and facial recognition (fair enough). Leave the face masks etc to the people that are raised from the dead to chase you around the park etc. (Also if you're unsure about anything you are going to wear, double check Movie World's policy on their website.)

The MAZES Kate, The Mazes. What about the terrifying MAZES.

Fear not! Or do, as they have been annouced as 'The Ripper', 'Cannibal Clowns', 'Wolf Creek 2' and 'The Evil Within' mazes respectively. Considering last years maze ideas of what felt pretty much as "zombies, zombies everywhere, lets all have a brain" this sounds like a high scream adventure into your worst nightmares (yes plural).

I've been lucky enough to purchase the $49.99** 'Behind the Screams Tour' with my good frend Kt the same day as my foray into the night this year, a tour I've never had the fortune to participate in before. There is one other tour called the 'Ultimate Terror Tour' for $149.99**. For more information check here or head to the Fright Nights official webpage here.

I'll be doing a follow up post on my own Fright Night day early October but feel free to send me your own spooky shots to my twitter @TAParkReporter, or my official website located here and I might do a collage.

Have a Frightening Night guys!

Remember that these tickets for Fright Night and the seperate Tours don't include entry into the park during normal hours and the Tours must be bought in tandem with an entry ticket or good luck trying to get in.

For more upcoming Fright Night info check in at the official page here. Tickets are limited per night so get in quick.

*All details are straight from the Movie World Fright Nights Official Website regarding times and rules as of 20/9/2014

**All money is in Australian currency

[taprkb]

Welcome theme park enthusiasts and the like

Thanks for visiting my page, I've only just started but I'm hoping this will tide me over before I feel that intuitive need to revisit some of Australia's most famous Theme Parks on the Gold Coast. (Who am I kidding, next Thursday people.)

This whole creation of mine is to inform those visiting Australia what they can do at the GC parks, what they've missed out on (Flash backs), a couple interesting facts and for people wanting to interact, teasing me over all your amazing Harry Potter, Universal and Disney parks etc.

So, ignore any safety website requirements and strap yourself in because this ride will stop and start sporadically.

Fun Fact: Yes I am a fan of the Bat