Blake Newton

Sometime last year, the Corkscrew at Sea World underwent a paint job that changed the colour of the track to a bright, vibrant orange. There were no explanations given for it until much later, when it was revealed that they would be introducing new trains and a new name for the ride.

Before the information was released, I wrote a blog entry about how the new paint job would take away from the ride's nostalgic factor, but with the release of the new name and train, all I can say is that I ended up feeling like (and probably also looking like) a total jackass from that last blog entry, despite what I think were well-justified claims at the time.

Sea Viper is essentially the Corkscrew brought into the 21st century with a flashy new logo and fantastic new trains. And speaking of the trains, they are simply awesome: simplistic, stylish, very comfortable and incredibly roomy. The trains also give off a vibe that they were designed to be as light and aerodynamic as possible, completely ditching the old fibreglass shells to give it a sleek, raw look.

The horse collar restraints have been redesigned to allow a lot more freedom for the limbs and a greater peripheral view. However, it seemed odd they have placed some nylon mesh nets on the outside of the trains that go over your shoulder. Be aware that if your head does exceed the height of the restraints like mine does, the restraint is a perfect shape for your neck to slam into.

Still, I feel that Sea World missed out on a great chance to optimise the throughput of the ride by introducing a second train as I am sure the track has enough block sections to run two. Nonetheless, the lines still move along quite fast due to the short duration of the ride.

The ride itself is just as smooth and fun as it always was, if not smoother, due to the new trains. The widened view also really enhances the several near misses encountered during the ride and makes them just that little bit more convincing.

Overall, Sea Viper is a great enhancement of an old ride, even though it didn't really need it to begin with. Let's hope that this becomes a trend within Sea World and carries over to Bermuda Triangle -- lights on in the missile room, LED strings represent the lava and NO radio talkback? What a letdown!

Photo: Sea World

I just turned 18 this year, which lends to the fact that I haven't been to many big New Year's Eve celebration events. However, this only increased my enthusiasm when I was asked to represent the website at the NYE Amped Rock 'n' Rides Party at Dreamworld.

I'll just say right off the bat that I had a fantastic time, even though I don't have much to write about it. The event was a lot like Screamworld in that it's Dreamworld open after hours, although the rides stayed open much later than usual. I was surprised that they kept all the rides open until midnight, which was great as I managed to sneak in some quick rides before the countdown.

Dreamworld also set up a small stage in front of The Claw where several bands played until the end of the night. Being a longtime fan of Regurgitator, I had to see them play live and get a picture with them, making it one of the highlights of my night.

The attendance was kept pleasantly balanced as it was an 18+ only event. It wasn't overcrowded or too quiet. The queue times for rides were reasonable and you didn't have to fight your way through the crowd to get from one side of the park to the other.

Dreamworld outdid themselves with the security for this event as well. It was good to see that the park had guards stationed in major spots in the area. Not only that, everyone was there just to have a good time and not kick up a fuss, which was another plus to the night. Too many times I have seen scuffles break out at Surfers Paradise and there's no bigger turnoff to a good night out than that.

So, was it worth going to this event for New Year's Eve? Heck yes. $80 for five hours at the park after hours, with licensed venues, live bands and with peace of mind that you're in safe environment is a pretty good deal. I highly recommend you book your tickets for this year's New Year's Eve party as soon as they become available.

Photo: Dreamworld

Not long ago it was reported that the beloved Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Europe would be removed early this September. When I read that this nostalgic structure would be cleared to make way for a new attraction,  one word immediately sprung to mind; bugger. Big Bad Wolf was a roller coaster at the very top of my to-ride list if I ever had the time to visit the United States. The theme park world is truly going to lose one of its best, and it's a shame that many enthusiasts who live abroad, like myself, will never get to ride it. This event in the coaster industry has led me to think of the other greats from the past that I have missed out on, which I will never get a chance to ride on.

I remember about 10 years ago when my dad came back from a business trip in Miami and brought back some maps and brochures for theme parks like Busch Gardens, Universal Studios and of course Disney World. Looking at the Universal Studios map, I was blown away by all the awesome attractions, but the one that caught my eye the most was "Back to the Future: The Ride". Now my best bet to ever get a chance to truly ride it instead of watching a POV video on YouTube is to go to Japan. The huge downside is that it would probably be in Japanese. I guess there wasn't really anything that I could do to actually get a chance to ride it before it was removed from both Hollywood and Orlando's Universal Studios, but it would have been a great experience. I'm happy that it was replaced with a fantastic ride which pays homage to its predecessor in a very humorous way.

My next story takes place at Movie World in 1997. I was six years old and easily intimidated by certain dark rides like the old Gremlins and the original Batman ride. Still, I went on the Gremlins ride and nearly crapped myself on it. For that reason I didn't go on what was the original Batman ride and I completely regret not doing so. Since then I've had to cure my curiosity with a crappy quality video of the ride on YouTube... In German (now I wish I had taken German seriously in primary school...). I guess I really couldn't help it seeing as I was six years old and a total coward. However, the Tim Burton Batman movies, particularly Batman Returns, the movie which the original ride was based on remain some of my most loved memories. At least everything about the Batman ride apart from the original video remained the same.

My last story is a fairly recent one compared to the last two and more close to home, metaphorically and literally. It takes place at Dreamworld where my very first two coasters, Thunderbolt and Eureka Mountain have now been removed for White Water World and well... nothing. The Thunderbolt, despite being rough as hell and having banking that could be compared to a Wild Mouse coaster, remains as one of my all-time favourite coasters, even to this day. The very same applies to Eureka Mountain (which is coincidentally a Wild Mouse coaster). These were milestones in spawning my love for coasters and a significant piece of my childhood, which are now gone. And because of that I would at least like to see them be replaced by something worthwhile instead of storage space for the park...

These are just a few memories of mine concerning rides that have been removed from their respective parks. I'm sure I am not alone in losing a piece of my childhood or a plain awesome ride at a local theme park, but after all, they ARE machines are have to be replaced some time or the other, for better or worse. If you have any stories to share about a lost ride, please do post them in the comment box below.

P.S. I'd really appreciate if anyone could fix me up with a good POV of the original Batman Ride, Thunderbolt or even Eureka Mountain. I have yet to find a decent one for each of them.

Photo: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

If you visit this site often, you may have noticed a report about the new colour scheme for Sea World's roller coaster, Corkscrew. When I first saw the pictures for it, my first impression was that it looked pretty good, but soon after I realised the validity of Sea World giving Corkscrew a new colour scheme, which is none. In fact, in ways they really have taken something away from this awesome coaster just by changing the colour and adding seatbelts to the trains. Let me explain.

Orange is one of my favourite colours and it works well with white, but it is the last colour I think of when I think of Sea World. I mean, Sea World's colours are blue and white, which is pretty basic, but it's symbolic, easy to remember and it also relates to the fact that the place hosts marine life. Adding on to that, the park has even gone through the effort to use this colour scheme throughout the entire area, from the buildings and rides right down to the direction signs, and it works very well. So why did they feel the need to change this with Corkscrew? It may have looked plain and boring but everyone knew that Sea World had "The White Coaster" which supports why it was a bad idea even from a marketing/public relations standpoint. In fact, it didn't look like it actually needed the paint job too, which is quite a surprise seeing as how white would show any kind of aging the most, like what happened to Thunderbolt which was only a year older than this ride. Furthermore, because the track was white, it made the red train stand out in contrast, which is very appealing to the eye. In the picture used in the report, you can only just discern the difference in colour between the train and the track. The reason I haven't attacked the train for being red and not blue is simply because the white track/red train colour scheme is a very nostalgic one for coasters. Those two colours have been used together on coasters for ages, especially at seaside fairgrounds. Sea World simply adapted that and used it to its advantage. And that's what the Corkscrew is; it's a nostalgic ride to Sea World and the Gold Coast, and I personally feel that with this paint job they have taken a piece of that nostalgia away from the ride. The same goes with these seatbelts they have added now. I don't see the point. The horse collar restraints were fine by themselves. I just hope they didn't do a dodgy job by just zip-tying them to the restraints, ala Cyclone...

Let's face it, there is really no point to repainting or adding seatbelts to the trains. In fact, they could have put the money to better use, like fixing up Bermuda Triangle. Now that is a ride that's aging badly, and could use a nice touch up on its effects and the actual volcano itself. My wish for this ride now is that if the trains do get a new paint job or new trains as the rumour suggests, they get a colour scheme that will work with the track and not blend with it. Personally, I think a white body with an orange stripe down the sides of the train would work great with the track and would remedy some of the problems I analysed in this entry. However, the fact remains that the coaster is still awesome and that the experience from riding it will remain as great as it always was.

Photo: Zane Kingi

Humanity just loves to unify everything, from relativity theory and quantum physics right down to peanut butter and jelly. This obsession humans have with unifying things leaves no exception to movies and theme parks. No movie could be a better example than Alien vs. Predator. Now despite being panned by most critics, Alien vs. Predator is one of my favourite movies. With Aliens and the first Predator being two of my favourite movies ever, it's really a no brainer as to why I like AVP. Now another thing I love is laser tag, especially the dark indoor maze ones that you usually find at places like Timezone or Zone 3. Now when I heard that Dreamworld were going to be combining two things I love dearly into a new attraction at the park, my original reactions were mixed; how could they pull something this awesome off -- especially since the park has suffered some dilapidation in most areas, coupled with disappointing new attractions in the past couple of years. This has almost made me lose my faith in Dreamworld completely. However, after yesterday's media launch, I can safely say that they pulled it off and have created an exciting, fun and non-up-chargeable attraction.

The media launch of the attraction was really well done, giving us media folk more of an extended experience to the attraction itself rather than being something official. Upon registering our names to the Dreamworld, or in this case, Weyland Industries staff, everyone was issued an envelope along with each group leader given a rucksack filled with necessary items for our upcoming mission. After receiving orders from military personnel who wielded laser weapons and Arnold Schwarzenegger accents, we were then escorted to the attraction complete with a Hummer and an army people carrier. It was there where the CEO of Dreamworld and Lynton V. Harris would not only present the new attraction but also take part in the action with the rest of us. We were ordered to fuel ourselves with the food offered from the park and being taunted by the Schwarzy guys to “eat more bananas!” Once the taunting stopped, we were then addressed to start the mission.

When upon entering the building, the first thing I noticed about this new attraction was how they treated the movie licence. The plot and setting followed extremely close to the first AVP movie: a temple which seems to have been architecturally influenced by Egyptian, Aztec and Cambodian cultures has been discovered deep underneath Antarctica and you with a team of others must go down to investigate. The setting is complete with the drill hole down to the temple, the sacrificial chamber and even the room where the Queen Alien is help captive. Unfortunately it doesn't mean you get to battle any Aliens yourself. Instead, you battle each other by shooting at the people who have been infected with an alien spawn, which is indicated when the lights on the vest shine yellow (we played a custom game where everyone was infected and thus created a “free-for-all” type game). Your laser is also equipped with a little LCD display of your progress with a shield bar and point system. The shield bar plays an important role in this game. If it gets too low your weapon will deactivate and you will have to wait 10 seconds for it to reload in order to get back in the game. The point system in the game is simple too -- you shoot infected people, you get points and a satisfying trumpet noise comes from your laser. You don't lose any points if you get hit yourself either, although not being hit ensures you can get the highest score. Unfortunately, the first time we played the game I got left with a dud laser and so I didn't get any points and was just a moving target for 15-odd minutes. However the second time I had much better luck, coming out with the highest score and winning the game (try and beat 5,100 points). The park is still planning to add more to the experience by making the Alien Queen animatronic, along with other features. Personally, I was hoping that they would have had live actors dressed up as Aliens and Predators, and you had to defend yourself against them. But on second thought, that would only work effectively for something along the lines of the MIB ride at Universal Studios. Still, the attraction itself is a great addition to the park and provides a really unique experience to a day at Dreamworld.

So overall, my experience at the media launch was a thoroughly positive one. The magic of Dreamworld I once knew of has come back and made me forget about the somewhat mediocre years the park has suffered from recently... almost. Aliens vs. Predator vs. You is a fantastic addition to the park and easily the best addition to Dreamworld in the last three years. The fact that AVPX has adapted to the movie so well and that it provides such sheer entertainment makes it one of the most unique attractions at Dreamworld. And the updates that are to be expected for the attraction will only enhance the experience of what is already a great interactive game. I hope that the new attraction and changes in CEO will spell the dawn of a new era for Dreamworld. Now, if they just get a Eurofighter...

Photo: Ashley Irvine