Dreamworld
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Australian amusement park. For the concept of fictional universes, see imaginary world. For the fictional dream place, see Dream world (universe).
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| Location | Coomera, Queensland |
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| Website | Link |
| Owner | Macquarie Leisure Trust Group |
| Opened | November 15, 1981 |
| Operating season | All year round |
| Area | 85 hectares / 210 acres |
| Rides | 24 total
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| Slogan | So many worlds in one |
Dreamworld is a theme park situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It is currently Australia's largest theme park. It is well known for being the location of the Big Brother Australia house.
The newest ride at Dreamworld is Flowrider. Other rides include the Tower of Terror (the world's fifth fastest roller coaster), The Claw, Wipeout and Cyclone (a dual loop roller coaster). Dreamworld also features several restaurants and shopping outlets; kids area Nick Central, the new Wiggles World for toddlers and infants; as well as many themed areas such as Tiger Island, The Australian Wildlife Experience and Gold Rush Country. In December 2006, a new waterpark, WhiteWater World, operated by the same company as Dreamworld, opened next door to the park. A motorcycle rollercoaster is set to be built at the park sometime this year.
In addition to Big Brother Australia, Friday Night Games is also filmed at Dreamworld.
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[edit] History
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In 1974, John Longhurst put his dream of building a theme park into practice and purchased 85 hectares of land beside the Pacific Motorway in Coomera. The theme park was officially opened on November 15, 1981 by the Premier of Queensland of the time, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
Four months later, Dreamworld's first roller coaster, The Thunderbolt, was opened and remained the major attraction of the park for the next 15 years.
A shaky period in the early 1990s nearly led to the closure of Dreamworld. All this turned around with the opening of Wipeout in 1993.
Many more thrill rides have been built since, with the world's fastest roller coaster, Tower of Terror, opening in January 1997 followed a year later with Giant Drop sharing the same 40-storey tower.
Since 2001 an alliance with the Australian Big Brother, which is filmed at Dreamworld, has allowed the park to gain considerable media attention. Visitors to the park can visit the house from July - December of each year.
The Cyclone, a roller coaster relocated from Luna Park Sydney, opened in 2001.
An alliance with Nickelodeon saw Nickelodeon Central open on December 26, 2002. This themed area is based on a similar concept which Paramount Parks in the USA have used successfully at many of their parks.
In August 2004, The Thunderbolt was demolished and sold for scrap metal. The park retained a section of track and at least one train which are currently stored in the park's back-of-house areas.
The Claw opened September 2004 as the park's first flat thrill ride in over 10 years.
On September 10, 2005, Dreamworld's newest themed area opened based on The Wiggles, Wiggles World opened.
The Blue Lagoon water park area was closed in 2006 to ensure that Dreamworld would not be competing with WhiteWater World, a recently opened water park operated by the same company. A new attraction is set to open in December.
[edit] Current attractions
[edit] "The Big 5 Thrill Rides"
The Big 5 Thrill Rides is an advertising theme which Dreamworld uses to promote it's 5 most thrilling rides in the park. These rides feature high speeds and unexpected movements. These rides are not recommended for children under 10.
- The Claw - A Gyro Swing; the only ride of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. At its maximum height of nine storeys high, it offers views stretching above and beyond the tourist mecca of Surfers Paradise, 20 km away.
- Cyclone - The tallest high gravity roller-coaster in Australia. Originally named the Big Dipper and located at Luna Park Sydney, it was relocated to Dreamworld after controversies concerning its original location forced Luna Park to close for several years.
- The Giant Drop - The tallest freefall drop ride in the world (118 metres). It features a wait of usually 45 seconds at the top of the tower before the drop, although this can be altered by the operator, who will often wait until the Tower of Terror runs up and back down the shared support structure.
- Tower of Terror - A reverse freefall ride, based on the technology and design of Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain. At the time of its construction, it was the fastest and tallest ride in the world. It is now the world's fifth fastest rollercoaster. The ride's support structure, which it shares with the Giant Drop, is a major landmark on the Gold Coast.
- Wipeout - A Vekoma Waikiki Wave Super Flip, costing $6 million, opened in 1993 with the opening of the Ocean Parade precinct. It is capable of handling 40 riders at a time with ride cycles lasting 5 minutes.
[edit] Other rides
- AVIS Vintage Cars - A fixed track car ride where riders get to drive their own Ford Model T around a concrete track with a single rail down the middle to which the car is fixed.
- Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler - A paddle wheel boat which travels around a small river loop connecting Wiggles World and the Australian Wildlife Experience. Previously, a show with bushrangers on the island in the middle of the river was a feature.
- The Dreamworld Railway - Another one of Dreamworld's original attractions which features a steam locomotive with several passenger trailers running on a loop around the park stopping at four stations; Main Street, Billabong, Australian Wildlife Experience and Rocky Hollow.
- Eureka Mountain Mine Ride - The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride takes riders for a ride through the tunnels of an old abandoned mine. It is Dreamworld's second roller coaster to be built at the park and Australia's first indoor roller coaster when it opened in 1988, the same time the themed area Gold Rush Country opened with it. The ride is currently closed for an unspecified amount of time.
- Reef Diver - A SDC Enterprise which is painted a bright yellow to stand out along with its Ocean Parade theming.
- Rocky Hollow Log Ride- A log flume which feautres minor dips, turns and tunnels as well as a major drop at the end which ends with a splashdown at a speed of 50 k/ph.
- Stingray - The Stingray (Chance Trabant) was originally operating under the name of "Roulette" and was themed to a casino roulette wheel. In 1994, the ride was re-themed to a Stingray theme in conjunction with the opening of Ocean Parade.
- Thunder River Rapids - A river rapid ride which feaures floating rafts holding up to six people floating down a foamy, turbulent river reaching speeds of up to 45 kp/h. The ride opened in 1986 in conjunction with the opening of Gold Rush Country.
- Vortex - A park-modle Gravitron, the Vortex operated under that name until 2002, when it was renamed to fit the Ocean parade themeing.
[edit] Children's rides
[edit] Nick Central
The rides and shows at Nickelodeon Central are themed around characters from Nickelodeon cartoons.
- Angry Beavers Spooty Spin - Rotating enclosed spinning ride themed to the Angry Beavers.
- Blue's Skidoo - A rotating fixed arm plane ride themed to Blues Clues.
- Dora the Explorer Sea Planes - A rotating fixed arm plane ride themed to Dora the Explorer.
- Nick-o-Round - A general Nickelodeon themed Merry-go-round.
- Rocket Power Bumper Beach- A Rocket Power themed Dodgem cars attraction.
- Runaway Reptar Roller Coaster - The feature attraction of Nickelodeon Central which is themed from the fictional Rugrats monster Reptar. A 344 m inverted sit-down roller coaster takes 20 riders up to a height of 15 metres through helixes, a camel hump and banked curves. It can travel up to 40 k/mh.
- Slime Bowl - A ampitheatre which features shows ranging from visitors getting "Slimed" to performances by Spongebob Squarepants.
- Swinger Zinger - A Chair-O-Planes ride.
- Wild Thornberry's Rainforest Rampage - A two level kids semi-indoor playground where kids are able to shoot soft foam balls from cannons along with many other activities.
[edit] Wiggles World
The rides and shows at Wiggles World are themed around the popular pre-school band The Wiggles.
- Big Red Car Ride - Riders sit in "Big Red Cars" which follow a track which takes riders through a tour of the Wiggles House.
- Captain Feathersword's Ship - A childrens playground built on a ship based on ones which are seen in several Wiggles media productions.
- Dorothy's Rosy Tea Cup Ride - The newest attraction to Wiggles World, opening on September 15, 2006 on the first anniversary of the opening of Wiggles World. This ride is based on the Teacups ride with Dorothy theming.
- Fun Spot - A creche style play centre for toddlers.
- Wiggles Farmyard Friends - A farm animal exhibition where animals are put on display and people can help feed the animals several times each day.
[edit] Wildlife
[edit] Tiger Island
One of only two exclusive tiger habitat exhibits in the world, it features Dreamworld tiger keepers putting on tiger shows daily. The area has Indonesian style theming and also features an Indonesian food outlet.
[edit] Australian Wildlife Experience
The Australian Wildlife Experience is a nature park within Dreamworld located at the back of the park which features four main animal exhibit areas:
- Koala Country - An exhibit feauring Australian tree animals mainly focusing on the Koala.
- Outback Adventure - An exhibit which features Australian animals which have their habitat in the outback.
- Daintree Rainforest - An exhibit of animals which live in more tropical climates.
- Kakadu Wetlands - An exhibit of general reptiles which feaures a main crocodile pool which shows are put on at 1:30pm daily.
- Oakey Creek Farm Show - An exhibit which gives visitors a taste of what life is like on an Australian farm.
A new Bilby exhibit is planned to open early in 2007.
[edit] Other attractions
- Big Brother House Tours - During the time when Big Brother is off the air and before construction of the new house for the following year commences, visitors can take a free self-guided tour through the house from July - December of each year. Visitors can visit the eviction stage and also buy Big Brother merchandise. There is also a Big Brother themed cafe/restaurant near the entrance of the walkway to reach the eviction ampitheatre. It is currently closed in preparation for the 2007 Big Brother series.
- IMAX Theatre - Queensland's first IMAX theatre and was opened with Dreamworld in 1981. This theatre can only show 2D films. While the screen size is still reasonable compared to regular IMAX screens, it is not as large as more modern IMAX theatre screens.
- Nightmares - A temporary scary experience walkthrough attraction featuring two different sections. The Freezer and Angoscia.
[edit] Extra cost attractions
- Flowrider - Australia's first and only Flowrider, an artificial wave creator which riders surf on.
- Helicopter flights - Park visitors may take helicopter flights taking in views of Dreamworld and the Gold Coast. The helipad is located in Gold Rush Country.
- Remote control boats/cars/hovercraft/trucks - These attractions are spread throughout the park and allow visitors to remotely control vehicles.
- Rock Climbing wall - Located opposite The Claw, the cylinder style rock climbing wall reaches a height of six metres.
[edit] Previous attractions
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- Blue Lagoon - Was Dreamworld's water park area with a large pool and various slides. It closed in the middle of 2006 due to the construction and opening of WhiteWater World, a large new water park built adjacent to Dreamworld. The Nightmares attraction which opened on December 26, 2006, currently occupies the site.
- Creature Cruise - A gentle boat ride which flowed past hand crafted models of animals. Was opened in 1997 but closed in 2000.
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider - Enter the Tomb - A walk-thru attraction based on the second movie "The Cradle of Life". It featured fog filled narrow passageways, lighting effects and live actors. It opened on December 26, 2003 and closed four months later on April 18, 2004.
- Outback Celebration - A temporary musical which was put together in celebration of "The Year of the Outback" in 2002.
- Skylink Chairlift - A chairlift which linked Gold Rush Country with The Australian Wildlife Experience. It commenced operation on November 30, 1989 and closed on March 15, 2005.
- Thunderbolt - Was Dreamworld's original roller coaster which opened in 1982 and was closed on August 8, 2003. It cost 4 million AUD to build and was capable of reaching speeds of up to 87 km/h. It was the first roller coaster in Australia to feature vertical loops. The land where Thunderbolt stood is partly occupied by the FlowRider, the internal entry to WhiteWater World and an overflow carpark. Future expansion of the WhiteWater World water park will utilise much of Thunderbolt's former footprint.
[edit] External links
| Theme parks in Australia | |
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| Currently operating | |
| Adventure World | Dreamworld | Gumbuya Park | Jamberoo Action Park | Luna Park Melbourne | Luna Park Sydney Magic Mountain | Sea World | Warner Bros. Movie World | Wet'n'Wild Water World | WhiteWater World |
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| Defunct theme parks | |
| African Lion Safari | Bullen's Animal World | Dreamland | El Caballo Blanco | Fantasy Glades Hi-Lite Park | Leisureland Fair | Magic Mountain, Glenelg | SegaWorld Sydney | Wobbies World | Wonderland Sydney |
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
