Ocean Parade (Dreamworld)

Ocean Parade
Location	Dreamworld
Coordinates	27°51′52″S 153°18′58″E / 27.864475°S 153.316140°E / -27.864475; 153.316140Coordinates: 27°51′52″S 153°18′58″E / 27.864475°S 153.316140°E / -27.864475; 153.316140
Opening date	1993 (1993)
Replaced	County Fair
Theme	Beach
Attractions
Attractions	7 total
Roller coasters	1
Water rides	1
Other rides	5

Ocean Parade is a themed land at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It features 4 of the Big 9 Thrill Rides at Dreamworld. The Claw, Wipeout, Tail Spin and Hot Wheels SideWinder.^[1] Are within close proximity of each other. Ocean Parade has an Australian beach culture theme, and has beach-themed rides scattered around the area. It currently provides a link between Main Street, DreamWorks Experience, and the adjacent water park WhiteWater World.^[1]

History

Ocean Parade opened in 1993,^[2] replacing the Northern end of Country Fair.^[3][4] The area has since been extended to cover all of the area once occupied by Country Fair.^[1] Since its opening, the most major change to the land was when The Claw was added in September 2004.^[5] This installation required the redesign of the pathway, dining and merchandise shops.^[6][7] In 2006, Ocean Parade opened a "park-hop" entrance to WhiteWater World, which is also owned by Ardent Leisure (the owners of Dreamworld).^[2] In June 2011, Dreamworld will open a Zamperla Disk'O called Shockwave.^[8] In 2014, Dreamworld renovated Ocean Parade with the rebuild of Wipeout and the opening of Tail Spin. In 2015, The Cyclone was renovated and transformed into Hot Wheels SideWinder.

The area was previously home to AVPX, Reef Diver, Stingray, and Thunderbolt

Attractions

The Claw

The Claw

The Claw is an Intamin Gyro Swing which opened in September 2004. It is a one and a half minute ride in which riders are swung from side to side on an axis in a similar fashion to that of a pirate ship ride. However, the seating arrangement on The Claw is in a circular formation.^[5][9] Part of the Big 7 marketing campaign.^[10]

Cyclone

Hot Wheels SideWinder

Hot Wheels SideWinder is one of the tallest high-speed gravity steel roller coasters in the Southern Hemisphere.^[11] When it opened in 2001, it was the tallest.^[12][13] Part of the Big 7 marketing campaign.^[10] The ride underwent a refurbishment in October-December 2015, and became Hot Wheels Hot SideWinder as part of the Motorsport Experience, which opened December 26.

FlowRider

FlowRider

FlowRider is born from the roots of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and bodyboarding. It is set on an artificial wave created on a flexible, trampoline-like base. This was Australia's first FlowRider installation. During park hours the ride operates in bodyboard mode where groups of 15 riders share a 30-minute session on the ride.^[14] After park hours, stand-up boarding is made available for a 12 rider, hour-long session.^[15] The ride is a Wave Loch FlowRider.^[16]

Game Site

Game Site is a large indoor arcade with various attractions including bowling, video games and arcade machines.^[1] The Game Site originally was home to a set of remote controlled trucks which have since been moved to Nickelodeon Central, these trucks were since removed during the transition from Nickelodeon Central to the DreamWorks Experience.

Shockwave

Set to open in June 2011, Shockwave will be a Zamperla Disk'O. Construction began in April 2011 in a location between Ocean Parade and Nickelodeon Central for the family thrill ride announced just days prior. On 18 May 2011,^[17] Dreamworld officially announced that the ride would be called Shockwave.^[8]

Tail Spin

"Tail Spin" is a Gerstlauer Sky Fly which opened in September 2014. The ride was the ninth thrill ride to be added to the park. Guests sit in a small aeroplane that they can swing. With enough swinging they can spin around and around in circles. The ride replaced Reef Diver. Tail Spin is the first of its kind in Australia.^{[18] [19]}

Wipeout

Wipeout

Wipeout is Vekoma Waikiki Wave Super Flip, costing A$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 2.5 minutes. A minimum of 20 riders must be met before the ride can be operated.^[20][21] Part of the Big 7 marketing campaign.^[10]

In 2014 the ride was refurbished, given a new colour scheme, removed the beach in front of the ride, in favour of a new viewing area, as well as the re-addition of water (and water jets) to the pool beneath the ride.

Shopping & Dining

Ocean Parade features many beach themed merchandise and dining outlets. Merchandise can be purchased from Surf Central and Between the Flags, in addition to the ride stores for Cyclone, FlowRider and V8 Supercars Red Line. Food & beverage items can be purchased at the Snack Attack Food & Bar or Dive.^[22]

References