Dreamworld

This article is about the Australian amusement park. For the concept of fictional universes, see imaginary world. For the plot device used in fiction, see Dream world (plot device).

Dreamworld
Location	Coomera, Queensland, Australia,
Website	Link
Owner	Macquarie Leisure Trust Group
Opened	December 15, 1981
Operating season	All year round
Area	85 hectares / 210 acres
Rides	30 total 5 roller coasters
Slogan	So many worlds in one
Amusement Parks Portal

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. Thrill rides feature prominently at Dreamworld with the Tower of Terror (the world's fourth fastest roller coaster), The Claw, Wipeout and Cyclone (a dual loop roller coaster) forming the promotional face of the park. Dreamworld also features several restaurants and shopping outlets; a kids area Nick Central, 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 named after Mick Doohan opened on the 30th of September 2007. In addition to Big Brother Australia, Friday Night Games is also filmed at Dreamworld.

History

The entrance to Dreamworld

The Wipeout in Ocean Parade

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. Many more thrill rides have been built since, with the world's (at the time) 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 roller coaster was originally based in Luna Park Sydney where it was called "The big dipper" The roller coaster was relocated to Dreamworld due to complaints about noise from nearby residents. 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. Today, this ride still proves to be popular with visitors. 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. Mick Doohan's Motocoaster opened in late September 2007. It is a motorbike coaster and it was built by roller coaster manufacturer Intamin.

Current attractions

"The Big 6 Thrill Rides"

"The Big 6 Thrill Rides" is an advertising theme which Dreamworld uses to promote its six most thrilling rides in the park. These rides feature high speeds and unexpected movements. These rides are not recommended for children under ten.

• The Claw - A Gyro Swing; the only ride of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. At its maximum height of nine stories high, it offers views stretching above and beyond the tourist mecca of Surfers Paradise, 20 km away.

The Dreamworld Tower which supports both the Tower of Terror and The Giant Drop.

• 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 Giant Drop is currently the world's tallest and fastest freefall ride with a drop height of 119m (390ft) and a maximum speed of 135km/h (84mph). It features a wait of 30 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. The ride was designed and built by Intamin AG, which opened a year later after the Tower of Terror first opened (also designed by Intamin). Despite an incident on a similar ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in the USA, the ride continued to operate as usual.
• Mick Doohan's Motocoaster - A Intamin AG motocoaster which consists of a launch whereby riders sit on full-scale replica motorbikes, modeled after 500cc racing bikes which are arranged in eight rows of two with two sidecars attached to the right side of the last two motorbikes (The sidecars were initially designed to be in the middle of the trains). There are two trains each with 16 riders, however it is expected that only one train will operate much of the time, with the other only operating during the peak seasons.
• Tower of Terror - A reverse freefall ride, based on the technology and design of Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain. When the ride first opened, it was the tallest and fastest ride in the world. It was the world's first roller coaster to break the 100mph speed barrier. It is now the world's fourth fastest rollercoaster (equally fast as Superman: The Escape). The ride's support structure, which it shares with the Giant Drop, is a major landmark on the Gold Coast. The Tower of Terror cost Dreamworld $16,000,000.
• Wipeout - A Vekoma Waikiki Wave Super Flip, costing $6,000,000, 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. Despite continuous maintenance needed on this ride, Dreamworld will keep the Wipeout open. On average, the ride has a fault at least twice a day.

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. The ride has been located to the very end of the park near the kangaroos. They are visible from the east lift giant drop.
• 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 maitenence and it is still unknown how long it will be closed.
• Reef Diver - A SDC Enterprise which is painted a bright yellow to stand out along with its Ocean Parade theming.

The Reef Diver

• 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. The Stingray is currently not present at dreamworld due to unknown reasons.
• 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-model Gravitron, the Vortex operated under that name until 2002, when it was renamed to fit the Ocean parade themeing.

Children's rides

Nick Central

The Runaway Reptar Roller Coaster

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.

Wiggles World

View of the main entrance to 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.

Wildlife

Tiger Island

One of the tigers retrieving food from the top of a post during the show.

Inside Koala Country in the Australian Wildlife Experience

One of only two exclusive tiger habitat exhibits in the world, it features Dreamworld tiger handlers putting on tiger shows daily. They have both Bengal and Sumatran tigers. The area has Indian style theming. Dreamworld is one of the leading contributors to tiger conservation with donations totaling nearly one million dollars to projects in India, Russia, and Sumatra

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 which includes the newly opened Bilby exhibit.
• 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.

Other attractions

• Big Brother House Tours - From 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 August - December of each year. Visitors can visit the eviction stage, walk through the camera runs, get a picture taken on the diary room chair as well as looking at the range of Big Brother merchandise on sale.
• 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.

Extra cost attractions

• Flowrider - Australia's first and only Flowrider, an artificial wave creator on which riders can surf.
• 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.

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, occupied 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.
• Nightmares - A temporary scary experience walkthrough attraction featuring two different sections. The Freezer and Angoscia. It operated from December 26, 2006 through to July 2007.
• 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.

References

External links

• Official Dreamworld website

• Dreamworld is at coordinates 27°51′50″S 135°18′57″E / -27.864, 135.3158Coordinates: 27°51′50″S 135°18′57″E / -27.864, 135.3158