Mack Rides

A visit to the original Movie World

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Warner Bros. Movie World

Warner Bros. Movie World is one of the best-known theme parks in Germany and one of the most influential movie parks in the world.  The park was founded in 1991 by the film studio Village Roadshow, which belongs to WarnerMedia, and is the model for our local Movie Park Germany. From 1996 to 2004, the film park was also known as Warner Bros. Movie World. The Spanish theme park Parque Warner Madrid is also based on the park on the Gold Coast and continues to use the licences of WarnerMedia.

While Parque Warner Madrid is a huge park and Movie Park Germany is also of respectable size, Warner Bros Movie World is rather small. Apart from the Main Street, which is well-known to visitors of Movie Park Germany, the park only consists of a small children’s area, the log flume Wild West Falls and a DC Heroes themed area, where almost all attractions of the amusement park are located.

Tour of the movie park

Green Lantern Coaster

This area is located directly at the entrance of the amusement park, but is not a dead end due to the clever integration of the roller coaster Arkham Asylum. Right at the beginning we come across the Green Lantern Coaster, an El Loco from S&S.

Climbing the steep and fast lift, it quickly goes into a combination of curves without any cross slope, which shortly afterwards leads into a steep 120.5° drop. The associated world record was short-lived, as Takabisha opened in Fuji-Q Highland just a few months later. With a small sideways turn, it immediately goes up to the first block brake.

This is followed by a curve that could be used more often in various roller coasters, as the outwardly inclined section of the track is quite impressive. Unfortunately, this part is completed soon after and a seemingly conventional curve follows, which, however, becomes more and more inclined towards the end and quickly puts you in an overhead position. The hangtime is very pronounced and you are quite happy to fall towards the ground in a half loop shortly afterwards. However, the ride is not over yet and another incline with a subsequent barely regulating block brake follows. The last traditional curve comes next, which ends in a downhill heartline roll – actually the most interesting element of the ride. A trivial turnaround in the form of an Immelmann turn follows, after which the ride ends abruptly.

Thanks to the wider cars and the increased ride comfort due to the lack of shoulder claws, the ride on the Green Lantern Coaster is much more fun compared to other (almost) identical rides. The ride is exciting and bizarre – basically a bit Loco.

Batwing Spaceshot and Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D

Directly opposite is the Batwing Spaceshot, a vertical drop ride by S&S, which takes you up to a height of 61m at high speed. Once you’ve reached the top, you’ll get a good dose of airtime and a big grin in your face.

The entrance to the dark ride Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D is located in a hall behind it. Previously, the simulator Batman: The Ride was located here. The dark ride, developed by the Sally Corporation, combines large plastic scenes with 3D screens where you have to fight off the aliens of the villain Starro before they take control of all mankind. It’ s the kind of delightful fun you’d expect from Sally. The ride itself was later the inspiration for Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, which can be found in various Six Flags parks.

DC Rivals HyperCoaster

One of the reasons to visit Warner Bros Movie World is the DC Rivals HyperCoaster. The roller coaster by Mack Rides has a breathtaking out & back layout including a highly twisted first drop, a 40m tall non-inverted loop, as well as a multitude of breathtaking turns and airtime hills and the possibility to experience it backwards for a small extra charge. It’s just a shame that the roller coaster was closed during my visit.

The DC Rivals HyperCoaster was not all that was closed on the day I visited. Actually, the Village Roadshow Theme Parks allow quite easy planning of the visit, because there is a maintenance calendar for each individual park, but they don’t plan these periods very well, so that the individual attractions usually have a longer maintenance period. At the same time, however, visitors are not informed about this, so that they are first confronted with it on site. Other amusement parks that are open all year round, such as the Disneyland Parks or Efteling, show how it could be done better, and the nearby Dreamworld amusement park does it better without question.

Road Runner Roller Coaster

Thus, once past the closed Roxy Theatre, we were drawn to the children’s area on the right-hand side of the main street. Some time ago, this was where the Looney Tunes River Ride used to be, but it was replaced by a covered money printing machine, the Junior Driving School. The Road Runner Roller Coaster, the theme park’s first roller coaster, has been located in the outdoor area in front of it since the year 2000.

Interestingly, the children’s roller coaster Coyote’s und Roadrunner’s Achterbahn from the German branch of Warner Bros. Movie World was used as a model for this roller coaster, but the elaborate rock structure of the roller coaster was not used on the Gold Coast. The coaster does, however, have a second train, which means that you only do one lap at a time through the tried-and-tested roller skater layout of the manufacturer Vekoma.

Hollywood Stunt Driver 2

Past the small collection of children’s rides, we are now drawn to the theme park’s big stunt show. Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 offers a similar spectacle to Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular from the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and thus a very strong focus on filming with a few selected performers. We can be glad that Movie Park Germany continues to focus on a jam-packed stunt show like the original Police Academy Stunt Show with Crazy Cops New York. Unfortunately, the show over here was no good.

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster

A roller coaster has moved into the former Gremlins dark ride building at both Warner Bros. Movie World theme parks over the years. Here on the Gold Coast, the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster was created in 2002 and is based on the Scooby Doo live-action film of the same year.

The ride begins with the familiar ghost train ride from the film. The whole thing is peppered with a few small drops, swinging axes and animatronics worth seeing. Basically, the Spooky Doo Spooky Coaster is a dark ride well worth seeing, but then we enter the ride’s vertical lift. Accompanied by a scene in which Scrappy Doo mutates into a monster, we leave it facing backwards. Shortly afterwards we plunge down a 7m drop. On the other side of the ride we change direction again on a turntable. Accompanied by the song Scooby Doo, Where are you? we now go through the well-known course of a classic wild mouse. Where we would normally expect a double shot, we drive straight into a brake after only one shot. Shortly afterwards, we leave the Sound Stage, where a large part of the roller coaster is located. After a short interlude, another 3m high drop awaits us and soon the exit station of the ride.

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster is a great roller coaster, but thanks to its limited capacity it often has a longer queue. However, the ride in the extended Wild Mouse is quite something and makes you leave the ride in a good mood – although the actual roller coaster ride mainly takes place in a dark hall with a light show.

Doomsday Destroyer and Wild West Falls

Passing the Doomsday Destroyer – a suspended version of the popular Kamikaze ride built by Intamin – which offered a very solid ride, we now approach the western area of the theme park. The only attraction in the area is the log flume Wild West Falls, the only remaining attraction based on the film Wild Wild West. Originally, however, the ride was supposed to be based on the film Rio Bravo, which is also reflected in the existing theming of the ride.

After crossing the rather long queue, you can immediately take a seat in one of the boats. Shortly afterwards, the boat bobs past the maintenance hall of the ride towards the first lift hill. Once you have reached the top, you drive into the huge mountain massif where the first turntable is waiting for you. This then releases the boat into the first shot, which is completed backwards. This is followed by a small hill. Shortly afterwards, the descent into the cool water starts, whereby the level of wetness is still very manageable. After a bend, you reach another turning point, whereupon the boat moves forward again. The river now takes you unspectacularly through a canyon, an Indian village and the western town of Dogde City before entering the mine again. Once you reach the highest point of the ride, you are brought into position again via a turntable, whereupon the second and final shot is initiated. When you reach the bottom, you are pleasantly moistened. This is followed by the return journey to the station.

I love water rides from Hopkins and Wild West Falls is an all-round successful water ride with a great setting and two breathtaking drops. However, compared to the log flume Rio Bravo from Parque Warner Madrid, it is in many ways the weaker ride. The revision of Wild West Falls, built by Intamin, scores mainly with its airtime, which is unfortunately completely missing here on the Gold Coast. The ride in Spain also seems to be in a slightly better state. Nevertheless, the log flume Wild West Falls is not to be missed.

WB Studio Showcase

On the way to the next attraction, we stopped by the WB Studio Showcase, where some props from recent WB productions, including The Great Gatsby, Shazam!, Suicide Squad and Mad Max, were on display during our visit. Unfortunately, this was also the only attraction that took up the original idea of the movie park. I would have liked to see more of this.

Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy

The Vekoma Suspended Coaster Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy should have been open on the day we visited. On a later day, the ride was also closed until further notice. In fact, the coaster has not been operated since then and will probably disappear from the park soon. I would have loved to do a lap on the SLC with its bonus helix, as the ride also featured the VR film known from Parque Warner.

Superman Escape

The last attraction on our tour is the Superman Escape roller coaster. The queue for the roller coaster is rather inconspicuous and ends in front of automated doors behind which the MRT (Metropolis Rapid Transit) underground can be boarded.

The journey begins quite leisurely. However, it soon becomes clear that our situation is a little more tricky. Warnings of earthquakes ensure that we do not stop at the next stations. Burst gas pipes, which led to the blowing up of a pumping station, cause the railway tunnel to flood and suddenly police cars also crash into the tunnels. Although the situation seems hopeless, Superman comes to our rescue at the last moment. What follows is a breathtaking rollercoaster ride, starting with an insanely good hydraulic launch.

At a good 100 km/h we immediately climb a 40m high top hat, which we enter straight and leave to the side. After a high-pressure right turn along the ground, we immediately enter an airtime-rich camelback. This is followed by a left turn where we drive through a hall. After another turn, the path leads us through a further right turn close to the ground before we change direction again on the following hill and soon find ourselves in the braking section of the ride.

Superman Escape is a mercilessly good roller coaster. The ride through the compact layout is extremely tough and convinces with its fast turns and great airtime. Unfortunately, however, the roller coaster is only located at Warner Bros Movie World and not here at Movie Park Germany, which in turn reveals some weaknesses. The low capacity of the ride in a a one train operation is exacerbated by the high number of fast pass users, so that unfortunately you have to queue for a very long time at this ride. Movie Park Germany now has the immersive tunnel The Lost Temple and the roller coaster Star Trek Operation Enterprise in the same place, but I really wish they had taken another inspiration from the park on the Gold Coast.

Pictures Warner Bros. Movie World

Conclusion Warner Bros. Movie World

Warner Bros. Movie World, you must have been a really good theme park once. In the early 90s you surprised everyone with your concept, but now there’s almost none of that magic left. You’re more like a classic theme park these days, but your roller coasters can hardly hide your lack of attractions and shows. To be honest, I really wonder how one is supposed to spend a whole day here. A question that, interestingly enough, you would never ask at your younger sister in Bottrop.

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Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19 / Warner Bros. Movie World

Sea World, not SeaWorld

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History of the Sea Mammal Amusement Park Sea World

The origins of Sea World go back to the year 1958 when the Surfers Paradise Sky Gardens opened on the south bank of the Nerang River in Carrara. The park by Keith Williams became famous for its water ski shows. In 1971 the park relocated to its current site on the Southport Spit as Ski Land. With the additions of dolphin shows and other attractions the park was renamed to Sea World a year later. It is important to know, that Sea World has nothing to do with the American theme park chain SeaWorld, which currently operates three parks under their SeaWorld brand. Yet, it is no surprise that there was plenty of skirmish over trademarks during the past decades.

In 1984, the park was sold to Pivot Leisure. During the following years, the park was expanded into a resort. Together with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, Pivot Leisure developed and opened the nearby Warner Bros. Movie World in 1991 and purchased the Wet ‘n’ Wild water park next door. In 1993 the Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow jointly acquired Pivot Leisure’s interest. In 2006 Village Roadshow took full ownership of the group which led to the Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

Tour of the Park

Penguin Encounter and Sea Jellies Illuminated

After entering the park, you will find yourself directly in front of a large lake. The only available path leads us to the left and soon we stand in front of the Penguin Encounter. This indoor animal enclosure reminded me a lot of the ones to be found at the SeaWorld parks and should therefore not to be missed.

The next-door Sea Jellies Illuminated is also a very interesting exhibition, as you can see Jelly Fish in a totally different light. Albeit they are still very mysterious creatures, the different light conditions give them a very fascinating appeal.

Monorail

Till the completion of the New Atlantis themed area in 2022, the park’s Monorail got suspended. It would have been nice to take a tour on Sea World’s iconic mode of transport. Right behind the station there is a helipad. Here, you can take a trip with the park’s helicopter fleet for a rather high upcharge.

Seal Guardians

As the Seal Guardians show was to start soon, we headed directly into the large theatre. Like most seal shows around the globe, the show is very much slapstick based. The story is based on the Seal Guardians and their mission to keep the oceans clean, but of course there an evil company which wants to see them tear down SeaLab1. At the end, everything is fine, everybody had a good laugh and a person from the audience got soaked.

Nickelodeon Land

Right next door to the theatre is Nickelodeon Land. In Sea World the famous children’s network presents a bunch of rides themed to Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The most noticeable rides are Dora’s Fiesta Carousel, the Rockin’ Tug Bikini Bottom Crosstown Express, the teacups Patrick’s Jellyfish Frenzy, as well as the small family coaster Spongebob’s Boating School Blast – a standard family gravity coaster by Zamperla.

Jet Rescue

Right next to the former location of the Sea Viper roller coaster – Australia’s first looping coaster – there is the Intamin family launch coaster Jet Rescue. One year after Dreamworld opened Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster, Sea World opened Australia’s first double launch coaster featuring a very dense layout full of tight curves.

The ride starts with a launch to 60 kph and immediately settles into 270° righthand curve, which is completed extremely close to the ground. This is followed by a short camelback over the launch track that has just been passed. A slight turn to the left brings us into a small S-curve combination, which ends in the second launch section.

Here, we accelerate to our maximum speed of 70 kph. This is once again followed by a heavily inclined curve. In an alternating rhythm, we now race through a series of left and right turns, whereby we always keep ourselves close to the ground. After crossing the track a second time, we soon hit the brakes and return to the station.

Jet Rescue is a very fun coaster. Due to its formerly limited space, the ride squeezes a lot of action into a very small footprint. The tight and highly inclined curves and the overall high pacing throughout the layout make this coaster a very remarkable family ride and one of the best roller coasters in Australia.

Storm Coaster

Storm Coaster is the replacement of an old time favourite: The Bermuda Triangle. The large indoor flume ride featured two major drops and an extra-terrestrial story line which still can be experienced at its replica at Movie Park Germany – the former Warner Bros. Movie World Germany. The ride is nowadays called Area51. Storm Coaster reuses the Bermuda Triangle’s show building for the final splash down and for its station.

Once boarded, the ride starts with a small passage through the channel without any hint of theming. When reaching the end of the hall, we also reach the ride’s lift hill. Shortly after, we find ourselves at a height of 28m before plunging down a small curvy dip into the next block brake. The following steep curve downhill shot is the highlight of the ride and rushing through the valley without any mayor sideways bump a relief to everybody who ever experienced Poseidon at Europa Park. Soon after we reach the second block brake at a lofty height. Now, we drop down under the main path leading to the attraction before we take a hill and disappear into the show building. Here, we hit the water and get reasonable wet. A bit of theming to the right and left of the route makes the return to the station entertaining.

Storm Coaster is a very fun water coaster by Mack Rides. The show building features a great theming and the placement of the ride within the park was very well done. It just looks like a very huge coaster. Unfortunately, the ride is a bit spare on its theming during the ride especially when you compare it to the ride which was previously housed at this location.

Ray Reef, Polar Bear Shores and Shark Bay

Past the remnants of the Viking’s Revenge Flume Ride and the 3D Cinema which until recently was showing the Spongebob Squarepants 3D movie, we now make our way to some of the larger animal enclosures. The first one on our way is the large Ray Reef petting pool, where you can feed the rays for an upcharge.

Behind it there is Polar Bear Shores – the only polar bear enclosure in Australia. For a park like Sea World, such an enclosure should be a no-go as it does not house a marine mammal or related animal; however, it has been in existence since 2000 and you really don’t have to think twice to know that the Gold Coast’s subtropical climate is not suitable for housing polar bears.

Probably the best attraction at Sea World is Shark Bay. This large-scale area has everything you would want to see in an aquarium, and there are so many opportunities to catch a glimpse of the goings-on below sea level. Here, you can easily spend most of your time at Sea World and if you really want it or have a lot of spare money, there are many upcharge experiences to enjoy.

Castaway Bay

The area Castaway Bay consists of the upcharge high ropes course Castaway Bay Sky Climb, the play structure Castaway Bay Sky Fortress and the splash battle Castaway Bay Battle Boats. Especially, the last-mentioned attraction is a lot of fun on a typical day on the Gold Coast, as it allows you to cool down in a very efficient and drenching way.

Affinity Dolphin

The main attraction of Sea World is the dolphin presentation at the Affinity Stadium. It is a bit like a glimpse to the past, as dolphin presentation are not featured anymore in most parts of the Western world. It would be wrong by me to criticize this kind of shows, as I always enjoyed them. Yet, as we missed the first presentation, we decided not to wait for the second one in the afternoon.

Thunder Lake Stunt Show

After a view on the nearby Seal Harbour area, we headed back to the entrance area of the park for the Thunder Lake Stunt Show. The show features a competition between the Sun State All Stars (the good ones) and the Bay City River Rats (the bad ones) in wakeboarding, Freestyle BMX and water-skiing. If you ignore the trivial story with all its banter, the Thunder Lake Stunt Show is well worth seeing. Especially the fire-breathing waterborne lorry will remain in your memory. As many others, we left the park directly after the show.

Pictures Sea World

Conclusion Sea World

Overall, we had a great day at Sea World. Albeit the park is rather limited in size, it offers some very interesting animal enclosures and a bunch of great attractions. However, the park can be criticised for its high number of upcharge attractions and some of its animal enclosures. With marine mammal parks in general losing more and more acceptance by the public, it will be interesting to see how Sea World will develop in the future.

 

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Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19 / Sea World

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise

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The novelties of the last years

Movie Park Germany has always been one of my favourite parks in Germany, but I haven’t been to the park for the last three years. During this time, however, a lot has changed: The Intamin Rapids Ride Mystery River became Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest, the new roller coaster Star Trek – Operation Enterprise was opened and the dark ride Alien Encounter was redesigned to Area 51 – Top Secret.

Area 51 – Top Secret

The latter novelty was also the reason why I delayed my visit more and more, because a visit to Movie Park Germany without a ride through the volcano is just not the same. Instead of driving through an island in the Bermuda Triangle, we now go through a flooded mine in the middle of the Nevada desert. Where before there was a clearly defined arc of tension, there is now only a trivial and far-fetched story based on the scenes of the original story. Of course, aliens are more likely to be associated with Area 51 than with the Bermuda Triangle, but water travel in the desert just doesn’t make sense – even if it’s Groom Lake Air Force Base (Groom Lake is a dry salt lake).

But if you can overlook the story, Area 51 – Top Secret is the HD version of an aging dark ride and that alone is simply wonderful. The ride finally shows its best side again and convinces with its numerous effects. Although little or nothing has changed in the course and the staging inside the ride, the lovingly audio-visual refreshment shows its effect. In this respect, thank you Movie Park Germany for the preservation of this ride!

Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest

While the Alien Encounter previously still had the story of the original version from the Australian amusement park Sea World Gold Coast, the Mystery River looked quite different after the license was cancelled. The ride was just a shadow of its former self and, except for its ride hardware, it was nothing more than construction foam. IMAscore and IMAmotion then breathed new life into the old ride and so Mystery River became Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest. Again, the theme is a bit generic, but the ride itself was definitely upgraded. The queue is now really well done and puts you in the right mood for the ride. It has also been enhanced with new figures, even if the focus here is more on the rapid ride through the current channel and less on telling a story.

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise

Things are different with Star Trek – Operation Enterprise, where the overall experience takes up the original idea of the film park and thus tells a rather round story. For this purpose, the former Marienhof was converted into the Federation Plaza and the once existing – but hardly noticed by the visitors – Film Museum was cleared out to accommodate the queue including the replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. The external station can then be reached via a narrow corridor.

After you have taken a seat on the train, the journey can begin immediately. But first of all you are pushed over a transfer track onto the actual track.  Since this track section has no LSM modules, you are pushed forward very gently before you enter the launch section and accelerate slowly. After this, we climb the first element about halfway before we turn around and accelerate much faster. At the back of the transfer track building we shoot up the Twisted Halfpipe, a slightly twisted vertical section of track. Here, too, we change direction and race through the launch section a third time. With 90 km/h we race up the Top Hat and are immediately torn out of our seats. After a powerful valley we climb an Immelmann and see the world upside down for the first time. This is immediately followed by a heartline roll, which changes into another fall. After a jagged bend above the transfer track building we speed through the Borg Cube and immediately start the second part of our rescue mission. Extremely close to the ground we are now going over several smaller hills and then through a crisp left turn. Very smoothly this then changes into the last inversion figure of the ride, a Zero-G Roll. Directly after that our mission reaches its end. After the braking section there is only a short right turn before we find ourselves back in the station of the ride.

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise is a really nice roller coaster by Mack Rides. The ride through the compact layout can show some really nice elements, all of which are ridden with a good pacing. It may not be the most powerful roller coaster and the triple launch is a nice feature at best, but the overall package is quite impressive. Star Trek – Operation Enterprise is at least a very family-friendly launch coaster and fits perfectly into the park’s portfolio in this respect.

Pictures Movie Park Germany

Closing Words

What I personally dislike, however, is the new theme area around the roller coaster. The Federation Plaza looks naked and doesn’t look as inviting as the rest of the park. Here, one could and should have gotten out more.

Nevertheless, all novelties of the past years have been very successful and let you look into the future of Movie Park Germany with a joyful view – even if I can hardly imagine the new design of the Vekoma SLC with the henceforth extremely unwieldy name Lucky Luke – The Ride: Die Daltons brechen aus. At least you can be curious and that’s a good start.

 

What is your opinion about the last three novelties at Movie Park Germany? How do you like Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest, Star Trek – Operation Enterprise and Area 51 – Top Secret? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit our social media channels:

 

          

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