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The rest of Dreamworld
Dreamworld on the Gold Coast has other attractions apart from Tiger Island. Apparently.
The Studios of Big Brother
Which I completely forgot to go and see. My interest was historical, logistical, and pure, but obviously not that great. I was informed by cousin G the camera/sound guy that it would have been a long walk with nothing to see, but it had been his office for several months of the year for many years.
BTW he told me that the demise of the show had been heralded several seasons before, because all of the contracts and sub-contracts were due to run out at the same time. And of course, the show was shite.
He has various forms of football to keep him occupied, plus more German Survivor shows, so he'll be OK.
Tiger Island
No, just kidding.
Well actually there is still a lot more to talk about, but I'll attempt to show restraint. I have, however, found new reasons to dislike teenaged boys. What do you mean "They're not doing anything"? Pondscum. Where are the wildlife photographers of the future coming from, eh? Who's going to sit in a small box in a tree for two years waiting for something to kill and/or bonk something else? Kids these days.
The Tower of Terror/The Claw/Is That What I Had For Lunch? Etc
The rides. Yes. I assume someone was having fun, judging by all the screaming. Sadly we just missed the steamboat leaving for a lap of Wiggles Island, and could only wave at the Wiggles steam train as it left without us. We watched other people suffer for a while, which was entertaining in its own way.
I understand the after hours adults-only SquarePants SpongeBob show was also capable of inducing nausea.
I had looked forward to trying a certain rally car simulator, but it was $10 a pop and I was sufficiently annoyed at this to pass.
The Wiggles Sector
Must. Buy. Wiggles. Merchandise.
Did I say something?
Genteel attractions
Sadly the petting farm was closed (although I'm sure I glimpsed some of the lambs grabbing a sneaky fag outside the Nickelodeon Nausearetum). We did, however, spend some quality time with a range of native Australian beasties, and I'm a sucker for a fish pond ("fishies!"). I'd forgotten how large cassowaries are, so it was educational too. The screaming was mildly muffled at this end of the park.
We passed on additional photo-ops with koalas, snakes, and crocodiles, although Husband felt moved to enquire about koala prices which were definitely not being advertised. Cheaper than Perth, and indeed significantly cheaper than tiger, but not really worth it. Koalas are damned dangerous things. We did capture some video footage of an eerily stationary--or possibly stuffed--koala (no surprises there) with a cute-as-a-button joey chewing on tiny leaves. That's right, actually moving.
The Facilities
Dreamworld is generally non-smoking, but has a few designated outdoor smoking areas for shattered parents. Score one for practicality. Easily avoided.
I saw only one sign indicating toilets, and it was pointing to a locked gate sadly unadorned by 'Beware of the Leopard' signs. I eventually found some near a bank of lockers, but there were few clues to assist the desperate. Out of curiosity but fortunately not neccessity I kept an eye out all day, but clearly Dreamworld is a land where no-one is expected to successfully digest anything.
There were some other signs around the place to give it local flavour:
Naturally, the food was expensive, unappealing and clearly designed to be instantly recycled. I brought a bag of celery, which I quite frankly recommend as a tropical climate snack over chicken+chips. Call me crazy. Go on. Do it.
The Made In China shops sadly lacked oven mitts, but Husband may or may not have purchased a tiger hand puppet for me. I picked up several surprisingly sensibly-priced t-shirts, and the compulsory fridge magnet.
Other stuff there
I think we did a bang-up job of avoiding most of the place, generally because the schedule of events (IMAX movie start times, crocodile talks, tiger show, gold panning, Dora The Explorer whippings etc) seemed to be carefully designed to prevent you from getting to more than one in a day.
(This in pointed contrast to SeaWorld where they did a masterful job of scheduling events from point to point to keep the crowds generally circulating in the same direction. Everyone got to see everything, and bonded over the experience.)
I have never seen so many teenagers not wearing black in my life. I was wearing my black Contact-Swancon 2009 t-shirt because--hello--I was there to make contact with another species, but I must say the little blighters had a bit of a point. I wonder what Queensland goths do?
Home again
After picking up our photos we cleverly missed the express bus back to the train station, but since we were Very Old some nice teenaged girls made room for us to wilt on a bench. The next bus along was a local milk run that toured some less-than-charming industrial areas before eventually finding the train tracks.
While waiting for a train I was mildly startled when approached by an older couple who opened with "You're obviously experienced local train travellers..." Well no--we were clutching plastic bags from Dreamworld and scanning the platform in vain for signage--but I did happen to know exactly the information they required (all trains stop at Roma Street Station).
By the time the Brisbane train arrived I'd shown them the tiger photos and announced that it was our 15th wedding anniversary that day. That brought the total numbers of strangers to whom I had confided this information that day to 602.
Rhonda: Our train had a toilet in the front carriage, so next time you go to the Gold Coast, don't despair, go forward.
The Studios of Big Brother
Which I completely forgot to go and see. My interest was historical, logistical, and pure, but obviously not that great. I was informed by cousin G the camera/sound guy that it would have been a long walk with nothing to see, but it had been his office for several months of the year for many years.
BTW he told me that the demise of the show had been heralded several seasons before, because all of the contracts and sub-contracts were due to run out at the same time. And of course, the show was shite.
He has various forms of football to keep him occupied, plus more German Survivor shows, so he'll be OK.
Tiger Island
No, just kidding.
Well actually there is still a lot more to talk about, but I'll attempt to show restraint. I have, however, found new reasons to dislike teenaged boys. What do you mean "They're not doing anything"? Pondscum. Where are the wildlife photographers of the future coming from, eh? Who's going to sit in a small box in a tree for two years waiting for something to kill and/or bonk something else? Kids these days.
The Tower of Terror/The Claw/Is That What I Had For Lunch? Etc
The rides. Yes. I assume someone was having fun, judging by all the screaming. Sadly we just missed the steamboat leaving for a lap of Wiggles Island, and could only wave at the Wiggles steam train as it left without us. We watched other people suffer for a while, which was entertaining in its own way.
I understand the after hours adults-only SquarePants SpongeBob show was also capable of inducing nausea.
I had looked forward to trying a certain rally car simulator, but it was $10 a pop and I was sufficiently annoyed at this to pass.
The Wiggles Sector
Must. Buy. Wiggles. Merchandise.
Did I say something?
Genteel attractions
Sadly the petting farm was closed (although I'm sure I glimpsed some of the lambs grabbing a sneaky fag outside the Nickelodeon Nausearetum). We did, however, spend some quality time with a range of native Australian beasties, and I'm a sucker for a fish pond ("fishies!"). I'd forgotten how large cassowaries are, so it was educational too. The screaming was mildly muffled at this end of the park.
We passed on additional photo-ops with koalas, snakes, and crocodiles, although Husband felt moved to enquire about koala prices which were definitely not being advertised. Cheaper than Perth, and indeed significantly cheaper than tiger, but not really worth it. Koalas are damned dangerous things. We did capture some video footage of an eerily stationary--or possibly stuffed--koala (no surprises there) with a cute-as-a-button joey chewing on tiny leaves. That's right, actually moving.
The Facilities
Dreamworld is generally non-smoking, but has a few designated outdoor smoking areas for shattered parents. Score one for practicality. Easily avoided.
I saw only one sign indicating toilets, and it was pointing to a locked gate sadly unadorned by 'Beware of the Leopard' signs. I eventually found some near a bank of lockers, but there were few clues to assist the desperate. Out of curiosity but fortunately not neccessity I kept an eye out all day, but clearly Dreamworld is a land where no-one is expected to successfully digest anything.
There were some other signs around the place to give it local flavour:
Naturally, the food was expensive, unappealing and clearly designed to be instantly recycled. I brought a bag of celery, which I quite frankly recommend as a tropical climate snack over chicken+chips. Call me crazy. Go on. Do it.
The Made In China shops sadly lacked oven mitts, but Husband may or may not have purchased a tiger hand puppet for me. I picked up several surprisingly sensibly-priced t-shirts, and the compulsory fridge magnet.
Other stuff there
I think we did a bang-up job of avoiding most of the place, generally because the schedule of events (IMAX movie start times, crocodile talks, tiger show, gold panning, Dora The Explorer whippings etc) seemed to be carefully designed to prevent you from getting to more than one in a day.
(This in pointed contrast to SeaWorld where they did a masterful job of scheduling events from point to point to keep the crowds generally circulating in the same direction. Everyone got to see everything, and bonded over the experience.)
I have never seen so many teenagers not wearing black in my life. I was wearing my black Contact-Swancon 2009 t-shirt because--hello--I was there to make contact with another species, but I must say the little blighters had a bit of a point. I wonder what Queensland goths do?
Home again
After picking up our photos we cleverly missed the express bus back to the train station, but since we were Very Old some nice teenaged girls made room for us to wilt on a bench. The next bus along was a local milk run that toured some less-than-charming industrial areas before eventually finding the train tracks.
While waiting for a train I was mildly startled when approached by an older couple who opened with "You're obviously experienced local train travellers..." Well no--we were clutching plastic bags from Dreamworld and scanning the platform in vain for signage--but I did happen to know exactly the information they required (all trains stop at Roma Street Station).
By the time the Brisbane train arrived I'd shown them the tiger photos and announced that it was our 15th wedding anniversary that day. That brought the total numbers of strangers to whom I had confided this information that day to 602.
Rhonda: Our train had a toilet in the front carriage, so next time you go to the Gold Coast, don't despair, go forward.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-12-31 01:29 pm (UTC)(link)--Rhonda