Growing up, most of my relatives lived in Brisbane. Each year we would make the annual summertime pilgrimage up North for our family Christmas. Throughout the 80s and early 90s, it was the highlight of my year. Road trip with Peter Combe blaring through the cassette player, three kids fighting in the backseat, then the excitement of getting to see all our extended family. We caught cane toads, played backyard cricket, and visited Amazons (a brilliant water park in Brisbane which has since closed). After mum and dad were sick of our complaining, they would inevitably drive us down the highway to the Gold Coast for Australia’s major theme parks.
Number one of my list was always Dreamworld, and not just because it opened the year I was born. Watching the ads on TV got me so excited for a visit – I can still sing the tune “It’s a one day fun day holiday” now. You were greeted by Kenny Koala (and Belinda) and as a child, the sensory overload was extreme. Do you go to the Gold Rush town first for the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride? Jump on the Ferry for the Ned Kelly shoot out? Visit the Blue Lagoon to cool off? Lose some brain cells getting flung around on the Wipeout? Alas all of those attractions no longer exist, but some great attractions have been added over the years. The Claw is great fun, and I get scared on the Giant Drop like I do on all drop tower rides. Let’s have a look at the coasters though!
1982: The Thunderbolt. This was Australia’s first looping coaster, and featured a double loop. It didn’t stand the test of time though, and as technology lead to new rides, it felt kind of slow and clunky. It will always hold a special place in my heart though, as it was the first “grown up” roller coaster I ever went on. The Thunderbolt closed in 2003.
1986: The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride. I remember loving this ride as a pre-teen, the whip lash – not so much. This was an indoor coaster that incorporated many sharp turns as you tried to avoid a dynamite happy miner. There always seemed to be mechanical problems, and it closed in 2006. For over a decade there was talk of it reopening, but I guess the costs were never worth it, and the whole thing was eventually torn down in 2017.
1997: The magnificent beast known as The Tower of Terror opened. At the time, this was the world’s fastest and tallest coaster. You would zoom out of the station along a straight section of track before shooting up into the sky at around 160km/hr. I had never experienced anything like this before. There was no fear, just a lot of laughing and weird things happening to my face. I think this was the best investment Dreamworld ever made. The following year, a drop tower (The Giant Drop) was added to the same ride structure. This was only my second experience with drop towers, the first being Space Probe 7 at Australia’s Wonderland. The Giant Drop was much bigger, and I found it terrifying!
Tower of Terror relaunched in 2010 as the Tower of Terror II – the same track, but the train now launched backwards. I flew to Queensland to try it out, and although it was awesome, I liked the original better. The Tower of Terror was closed permanently in 2019.
2001: The Cyclone, later known as HotWheels Sidewinder and then the Gold Coaster, was a big disappointment. It looked huge, had a great drop, big loop, and a fun little side loop, but it just didn’t deliver. The train seemed to slow down before the main drop, greatly reducing any potential speed. It was also rough as guts and did not justify huge waiting times. This coaster had a previous home at Luna Park in Sydney, where it was called The Big Dipper.
2002: A kiddy coaster opened called Rugrats Runaway Raptor. This suspended coaster was pretty decent, and a good step up for the little ones not quite ready for the big coasters. The name was later changed to Sky Rocket and is now known as Escape from Madagascar. Expect another rebranding for the 2023/24 season.
2007: Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster was billed as part of Dreamworld’s big 5 when it opened. The novelty factor was high, with riders pretending they were on a motor bike as a bar locked you in over your back. This was pretty uncomfortable, and all us women learnt that if your cleavage was hanging out once you were locked in, you were stuck like that for the next minute or so. There were a few zippy sections, but this didn’t deserve the “big thrill” label.
2011: BuzzSaw came to Queensland. This was another good investment. Great thrills without taking up a huge amount of space, the skyloop was basically a twisting loop which rockets riders forwards, backwards, under and over the track. When it first opened, the wait time was soul destroying, but thankfully the Q4U virtual queuing system arrived shortly afterwards. Buzzsaw was dismantled in 2021 to make way for a new rollercoaster, the Steel Taipan. It continues to make me crazy that Dreamworld seems to remove a ride before opening another, as opposed to just adding to the collection. They do not seem to be short on space! Buzzsaw was later sold to Gumbuya World in Victoria, where it has re-opened as Project Zero.
In 2016, there was a terrible accident at Dreamworld where four people tragically lost their lives on the Thunder River Rapids Ride. Australians were really shocked by the event, particularly as the ride was always considered a safe low-key option for little ones. It was the right thing to do to remove the ride completely, and I hope that the families involved are getting the support they need.
I have visited the park a few times since the tragedy, but some of the magic has gone. The entire gold rush area has been demolished, meaning that Buzzsaw, the River Rapids Ride and the Log Ride no longer exist. After park closures and low crowd numbers, I feared that Dreamworld would never recover. However in 2019, a flying simulator theatre ride opened called Sky Voyager. This appeared to be the first major investment from the park in years.
In 2021, Dreamworld brought another Mack rollercoaster to Australia, called the Steep Taipan. I had great expectations for this ride, especially as I was fortunate to visit the Mack family home ground in Germany, Europa Park. Steel Taipan was advertised as Australia’s only triple launch rollercoaster with speeds of up to 105 km/hr, and I am pleased to say it lived up to the hype! Like the Scooby Doo, DC Rivals and Storm coaster rides before it, this Mack gem brings a bit of prestige to a park.
I returned to Dreamworld in January 2022 for my first post Covid lockdown trip. All the Village Roadshow parks were disgustingly busy during the school holiday period, so we were thrilled that Dreamworld was very quiet. My friend Jill and I went straight to Steel Taipan. While there are some similarities with Blue Fire in Germany, Steel Taipan lacks theming, and the triple launches all occur on the same piece of track, since the coaster goes forwards, backwards, then forwards again. Regardless, we loved the ride, and returned for another eight turns with non-existent wait times. At one point the ride got stuck prior to launch. We were strapped in under the hot sun for about 30 minutes, entertaining ourselves by singing Queen songs. I am not sure the other riders were entertained by our vocal abilities. The staff were great, and gave us a free pass to skip the queue once we were escorted off the ride, not that it was needed.
It kills me that both Movie World and Dreamworld now charge extra to ride the back seats of their high-profile coasters. The Steel Taipan privilege cost an extra $25 for one turn which was outrageous, and a one-time only deal! The back seat “tail whip” experience was truly awesome with unexpected rotations, but unaffordable for repeat turns.
This trip was also the first time I was able to ride Sky Voyager. Like similar rides I had experienced overseas, this was a nice family friendly addition which provided a great indoor option on hot days. Jill and I felt that Steel Taipan and Sky Voyager are the only two great rides currently at Dreamworld.
In late 2022, Dreamworld announced over $50 million worth of investments for the park throughout 2023 and 2024. These included a chair swing ride, a couple of new kiddy rides, refreshing of the vintage cars, and a family rollercoaster called Jungle Rush. Wiggles World is being rethemed as Rivertown. While the investment is sorely needed, I am selfishly disappointed that Dreamworld seems to be targeting the under 10s market. I would love to see it return to its former glory days as the best Australian fun park for high thrill rides. On paper, it seems that Dreamworld are doing their usual thing of spending millions rebranding rides and re-theming areas without necessarily improving the overall experience or quality of rides. Fingers crossed this is just the first investment of many!
Summary
Ticket prices:
One day pass (online): $109 for kids, $119 for adults. Add an extra $10 at the gate.
3 day ticket for Dreamworld, Whitewater World (water park) and Skypoint: $149
Locals get much better deals, like an annual pass for $129.
Number of rollercoasters as of 2023: Four (one excellent, three average)
Roller Coaster Ramble 