Dreamworld | Jungle Rush | Vekoma Switchback Coaster | 2024

[Gazza]

Dreamworld have just held a presser with their planned additions for the next 2 years.

Dreamworld Theme Park | All worlds in one

Welcome to Australia’s largest theme park. Experience thrilling rides, wildlife encounters, waterpark, and endless smiles.

www.dreamworld.com.au

$50m AUD total investment

Main additions

2023 - Dreamworld Flyer wave swinger in entry plaza.



2023 - Big Red Boat - Unknown kiddy coaster



2024- Jungle Rush - Vekoma family coaster with "worlds first" tilted turntable, 12 airtime moments, forwards and backwards.



2024- Murrisippi Motors - Vintage Car Ride

 

[Indy]

I have such an irrational love for this park and am a big fan of these additions. There were clear opportunities for growth and expansion during my visit three years ago and these additions really fill some of those holes. I also find it fascinating how Australia continues to go nuts with expansions in the current decade.

 

[cookie]

View attachment 21817

Looks like a powered coaster going by the track. Since it's in a kiddie area, I'm thinking Zamperla.


Looks like the Vekoma coaster is going to come with some pretty impressive rock work also.

 

[Matt N]

Out of interest, has this park had a change in ownership or something in recent years?

I only ask because they seem to have considerably upped the ante investment-wise in the last couple of years, with Steel Taipan opening in 2021 and now this huge Vekoma family coaster in 2024.

Things certainly look bright at Dreamworld!

 

[cookie]

Out of interest, has this park had a change in ownership or something in recent years?

I only ask because they seem to have considerably upped the ante investment-wise in the last couple of years, with Steel Taipan opening in 2021 and now this huge Vekoma family coaster in 2024.

Things certainly look bright at Dreamworld!

The Thunder Rapids disaster led to a lot of changes in the upper management at Ardent Leisure (including replacing the CEO) and the new leadership seem adamant in revitalizing the park, hence large investments like Steel Taipan and this.

 

[Efteldingus]

Could Jungle Rush be a similar coaster type to Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood? I sort of get the feeling that this is a new ride type by Vekoma, large scale family coasters with loads of possibilities layout-wise. The trains on the concept art look quite similar to the BBM train presented at IAAPA last week, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the same style of track used for this either. I think Vekoma might (again) be onto a winner here

 

[Justin2000]

Man Australia loves Vekomas lately. They're building 5 from now to 2024

I'm saying I'm jealous

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Looks like a powered coaster going by the track. Since it's in a kiddie area, I'm thinking Zamperla.

Zamperla doesn’t do 4x4 cars on any of their junior coasters (barring a few older exceptions), and it’s not going to be Vekoma either. Given the hardware my best guesses are the other Italian companies, perhaps Preston & Barbieri or SBF Visa.


There’s also been some talk on the Parkz forum about Jungle Rush’s ride experience, as expected. There will not be another switch track outside of that tilted turntable, so every other train will be taking the majority of the layout either forwards or backwards. It’s been designed to be traversed both ways, which will be really interesting to see ( especially in the station )

 

[cookie]

Zamperla doesn’t do 4x4 cars on any of their junior coasters (barring a few older exceptions), and it’s not going to be Vekoma either. Given the hardware my best guesses are the other Italian companies, perhaps Preston & Barbieri or SBF Visa.
View attachment 21827

Zamperla does 4-seater cars on their powered coasters, even the smaller ones. The track design doesn’t really suggest SBF Visa or P&B (who afaik hasn’t built powered coasters) to me.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

The Big Red Boat kiddy coaster will be replacing the park's original 1982 Puss in Boots Sword Swing ride, which is being made redundant by the new wave swinger at the park's entrance; https://www.facebook.com/permalink....W5AqiKsgc2ddmhCNmYnGaLMEvl&id=100071539044404

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Looks like a powered coaster going by the track. Since it's in a kiddie area, I'm thinking Zamperla.

Yeah so I’m very dumb, Zamperla has confirmed that they’re involved and it is a powered coaster;

Zamperla Coasters on Instagram: "We are excited about our Powered Coaster being part of Dreamworld’s expansion. This attraction will be one of the centerpieces of this year’s project. As a new father our APAC Sales Manager Filippo Sbalchiero is extre

Zamperla Coasters shared a post on Instagram: "We are excited about our Powered Coaster being part of Dreamworld’s expansion. This attraction will be one of the centerpieces of this year’s project. As a new father our APAC Sales Manager Filippo Sbalchiero is extremely excited about the addition...

www.instagram.com

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Aight it's been a few months, a recap of the highlights may be in hand.

A recent TV reveal of the Big Red Boat powered coaster, some stats from IAAPA Expo Singapore, and recent pics of ground having been broken;



The repainted and rebranded Kenny's Forest Flyer hang'n'bang reopened with its new identity last week;


The Wave Swinger is now being installed;


Some artwork of Jungle Rush's entrance and the car ride from Ardent Leisure's recent earnings call;


It was also mentioned in the said TV News report that Dreamworld will close ABC Kids World in October, which will be demolished for Rivertown/Jungle Rush. One of its attractions, the Play School Wheel, is scheduled for maintenance from October 9 to December 8, in which it'll likely be relocated to the revamped Kenny & Belinda's Dreamland zone. So yeah, expect work on the new coaster to begin around then.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

October recap, here we go;

Dreamworld Flyer is installed with ride LED's already running, the entrance globe is back in place, some final construction commissioning needs to still happen but it's on track to open later this year;

Source

Powered coaster needs a lot of concrete it seems;

Source

The big development however is Rivertown itself, for which a layout of both the cars ride and Jungle Rush coaster has been revealed. Probably the first thought that comes to mind is how dense the zone will be between two attractions and how much of it is reserved for each;


Jungle Rush continues to be a major enigma. As per my illustration below, the train must ascend the lift hill (green) in order to be directed via ZigZag turntable either towards the blue (outdoor) portion, or black portion (suspected to be within a structure). Now assuming it runs two trains (transfer track is purple), I'd say that it could take the black section backwards first before heading forwards to the blue section, but I've also seen suggestions that it could traverse the blue section twice and black once, passing through the station if it was running one train.


The coaster definitely is no Thunder Mountain (main area is comparable in size to the SLC next door), but it's intriguing to have a ride layout that keeps you guessing like this. In any case, demolition permits have been approved so once the park begins wrapping up their other projects we should see Rivertown get into full swing.

 

[Niles]

Track has arrived for the Zamperla Powered coaster Big Red Boat.

https://www.facebook.com/dwgoldenyears/posts/675906091344105

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

In terms of stuff, Big Red Boat did open a couple weeks ago, all riders welcome;


With all eyes on the other coaster, Pico Play - a known collaborator of Dreamworld - has shown off some themed panels for "a major project in Australia". So far, so good.


Source

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Double post and my apologies, but it's press time for Jungle Rush;

Dreamworld begin construction on Rivertown precinct
A Gold Coast theme park has began construction on a precinct which they say will “redefine family entertainment”, including a new roller coaster.

Dreamworld announced on Tuesday they were beginning construction on their new Rivertown precinct, which was a part of their $55 million investment into the theme park.

Rivertown will include a new family rollercoaster called the Jungle Rush.

Dreamworld CEO Greg Yong said the precinct would also include a remake on the popular Vintage Cars attraction at the theme park – to be called Murrissippi Motors.

“Rivertown is a testament to our commitment to innovation and creating unforgettable experiences for our guests,” he said.

“This precinct represents the culmination of meticulous planning and creativity.

“It’s the crowning jewel in our $55 million investment in Dreamworld, and really demonstrates our dedication to bringing world-class experiences to the Gold Coast.”

The Jungle Rush was set to be the first of its kind in Australia because of its ride design which included different cycle paths.

“Jungle Rush will be Dreamworld’s largest-ever investment in a single attraction, so it really is one for the record books.”


https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/dreamworld-begin-construction-on-rivertown-precinct-which-includes-new-ride-jungle-rush/news-story/88b709c32c908d6054e1bf6e439048ff

Construction is indeed rolling!


Source

Pico Play has been able to show off more of the theming elements, all of which is attached below. Seems like we could get a pretty cool ride out of this!

 

[witchfinder]

Any mention of an opening date? I tried to look at the linked article but it's behind a paywall. Hoping it might be open for early October when I visit.

 

[JoshC.]

Vekoma have announced on social media that they're opening a "Switchback" coaster at Dreamworld Australia next year...

Vekoma.Rides.Manufacturing on Instagram: "𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃'𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒! We're excited to announce that our new Switchback Coaster 'Jungle Rush' is opening in 2024 at Dreamworld Australia! This family-thrill coaster is set to be t

2,169 likes, 10 comments - vekoma.rides.manufacturing on February 8, 2024: "𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃'𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒! We're excited to announce that our new Switchback Coaster 'Jungle Rush' is opening in 2024 at Dreamworld Australia! This family-thrill coaster is set to be the first of...

www.instagram.com

Their first Switchback coaster, it offers different paths on each ride. So I guess the coaster has track switches meaning you would go down certain pieces of track, but never the complete set of track each ride.

Interesting concept with some legs in it.

Now question for the cred counters: how do you count this?

Edit - moved to existing thread.

 

[MrRC]

 

[VonRolland]

This has something to do with the prototype at the Vekoma factory doesn't it