Photo TR: Chuck Goes Down Under with TPR

[BeemerBoyWDW Monorail Fanatic]

Love it, Chuck!

[moinabI wish they would make Street Fighter Donkey.]

Love the "Chuck Seduces the Cupcakes" photo!

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

^Pretty much the other way around.

[rosscoeI own the website www.donkey.com]

Great trip report Chuck.

You know the aussie slang for vegemite is Vaginamite

[QBaldeI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

"The Mother-in-Law Miss". So wrong....so right!

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

I'm glad everyone is enjoying this TR. Going through all these photos makes me want to go back, but being as that isn't very practical at the moment, I'll have to content myself with . . .

Chapter 2--"Of All the Theme Parks in All the Towns in All the World": Warner Bros. Movie World

Ah, remember the big movie-studio-park craze of the 1990s? Yes, after seeing the success of Disney and Universal, other movie studios, being the original thinkers they are, thought they should could get a piece of that sweet action. Big wheels wearing big suits and smoking big cigars, in-between snorting big lines of coke, figured, "Hey--we need to be on this 'synergy' bandwagon. What's good for the Mouse is good for us! Call some people! Make it happen!"

And so Warners and Paramount did--until they decided to bail.

But there is one park that bears the name "Warner Bros." and it's on the Gold Coast of Australia. And it's a very good park, too--nicely themed with the two best coasters Down Under:

Superman Escape--This is a very good Intamin launched coaster, sort of a "mini-Xcelerator." But although the ride itself is brief, it makes up for that with a well-done dark-ride section depicting an earthquake and nice pops of airtime after an intense launch. Movie World did a great job theming this coaster. Some American parks could learn something from this ride.

Scooby-Doo's Spooky Coaster--This is a Mack "mouse in a box" with yet another nicely done dark-ride portion. The elevator lift, backward section, and "rave" like light show are plusses, too. Lots of fun. It really makes Six Flags Dark Knight coasters look sad.

Road Runner Roller Coaster--A well-themed Rollerskater, which follows a fairly long course. How many rides play the entire soundtrack (dialogue, music, and sound effects) of classic Looney Tunes while you wait in line? (Well, to me this is cool. Others may disagree.)

Lethal Weapon: The Ride--On the one hand, this ride's queue is well themed. On the other, it's an SLC (Satan's Looping Coaster). In fact, this was the roughest SLC I've ever ridden; however, others told me that the one at Kentucky Kingdom was even worse.

Movie World's other highlights include a good stunt-car show, a fun, Western-themed log flume, and a good Batman simulator ride. What this park needs is one or two more "big" rides to put it over the top. Oddly enough, a "real" dark ride would be a good addition, I think; they've already proven they can do it with coasters.

But, all in all, this a solid park that's defintely worth a visit. There's plenty to do to fill up your day. I rate it a cut above its German cousin, Movie Park.

Let's take a look at Movie World--after we get out of Sydney and over to Surfers Paradise, of course.

[rollin_n_coastinDon't put that donkey on the floor!]

What a fantastic looking park. The bridge climb looks much more doable compared to say, a Scad tower

I'm with you, the cupcake shop could of helped "pass" some time.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

That's NOT all, folks! More from Warner Bros. Movie World.

[milst1Jason X versus the Robot Space Donkey!]

Witty and clever and informative and entertaining as usual, Chuck!

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

Chapter 3--Coasters, Critters, and Half-Naked TPR Members: Sea World and Wet 'n' Wild

When it comes to sea-life parks, I'm more into the walkthrough aquariums and habitats than the shows. I mean how many times can you watch a dolphin, killer whale, seal, or a tuna fish leap in the air or play a set of car horns before it ceases to amuse? Better to amble by as they swim around.

This is why Sea World Australia (no relation to Sea Worlds in the States) fills the bill for me. Yes, they have shows, but they keep them to less than 20 minutes--perfect! The dolphin show is pretty good. The obligatory comic seal-lion show and pirate stunt show, not as much. The performers in the stunt show were an energetic bunch, anyway--all gymnastics and diving champions. But Elissa wins my vote for Comment of the Day, when she quipped that these kinds of shows are where such champions "go to die." (Espeically those who fail make the cut for Cirque or Barnum and Bailey.) One other thing about Sea World's shows--this is the first time I've ever seen a trained pelican.

Their walkthough habitats are pretty well done. For example, the penguin exhibit lets you get pretty close to the penguins (albeit behind a thick sheet of glass) because you aren't separated from them by a wide moat. There's an underwater section where you can watch them swim around, too. Shark Reef is also good, if not as awe-inspiring as the Shark Encounter in Orlando. But, as we all know, sharks are always cool.

There's a surprisingly good family coaster here, too: Jet Rescue. This is an Intamin tire-launched coaster that follows a twisting course while you ride on "Jet Skis." (This ride is what Knott's Pony Express should've been like.) The theming is a bit odd, though--something about riding your Jet Ski into a "blowhole" to save a "majestic sea lion," who apparently doesn't fancy being in a blowhole (or being blown, I guess). The park's other coaster, Sea Viper, is an old Arrow loopscrew that, in Robb's words, "didn't kill us," which is good. Not a great ride, but OK for what it is.

Sea World also offers an average flume ride themed to Vikings and a fairly substantial Sesame Street kids area.

Wet 'n' Wild is a decent water park, but I think we may have caught them on an off day. Their new Aqua Loop slide was shutdown--something about peeling the skin off of riders' backs--as was their Tornado slide. The park's Intamin halfpipe coaster, Surfrider, is fun and spins quite a bit, and I liked their other slides. My only real complaint was their "no single rider" policy on many attractions. I understand this is essential on some slides (Aquazoid at Water Country in Williamsburg will "valley" if there isn't enough weight in the raft, for example), but it can be a bit awkward if you're part of an odd-numbered group. David and I ended up sharing a few rafts and tubes together, and when you put two guys as big as us in one raft, you can get some speed. We actually touched the top wall of their "halfpipe" slide, Kamikaze--BANZAI!

The ERT on the park's Flowrider was a lot of fun (even if it was bit chilly that night). This was my first crack at one of these. I started out pretty well, but lost my boogie board and had to get off--only to slip and fall flat on my back. (Good thing it was like landing on a wet pillow.) I'm looking forward to trying this again.

This was also the night we took in the Australian Outback Spectacular--the Down Under version of Medieval Times or Dixie Stampede. This show involves horses, cows, sheeps, pigs, World War I, explosions, and a helicopter. I was surprised a koala version of Godzilla didn't show up. It was also involved steak and unlimited beer, wine, or soda, which works for me. Some TPR members, including Kristin, even got to be a part of the show.

All in all, a great day with some new stuff I'd never tried before. Both parks treated us really well, too.