Gold Coast theme parks reveal reopening schedule of Dreamworld, Movie World after Cyclone Alfred

The Gold Coast’s popular theme parks have revealed when the fun returns - with their reopening schedules after Cyclone Alfred pummelled the city over the weekend. See when your fave returns

The Gold Coast’s theme parks are set to reopen after copping only minimal damage from Cyclone Alfred.

In an announcement to the ASX this morning, Dreamworld’s parent company Coast Entertainment Holdings said Skypoint, on Q1, had reopened Tuesday, with Dreamworld set to re-open Wednesday morning.

WhiteWater World and the Dreamworld Night Markets will reopen on Friday.

Meanwhile, Village Roadshow Theme Parks’ Sea World, Movie World, Wet’n’Wild, Topgolf and Paradise Country were set to reopen at 10am on Wednesday.

The Wizard of Oz precinct at Warner Bros Movie World. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Gold Coast theme parks were smashed in the Christmas night storm two years ago, suffering millions of dollars in damage and lost revenue, which left them unable to open for weeks throughout the busiest tourist season.

Coast Entertainment said those experiences had left them better prepared this time around.

“With safety our number one priority, we confirm that there have been no injuries to any guests, team members or animals,” the statement said.

“Our properties have experienced temporary closures due to the severe weather conditions, with Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and SkyPoint being closed for seven, three and six trading days respectively.

“While these closures have impacted trading, they have occurred during what is traditionally an off-peak period, which has lessened the financial impact to a degree.

“The company’s properties “were not materially impacted by the storm, with damage being

efficiently rectified by our facilities and engineering teams.

“This improved outcome can be partly attributed to Coast’s major investment in facilities infrastructure over the last few years and the continuous improvement of comprehensive crisis preparedness plans, which have allowed our operations to emerge from this significant weather event relatively unscathed, short of the temporary trading loss.”

Hayley Bogaard at the New Rivertown precinct at Dreamworld. Pic Annette Dew

Village Roadshow Theme Parks COO Bikash Randhawa said the city’s disaster management team deserved credit for enabling the group to prepare early and minimise damage.

“During the temporary closure, we had critical support team members on-site to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of the animals in our care at Sea World, Australian Outback Spectacular and Paradise Country,” he said.

“We also had our electrical engineers and filtration technicians, all staying on site to monitor critical infrastructures, water quality and life support systems around the clock.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have such dedicated and committed team members, with many being away from their families, to ensure they provide a level of support for the animals who reside with us, along with our critical infrastructures, and we are extremely grateful for their efforts.”