Sea World New Atlantis: When Leviathan and Trident will open
Some of the Gold Coast’s best-loved attractions are no more. Theme park bosses reveal the truth behind their disappearances.
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GOLD Coast theme park bosses are on the hunt for new rides and attractions.
The Bulletin this week revealed in its Future Gold Coast coverage that Village Roadshow theme parks chief operating officer Bikash Randhawa was in the US this week to attend the IAAPA Expo trade show for the attractions industry in Orlando, Florida which showcases the latest in ride technology.
While he was looking for new rides, clearing continued at the former site of a well-loved Gold Coast ride of yesteryear.
The former Lethal Weapon roller coaster was a major attraction at Warner Bros Movie World in the 1990s and 2000s
It’s one of the many thrill rides the Gold Coast has lost over the years.
The Lethal Weapon was launched in 1995 at a cost of $16m and then-park boss John Menzies said it was created to bring more tourists in.
“We have done a lot of exit surveys over the past couple of years, where we’ve asked visitors to the park what they may have thought could improve it,’’ he said.
“The most common response is that the park needs a really exciting new ride.
“What we have aimed for here is the ultimate experience in roller coasters.’’
It was rebranded to the Batman-themed Arkham Asylum in the 2010s before shutting down in 2019.
It has made way for a giant Wizard of Oz-themed attraction.
It was one of a range of thrill rides introduced in the mid-1990s.
One of the most popular of that era was Sea World’s Bermuda Triangle which opened in April 1994.
It took “travellers on a startling mission aboard Coast Guard research vessels into “the unknown’’ to investigate sudden volcanic activity and strange disappearances at sea.”
Its giant fire-spitting fibreglass volcano could be seen from Southport and its bursts of flames from its roof would turn heads.
It closed in 2010.
Of course, the best-remember thrill ride was also the original – the Thunderbolt.
Opened at Dreamworld in early 1982, it was famous for giant double-loop.
Prominently used in advertising for the Gold Coast, it stood for two decades before being retired in 2003.
Then-Dreamworld boss Tony Braxton-Smith said at the time it was necessary to say goodbye to old rides.
“Removing the coaster paves … will herald some exciting developments in this part of the park, including the addition of some of the latest cutting edge thrill rides to be rolled out.”
First look: Inside $50m theme park ride precinct
THEME-PARK bosses are out shopping for the next big thrill rides just two weeks before the launch of the Gold Coast’s newest attractions.
Village Roadshow theme parks chief operating officer Bikash Randhawa has flown to the US this week to attend the IAAPA Expo trade show for the attractions industry in Orlando, Florida which showcases the latest in ride technology.
The event brings together movers and shakers from the theme park, hotel and resort, water park and cultural centre sectors to see what will be on offer in coming years.
Mr Randhawa, speaking to the Bulletin before his departure, said it was critical to be on the look out for the next big thing.
“This is a fantastic event and a great opportunity to meet with some of the best ride manufacturers in the world and it’s integral to the future planning of our theme parks,” he said.
“At the expo, we can experience the latest trends and innovations in the industry and identify what will benefit and compliment our existing attractions to provide new experiences for our guests.”
However, don’t expect to see a new ride suddenly appear in coming months – there is generally a three to five year turnaround between buying an attraction and its opening day.
It comes as Village Roadshow puts the finishing touches on its $50m New Atlantis precinct before it opens on December 2 after more than three years of work.
Project manager Cameron Crawford is among those inspecting each piece of the park ahead of opening day and a summer that is expected to draw the largest crowds the park has seen since at least 2019.
It comes nearly two years after the first piece of the precinct, the Vortex thrill ride, opened in December 2020. The New Atlantis concept was announced in mid-2019 and was originally expected to be completed by June 2021.
However, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues caused significant delays to construction of the attraction’s centrepieces – the Leviathan rollercoaster and Trident, right in time for the beginning of the school holidays.
The past year has also seen both Village Roadshow and Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure launch other attractions.
December 2021 saw Dreamworld debut its $32m Steel Taipan and Wet’n’Wild open Australia’s tallest water slide.
And there’s more to come.
Ardent is understood to be considering a range of new attractions after abandoning plans for a $75m hotel at Coomera, while Village Roadshow is pushing ahead with a $333m, 600-room hotel tower at Movie World.
The latter theme park is also a hive of activity where the city’s next major attraction is currently under construction.
The site, which was once home to the Arkham Asylum and Lethal Weapon rollercoaster, is being razed and clear to make way for a giant Wizard of Oz-themed precinct.
Primarily aimed at children and families, the precinct will have at least two roller-coasters – a “a multi-launch coaster, capable of reaching speeds of almost 70km/hr around a 454m track and a racing coaster where thrillseekers will travel simultaneously on two 220m tracks reaching speeds of up to 58km/hr.”
Revealed: When $50m theme park rides precinct will finally open
SEA World will launch into the first Covid-free Christmas season in three years with the opening of its long-delayed New Atlantis precinct.
The gates will open on December 2 for the $50m attraction’s centrepieces – the Leviathan rollercoaster and Trident, right in time for the beginning of the school holidays.
And it’s just the beginning for the Gold Coast, with tourism bosses tipping the city and its attractions are in for a bumper festive season.
Village Roadshow CEO Clark Kirby said the finishing touches were being put on the rides which were first announced in May 2019.
“We are thrilled to announce the official opening date for the Leviathan and Trident attractions in the New Atlantis precinct at Sea World will be Friday, December 2,” he said.
“Our team are currently completing the final stages of commissioning for both attractions, and we can’t wait for our guests to experience these rides.
“The ride theming and guest experience is like nothing we have done before, and the precinct will be a game changer for Sea World and Australian theme parks.”
The Trident will become Australia’s tallest slide tower and soars 42 metres off the ground, spinning guests at 38km/h.
The Leviathan, costing $20m on its own, will be the first new wooden rollercoaster built in Australia and features two backwards-facing seats on its carriages.
It comes nearly two years after the first piece of the precinct, the Vortex thrill ride opened in December 2020. The new Atlantis concept was announced in mid-2019 and was originally expected to be completed by June 2021.
However, the impact of Covid and supply chain issues caused significant delays to construction, with the finish date for both the Leviathan and Trident pushed back multiple times.
Big crowd numbers are expected at the city’s theme parks through the Christmas season, which will be the first without any Covid-enforced border closures since 2019.
Tourism industry figures are bracing for a strong season, with early bookings already suggesting December and January will deliver the goods for long-suffering operators.
Destination Gold Coast’s strategy boss Rachel Hancock said: “Accommodation providers are already reporting strong bookings sitting at over 68 per cent on average for the Christmas and New Year period.
“For many of our 10,000 tourism businesses, we know this is the summer they have long waited for being the first time in two years unimpeded by borders.
“With eight weeks to go, there is still availability across our hotels and resorts, motels and tourist parks, so we encourage holiday-makers to shop around for a holiday that suits their budget and needs.”
New Year’s Eve weekend bookings are already sitting at above 70 per cent.
The tourism sector, worth more than $6bn before Covid, lost more than $4bn in value across 2020 and 2021.
While the international tourism recovery has occurred slowly, domestic visitor numbers to the city have bounced back quickly.
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