Top 10 Gold Coast theme park rides we miss from Dreamworld, Magic Mountain and Sea World
From the Corkscrew at Sea World to Wet’N’Wild’s Double Screamer, these at the top 10 Gold Coast theme park rides we miss the most.
History
Don't miss out on the headlines from History. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Gold Coast is Australia’s theme park capital, with four of the world’s most famous attractions just a short drive away from each other.
Since the opening of the Nobby Beach chairlift in 1962, the Glitter Strip has become synonymous with thrill rides which have captured the imagination of the public and brought millions of visitors to the city.
But like any attraction, things get refreshed over the years and some of our best-loved rides have gone the way of the scrap heap.
Here are the top 10 rides we miss.
10: Young Einstein Gravity Homestead (Movie World)
Based on the popular 1988 Yahoo Serious movie Young Einstein, this wild and wacky attraction was part of Movie World from its opening in 1991. Surprisingly popular, it lasted a decade until it closed in late 2001 to make way for the Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience.
9: Blue Lagoon (Dreamworld)
The first water park to be built at a major theme park, the Blue Lagoon opened in 1983, a full year before Cades County Water Park.
It featured three slides – The Toboggan, The Aqualoop Flume and Krakatoa’s Revenge which were built out of a fake mountain.
It closed in mid-2006 when it was replaced by WhiteWater World.
8: Gremlins ride (Movie World)
Another debut ride from the park’s opening, it was among the most popular rides of the 1990s, along with Batman. It saw visitors sit in a theatre as the Gremlins attacked, forcing them to ride through a film archive which has been taken over by the Gremlins. Its closure was announced on Sunday, September 9, 2001. It was replaced the following year by the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster.
7: Magic Mountain Chairlift (Magic Mountain)
The Coast’s first big ride, it was a simple chairlift which went to the top of the headland behind Miami High. It remained through the park development of the 1980s and was finally relocated to Dreamworld after Magic Mountain’s closure.
6: Viking’s Revenge Flume Ride (Sea World)
Sea World’s first major ride, it cost more than $350,000 in 1978. A log flume ride, it ran along a castle and was later incorporated into the Bermuda Triangle.
It closed in 2016 in the aftermath of the tragedy at Dreamworld.
5: The speed slides/Twister (Wet’n’Wild)
Built in 1984 for Wet’N’Wild when it was initially known as Cades County Water Park, it was the flagship ride. There were two high-speed slides which were placed alongside The Twister, an enclose pair of slides which wrapped around each other. Both were gone by the late 2000s, with the Twister moving to the Big Splash park in Canberra.
4: Bermuda Triangle (Sea World)
Built in the mid-1990s, the Bermuda Triangle was created to boost visitor numbers to the park. It replaced the old Lassiter’s Lost Mine ride and saw patrons ride through two fake volcanoes, one of which shot fire into the sky. The ride gradually fell into disrepair in the late 2000s and it closed for the last time in 2010.
3: Corkscrew (Sea World)
Built in 1982, this wild roller coaster became heavily used in advertising the Gold Coast through the 1980s and 1990s.
It was revamped in the late 2000s and became the Sea Viper before closing in mid-2014.
2: Double Screamer (Wet’n’Wild)
Built in 1984, it was originally known as the Rampage toboggan ride. Rebranded the Double Screamer in 1993, it was a must-ride for all visitors to the water park.
It saw riders on a plastic toboggan drop down a steep-incline slide and skim across the water to a stop.
It closed in 2005 after safety concerns.
1: Thunderbolt (Dreamworld)
Dreamworld’s original roller coaster, it began operating five months after the park opened in December 1981.
It was famous for its double-loops which were later repainted orange.
It closed in 2003.
‘Lost without her’: Coast councillor’s sudden tragic death
One of the Gold Coast City Council’s best-loved members died suddenly, leaving family, friends and colleagues devastated and remember her as leaving a “profound impact”.
‘Best in Australia’: Inside Gold Coast’s own days of thunder
The Gold Coast once had its own racetrack which hosted everything from local races to multiple Formula 1 world champions including Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark.