Inside the new King Claw: Dreamworld reveals its biggest and fastest swing ride.
A Gold Coast theme park designer has turned to king crabs and Jules Verne for inspiration in creating what will be the Southern Hemisphere's largest gyro swing.
Laine Firth has discovered what it’s like to get into the swing of things, as the finishing touches are put on the Gold Coast’s newest theme park ride - the King Claw.
Mr Firth was the creative director on the project, having worked on several of Dreamworld’s rides in recent years, and is celebrating having his first concept developed into an attraction.
The 37-year-old developed the ride’s ocean theming, which he said would make it stand out from its decommissioned predecessor which closed earlier this year.
“(Dreamworld) wanted to do a bigger version of The Claw so my focus was on what it could look like,” he said.
“We looked at the colours which already existed in the park and decided to choose something else.
“While we had the old Claw, this is the King Claw and given it has an ocean theme, we thought about the king crab, the largest species of its kind and that’s how we came up with the concept.
“I researched video games, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as the ocean and some industry and mashed it all together to come up with a ride which has its own identity.”
Mr Firth has previously worked on Dreamworld attractions including the Steel Taipan and Rivertown.
The new ride will open in December.
Dreamworld announced in late 2024 that the Claw would cease operating in January 2025 after two decades as one of the theme park’s best-loved attractions.
Construction of the new ride began mid-year and will become one of the largest of its kind in the world.
The King Claw will be the largest Intamin gyro swing ride in the Southern Hemisphere, standing 27m tall and will send riders 42m into the air, reaching speeds of almost 100km/h.
The pendulum will swing through 120 degrees and reach speeds of 98km/h.
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