Movie World praised for ‘hilarious’ smoking area at theme park

Movie World has been praised for a “hilarious” detail in its smoking area, with a video from the Queensland theme park going viral on TikTok.

A ‘hilarious’ detail in the smoking area at Movie World has gone viral.

Movie World has been praised for a “hilarious” detail spotted in one of the park’s designated smoking areas.

TikTok user Kate Barker uploaded a video of the Queensland theme park after she came across some very pointed decorations surrounding the smokers’ area.

“Australia has some pretty aggressive anti-smoking advertising on all cigarette products,” Ms Barker wrote on the video, which showed her approaching the smoking area.

“But the designated smoking area at Movie World takes the cake! It had me sniggering the whole way home!”

The video then pans across to show each side of the area decorated with dozens of gravestones.

A sign above the garden read “Boot Hill”, which is a name given to many cemeteries in western parts of North America.

The TikTok has had over 300,000 views. Picture: Kate Barker/TikTok

A gravestone can be seen behind the smoking area sign. Picture: Kate Barker/TikTok

The term alludes to the fact that many of its occupants were cowboys who “died with their boots on”, with the term becoming commonplace throughout the Old West.

“Must have been effective because I didn’t see a single smoker all day!” Ms Barker captioned the video.

A sign next to the area read: “Designated smoking area. Food or drink must not be taken into or consumed within this designated smoking area. Thank you.”

The video, uploaded on Monday, has been viewed more than 327,000 times and prompted thousands of comments from people praising the cheeky move.

The Boot Hill cemetery is located in the Wild West Falls precinct of the park. Picture: Kate Barker/TikTok

The proximity to the cemetery is reportedly a ‘coincidence’. Picture: Kate Barker/TikTok

However, a spokesperson for Village Roadshow, which operates Warner Bros Movie World, claims the proximity of the smoking area to the graveyard is nothing more than a coincidence.

“We have two designated smoking areas at Warner Bros Movie World and these have been placed in locations in the park which meet the requirements set by Queensland Government legislation including being set distances away from food and beverage outlets and buildings,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.

“One of the designated smoking areas is in the Wild West Falls precinct which is heavily themed and coincidently features a cemetery.”

However, this hasn’t deterred people from praising the theme park.

“HAHAHAHA I was at Movie World this year and thought the same thing. What a sense of humour,” one person wrote on the video.

“That’s actually hilarious,” another said.

One added: “OMG YES! This needs to be everywhere.”

Even smokers were having a laugh at the decorations, with many saying they had been there previously and never noticed.

“As a smoker, this honestly cracked me up,” one person said.

“Literally was there recently went for a smoke in the smokers’ area and never paid any attention except to the ride. That’s great,” another said.

Another claimed the decorations were “ineffective” as they had previously been to this exact spot and had never noticed the gravestones.

Australia is known for its tough anti-smoking laws. Picture: Chris Ison/The Morning Bulletin

Australia is known for its tough anti-smoking laws, including an excise on tobacco products, tobacco advertising bans, plain packaging laws, laws on smoking in public, and age limits on who can buy tobacco.

Earlier this year, Queenslanders were urged to have their say on a new government proposal that would ban smokers and e-cigarette users from drinking in designated smoking areas.

The proposal, which was announced on World Tobacco Day on May 31, further highlights a push for fresh bans on smoking at markets and school carparks.

The new measures also include prohibiting retail workers under 18 from selling smoking products and banning children under 18 from entering outdoor smoking areas.

Other key proposals include creating a licensing scheme for smoking retailers and wholesalers and moving vending machines out of the public eye and behind the counter at pubs and clubs.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the proposed restrictions would further discourage residents to light up in one of the toughest states on tobacco use in the world.

“We want to hear from Queenslanders, including small businesses, and we’ll advance our package of reforms based on the feedback to our regulatory impact statement for introduction into the Queensland parliament,” she said.

“In the past 20 years, we’ve seen the rate of smoking halve in Queensland, but there is more work to be done.

“Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Queensland.”