Australia 2011: Day 18 - Warner Bros. Movie World and Surfer's Paradise

Oct. 3rd

I had the hardest time getting up this morning. Was all this travel finally catching up with me? Nah!! The air conditioning kept going on and off, and that eventually got me out of bed. We’d been trying to decide how long we wanted to stay in the Gold Coast, and determined we’d stay another night. So we headed down to the lobby to extend our stay. Then we went on a mission: to find a shuttle to Warner Brothers Movie World. When Leah and I visited, we went to all three major amusement parks in the area and somehow managed to get a shuttle to each one, considering we didn’t have a car. Surely it would be that easy again, right? Well, it turns out you needed reservations well in advance, and since we didn’t, we were out of luck. Not a big deal except that meant we’d have to drive again – something we sincerely wanted a break from after all this. Luckily, Movie World wasn’t extremely far away, so back into the saddle we hopped.

When last I was in the region, of the three parks we’d visited, Movie World was my second favorite, just under Dream World and better than Sea World. It was an interesting place, featuring many movies and actually allowing us on the set of a few including Riddler’s Lair from “Batman Forever,” which was quite impressive. My only disappointment was its size – there wasn’t all that much to do. Well, such was the case on this visit, though there was more than in 1998. I had told Nate about the backstage tour, but sadly that had been discontinued, as had the Gremlin ride, which was a lot of fun. Instead, we were treated to a few new roller coasters, and I was able to drool over the new Green Lantern coaster that was being built in the parking lot. Speaking of the lot, we were excited to discover that parking was free! That’s always a nice treat. Inside the park, the lines were ridiculously long, so although there wasn’t much to see, it would certainly take an entire day.

One of the best attractions was the Superman roller coaster, a launched ride that had you soaring above the park. It was fantastic. It was also the one ride with the silly rule that you couldn’t take anything on it with you, even if you put it in zipped up pockets. They required you to rent a locker and store things there. It was a pain, but what can you do. I guess the ride was worth the extra charge. I’d have loved to have ridden it again, but with the lines as long as they were, time would not permit.

There was also a really cool Scooby-Do themed indoor Wild Mouse that starts out with an elevator lift, and drops you onto the track backwards, so you’re speeding around, not knowing where you’re going. That was a lot of fun. I’m counting their water ride, Wild West Falls, a roller coaster because it’s on a track and features a coastery move or two. That was a blast as well. Then there was Lethal Weapon: The Ride (which, since we’ve returned, has been renamed Arkham Asylum). Back when I rode it last, this Vekoma SLC (suspended looping coaster) was so much fun that I rode it five times in a row. Other coaster enthusiasts would ridicule that, saying I was crazy for liking an SLC. But I swear, this ride was really good back then! How would 13 years have treated it? Well, let’s just say that I spent the entire ride wondering if I would bust an eardrum, have brain damage, or snap my neck. It was the most painful, horrendous ride ever, and they need to tear it down! I’m amazed no one’s been bashed to death on that thing. I’m pretty sure my brain was bleeding once we got off the ride, and yet I heard people in line saying “This ride is great!!” Ummm, I think my brain damage prediction came true for some of them.

Beyond this, we watched the stunt car show, which I think I’d seen all those years ago, did the Batman simulator ride, which is one of the best simulators around, and rode the Road Runner roller coaster. Despite the lines and being such a small park, we had a fun time. I really wish we’d have had time to revisit Dreamworld, which I sincerely think is the better park. Plus they had even more new coasters!! Yet another reason to go back, not like we need one.

After the park, we attempted to do dinner at Dracula’s Redrum Cabaret dinner theater, but sadly it was closed on Mondays. Instead, we headed back to Surfer’s main drag and toured a five-storey haunted house that featured things like walking through Australia’s former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s digestive system. That was pretty cool, actually! From there, we did the Infinity Attraction, something we’d never seen before. Essentially a light and mirror maze, full of special effects, this 40 minute attraction was unique and dizzying. Very cool, and definitely worth experiencing at least once.

From there, we decided to have dinner at a Thai restaurant that was a bit off the main drag. It was absolutely lovely – they kept filling our water without having to request it, the food was superb, and they had individual champagne bottles full of the tastiest bubbly, and served with a raspberry. So wonderful! The atmosphere was great too. It had an island feel, and we were seated right next to a tranquil koi pond with a waterfall. *sigh*

We ended the night with an ice cream and a romantic walk along the beach. It was a wonderful end to our stay in Surfer’s Paradise.