Being a Brisbane boy we have a lot of different things to choose when it comes to spending our weekend out. We can go to the city, up the coast, down the coast or inland to find some amazing attractions.
Whether your in Brisbane or the Gold Coast our adventure today takes place around the midway mark along the highway.
Warner Bros. Movie world is a popular movie related them park on the Gold Coast (well it originally was). It originally opened in 1991 and its attractions we're learning based and movie related. Some of these were a Movie studio tour, Police academy show and western action show which now have been replaced. The parks first roller coaster The Lethal Weapon opened in 1992, the same year the Batman adventure ride opened.
From the opening of the park till now it has changed numerous times. Rides changed as new movies were released, new technology motivated show changes and trends were another major factor.
In the 2000 - 2010 timeline huge movies impacted the creation of exhibits such as the Matrix and Harry Potter movie magic experience.
I was not lucky enough to visit the park as a younger man so I missed all the rides and exhibits prior to 2008. My first visit was just after they changed the police academy show to the Hollywood stunt drivers.
I've visited frequently over the last years because I've had the opportunity to purchase an annual pass which makes life easy when you feel like going. The price for a single entry has rocketed.
Over the last few years the park has shifted from movie related to super heros and in particular DC heros. They have opened new and replaced old rides with Superman, Batman and Justice league themed rides. The Scooby Doo coaster and the Wild West are all that remain of the movie rides.
Why have they done this? DC entertainment is a company of Warner Bros indeed and which is now one of their biggest money makers.
As soon as I entered this fact came to live with the gift shop decorations and the giant Batman Spaceshot that sits around the fountain. This is a fun ride which gives you the chance to be shot up the tower instead of many rides that drop you. It lasts about 30 seconds but is a great one to start the stomach churning fun early.
I always enjoy my time at theme parks due to the fact I love roller coasters. A typical visit means I will ride everyone before retiring for the day. The park made a few modifications to allow ride ease by placing the Superman Escape and Jokers Arkham Asylum (originally the lethal weapon) entries close. I enjoyed the change to Lethal Weapon as I'm a fan of the dark gritty side to the Batman storyline.
Once we rode these twisting, turning body bashing rides we casually wandered to the far side of the park and jumped on the Scooby Doo coaster and the Wild West soon after. These are both classics and a little more gentle on the body. I have to say, my favorite of all the rides is The Scooby Doo coaster, its just so much fun even for us big kids.
Luck for us the weather was a little grey and that turned many park goers away making the lines pretty short. We had half the park done by 1pm which allowed us to catch up on the last Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 show. This was tire screeching fun that got the crowd involved but not as good as the first show due to most of the show being a repeat action.
That's a wrap for the day as they say. As we were about to leave the parade started at the main square which we always feel obliged to stop and watch. A mixture of DC and Looney toon characters driving by before stopping for a short show, sounds fun, but it felt a little stale too me due to poor acting and some bad costumes.
After that finished we were done for the day and that left me where I am now.
I had a great time like I usually do at theme parks but I feel that Movie World is stuck in the middle of a transition between movies and superheroes. It doesn't effect the overall fun you can have but it is a little confusing to have a strong superhero presence while the buildings still look like older movie sets.
Go check it out for yourself of course and have fun when you do. It's an amazing place for all ages and I'm sure the younger visitors will have a blast seeing their favourite heros.
For more photos of my adventures follow me on Instagram:
@Shanwowmagic
#adventuresofshanwow
