Dreamworld is one of the two major theme parks situated north of Gold Coast Australia. It takes around 30 minute drive from Surfers Paradise, or around 35 minutes drive from Brisbane.
There are a number of ticket options that were under my consideration. At the time of writing, the normal purchase price was AU$99/adult $89/child for a dated ticket, or AU$109/adult $99/child for a flexible date ticket. Given that the park closes as early as 4pm during winter, we want to find a multi-day ticket to ensure we visit all the attractions in the theme park.
For a two-day ticket it costs AU$139/person and AU$149/person for a three-day ticket for visits to Dreamworld Theme Park, WhiteWater World and SkyPoint. Sometimes, on their website, they provide promotions on multi-day tickets. For example, we purchased a two-day ticket buy 2 and get 2 free to visit Dreamworld Theme Park and SkyPoint for $AU258 – averaged out to AU$64.5/person, the promotion only lasted for 1-week in July. We were really lucky, but it does require you to check their website regularly.
One shortcoming during this trip is the theme park does not have an app for me to navigate around, given that most large theme parks around the world already has such service. Even the Warner Bro. Movie World across the road has an app to provide the latest information. The owner of Dreamworld should seriously consider adding such value-added service for convenience for the visitors.
There are plenty of parking spaces once arrived to the Theme Park, and it is free of charge.
There are a few options on how to navigate around Dreamworld, but broadly I can classified into 3 categories – Thrill Seekers, Family Rides, and Wildlife Visit.
Thrill Seekers
1. Kingclaw
You can easily find the attraction as it is very close to Dreamworld entrance gate. It did look scary while watching from distance. It was high, it spun around, and travelled in high speed with great downward gravity force. It was an incredible ride, and we also got the chance to view the beautiful scenery high in the air.
2. Steel Taipan
This is probably Dreamworld’s main thrill attraction. The rollar-coaster was very smooth, very similar to the DC Hypercoaster in the Movie World and Silverstar at the Europa Park. The main difference is probably it has several more inversions than the other coasters mentioned.
Similar to the DC Hypercoaster, they also offers seating backwards at the end for an extra fee.
3. Jungle Rush
I will say this is a entry to medium level rollar coaster, and it is still very fast. It is a bit similar to the Grizzly Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland, which runs very quickly, and then there was a sudden sharp reversal, and finally full steam ahead with several twists and turns. It’s definitely not a Steel Taipan, but it certainly provide some surprise element on the sudden reversal.
4. Serpent Slayer
There are two kinds of experience that you can line up for. One is the Wild Style, and the other is the Mild Style. The Wild Style is more frequent than the Mild Style on the day I visited. Please note that to make sure get into the correct queue, if you are a “Mild” rider but accidentally ran into a “Wild’ ride, it would be something you want to regret.
The Mild Style offers only some sideway swings, which is quite easy for entry level riders. However, the Wild Style is completely different. It swings side-to-side, spins rapidly, flips upside down ,and can rise very high and suddenly drops with great gravity force.
Family Rides
1. Shockwave
This can be classified either into Family Rides or Thrill Seekers, but I put this under the Family ride as it wasn’t as scary as I first thought. It is more like an entry level version of the King Claw and does not have the gravity dip that you expect from a higher thrill level rides.
2. The Dreamworld Flyer
This is perfect for kids and for anyone who doesn’t want any “thrill” surprise. The water fountain component is something new compare to similar rides at other Theme Parks.
3. Sky Voyager
This is definitely one of my Dreamworld favourite. It is almost identical to the Voletarium at Europa Park, where the riders seat in a chairlift-style gondolas that swing out in front of a concave dome screens. It takes passengers on a simulated flight over some iconic landmarks and landscapes. We had the chance for a ride over the African Rainforests in the noon session, while the afternoon session was a flight over the famous Australian cities and landscape.
This 4D attraction is also heightened by sensory effects including wind, water droplets, and tailored scents during the 10-15 minute simulated flight.
4. Tail Spin
When I first looked at the attraction in a distance, I didn’t see anything special other than sitting in the ride flying high. What surprised me was the plane’s ability to drastically maneuver in the air – to the point that it is possible to flip the plane upside down. Of course, it does takes somebody a lot of courage to initiate that kind of movement in the ride.
Wildlife Visit
One things I really like about Dreamworld is the inclusion of a Wildlife segment, we do not need to spend extra money or extra time to find another zoo or wildlife park. The Wildlife Park is located at the north-western corner of the theme park. The easiest way is to catch the mini-train at the middle of the theme park, which runs every 10 minutes.
However, if you feel like walking there, there is a small allay which takes around 10 minutes walk from the train station.
1. Koala
The most exciting part at the Dreamworld is the Koala visit. Compare to other wildlife parks, this is probably the closest I am able to watch them and take photos. The best part of this visit is the chance to cuddling the Koalas and take photos (choices of individual photos or family photos), at a cost AU$40. This is significantly cheaper vs other parks in Australia.
2. Kangaroo
We were also able to have a very close encounter with the Kangaroos. There were two dedicated rest areas the marsupials, and we are not allowed to touch or play with them as long as they are in those areas. However, if these Kangaroos happened to walk out of the zone, then we are allow to pat them. Although online reviews mentioned that food can be purchased at the park to feed Kangaroos, they were not allowed in our visit.
3. Tiger
There is another section of the park dedicated to the tigers, and we weren’t disappoint. We have a very close interaction with them, only separated by a window.
4. Other Animals
We also got the chance to visit some exotic animals such as the Tasmanian Devil and Dingoes. There was some close encounters with crocodiles and an eagle. But we definitely enjoyed interacting Emus, as we never had a chance to get very close with them before, let alone touching them. That was one of those rare chance we were able to spend time with them.
