Warner Bros. Movie World a place where we dreamed of going in a long time. We have been some of the largest theme parks in the world, such as Disneyland and Europa Park, and was lucky enough to visit attractions such as Marvel and Disney related themes. However, we often felt that we are still missing something in our travel – a place with DC comics and Looney Toons characters. This is our chance to complete our theme park jigsaw puzzle.
The Warner Bros. Movie World is situated north of Gold Coast, it is around one hour drive from the Brisbane Airport. From Surfers Paradise at Gold Coast, it takes around 30 minutes by car.
The first thing before getting to the theme park is to think about the type of ticket you (and your family) are seeking for, as there are many types of tickets. Of course, the most straight forward approach is to buy a one-day ticket to the theme park. However, there are a few things that needs to be considered – the possibility of a multi-day visit, and more importantly, chances of visiting other affiliated theme parks.
For our family, we decided to purchase a 5-day pass, which also include unlimited visit to Sea World (theme park and aquarium), Wet’n’ Wild (Water Park), Country Paradise (Zoo). At the time of writing, the 5-day pass cost AU$159 (if purchase 4 passes or more), while 1-day ticket cost around AU$100. you can click this link for more information on ticket prices.
Also, remember to download the Village Roadshow Theme Parks app. It helps you to navigate all 4 parks (Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, Paradise Country) via GPS. It also provide the schedules of all the Live Shows.
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 the park, but broadly I can classified into 3 categories – Thrill Seekers, Family Rides, and Live Shows.
Thrill Seekers
1. DC Rivals HyperCoaster
The first time I looked at this roller coaster from distance, I can imagine that it’s going to be a monster of a ride. It didn’t disappoint, especially when I see people in the previous ride almost in tears after disembark. The ride was intense, there were several areas I felt I am jumping off an mountain, while other times I felt like I was flying in the car.
They also provide opportunity for people to ride backwards, at the last row with extra cost. Note that this ride is one of those which attracts a very long queue. I strongly advise to arrive early to the theme park and head left from the entrance straight away for this ride to avoid traffic.
2. Green Lantern Coaster
This is another poster ride along with the HyperCoaster, as it is so visible straight from the car park. The ride is quite unique, with it’s bicycle-like seating, and has intense drop from the peak at a very high speed. There were also several upside down flips along the way as well. The ride can be painful especially on the shoulders caused by the restraint.
3. Superman Escape
From distance this will be a killer, given that the ride looks entirely vertical on the drop. The ride begins indoors simulating a Metropolis subway earthquake before shooting you outside at high speed. The rider needs to get through the vertical drop at the beginning, but the rest should be easier.
4. The Flash: Speed Force
When I first looked at this, I can imagine it will make my head into a spin. It is like an enhance version of a pirate ship, except that it can twist ,spin, and run at a very high speed. The ride is not as as intense like other roller-coasters, but is fast enough for me to classified this as a thrill ride.
5. Batwing
Basically its a vertical drop. The ride goes up to around 20 stories high and provide a bungee-like descent.
6. Wild West Falls Adventure Ride
This is one of the attractions that can be easily missed, and it is right at the furthest corner of the theme park. At first glance, it looked like it’s one of the tallest boat slide I played.
There were two thrill parts. The first one was sliding downslope backwards, the velocity was faster than I anticipated. Of course, the second part was the one that shown in the picture above. What I hate about it was it took so long for the boat to travel at the peak of the mountain – it does make me nervous when they do that.
In the end, of course, we all get wet! Just like any other water boat rides, it’s would be better to bring a raincoat or a water-proof jacket, especially in winter!
7. Scooby-Doo Spooky
This can be classified either into Family Rides or Thrill Seekers, but I put this under the Thrill category anyway as it can get scary for some riders. It is one of those attraction which attracts a long queue given many people loving watching Scooby-Doo TV shows and movies, and it also involves a sense of spooky element.
Inside, I hardly able to see anything in the dark, and the ride was very fast. After a slow uphill ride to the top, the rest is about navigate the downhill ride through the dark, the most daunting side of the wide is the unpredictability of the turn and the magnitude of the downhill drop. Overall, it did not disappoint.
Family Rides
1. Road Runner Rollar Coaster
This is what we called an entry level roller coaster. In terms of height, it is more like an entry level ride without the gravity dip that you expect from a higher thrill level coaster. However, the ride is faster than what is expected of an entry level coaster, especially on the turns. It’s definitely fun for most novice riders.
2. Justice League
This is near the entrance of the theme park. At first I didn’t know what was inside, but then realised it was a laser gun game. The rider will appear in a world of superheros inside, and have to use the laser gun and aim for any star shape figure either in physical or virtual form.
3. Kansas Twister
This is located under a section called The Wizard of Oz. Riders enter through the gates of the Emerald City, queue through Dorothy’s house during a tornado, and board tractor-themed orange or yellow trains inside a barnhouse station. It is a mini-coaster which goes back and forth, and is great as a family ride.
Live Shows
1. Spy Chase Stunt Show
This is one of shows I should have watched more than once. Unfortunately I only discovered that this is such a good show on my last day in the theme park. I do advise to come early and get a good front row seat to see the action more closely. 10 minutes before the show starts, there was a staff dressed like a security guard tried to hype up the entire audience with jokes, while another cameraman tried to capture their interactions with the security guard on the video screen, we thoroughly enjoyed those moments.
Of course, the main part of the show was the main actor tried to stop the criminal gang to activate a dangerous device. During the show there was a lot of high speed cars and motorcycles sprinting and drifting around the place. If you like action live show, this is definitely the one to watch. Note that it can get quite noisy.
2. Looney Toons 4-D Experience
Very difficult to find the right time to get into the theatre, as the theme park app does not provide the time schedule for the show. We have to physically walk to the front of the theatre and looked at the information screen but we always just missed for a few minutes. It’s not until our 4th day in the theme park we finally got the chance to enter before before the show starts.
There were lots of people standing and queueing inside and there was a TV screen at the top showing the Looney Too cartoons, which makes me wonder whether that was it. After around 10 minutes I finally realised that it was only the “entree”. The “main course” need to go through another door to the main theatre. Note that you have to wear the 4D glasses (distributed at the theatre) to see the full effect. The screening features Porky Pig and Duffy Duck couple with sensory physical effects like moving seats and water sprays.
3. Wonder Woman: Lasso of Justice
Although the show only lasted 5 minutes, it was packed with actions and definitely worthwhile to watch. Those who follows Wonder Woman would definitely love it. It involves with Wonder Woman intervenes to stop a daylight robbery staged by armed mercenaries.
4. The Good Citizens Awards
A show where Batman and Robin tries to recognise outstanding citizens at Gothem City, but interrupt by DC Villains, noticeably Joker.
5. Marilyn Live: Are Diamonds Really A Girl’s Best Friend?
A good chance to enjoy Marilyn performs live at the Main Street, accompanied by backup dancers in glamorous attire and interactions with the audience.
6. Looney Tunes Dance Party
The kids would definitely love this, as the Looney Tune characters come out and dances with the audiences. The children also get a chance for a close encounter with them.
7. Star Parade
This is a time where all the DC and Looney Toon characters comes out for a parade, which is a great time to take photos and meet your favourite character. The entire parade lasted for around 15 minutes. Each character walks or ride to the theme park entrance of the theme park and then turned back to the main street area.
8. Shows that did not posted in the Schedule
If you are lucky, there could be some extra shows that just came up on the Main Street. One of those is the live show of Superheroes (The Flash Lantern, and Wonder Woman) fighting against crime gangs in black mask. It lasted for more than 10 minutes and it was action packed.
There is also a chance you might be able to see a man walking down the street singing “I am dancing in the rain”. Also, we were lucky to be able to watch Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and provided another 5 minute performance.
Most of the shows in the theme park (scheduled or non-scheduled) are between 12noon to 2pm, so it is worthwhile to have lunch in that area and look for them.
9. Photo Shoot
Sometimes you may get lucky and bump into a superhero or a Looney Toon character. We were really lucky and got a rare chance to take photo with Scooby.
