It was a two hour drive from Lamington National Park to Dreamworld and most of it was down a long winding road through the forest. I had just seen a wallaby on the side of the road and a kangaroo crossing sign, but similarly to our ride up, we were going to be fighting car sickness and not seeing much wildlife other than the trees.
After stopping at the gas station to fill up and get some snacks, we could see the Dreamworld skyline in the near distance. On our initial approach down the road, we were getting a sneak peak of the waterpark. After a right turn towards the arched sign, we were greeted by the Buzzsaw coaster and the Giant Drop, both of which didn’t appear to be operating. We would soon find out that this was going to be a trend through out the park. It was a weekday during the offseason and the parking lot was empty. While we thought that we might have a chance of getting a 5 star treatment, and be in the front of the line on every ride and attraction, the sign outside the entrance listed everything that would be closed for the day.
Not to be deterred, after planning to go to Dreamworld for months and even considering setting up a spot to do caricatures there for a season, we needed to check out the park and see what it was all about. As we left the car and walked up to the front entrance, it was very reminiscent of Clark Griswald’s arrival at Wally World after traveling across the country to get there. “We’re the first one’s here!” we thought.
The entrance of the park was very similar to the look of the entrance at Disneyland. We walked through the admissions queue and directly on the other side, we saw the giant Dreamworld globe. This was the standard amusement part entrance photo opportunity, and as tourists, it was our obligation to take a selfie. As we looked around the surrounding area, we could really see the Disney influenced classic main street facade, as opposed to the games midway that you might see at a fair or other amusement park.
One of the reasons that we decided to go to Dreamworld, instead of Warner Bros. Movie World, was because we felt like it was small and unique enough to make for a nice “Endless Summer” business spot. This idea that we can do caricatures and body art in Southern California for half of the year and working in Australia in the other half has always been something that Elizabeth and I desired. The idea that you are busy all year round and that you didn’t have to worry about a slow season, was really the ultimate life. We still haven’t worked out the visa stuff, but dreams have to start somewhere. So, while we enjoyed our time, we were also scouting for our operations around the park to see if someone had already taken our idea.
The first ride on the left from the entrance was called Sky Voyager. Having gone to Disney’s California Adventure, we saw it as a clone of Soarin’ Over California. The clear benefit of the park being empty was that the rides that were open, were going to have no wait. So, after maybe one group of people of people in front of us, we were headed into the large ride theater. If you have never been on the ride, it’s like a gigantic IMAX theater with all the seats connected to robot arms. The lights go out and you are lifted with your feet dangling below. Almost in the way that you would feel, if a huge bird grabbed you and was flying through the air as you sat securely in its talons.
The ride took you through twelve regions in Australia including the Sydney Harbor and the Gold Coast, which by this time we had experienced on our own. Beyond the visual sensation of flying that you are provided, they also have dynamic music playing, mist or wind blowing when you flying over the ocean, and the smell of oranges as you fly over an orchard. It was a thrilling tour around Australia and gave us a better idea of all of the things that you could explore down under, if you only had the time.
After the Sky Voyager, we continue toward the back of the park stopping here and there to see the different main street sites. While certain things were quiet and closed, there were performers outside the fire department putting on a show. The next section of the park, beyond the closed motorcycle themed coaster, was the Wiggles World. If you don’t know the Wiggles, they are rotating cast of children’s songs performers based in Australia. Apparently, they are big enough to warrant the whole section of a theme park, the way that Toon Town has a section in Disneyland. This section of the park was completely shutdown, because all of the Australian kids were in school at this time.
We continued on to the Dreamworld Express Train Station, where we boarded the train, which transported us through the outback. The train took us past the sheep at the Dreamworld Woolshed, then dropped us off at the Aboriginal themed Corrobee.
The Corrobee area of the park was sort of like a small zoo and only contained one ride from what we could tell, The Vintage Cars (which was not operating). As soon as you get off the train, you are greeted by animal enclosures. After walking passed the crocodile ponds, you walk over a bridge to a space where kangaroos are able to roam free, or lounge under the trees as they please. We were still intrigued by the fact that the kangaroos were out in the open and made quick work of giving them a little pet and taking photos of each other with next to them. As an American in Australia, you have a strange fascination with kangaroos, it seems that to Aussies, you can just pet one anywhere, but no where in the States are you able to get closer than 10 feet away from one.
Similar to our experience with the Koala Park near Sydney, there was a small enclosure with 3 or 4 koalas sleeping on pillars that were covered in eucalyptus branches. We took a few photos before going over to explore a dreamtime building. There were informative screens displaying aboriginal historical information, as stage for giving talks, animals, and interactive activities for kids.
We eventually walked back across the bridge to check out the other animal enclosures, to see what everyone was up to. We walked into the nocturnal house, which was lite with green lights, almost giving you the effect that you were wearing night visions goggles. The recorded sounds of crickets and other insects filled the room. This gave you the feeling, as if you had actually walked outside at nighttime, even though it was around noon and bright on the other side of the wall.
We saw a large eagle perched on a branch, very similar to one that we had seen in the Lamington National Park, during a bird show. Unfortunately, this one wouldn’t be flying that day.
We walked back over to a shop that was open and tried on some hats, pretending that we were Crocodile Dundee, before walking through an installation with aboriginal influenced art and music, which probably served as the entrance to the themed area, if we wouldn’t have entered through the exit.
I was still anxious to get on a ride of some sort, aside from the Sky Voyager, but we ended up walking to a corner of the park that almost seemed abandoned. I don’t know if the theme was “Disrepair” or not, but the Log Plume, the Giant Drop, and the Buzzsaw all looked like they were closed for repairs. It was the middle of the day and we were both getting hot and hungry. We decided that it would be best to walk back to Main Street for lunch, before heading to the other side of the park to go on the waterslides.
When we arrived at the food court, we split up to look for which lunchtime experience would satiate our individual hunger. Elizabeth ordered a vegetarian burrito bowl from the Mexican influenced counter. I went a different direction and went with the cool and refreshing acai bowl. It was a pretty big bowl and I wasn’t sure how well it would fill me up, but I was pretty happy with my decision.
Before heading to the waterpark, we did a quick walk through The DreamWorks Experience. I supposed that every park needs third party cartoon properties to get the kids excited and for Dreamworld, “dream” was already in the title. Even though everything was closed from what we could tell, it was a fun section of kid’s rides, for those who were too old for Wiggles World. There was even a roller coaster for the little ones that are just getting started on the thrill rides. There were attractions for Madagascar, a fairy tale themed Shrek area, and an ancient Chinese themed Kung Fu Panda section. Every section had photo opportunity statues that we decided to pose in front of while making silly faces.
As we continued through to the water park, we saw more closed or under construction rides. We even walked passed a face painting and hair braiding booth, which was closed for the day, confirming that we wouldn’t be able to move our west coast concessions company to Dreamworld. Even so, we were going to ride on whatever water slides were open.
Once we had arrived White Water World, it actually felt like there were enough slides open to keep us occupied for a few hours. And because the park was far from busy, we could keep going on the fun slides over and over. We found a beach chair near the wave pool to hide our stuff. Then, we ran across the burning hot pavement in our bare feet, eventually getting to cool them off in the kid’s fountain/splash pad, before running again to the octopus slide. The The Bro, as it was called, had eight slides lined up on one tower and everyone started at once and raced to the bottom of the slide. I really like that right, because it allowed for more opportunities to ride.
Another slide we went on was called The Green Room. On this slide, you sat on a two person raft, which was shaped like an 8. You sat across from your partner and to the slide down into a giant green funnel. We finished off our time at White Water World, a dip in the wave pool, which was branded Cave of Waves. It would be pretty easy to be upset about the lack of rides open throughout the park, but after having a great time on the waterslides, we could give Dreamworld a pass.
We walked back to the main park to see if there was anything that we had missed during our initial walk around. Since the park was closing at 5pm, we were getting near the end of the day as it was.
As we headed back through the King Fu Panda section of The DreamWorks Experience, we noticed that they were performing a tiger act on a stage called Tiger Island. It was an aptly named stage in front of bleacher seat, as there was a grassy area with a transparent parent pool in the middle. We watched as the performers in various tricks, including having the tigers swim for their treats, which was definitely a fun sight to see.
We wrapped up our time at Dreamworld with a stop in the gift shops and a photo in the Model T. After an exit through the Lego store, we were back into the parking lot.
We had received a message from our AirBnb House that she would’ve be able to meet us at the apartment when we arrived, but would have our key fob waiting for us at the luxurious Emporium Hotel in Central Brisbane. It was about an hour drive from Dreamworld. Then once we arrived downtown, our navigation system seemed to be taking us in circles, until we found the entrance to the parking garage on the left. We parked by the valet podium, then I ran into the guest services desk where our fob was waiting.
Less than a mile down the road and we arrived at the apartment in Kangaroo Point. We parked in the visitors parking lot and then walked through the arch walkway to the door of the lobby. The building was a high rise that overlooked a busy street and would’ve had a view of the Brisbane River, if another building hadn’t been building in the way.
As we entered the apartment, we instantly saw the host’s unique style. She had lots of artwork throughout the space, displayed in a way that makes you feel like even though there aren’t similarities in the pieces, they all stood out to the buyer. We continued back to the bedroom, which had a balcony door leading to beautiful views of the city lights from the 41st floor.
We got settled in, but found ourselves in a “we are really tired, but forgot to really eat” mode. I laid on the bed, until the “always motivated to move” part of me kicked in and I thought that we should walk around the South Bank. We could take a stroll near the Wheel of Brisbane and pick up a bite along the way. Elizabeth was tired after a day at the amusement park and wanted to eat somewhere closer, then close out the night with a dip in the hot tub.
After a little back and forth, Elizabeth won and picked out a place near the Dockside Pier, called Asian Spice. It was more or less the closest restaurant to us, as we were in a fairly residential area, even in downtown. I wasn’t thrilled the lack of uniqueness, even though Australian’s don’t really eat much food that is different than “American” food. Maybe, it was the accessibility of Asian hybrid restaurants in the states that I wanted something different, but what would that even be. Elizabeth was happy to see a number of vegetarian options on the menu and was going to make the best of the dining experience.
Most of the seating was on an enclosed patio and we sat by a window that looked into the kitchen. The menu contained a combination of Chinese and Thai dishes. Elizabeth’s go to in these situations is Pad Thai with tofu. So, we ordered one and ended up splitting it. I must say, it was quite delicious. We sat quietly as we ate and thought back on our day. It started with a two hour drive from O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, followed by a day at an amusement park, then another hour drive.
After dinner, we walked back to the apartment building. One of the perks of the listing was that there was a hot tub on the premise. We had to walk outside to a gazebo neat the parking lot, down a dimly lit sidewalk. The hot tub area was very dark, but we found out after flipping some switches that there were mood lights in the hot tub. The air had cooled since the 90 degree heat that we had experienced earlier, so the hot tub was comfortable and relaxing after a long day.