SA Footy

All set for the trip - heading off tomorrow night. Needless to say I'm excited about it...

Well, what can I say, the Gold Coast is a fantastic place.

Went to Dreamworld and Movieworld. Out of those two, surprisingly I found Movie World to be the far superior park to Dreamworld. Dreamworld is a glorified royal show and quite bureaucratic - the two biggest line ups was to get in (the pre-purchase line was bigger than the pay at the gate line) and the line to get my unlimited entry pass, and 80% of the time in Alien v Predator v You is the briefing. 3 of the big 6 (The Claw, Cyclone and Giant Drop) you get at the show anyway. Tower of Terror was great fun but the queue started getting too big later in the day so it was only one trip on there.

Movie World is a great experience. You don't have to line up at all if you pre-purchased a ticket and the only ride with a queue was the Superman ride - so we only went on that twice. The Scooby Doo ride was our favourite by a mile - went on it 5 times! Batman Spaceshot was great (it's more an adrenaline rush compared to genuine fear on the comparable Giant Drop at Dreamworld), but the other Batman ride was too drawn out. Journey to the Centre of the Earth was terrible - basically 20 minutes of 3D Journey to the Centre of the Earth but the seat in front occasionally spits on you. Lethal Weapon ride wasn't too bad, and not as scary as people say it is. Hollywood Stunt Driver was outstanding - it was pouring rain during our show at times yet the drivers still performed with great precision.

The big difference between Movie World and Dreamworld is Movie World is a complete experience - the rides, the various shows throughout the park, the chance to 'meet' the likes of Batman, Justice League, Austin Powers et al whereas Dreamworld is quite generic.

Metricon Stadium is an outstanding stadium. It's similar to Hindmarsh Stadium in that it's completely open. The big downfall with the stadium is the lack of true undercover seating as the grandstands provide minimal protection from the elements.

Their Harbour Town is far better than ours, but can be a bit tricky to find, especially when you're GPS decides to mistake Harbour Town for Pacific Fair!

Skypoint is fantastic. We had the day/night pass. Day is far better, but you get nice night views of the high rises at night.

Also visited Infinity. That is fantastic. I would not recommend it for children, but anyone comfortable with dark spaces and bright pretty lights will have an absolute blast in there. I joked that it was a similar experience to being under the influence of drugs, and an hour later a sniffer dog detected drugs on me, so I had a 20 minute pitstop in Cavill Mall while the local constabulary searched me!

Also got to relive my childhood by visiting TImezone and Sizzler. Timezone was great fun - and is good value for money if you get one of their combo deals. Sizzler hasn't changed - still as great as it was in it's heyday.

Brucetiki wrote:Well, what can I say, the Gold Coast is a fantastic place.

Went to Dreamworld and Movieworld. Out of those two, surprisingly I found Movie World to be the far superior park to Dreamworld. Dreamworld is a glorified royal show and quite bureaucratic - the two biggest line ups was to get in (the pre-purchase line was bigger than the pay at the gate line) and the line to get my unlimited entry pass, and 80% of the time in Alien v Predator v You is the briefing. 3 of the big 6 (The Claw, Cyclone and Giant Drop) you get at the show anyway. Tower of Terror was great fun but the queue started getting too big later in the day so it was only one trip on there.

Movie World is a great experience. You don't have to line up at all if you pre-purchased a ticket and the only ride with a queue was the Superman ride - so we only went on that twice. The Scooby Doo ride was our favourite by a mile - went on it 5 times! Batman Spaceshot was great (it's more an adrenaline rush compared to genuine fear on the comparable Giant Drop at Dreamworld), but the other Batman ride was too drawn out. Journey to the Centre of the Earth was terrible - basically 20 minutes of 3D Journey to the Centre of the Earth but the seat in front occasionally spits on you. Lethal Weapon ride wasn't too bad, and not as scary as people say it is. Hollywood Stunt Driver was outstanding - it was pouring rain during our show at times yet the drivers still performed with great precision.

The big difference between Movie World and Dreamworld is Movie World is a complete experience - the rides, the various shows throughout the park, the chance to 'meet' the likes of Batman, Justice League, Austin Powers et al whereas Dreamworld is quite generic.

Metricon Stadium is an outstanding stadium. It's similar to Hindmarsh Stadium in that it's completely open. The big downfall with the stadium is the lack of true undercover seating as the grandstands provide minimal protection from the elements.

Their Harbour Town is far better than ours, but can be a bit tricky to find, especially when you're GPS decides to mistake Harbour Town for Pacific Fair!

Skypoint is fantastic. We had the day/night pass. Day is far better, but you get nice night views of the high rises at night.

Also visited Infinity. That is fantastic. I would not recommend it for children, but anyone comfortable with dark spaces and bright pretty lights will have an absolute blast in there. I joked that it was a similar experience to being under the influence of drugs, and an hour later a sniffer dog detected drugs on me, so I had a 20 minute pitstop in Cavill Mall while the local constabulary searched me!

Also got to relive my childhood by visiting TImezone and Sizzler. Timezone was great fun - and is good value for money if you get one of their combo deals. Sizzler hasn't changed - still as great as it was in it's heyday.

sound like the whole trip you relived your childhood!!!

when the seats move and spray water on you its 4D mate.

Thats what they call 4D viewing

Heading to the Gold Coast a few days before Christmas, on the way to overseas. Only have 2 nights and one whole day. Just wondering:-

Any tips on where/how to get cheapest Sea World entry tickets? Also, any good tips on an interesting and yummy restaurant for 1 of the 2 nights?

Sploosh wrote:Heading to the Gold Coast a few days before Christmas, on the way to overseas. Only have 2 nights and one whole day. Just wondering:-

Any tips on where/how to get cheapest Sea World entry tickets? Also, any good tips on an interesting and yummy restaurant for 1 of the 2 nights?

Hooters. 'Interesting' and definitely yummy.

Yes, a reasonable suggestion, but perhaps not the right kind of atmosphere when it's just me and the missus...

Try Melba's - and then it turns into a really nice cocktail type bar, well it used to, been a few years since I've been up that way, it may not even be there anymore - they also do breakfast as well.

Seaworld tickets discounted if you're an RAA member Sploosh, let me know if you need anything

Northcliffe Surf Life Saving club on the Beach has good views atmosphere and prices.

Brucetiki wrote:The Scooby Doo ride was our favourite by a mile - went on it 5 times!
Lethal Weapon ride wasn't too bad, and not as scary as people say it is. .

The Scooby Doo ride is fantastic, I went on it 8 times when I went to the Gold Coast with my family in 2005, we all racked up the amount of times we went on it that day.

I agree, it's not, I didn't get what all the fuss was with about how scary everyone said it was.

Sploosh wrote:Heading to the Gold Coast a few days before Christmas, on the way to overseas. Only have 2 nights and one whole day. Just wondering:-

Any tips on where/how to get cheapest Sea World entry tickets? Also, any good tips on an interesting and yummy restaurant for 1 of the 2 nights?

Try Surfers Paradise RSL, a great feed there. Wet and Wild is the best.

anyone know of some good accommodation for families either in Surfers or Broadbeach?
I want to stay away from highrise apartments if possible.....and need 2 bedroom apartments as well.
I can't seem to find many 2 bedroom places on the internet......and if I do they cost 3 times more than a 1 bedroom apartment??

http://www.bluewaters.com.au/
We've stayed there a few times, and were quite happy with the apartments (2 bedrooms to fit us and the kids), and the pricing was fiarly reasonable as well.

amber_fluid wrote:anyone know of some good accommodation for families either in Surfers or Broadbeach?
I want to stay away from highrise apartments if possible.....and need 2 bedroom apartments as well.
I can't seem to find many 2 bedroom places on the internet......and if I do they cost 3 times more than a 1 bedroom apartment??

try rainbow apartments in rainbow bay coolangatta
great spot we go every year 750$$ a week 2 bed rooms close to beach

tigermad wrote:

amber_fluid wrote:anyone know of some good accommodation for families either in Surfers or Broadbeach?
I want to stay away from highrise apartments if possible.....and need 2 bedroom apartments as well.
I can't seem to find many 2 bedroom places on the internet......and if I do they cost 3 times more than a 1 bedroom apartment??

try rainbow apartments in rainbow bay coolangatta
great spot we go every year 750$$ a week 2 bed rooms close to beach

Thanks....they look good.
But we want to probably stay at surfers or north of surfers if we can.
Will be taking the kids to theme parks most days......so the closer we stay to them the better.

amber_fluid wrote:

tigermad wrote:

amber_fluid wrote:anyone know of some good accommodation for families either in Surfers or Broadbeach?
I want to stay away from highrise apartments if possible.....and need 2 bedroom apartments as well.
I can't seem to find many 2 bedroom places on the internet......and if I do they cost 3 times more than a 1 bedroom apartment??

try rainbow apartments in rainbow bay coolangatta
great spot we go every year 750$$ a week 2 bed rooms close to beach

Thanks....they look good.
But we want to probably stay at surfers or north of surfers if we can.
Will be taking the kids to theme parks most days......so the closer we stay to them the better.

Have a look at Southport. Closer to the theme parks and Australia Fair shopping centre too.

Rams52 wrote:http://www.bluewaters.com.au/
We've stayed there a few times, and were quite happy with the apartments (2 bedrooms to fit us and the kids), and the pricing was fiarly reasonable as well.

Stayed here also and would recommend it. Not fancy but close to everything and not much traffic.

https://www.ashmorepalmsgoldcoast.com.au/ - RAA members receive discount.

http://www.paradiseresort.com.au/stay/overview/ - if you want something quirky that's still in town

http://www.turtlebeach.com.au/ - I book countless rooms for this place at work.

We have stayed here 4 times in the last 7 years -> http://www.mantrawings.com.au/

Love it there, great spot between Surfers and Broadbeach.

Have been to turtle beach resort that FC listed above, pretty basic but great for families and not high rise.

Four weeks tomorrow until mine and my missus holiday to the Gold Coast Can't f**king wait, we've been hanging out for it for ages, been counting down the days lol.

We stay six nights at the Chateau Beachside Resort which is right across the road from the beach and a short walk to the main part of Surfers. We're going to Dreamworld, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Seaworld and Movieworld and we'll also go shopping to Australia Fair and/or Pacific Fair/Harbourtown. We've kept an eye on the weather there and we're keen as to enjoy the nice warm weather, go to the beach, experience the nightlife there and go to some nice restaurants in and around the main area of Surfers, the Hard Rock Cafe is first on the list. Very, very, very excited to go to the Theme Parks!!!! We're going to have a blast!