Preliminary Findings on Battlestar Galactica Roller Coaster

Preliminary findings on Universal Studios Singapore's Battlestar Galactica (BSG) ride were presented to the Public Entertainments Licensing Unit (PELU) today, detailing investigative testing progress so far, as well as potential solutions to correct defects that were found on the ride during its daily safety-check run cycles on 25 March 2010.

On 18 March 2010, Universal Studios Singapore opened in a standard industry ‘soft-open status’, which means that the rides, shows and other operational aspects of the park are subject to being modified and improved as needed, in order to accommodate actual guest operating conditions and improve the overall experience of the park's visitors.

As standard procedure, all rides at Universal Studios Singapore undergo mandatory daily safety checks during the period when the park is closed to the public. On 25 March 2010, during its morning test cycle, BSG experienced a component failure of a ride seat post support that resulted in the detachment of a seat assembly. No one was on the ride and no one was injured. The ride was immediately shut down for investigative inspection and testing. The closing of the ride was also immediately reported to PELU.

BSG has been closed to the public since 25 March 2010 and has undergone extensive inspection, testing and review by its manufacturer, Vekoma Rides – one of the world’s oldest and largest roller coaster manufacturers – as well as external third-party ride experts, Resorts World Sentosa engineers and Universal Parks & Resorts theme park ride experts.

After months of cycling the ride with load-test and strain measurement equipment, Vekoma Rides has concluded that higher than anticipated stress and vibration levels caused fatigue cracks to develop in a welded component on the ride’s seat-post support. Vekoma Rides and Universal Studios Singapore have agreed that a new machined seat-post component will replace the original welded component (eliminating the weld entirely) and that additional strength-reinforcement parts will also be added.

BSG consists of two individual roller coasters running on parallel 'cross-twisted' tracks with the 'Human' coaster designed as a seated ride car and the 'Cylon' coaster, a suspended ride car. While the fault was found only on the 'Human' coaster, extensive inspection and testing of the 'Cylon' coaster indicated that additional machined and strength-reinforcement parts will also be added for maximum safety. It is not uncommon for theme parks to conduct some re-engineering on new rides to address mechanical issues that may not have been completely anticipated by the original computer-generated designs for the ride.

The re-opening of BSG will be a lengthy process that will begin only after a final engineering solution has been manufactured and installed. Such a solution will have to be validated by an extensive ride cycle testing and inspection, which commences in September, followed by a re-certification by the appropriate local agencies. Only then will Universal Studios Singapore be able to reopen BSG for the enjoyment of guests.
Employee and guest safety is our top priority and will not be compromised. At this time, any dates as to when BSG will reopen would be purely speculative.

Universal Studios Singapore is dedicated, along with the Vekoma Rides project team and the team of RWS, Universal Parks & Resorts and external experts assisting the Vekoma Rides project team, to seeing BSG through to a successful conclusion that has guest and employee safety as its highest priority.

Universal Studios Singapore regrets the inconvenience to its guests that the lengthy BSG closure has caused and seeks their continued patience and understanding as this situation is resolved.

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Wet’n’Wild Announces Three New Attractions for September

In September 2010 Wet’n’Wild Water World will open three exciting new attractions.

AquaLoop!
Not one, Not two… but FOUR new transparent slides will open in time for the school holidays. Fall through the trap door and plummet into a massive vertical free fall and then up into a transparent looping slide! Gut wrenching, heart-pounding and gravity-defying, don’t miss AquaLoop.

Carve up the endless waves!*
Ride the endless waves at Wet’n’Wild as you rush down the man-made torrent of water on a specially designed surfboard. See how long you can survive the deluge!

Fly through the air!*
Speed across 200 metres of extreme Zip Line high above Wet’n’Wild from the top of White Water Mountain to Wave Pool.

* These attractions are pay as you play.

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Dreamworld's Tower Relaunch to Ignite All New Sense of Terror

After almost 14 years of thrills and more than eight million panicked passengers, one of Australia’s most iconic scream machines, Dreamworld’s Tower of Terror, will shut its doors on August 18, 2010 re-launching four weeks later with a terrifying twist. If you thought the traditional Tower of Terror filled you with fear then get ready for the flip side of the ride and the mother of all modifications. In time for the September school holidays, 2010, the all new Tower of Terror II - face gravity, face first, will reopen: reloaded and …. reversed.

Unlike the original, adrenalin junkies will be harnessed into the deepest depths of the Tower’s lair, facing nothing but a dark void. An eerie silence lasts for just milliseconds before the car blasts backwards rocketing guests out of a 206m tunnel at rapid speed. Hitting up to 161 km/h in seven seconds flat, riders soar 100m into the atmosphere dangling for several seconds of stomach-churning weightlessness at its peak before plummeting back to earth…only this time it’s face first. Hold on tight and brace for collision because the ultra narrow tunnel appears impossibly small for re-entry.

Dreamworld CEO Noel Dempsey says, “The Tower of Terror has been a rite of passage for almost every Australian teenager and the re-launched ride will build on that terror factor. It incorporates three major fears: high speeds, falling from great heights and dark confined spaces. Instead of facing the sky, all you see is the ground, first disappearing fast and then rapidly approaching as you plummet towards the tunnel,” Mr Dempsey continued.

The last chance for guests to ride the original Tower of Terror will be Wednesday 18 August and the re-launched ride opens this September school holidays.

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Dreamworld welcomes back the Wiggles for one day of wiggly fun

Dorothy the Dinosaur is preparing her best rosy tea for when the boys in the bold skivvies visit Dreamworld on Saturday, September 11 for a special Wiggles Day of Celebration. Back in town to pick up the mail from their official home in Wiggles World, the ‘fab four’ will parade through the streets of Dreamworld at 11.00am before taking centre stage to perform five of their favourite songs.

Filled with colour and music, Dreamworld is home to Australia’s only Wiggles World and is the ultimate place for Wiggly fans to play, dance and sing with their favourite Wiggly friends every day of the year. Following the parade, mini wigglers can dance with Dorothy the Dinosaur, shake their hips with Wags the Dog and wave and Wiggle with Henry the Octopus.

The best way to continue the toot toot, chugga chugging fun is with the best value theme park ticket on the Gold Coast, the $69 Unlimited World Pass. Available for purchase now for those aged 3 years and up, enjoy unlimited access to both Dreamworld and WhiteWater World until 24 December, 2010. Buy online at www.dreamworld.com.au.

About Wiggles World: Launched in September 2005, Wiggles World is the ultimate place for Wiggly fans and filled with fun with thrills for the three year old. Children can dance with Dorothy the Dinosaur and climb aboard the SS Feathersword while the whole family can toot toot, chugga chugga through Wigglehouse in the Big Red Car or take a twirl on Rosy’s Tea Cup ride. From healthy food options to shaded rest spots and parenting rooms, kids can wiggle without the worry.

About the Wiggles: The Wiggles’ have been capturing audiences’ imaginations for 18 years and have sold in excess of 22.5 million videos/DVD’s and 7 million CDs worldwide. The Wiggles have won three ARIA awards and three APRA songwriter awards.

Dreamworld show captures the heart and soul of regional aboriginal culture

In celebration of Australia’s traditional culture Dreamworld is launching a captivating Aboriginal show, Dreamworld Dreamtime, this September school holiday period featuring stories, songs and dance spoken and performed by members of the regions Koombamerri tribe. Long long ago when the Dreamtime first began, the Koombamerri people roamed the area of the Gold Coast and gathered around the Coomera River, creating stories, songs and dances that echoed every occasion: stories about hunting, songs about animals, and dances that celebrate the spirituality of the land and its legends.

Today the descendants of the Koombamerri people will bring their magic to Dreamworld to highlight a tradition thousands of years old.

Guests will watch as the Koombamerri Dreamtime Dancers showcase the movements of their totem the eagle that soars above the earth signalling the start of the fishing season, listen to the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo against the quick beat of the clapsticks, and be mesmerised by a culture that demonstrates a traditional Aboriginal method of firelighting by rubbing two carefully chosen sticks together.

But this not just a performance, it’s also a confrontation. As members of a different tribe, the crowd must first earn the right to carry the Koombamerri message stick, an ancient passport to their ancestral land. Only then can the celebration of two uniting tribes take place and the ceremonial dance performance begin.

This September holidays join us, as Dreamworld unearths the mystery of the world's oldest culture right here on the doorstep of Australia's most high tech thrill park. Dreamworld Dreamtime will be located within the park’s Australian Wildlife Experience with two shows daily from September 18 until October 7, 2010. The show is included in the cost of theme park entry.