Dreamworld Guests Blown Away By Cyclone

Dreamworld guests are being blown away by the park's new rollecoaster, Cyclone, which opened to the public on Boxing Day.

Standing almost 13-storeys (40 metres) high, Cyclone is the tallest high-speed gravity rollercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere including with a 360degree hair-raising loop and a screaming sidewinder.

A $5.5 million investment, the massive ride, Cyclone was built with more than 1,000 tonnes of steel and more than 15,000 sets of nuts and bolts.

Dreamworld Chief Executive Officer Tony Braxton-Smith said the ride was a powerful interactive experience.

"The pre-ride experience is almost as impressive as the ride itself," Mr Braxton-Smith said.

"Set in the lush tropics of 'cyclone country', guests experience the ferocity and power of a Cyclone created by a massive wind generator, before passing through the calm eye of the storm. Guests then board the rollercoaster to complete the jaw dropping experience."

Mr Braxton-Smith said the ride would be an extra 'shot in the arm' for Queensland tourism this Christmas.

"Holidaying in Australia is certainly an attractive proposition given the current global economic and political climate,' Mr Braxton-Smith said.

"CYCLONE will be an added boost to encourage local and interstate visitors to holiday on the Gold Coast this year."

The ride has already received the thumbs up from Queensland Premier, the Honourable Peter Beattie MP, who officially launched the new rollercoaster earlier in December along with Queensland Minister for Tourism, Racing and Fair Trading, the Honourable Merri Rose MP.

Ms Rose said Dreamworld had always sought to renew its appeal to Queenslanders and domestic and international tourists alike.

"The theme park has never stopped still. It has a proud record of catering for different tastes by providing the brand new experiences visitors demand," she said.

"Dreamworld's allure will never dim while it continues to provide world-class facilities and world-class experiences.

"The secret to tourism success is diversification – and that's why Dreamworld has been so successful in the past and will continue to be successful in the future."

Dreamworld CEO Tony Braxton-Smith said the launch of Cyclone marked the end of a very positive year for the park with a host of new attractions brought on-line as part of Dreamworld's ongoing multi-million-dollar redevelopment strategy.

"At an investment of $5.5 million, Cyclone is yet another milestone to mark Dreamworld's 20th year of operations," Mr Braxton-Smith said.

"We have a strong history of opening the tallest fastest rides in the world with the Tower of Terror in 1997 and the Giant Drop in 1998. And now Cyclone is the first mega rollercoaster to open on the Gold Coast since 1995.

"As the Gold Coast's newest attraction, Cyclone is a hugely powerful experience which we are confident will blow theme park visitors away this Christmas and for many years to come.

"Cyclone joins some of our other new attractions to be launched this year including the Australian Wildlife Experience, Dreamworld Studios and the Big Brother House Tours and our seven-week-old Bengal Tiger Cubs.

"And that's certainly not all. With a host of fun and entertainment up our sleeves, this ongoing roll-out of new attractions will continue throughout next year. We're looking forward to a very successful 2002."

With so much fun, Dreamworld is a two-day experience with Return Visitor Passes now only $10. Or you can play all year round with Dreamworld's exclusive Max Action Pass for the one-off price of $135 for adults and $89 for children and pensioners.