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A main reason for most people, especially those with kids, heading to the Gold Coast are the theme parks and we were no different on a recent trip.
Before heading north I would recommend that you pre-purchase your tickets. We bought ours through the RACV and allowed us entry to all five theme parks (Sea World, Wet n Wild, Warner Brothers Movie World, Dreamworld and Whitewater world). By pre-purchasing passes you can save some money, bypass the queues at the main gate and if like us you buy them through the RACV you can enter Dreamworld at 9am, a whole hour before the usual opening time.
All the parks are fantastic, but can be tiring.
If you are unsure which theme park is for you and your family or you don’t have a lot of time then TravelHq are here to assist with our comprehensive review of each park from a different member of the family perspective.
Our judging panel comprised:
Dad - 38 years old and a thrill ride junkie
Mum - 37 years old a nature lover and not a ride fan
Daughter - 13 years old and a daredevil and nature lover
Son - 9 years old and a fan of stage shows, arcade and low thrill rides.
The likes and dislikes of each theme park are as follows:
Sea World
| Likes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Animal encounters and
associated information
|
Animal encounters and
associated information
|
Animal encounters and
associated information
|
Animal Encounters
|
|
|
|
|
| Dislikes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Minimal rides
Limited food options
& cost
|
Under resourced and
customer service
below expectations |
Rides stopped or
not working |
Minimal Rides |
Wet n Wild
| Likes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Large selection of rides
catering for
all excitement levels
Multiple food options
Plenty of shade and
picnic areas
Friendly and helpful
staff
|
Large range of activities
for all interests and age
groups
Lots of covered areas
High ratios of staff/
lifeguards
on each activity
|
Variety of rides |
Awesome water games
|
|
|
|
|
| Dislikes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
Some activities at
additional cost - not
made clear at the
entry |
|
Mainly water rides |
No good food |
Movieworld
| Likes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Large selection of rides
Character encounters
and regular ‘street
shows’
Large range of food
options
|
Numerous activities
and very vibrant
atmosphere
Character
encounters
|
Themed rides were
good as they related
to the movie they
were based
on |
Character
encounters
|
|
|
|
|
| Dislikes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Shows were
infrequent
|
|
Want more rides
for my age group |
Dreamworld
| Likes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Large selection of rides
including the best ‘thrill
rides’
Mix of attractions for all
ages and interests
Animal encounters
Large range of food
options
Directly linked to
Whitewater
World
|
Most options for all
interests and age
groups
Tiger Island
Food was superior
to other parks
|
Lots of enjoyable/
exciting rides
|
Games arcade
Good food
Fantastic animals
|
|
|
|
|
| Dislikes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Mosquitos
|
Long lines for rides
|
Wanted more animal
and wildlife
attractions
|
Whitewater World
| Likes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Large selection of rides – similar to
Wet n Wild
Well laid out park with
everything in close
proximity to one
another
Multiple rides at each
location reduced waiting
time compared with
Wet n Wild
|
Well laid out park
Food superior to other
parks
|
Lots of ride
Combined with
Dreamworld
|
Overall enjoyable
|
|
|
|
|
| Dislikes |
| Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
|
Food options a little limited
Wave pool not as
good as Wet n Wild
|
Not as much for those
children in the 6 to 12
year old grouping who
may not have strong
water skills –
focus on toddlers and
older thrill riders |
|
Wanted more room
and rides |
Overall Ranking
After a long deliberation our judging panel have ranked each theme park and the results are:
| No |
Dad |
Mum |
Daughter |
Son |
| 1 |
Dreamworld |
Dreamworld |
Dreamworld |
Dreamworld |
| 2 |
Movie World |
Movie World |
Whitewater World |
Wet n Wild |
| 3 |
Whitewater World |
Sea World |
Movie World |
Movie World |
| 4 |
Wet n Wild |
Wet n Wild |
Wet n Wild |
Whitewater World |
| 5 |
Sea World |
Whitewater World |
Sea World |
Sea World |
|
|
|
|
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Overall Dreamworld was everyone’s favourite park while Wet n Wild and Sea World were ranked the lowest by most of the family.
That said all parks were enjoyable and worth attending, however, if we had only a couple of days we would recommend Dreamworld, Warner Brothers Movie World and Whitewater world.
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