25 Apr 2004

The main pathway to Ocean Parade has been shut off as construction on the "2004 Teen Market Thrill Ride" commences.

The pathway and roundabout have been ripped up.

The area is between the end of Main Street and Wipeout, at the Sandwich Bar's location.

So far there are several holes dug in the area, but at this early stage very little has happened.

Whether these holes are to be for footings is hard to judge at this early stage.

A trench dug at the Nick Central end of the site, presumably for electrical or plumbing purposes.

Tiger Island has a new prop to better demonstrate the leaping behavior, which was formerly done between two logs to the right.

Tomb Raider in Gum Tree Gully

In case you didn't know, this attraction ended its season over the Easter holidays.

Also over the Easter holdiday, Farmyard Friends, an interactive petting zoo, opened.

Gold Rush Country has been repaved. It is no longer red-painted bitumen, but an adhered rock surface.

06 May 2004

More signage is being put up to direct traffic, as well as some plants to make the area at least a little more pleasant.

Now average park-goers are slightly tuned into what Dreamworld is building, though they're still naturally very vague.

They are still busy clearing the area.

A large circular hole has been dug in the centre of the construction site.

The hole, which is currently about a metre deep doesn't seem to yet be as deep as it's going to get.

Diggers arrived later today to continue the excavation process.

Dirt from the thrill ride construction site is being dumped across from the overflow carpark.

Rocky Hollow Log Ride went down recently for its lengthy annual rehab.

During this several week period they are replacing the first drop with a new, all-steel structure, because of corrosion that has occured to this part of the ride, and to make it more accessible for maintenance purposes.

The red and black bars on the two rails will mount the rollers for the conveyor belt.

The drop will remain the same as what was previously there, with no changes to the height or profile of the drop.

Several tubs from Thunder River Rapids were delivered to the park today, they have presumably been repaired elsewhere.

20 May 2004

An overview of the construction site for the 2004 thrill ride.

The footings are placed very close together, hinting perhaps a smaller ride rather than anything big.

Work progresses on a concrete slab, presumably housing the ride's operation systems and/or queue.

Most of the rebuilding of the log ride's first drop has completed, but the ride remains closed until tomorrow.

As you can see, in preparation for resuming operation on Saturday, they've begun pumping the water back into the ride's containment pool.

An overview of the new drop. You can see a nearby log which was used to test the new drop.

19 Jul 2004

Today construction on the Gyro Swing took a major step with the support structure being completed. The axis of the swing will be directly through the circular sections at the apex. The major components, such as motor etc., will be attached to the main structure where the temporary white bars are currently seen near the top.

23 Jul 2004

With The Claw being officially announced yesterday, it's good to see construction coming very close to completion.

This morning the gondola arm was fitted.

Certainly not the biggest thing at Dreamworld, but its central location does make it visible from much of the park.

A view of the whole site. A second crane was brought in to lower the arm to allow work to progress.

Inch by inch the arm was lowered.

Still lowering. This whole process took around ten minutes.

After the arm was in place, the rest of the day was just bringing in some of the smaller components.

A closeup on the arm, where the gondola will be attached. The gondola connections will be different from previous Gyro Swings, with a more minimalist approach to it.

A look at the top of the structure. A platform and some further components are yet to be installed.

The new view down Main Street. The Claw will open to the public in the September holidays.

Official artwork from Dreamworld.

30 Jul 2004

Progress creeps forward week by week. The gondola and most seats are now attached to the arm.

This Gyro Swing is designed slightly differently from previous models. Most obvious is the design of the "spokes" - the differences can be seen when compared to the ride artwork from last week's update.

Workmen were ensuring that the arm was properly level.

The remaining seats and where they are to be fixed can be seen here.

The greeny-coloured box is a transformer, with the besser block building next to it housing the ride's control systems. Some cabinets for computer and electronic equipment can be seen inside.

The new footpath's layout can be seen. It looks like the ride's queue etc. will be directly to the right of this.

Another view of The Claw. Later on in the day, emphasis moved to preparing for the new path

Down Main Street.

From outside the park.

20 Aug 2004

The structure has been completed for some time now on The Claw, though work still goes on to get it ready for testing.

You can clearly see the steel floor that will raise to allow for loading and unloading.

Footpaths have been layed. The path takes a meandering path around the ride with viewing areas off to the sides at a few points.

Theming is underway. An obvious jungle theme will accompany the ride. Hopefully this equates to nice lush tropical gardens throughout this area.

The mural painted onto the brick wall, as seen from the Ocean Parade end.

This is where the entrance of the ride will be located. The theme can be seen coming into play with the slashes on the posts.

The far concreted area will be the queue. The path isn't entirely completed. Expect it to be resurfaced to match the jungle theme.

The ride's operating booth. I'd say this will be given a bamboo fa�ade to also match the theme.

More poles for the theming.

A final look at The Claw and the new pathway.

03 Sep 2004

It still looks much the same from Main Street, though you can clearly see the theming around the queue entrance shaping up.

The gardens surrounding the ride are the latest focus on site, with ride testing occuring sporadically.

In the style of Main Street, palm trees have been planted up to the new themed area.

Some pines awaiting planting. These will surround the control room and transformer.

The abrubt transition into Ocean Parade can be seen here.

Between tests the undercarriage of the gondola was being inspected. Don't forget to check out the testing video in the Roller-Coaster.com.au Videos section. The Claw opens two weeks from now. Stay tuned for preview photo galleries and reviews.

10 Sep 2004

The theming of The Claw is coming together. This unique touch illustrates the ride's theme of this new attraction "tearing" into Dreamworld.

Enormous talons have been added to the supports, bringing the ride to life.

The ride's control panel in the main operating booth, where theming work has gone ahead to blend it in with the surroundings.

The seats up close seen from where riders will enter onto the platform.

The seats are more or less the same as on most Intamin rides.

This motor will power the gondola's rotations.

The structure has been further painted as part of the theming.

Dreamworld CEO Stephen Gregg gives a demonstration of the restraints.

The Claw getting into motion.

The ride gets swinging very quickly, though in this photograph it's still not at maximum height.

With a 120� swing up each side, riders will be partially upside-down.

The ride does a good number of swings at full height before slowing down to end the ride.

The ride is reasonably quiet, a refreshing thing with many louder thrill rides around at Dreamworld.

Thanks to Dreamworld for giving Roller-Coaster.com.au the opportunity to cover this portion of the ride commissioning process. The Claw opens September 18.