Tail Spin (Dreamworld)
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Tail Spin is a
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. As of May 2024, all 113 Gerstlauer-made rollercoasters are still in operation an ...
Sky Fly flat ride located within the Ocean Parade section of the Dreamworld
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
on the Gold Coast,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The ride began operation on 20 September 2014 as the replacement of Reef Diver. Tail Spin is one of Dreamworld's seven thrill rides and has a height of . The ride has a duration of approximately 2 minutes and can carry up to 12 riders.


History

On 28 April 2014, Dreamworld subsequently removed their Reef Diver attraction and announced that their “Big 8 Thrill Rides” are evolving into the “Big 9 Thrill Rides”, thus confirming that a new thrill ride was being built. Dreamworld also announced a new water slide for
WhiteWater World WhiteWater World is a seasonal water park situated in the suburb of Coomera, Queensland, Coomera on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Australia. It is owned and operated by Coast Entertainment and is the sister park to Dreamworld (Austral ...
, both attractions were expected to open in September. Groundworks of the, then unnamed, Tail Spin began in June. It was later announced that Dreamworld would be getting a Gerstlauer Sky Fly named Tail Spin and it will open in September along with Triple Vortex. Soon in August, vertical construction of the ride began, with the ride's structure being constructed. Testing for the ride began around a week before the official opening. Tail Spin opened on 20 September 2014. The ride was a first of its kind in Australia, allowing guests to control their ride experience.


Characteristics

Tail Spin one of Dreamworld's seven thrill rides alongside The Claw,
The Giant Drop The Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was added in December 1998 to the existing Dreamworld Tower which housed the Tower of Terror. For fou ...
,
The Gold Coaster The Gold Coaster is a steel roller coaster, steel roller coaster operating at Dreamworld (Australia), Dreamworld. The roller coaster is one of the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere, after originally being the tallest when it was first built. D ...
, Mick Doohan's Motocoaster, Pandamonium and Steel Taipan. The ride opened as the ninth addition to Dreamworld's former “Big 9 Thrill Rides” banner and is still currently one of the newest thrill rides opened by Dreamworld. The ride has a maximum speed of and goes up at a height of . The ride consists of twelve small sea planes which can be controlled by the rider to either stay stationary or to spin.


Ride Experience


Theming

Tail Spin is themed to
seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characterist ...
with its surrounding structures and buildings themed to a
seaplane base An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
. The ride's plant room being themed as a control centre. The ride's structure and surrounding buildings are painted to look slightly worn. A
Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...
was also purchased and repainted to suit the theme of the ride.


Entrance and queue

The entrance to Tail Spin is located opposite the ramp to the entrance of
Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
and next to the Gamesite Arcade. The ride has three different queues. The three queues are: general admission,
Ride Express Dreamworld is a theme park and zoo situated on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland. It is Australia's biggest theme park with over 40 rides and attractions. Attractions at the park range from thrill rides such as the King Claw ...
and single riders. Tail Spin was the second ride, alongside Wipeout, at the park to have a single riders queue, the first being Mick Doohan's Motocoaster.


Ride

Guests will be loaded onto one of twelve small sea planes that are connected onto a large beam. Over the shoulder
harnesses A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Five-point harness, a type of seatbelt * Horse harness * Pet harnes ...
will be lowered automatically. The large beam then lifts riders up and then starts to rotate riders. Riders are able to control the planes by adjusting the positions of the
wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...
using sticks that are connected on both wings. This allows riders to spin their plane up to 360 degrees if they wish. Riders will reach a maximum height of 22m and top speed of 33 km. The entire ride cycle will last for two minutes. Airplane noises are played throughout the ride.


Reception

Reception of the Tail Spin has been mostly positive. Ben Roache from OurWorlds stated “from those who are young, or just young at heart to those who want to compete with their mates for most amount of barrel rolls, Tailspin is incredibly pliable“. He also states “(Tail Spin) is an incredibly versatile thrill ride”. Dreamworld CEO, Craig Davidson, stated that “(the ride) has enormous potential because every time you go on it the ride can be different”. The Australian Leisure Management states that the “new Tail Spin ride had proved to be one of the success stories of the recent spring school holidays”.


See also

*
2014 in amusement parks This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2014. These various lists are not exhaustive. Amusement parks Opening * China Chimelong Ocean Kingdom – 4 March 2014 * Italy Cinecittà World * France Kingoland ...


References

{{Dreamworld Dreamworld (Australia) Amusement rides manufactured by Gerstlauer