Sydney and Melbourne may be Australia’s biggest tourist centers, but if you’re looking for theme parks you’ll need to head up north. Queensland’s Gold Coast is regarded as Australia’s amusement park capital, and there’s a good reason why.
While Australia’s largest cities are lucky to have one or two theme parks, the Gold Coast hosts five major attractions.
Movie World is known as Hollywood on the Gold Coast. While it hasn’t churned out nearly as many movies as its American counterpart, its film studios have been the site of many major motion pictures including House of Wax, Peter Pan, Ghost Ship, and the Scooby Doo films. Film themed rides include the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster, thrilling Batwing Spaceshot, and family favorite Looney Tunes River Ride. The live shows at Movie World are as big a drawcard as its rides. The Hollywood Stunt Driver performances put an audience in the center of an action film complete with explosions and car chases, while the musical Looney Tunes What’s Up Rock? show is a big hit with kids.
Close by there is Dreamworld, a theme park for adventurous souls. Among its attractions are Australia’s tallest gravity rollercoaster, the Cyclone, the reverse free-fall ride Tower of Terror, and the similarly imposing Giant Drop. Families are catered for with the children’s area Nick Central and Wiggles World for toddlers and babies. Tiger Island is one of the world’s two exclusive tiger habitat exhibits. The Indonesian-themed space stages daily shows with Bengal and Sumatran tigers. More animals are on show at The Australian Wildlife Experience, a zoo with more than 800 native creatures and barnyard favorites.
Next door you’ll find WhiteWater World, a relatively new water park. Since opening in 2006, WhiteWater World has enticed tourists looking to beat the heat with its water slides, wave pool, and Wiggle Bay children’s waterplay area.
The Gold Coast’s original water park is Wet’n’Wild. While it does not have as many slides as WhiteWater World, it does have Australia’s largest. At 19 meters high, Mammoth Falls is a must for adrenalin junkies. During summer, Wet’n’Wild’s Dive-in Movies are very popular.
The Gold Coast’s final major amusement park is Sea World. The aquatic themed park features rides, live shows, and animal exhibitions. While a day at the park is lots of fun, there’s a more serious side to Sea World.
Through attractions like the Dolphin Nursery Pool and Seabird Rehabilitation Aviary, the park promotes conservation and helps sick and injured wildlife recuperate.
Visiting the Gold Coast’s amusement parks can get pricey, so if you plan to visit a few consider a multi-pass. A range of MyFun combo tickets offer tourists discounted entry to Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, and Movie World. Similar multi-passes are also available online for Dreamworld and WhiteWater World.
