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Dreamworld pins hopes on new rollercoaster to help speed out of pandemic

Theme park Dreamworld hopes its newly opened rollercoaster ride will help kick off a bumper summer holiday season as it seeks to put the ravages of Covid and the hangover from the 2016 Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy behind it.

Dec 15, 2021, updated Dec 15, 2021
The Steel Taipan is Dreamworld's largest investment in a single ride.

The Steel Taipan is Dreamworld's largest investment in a single ride.

The Queensland Government, which has heavily backed the $32 million Steel Taipan rollercoaster through its Growing Tourism Infrastructure Fund, estimates the ride will deliver $30 million to the local economy.

The ride, built by Gold Coast company Condev Construction, is Dreamworld’s largest ever investment in a single attraction.

Dreamworld parent company Ardent Leisure last year said it had received $70 million in loans and grants rom the government to keep the doors of its theme parks open during the pandemic.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said with a top speed of 105 kilometres an hour and a G-force of 3.8, the Steel Taipan would be a hit with thrill-seekers.

“As the only rollercoaster of its kind in Australia, the adrenalin of the Steel Taipan is predicted to bring an extra 250,000 visitors a year to the Gold Coast,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

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Dreamworld CEO Greg Yong said the timing of the Steel Taipan’s launch was perfect.

“Following a challenging couple of years, we felt committed to building a world-class tourism infrastructure asset that will benefit not only Dreamworld but also the entire SEQ tourism sector,” he said.

The Steel Taipan is based on the Blue Fire rollercoaster at Europa Park in Germany.

Both were designed by German manufacturer MACK Rides, one of the international amusement industry’s most experienced operators.

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