The history of Dreamworld dates back to the mid-1970s when John Longhurst envisioned the future theme park. After a seven-year construction period, Dreamworld officially opened to the public on 15 December 1981. Now owned by publicly listed Ardent Leisure, the park has seen many expansions, closures and replacements over the years.
Dreamworld's most iconic attraction is the Dreamworld Tower which stands high. The tower houses The Giant Drop (once the world's tallest and fastest drop tower) and once housed the Tower of Terror II (once the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster). Other thrill rides at the park include The Claw, The Gold Coaster, Mick Doohan's Motocoaster, Serpent Slayer and Tail Spin. The park also features a children's area based upon ABC Kids shows. A wide collection of flat rides rounds out the attraction lineup.
Throughout 2011, Dreamworld celebrated its 30th birthday by investing money in a variety of attractions over the course of the year.
Design and construction In 1968, entrepreneur John Longhurst took his children to a zoo in Sydney and subsequently felt he could develop something better. After reading a newspaper article describing Disneyland as "a real Dream World", Longhurst registered the name Dreamworld as a trademark on 10 May 1973. One year later, he purchased of land beside the Pacific Motorway in Coomera. Over a 7-year period, of this land was developed to form the Dreamworld theme park.
Longhurst also had a hand in constructing the park. He personally spent 12 hours a day, every day for two-and-a-half years to excavate and develop the Murrissipi River in the centre of the park. The channel is wide and up to deep. A paddle steamer, named the Captain Sturt Paddlewheeler, was later added to the river prior to the opening of the park.
In the late 1970s, Longhurst was joined by Sydney furniture salesman Ken Lord. The additional funding provided by Lord allowed Longhurst to embrace his peer-described characteristic of being a perfectionist. This characteristic was on display when he employed some of the designers responsible for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. These architects were responsible for such buildings as the City Hall (entrance building) and IMAX Theatre which closely resemble the Walt Disney World Railroad's station in Main Street U.S.A. and the Emporium at the Magic Kingdom, respectively. A collection of Australian architects had the task to design further buildings which mimicked Australian pioneer buildings.
Longhurst had previously experienced the film To Fly! in an IMAX theatre and wanted to bring that concept to the park. To cater for the 7-storey tall screen, 3 storeys were excavated to allow the screen to fit within a 4-storey building. Seating for 426 people and a $60,000 sound system completed Dreamworld's IMAX Theatre.
A steam-powered railway was the third attraction Longhurst envisaged for the park. A locomotive from Baldwin Locomotive Works was purchased and of track was laid to develop the Cannonball Express. The train was originally used during the First World War in France before being relocated to Queensland for use on the cane fields. At the time of its opening, the Cannonball Express was the Longest privately owned railway in Australia. Although the ride's name has been changed to the Dreamworld Railway, it retains this record to this day.
Fourteen replicas of 1911 Model T Fords were purchased at a cost of $12,000 each to develop the Model T Fords attraction. The ride saw guests drive their own car along a rail-guided figure-8 track. The ride still exists to this day (albeit at a different location) under the name Avis Vintage Cars. The Gilltraps Auto Museum was relocated to Dreamworld to showcase the workings of vintage cars as well as the restoration process of vintage cars.
To further diversify the park's offerings a log flume was constructed. The Rocky Hollow Log Ride would see up to four guests board a fibreglass boat and navigate a flume culminating in a drop at the finish.
Longhurst felt this collection of attractions would satisfy all age groups.
Opening
Dreamworld was officially opened on 15 December 1981 by the Premier of Queensland of the time, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen along with park mascot Kenny Koala. At the time, the park employed a total of 220 employees and operated from 10am – 5pm, Tuesday to Thursday. Dreamworld was described as "Australia's answer to Disneyland" by the media – a title supported by the park due to its focus on quality. It was notable at the time for being one of the very few attractions on the Gold Coast where a single admission fee covered unlimited turns on all of the rides and attractions. This admission fee was $11.50 for an adult and $7.50 for a child. The park welcomed 450 guests on its first day of operation. Within the first four months of operation, Dreamworld attracted 250,000 guests and was predicted to be the biggest tourist attraction in the Southern Hemisphere by the mid-1980s.
1980s In the months following Dreamworld's opening the park set about constructing more rides, shows and attractions. In April 1982, Dreamworld opened a new themed area titled Country Fair. The flagship attraction was the Thunderbolt roller coaster. This steel roller coaster was designed by Japanese firm Sanoyas Hishino Meisho and was Australia's first looping roller coaster. At the time of opening it also earned the title of Australia's longest roller coaster with a length of . Other attractions in the area included a swing ride named Zumer (later Swinger Zinger) and a plane ride named Red Baron (later Dora the Explorer's Sea Planes). A set of upcharge go-karts named Grand Prix were located within the Thunderbolt's footprint rounded out the attractions in Country Fair. Also in 1982, a second themed area opened known as Gum Tree Gully. The area's main attraction was the Australian Koala Theatre which showed the animatronic show Koala Country Jamboree at the time.
In 1983, the park expanded again adding another two new themed areas. The first was the Blue Lagoon water park. Attractions at Blue Lagoon included a body slide named Aqualoop Flume Ride, a tube ride named Krakatoa's Revenge, and a toboggan ride named Toboggan Ride. A large lagoon swimming pool and a children's pool rounded out the water park. The second themed area was Village Green which was constructed to provide a link between the 1982 additions of Country Fair and Gum Tree Gully. Attractions at Village Green included a matterhorn ride named Avalanche, a set of Bertazzon bumper cars, a carousel, an arcade and a miniature train ride named Little Puff which ventured through an area known as The Enchanted Forest. Country Fair was also expanded with the addition of the Enterprise (later Reef Diver) and a Chance Rides Trabant named Roulette (later Stingray). The park also introduced its third mascot, Belinda Brown.
In 1984, Dreamworld began seven-day trading after only being open Tuesday through to Thursday since 1981.
On 15 December 1986, Dreamworld unveiled Gold Rush Country (later the Town of Gold Rush), its eighth themed area. The area was located to the left of Central Plaza and featured two attractions. The first was a wild mouse roller coaster named the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride. Built by Brisbane company HyFab, the roller coaster was enclosed within a mountain with selected track segments venturing outside the mountain. The area's second attraction was a river rafting ride called Thunder River Rapids Ride. The ride's channel weaved around Gold Rush Country and under the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride. Also in 1986, the park opened the Music Bowl (later Dreamworld Amphitheatre and Dreamworld Studios) and had its first after-dark opening.
In 1987, Koala Country opened as the park's ninth themed area. Spanning , the area was home to many native animals including 13 koalas. Two years later the Skylink Chairlift opened providing a link between Koala Country and Gold Rush Country. The ride was manufactured by Ferrari and saw pairs of guests board one of 38 carriages for a three-and-a-half minute ride. The ride was originally located at Magic Mountain, Nobby Beach before being relocated to the park.
1990s
On 26 December 1993, Dreamworld opened its tenth themed area, Ocean Parade. The area took over the northern portion of the existing Country Fair themed area. Ocean Parade's flagship attraction was the $6 million Wipeout. The ride was the world's first Vekoma Wakiki Wave Super Flip – a ride similar to a traditional Top Spin. The Roulette was rethemed to become the Stingray and relocated to a new location at the same time.
In June 1995, Dreamworld opened Tiger Island where Bengal and white tigers interact with keepers in the same exhibit. At the same time they also constructed a path to connect Gum Tree Gully with Koala Country. Along this path they opened the Riverwalk Restaurant (later renamed Billabong BBQ and Buffet).
In the mid-1990s, Dreamworld entered into an agreement with Swiss amusement ride manufacturer Intamin to construct the -high Dreamworld Tower at a cost of over $1 million. On 23 January 1997, the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster opened on the tower. Known as the Tower of Terror, the ride launches guests from 0 to in 7 seconds along the flat before travelling vertically up the tower. The car then returns the way it came. The Tower of Terror was the first ride of its type and is currently one of only two in the world (the other Reverse Freefall Coaster being Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain). Construction of the tower required the rerouting of the Avis Vintage Cars track around the tower.
Later in 1997, Dreamworld manufactured and opened the Creature Cruise. The ride was a free flow boat ride located in the northern portion of Village Oval. It would take riders on a gentle cruise past 140 handcrafted animals, birds and marine life in their respective habitats. In 1998, four Bengal Tiger cubs (Rama, Taj, Sultan and Sita) and several pure bred dingoes were born.
On 26 December 1998, a second ride was constructed on the Dreamworld Tower. Similar to the Tower of Terror, The Giant Drop was designed by Intamin. At a cost of $12 million, it opened as the world's tallest and fastest freefall ride.
In December 1999, Dreamworld added a variety of kids rides in a new themed area called Kennyland. The area took over the northern portion of Village Oval. It consisted of a selection of rides and attractions including Wild Wheels (SBF Visa Group Convoy), Dream Copters (SBF Visa Group Jets), Adventure Trails (jumping castle) and Kenny's Cars (SBF Visa Group Mini Bumper Cars). Around the same time, the Creature Cruise was converted from a boat ride into a walkthrough attraction.
2000s
In January 2001, the Australian Wildlife Experience opened after the multimillion-dollar refurbishment and expansion of Koala Country to feature new areas based upon wetlands, woodlands, rainforest and arid desert. In April 2001, Big Brother Australia commenced broadcasting following the redevelopment of Dreamworld's Amphitheatre. On 23 June 2001, a temporary scare attraction called The Mummy Returns began operation. The attraction was the first of many of scare attractions to be created by Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company for Dreamworld. It closed on 8 July 2001. Also in 2001, two new Bengal tigers, Kato and Kaasha, were born in Tiger Island.
On 21 October 2001, Dreamworld announced that they would be adding the $5 million Cyclone roller coaster. On 26 December 2001, the Cyclone officially opened to the public. The ride was the former Big Dipper roller coaster at Luna Park Sydney. Designed by Arrow Dynamics, the Cyclone was a sit down custom looping roller coaster featuring 2 inversions.