Construction and opening In 1974, John Longhurst, the father of the future Australian water-ski champion and two time
Bathurst 1000 winner
Tony Longhurst, put his dream of building a theme park into practice and purchased of land beside the
Pacific Motorway in
Coomera. Longhurst spent two years, working 12-hour days, to excavate what is now known as the Murrissipi River. No expense was spared when Longhurst employed some designers who worked on
Disneyland and
Walt Disney World to design the park. It was up to a collection of Australian architects to mimic Australian pioneer buildings during construction.
1980s Since then Dreamworld has constantly evolved adding new rides, themed lands and characters. Gold Rush Country was themed around the
Australian gold rushes. The same year, Dreamworld opened the Music Bowl (later became
Dreamworld Studios). In 1987, Koala Country opened and in 1989 the Skylink Chairlift opened.
1990s In 1991, to promote the Australian premiere of
The Simpsons on
Network Ten from 10 February, Dreamworld welcomed the characters of the American TV series. Guests could meet and greet with them as well as see them in the live stage show
The Simpsons: Live on Stage, but the characters only appeared twice daily until 30 June. In 1993, a Waikiki Wave Super Flip named Wipeout opened as part of the new Ocean Parade themed area. In 1995 Tiger Island opened with the Riverwalk Restaurant (now known as the Billabong BBQ and Buffet) opened. In 1997, Dreamworld opened a slow boat ride named Creature Cruise which they manufactured themselves in Village Oval. Creature Cruise was operation for only a short time. The park also opened the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster Tower of Terror opened. One year later the Giant Drop, the world's tallest freefall ride, was added to the Dreamworld Tower. Also in 1998, four Bengal Tiger cubs were born: Rama, Taj, Sultan and Sita. In December 1999, Dreamworld added a variety of kids rides in a new themed area called Kennyland. Also in 2001, two new Bengal tigers, Kato and Kaasha, were born in Tiger Island. In 2002, Nickelodeon Central replaced Kennyland and Village Oval to include a wide variety of new and refurbished children's rides. It was demolished and sold for scrap metal in March 2004. Dreamworld has retained a section of track and at least one train in the park's back-of-house areas. Later that year in September 2004, The Claw opened in Ocean Parade. On 15 March 2005, the Skylink Chairlift, which provided a link between Gold Rush Country and the Australian Wildlife Experience, closed. It remained standing for several months before the wires were removed. The support poles remain standing to this day. In 2006, Ardent Leisure shifted its focus to improving its offerings of water attractions. In April, Blue Lagoon was closed due to its planned replacement by WhiteWater World as a separate gated complex. On 24 June, the
FlowRider opened in Ocean Parade. On 7 November, the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride closed and it remained standing until 2018 In 2007, two Sumatran Tiger cubs, Indah and Rahni, were born at Tiger Island. Later that year in September, Mick Doohan's
Motocoaster opened after the relocation of the Avis Vintage Cars. On 20 June 2008, SpongeBob FlyPants opened as part of Nickelodeon Central. On 9 June, Tiger Island welcomed the birth of three Sumatran Tiger cubs: Ndari, Jaya and Shanti. In the middle of 2008, the final series of Australian
Big Brother for the Channel 10 Network was produced, leaving the house and studios standing upon completion. A few months later, the Vortex was closed and removed to make way for
AVPX (Alien vs. Predator vs. You) an indoor
laser skirmish attraction which opened on 10 April 2009. Almost exactly one year later in April 2010, the
Illuminate Light & Laser Spectacular began seasonal operation in Main Street. In September, the Tower of Terror relaunched as the Tower of Terror II featuring a new, reversed car. In 2009, a
Bell 206 helicopter operating joy flights on behalf of Dreamworld crash-landed in the carpark near the park's main entry. The pilot and four Taiwanese visitors to the park suffered minor injuries in the crash. The pilot was initially praised for avoiding crowded areas of the park, but it was later revealed the crash was a result of mismanagement which led to the helicopter running out of fuel. Dreamworld has not offered helicopter flights since the accident.
2010s In late 2010, Dreamworld announced that they would begin celebrating their
30th birthday by holding the
Summer Funomenon over the summer school holidays. The IMAX Theatre was renovated to become the
Dreamworld Cinema. A roof was constructed over Main Street between the entrances for Ocean Parade and Nickelodeon Central. The Marketplace in Main Street was also upgraded. Also a new tiger cub named Pi (pronounced pie) was born. In 2011, two separate incidents were reported of handlers at Dreamworld's
Tiger Island attraction being bitten by a nine-year-old Bengal Tiger and requiring hospitalisation. The park's life sciences manager said that both incidents would be investigated, and the park reviewed its animal handling procedures. On 16 February 2011, Ardent Leisure announced plans to have an Easter promotion where
lions would be on temporary exhibition from
National Zoo & Aquarium who are renovating their facilities; this was later revealed by Dreamworld to be "
The Lair". On 7 April 2011, Dreamworld announced that they would be adding a family thrill ride in June and a major thrill ride in September 2011. On 18 May 2011, the family thrill ride was officially announced to be a
Zamperla Disk'O called
Shockwave within Ocean Parade. The ride opened on 25 June 2011. By the start of the winter holidays on 25 June 2011, Dreamworld's contract with
Nickelodeon had been terminated, thus all of the rides in Nickelodeon Central were renamed to a generic kids theme: ''
Kid's World''. On 17 September 2011, Dreamworld opened
BuzzSaw – a
Maurer Söhne SkyLoop roller coaster. The opening of the ride was timed with the renaming of Gold Rush Country to the Town of Gold Rush. On 10 November 2011, Dreamworld announced a three-stage plan to incorporate
DreamWorks Animation films and characters into its theme park at a cost of $10 million. The first phase was the temporary summer show, the
DreamWorks Holiday Shrektacular. as well as the addition of the Big Red Boat Ride to Wiggles World.
AVPX closed on 31 March 2013. It was replaced with
Zombie Evilution on 13 September 2013. Zombie Evilution originally ran as a temporary scare maze until 14 October. On 18 October, the attraction reopened as a laser skirmish attraction with the same theme and backstory. On 8 November 2013, the park was evacuated when a bushfire came within close proximity. Everyone in the park was evacuated within an hour. Dreamworld announced via Facebook that the park was not under any immediate threat and that
back burning to protect it from any damage had started just outside the
Big Brother complex. Later that day, Dreamworld again announced via Facebook that the blaze was under control thanks to firefighters and that the park would re-open as normal the next day. On 28 April 2014, the Reef Diver closed and was subsequently removed. On 20 September, it was replaced by Tail Spin, a Gerstlauer Sky Fly. In early 2015, Dreamworld teased that two new big attractions would be coming to the park in 2015. Throughout the early months of the year, rumours circulated as to the reopening of the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride, however these did not eventuate. Zombie Evilution once again reopened as a scare maze in April. On 12 May, Dreamworld announced that Wiggles World would become a shared kids' world based on the characters of the Australian children's television network, ABC Kids. ABC Kids World opened in June. Dreamworld also revealed plans for an extensive motorsport attraction, which was expected to be a new V8 Supercars attraction to either complement or replace V8 Supercars RedLine. On 26 July, Tiger Cub Kai was born. On 12 October, The Cyclone was closed for refurbishment as part of the Motorsport Precinct, labelled to open 26 December 2015. . On 25 October, Dreamworld posted new information on its website regarding the Motorsport Precinct, noting that the Cyclone would be renamed "Hot Wheels SideWinder" after Dreamworld entered into a partnership with Hot Wheels. Dreamworld also revealed that the Precinct will feature the Motorsport Museum (Featuring the 30
Peter Brock V8's) as well as six racing simulators, a new F&B (Food and Beverage) Outlet named Grid Burgers and Sports Bar, as well as a new retail outlet. The Precinct is sponsored by
Dunlop,
RACQ and
Hot Wheels and opened on 26 December 2015. On 29 November 2015, Two Female Tiger Cubs were born. Later named Akasha and Adira. On 26 December 2015, The Motorsports Experience, including the Brock Museum, Trackside Merchandise Outlet, Grid Burgers Food and Beverage as well as the Hot Wheels SideWinder opened as advertised. On 27 January 2016,
Zombie Evilution closed to the public and would no longer operate as a laser tag arena, the attraction was still, however, utilised as a scare-maze for special events, such as Screamworld. On 9 February, Dreamworld welcomed two female white tiger cubs from Kagoshima City, in Japan. These two cubs were viewable in a quarantine enclosure located in front of the Zombie Evilution attraction. On 29 February, Tiger Island closed for refurbishment, the tiger cubs were still viewable in a new Tiger Cub Kindy area, located in Ocean Parade. Tiger Island reopened on 18 September 2016 and Cub Kindy was moved back to Tiger Island. In April 2016, a man fell out of the log ride when he stood up mid-ride. He was then run over by two more logs, suffering cuts to his head and almost drowning. The ride was closed for two days after while it was investigated by Queensland authorities. In October 2016, Kelly's Showdown and Jack's Watering Hole were permanently closed after most of the
Gold Rush Country was blocked off to the public due to a fatal accident. In October 2016, a malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids Ride resulted in the deaths of four park patrons. Because of that tragedy, the ride was permanently closed and demolished. Ardent Leisure was fined $3.6 million for its breaches of health and safety laws. In March 2019, Dreamworld announced that
Wipeout, the park's oldest thrill ride, would be retired and dismantled, and will not re-open from its maintenance period. It was replaced with a shaded seating space for guests. At a shareholders conference on 23 August 2019, Ardent Leisure confirmed that the Sky Voyager "flying theatre" simulator ride would open to the public that day. The $17-million Sky Voyager was built in partnership with Brogent Technologies on the site of the former
Dreamworld Cinema. It was originally scheduled to open in late 2018, but was delayed due to issues with design registration. During the conference, Ardent further committed to a $50-million investment in their Dreamworld and WhiteWater World properties over the coming three to five years. A $30-million
launched roller coaster built by
Mack Rides was scheduled to begin construction in early 2020. The coaster's layout would be based on
Europa-Park's
Blue Fire coaster. A semi-shuttle multi-launch system would be used; a transfer-track will transport riders to the launch track, where the train is launched forwards, then backwards up a vertical spike, then forwards again to complete the track's layout. The coaster features 1,200 m (3,937 ft) of track, a top speed of 105 km/h (65 mph), maximum height of 38 m (124 ft), and four
inversions. In addition, the last row of each train would feature backwards-facing spinning cars. The park also confirmed that ABC Kids World would receive a multi-million dollar revamp, with confirmation of a new ride to come and further details to be announced at a later date. On 22 June 2019, six children were arrested after they
burnt down the
Big Brother house. The children were found at
Coomera railway station shortly after the arson. Two of the children were charged with vandalism. The house was completely destroyed and it was demolished along with the
Dreamworld Studios shortly after. The wind that day blew the smoke away from the park so the park did not need to evacuate and nobody was injured. Just months after the closure of
Wipeout, the park announced on 25 October 2019, that the Tower of Terror ll would cease operation on 3 November of the same year. The park cited "focusing our investment on the future and delivering new, world-class attractions for you to enjoy" as the reason for closing the attraction. The park confirmed that The Giant Drop will continue to operate as normal, with the Tower of Terror II track being removed from the Dreamworld Tower structure over time. The press release also included confirmation that a new thrill ride would be announced sometime in the next year as the park continued forward with their multi-million dollar expansion.
2020–present On 7 February 2020, Dreamworld Management announced that the
Rocky Hollow Log Ride had been retired from service after 38 years of operation. The following was put out by Dreamworld: "In order to continue Dreamworld's journey as Australia's biggest and best theme park, the Dreamworld team has made the decision to retire the Rocky Hollow Log Ride, which opened 38 years ago on 15 December 1981. Dreamworld guests should be assured that this decision to not reopen the ride following its recent scheduled maintenance has been made to allow us to continue developing new experiences for guests while taking proactive steps to deliver a new generation of rides." Dreamworld also announced a refurbishment of the
Hot Wheels SideWinder coaster (renamed to The Gold Coaster) and an upgrade to
ABC Kids World which includes a new ride. On 22 March 2020, Dreamworld announced that they would temporarily cease operations for both Dreamworld and
WhiteWater World due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. Two days later, Dreamworld announced it had donated of food to OzHarvest. Over a month later, on 27 April 2020, supports for the new roller coaster, announced in August 2019, started arriving at the Dreamworld carpark. Roller coaster tracks started arriving on 2 June 2020, however no land works had been done during the parks closure. The Play School Art Room was removed from Dreamworld's website and the attraction was removed, with the exception of the online park map on 17 June. On 12 August 2020, Dreamworld announced the reopening dates for the park as 16 September 2020. Dreamworld also announced that the majority of the Corroboree area was going to be temporarily closed and that
FlowRider and the
Big Red Car were going to be permanently closed after 14 years. The park removed indoor seating and reconfigured queue lines to allow for social distancing. In November 2020, Dreamworld announced the name for their currently under construction roller coaster that took up the land that was once occupied by the
Thunder River Rapids Ride. The ride, named
Steel Taipan, is a
Mack Rides Blue Fire clone with a shuttle launch, vertical twisted spike and spinning rear seat. Steel Taipan officially opened on 15 December 2021. On 17 July 2021, in an email to pass holders, Dreamworld announced that BuzzSaw would be retired after 31 August 2021. The ride was the 13th attraction to be closed since October 2016. The attraction was refurbished and relocated to
Gumbaya World in Victoria as Project Zero. Dreamworld also announced that the
Dreamworld Express would be receiving new train carriages. The refurbished attraction reopened in July 2022, with a reduced track layout and reversed direction of travel. The train now runs clockwise instead of anti-clockwise, with two stations (Central Park Station and Corroborree Station) instead of four. The previous track loop around the Blue Lagoon site has been removed. The Station platforms were also raised to allow for wheelchair users to be able to access al the train carriages with ease. In April 2022,
The Giant Drop closed for refurbishment and repainting of the Dreamworld Tower. The attraction reopened on 24 June 2023. On 24 November, Dreamworld announced a rebranding of the DreamWorks Experience and ABC Kids World themed area into Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland with rebranded and refurbished attractions as well as new attractions. Also, a new
chair swing ride called
The Dreamworld Flyer was announced for Main Street. In late 2022 Dreamworld CEO Greg Yong announced the A$50million redevelopment of
ABC Kids world &
Wiggles world, The new area is to be called
Rivertown which is a nod to Dreamworld's past. The area opened in December 2024 featuring the most heavily themed ride in the country "
Jungle Rush" roller coaster & "
Murrissippi Motors". The land features Australia's largest & most heavily themed restaurant "
Jane's Rivertown Restaurant". In September 2024 Dreamworld announced that
The Claw would be closing in January 2025 to be replaced by "King Claw". Standing at 27 metres tall, King Claw will be more than 50% taller than The Claw, reach speeds more than 50% faster and have a swing height taller than the highest peak of the park’s largest rollercoaster, Steel Taipan. It will be built by
intamin who also manufactured the original Claw. In December 2024 Dreamworld officially opened the A$55million
Rivertown precinct. The precinct includes the Jungle Rush rollercoaster, Murrissippi Motors, which is a refurbished
Vintage Car Adventure, and the rethemed Billabong Buffet which is now called Jane's Rivertown Restaurant. The precinct is the most heavily themed and expensive addition to Dreamworld since the parks opening. The precinct features hundreds of theming pieces, custom music, theatrical lighting, a former
RAAF DHC-4 Caribou aircraft, multiple old vehicles, and hundreds of new plants & trees. Upgrades included an improved enclosure for its
wedge-tailed eagle, and an ongoing development of a
Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo enclosure. In addition, a multi-screen experience called "Australian Geographic Our Country" has been added to the precinct.
Park timeline • 1974: Dreamworld's creator, John Longhurst, purchased 58 hectares of land in Coomera. • 1981: Dreamworld opens to the public with the Captain Sturt Paddlewheeler, IMAX Theatre (later
Dreamworld Cinemas), Cannonball Express (now
Dreamworld Express),
Rocky Hollow Log Ride and Model T Fords (now
Vintage Car Adventure) • 1982: Grand Prix, Red Baron (later Dora the Explorer's Sea Planes),
Thunderbolt and Zumer (later Soaring Swing) open along with the Country Fair themed area. • 1983: The
Blue Lagoon water park opens along with the Village Oval themed area and Avalanche, Bumper Bowl (now Deep Sea Dodgems), Carousel (now the
Bananas in Pyjamas Carousel), Enterprise (later
Reef Diver), Game Site, Little Puff and Roulette (later
Stingray). • 1984: 7-day trading began. • 1986:
Gold Rush Country opens with the
Eureka Mountain Mine Ride and
Thunder River Rapids Ride along with the
Dreamworld Studios. • 1987: Koala Country opens along with the Skyline Chairlift. • 1991: Dreamworld celebrates 10 years of operation. • 1992: Grand Prix is decommissioned. • 1993:
Ocean Parade opens with the
Wipeout. • 1995:
Tiger Island themed area opens. • 1996: Little Puff is decommissioned. • 1997: Creature Cruise and Tower of Terror (later
Tower of Terror II) opens. • 1998:
The Giant Drop opens. • 1999:
Kennyland opens with Adventure Trails, Dream Copters (now Big Red Plane), Kenny's Cars and Wild Wheels. • 2000: Creature Cruise is decommissioned. • 2001: Australian Wildlife Experience (now
Dreamworld Corroboree) opens along with Cyclone (now
The Gold Coaster) and The Mummy Returns scare attraction. Dreamworld celebrates 29 years of operation.
Big Brother Australia starts production at the amphitheatre with the house located nearby. • 2002: Nickelodeon Central opens with Rugrats Runaway Reptar (now
Kenny's Forest Flyer), Wild Thornberry's Rainforest Rampage (now Belinda's Treehouse), and the Slime Bowl (now the Dreamworld Theatre). Adventure Trails, Kenny's Car, Wild Wheels and a temporary kids Ferris wheel are decommissioned. • 2003: The Sunset Safari experience opens. Thunderbolt is decommissioned. • 2004:
The Claw and Farmyard Friends opens. Fright Night (now Happy Halloween) event is inaugurated. • 2005: Wiggles World (later
ABC Kids World) opens with the
Big Red Car Ride, Fun Spot (later ABC Kids World Fun Spot) and SS Feathersword (later Giggle and Hoot's Pirate Ship). Gum Tree Gully and Skylink Chair Lift are decommissioned. • 2006:
FlowRider and
WhiteWater World opens.
Eureka Mountain Mine Ride is decommissioned. • 2007: Mick Doohan's Motocoaster (now
Motocoaster) opens. • 2008: SpongeBob FlyPants (now Humpty-Go-Round) and
V8 Supercars RedLine opens.
Big Brother Australia ceases production. • 2009: Vortex was decommissioned and replaced with
AVPX. Farmyard Friends was also decommissioned and replaced with the Dreamworld Woolshed. • 2010: The IMAX Theatre and Tower of Terror refurbished to become the Dreamworld Cinema and Tower of Terror II respectively. Dora the Explorer's Sea Planes was decommissioned. • 2011: As part of
Dreamworld's 30th Birthday,
BuzzSaw,
Shockwave and
The Lair opens. Nickelodeon Central is replaced by the
DreamWorks Experience themed area. • 2012: Avalanche is decommissioned for Pandamonium (now
Serpent Slayer). Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler and Stingray were also decommissioned.
Big Brother Australia resumes production at the park for the second time. • 2013: AVPX was decommissioned and replaced by
Zombie Evilution. • 2014: Reef Diver was decommissioned and replaced by
Tail Spin.
Big Brother Australia ends its tenure for the second time. • 2015: Motorsports Experience opens with Brock's Garage, new V8 Super Car RedLine and Hot Wheels SideWinder (previously Cyclone). • 2016: The Ride Express virtual queueing system is introduced. A man was seriously injured on the Rocky Hollow Log Ride. Four riders were killed on Thunder River Rapids Ride. Thunder River Rapids Ride was decommissioned. • 2017: Tiger Island Up Close Experience opens along with Australia's first LEGO Store. The Park after Dark event was inaugurated. • 2018: Trolls Village opened and Rocky Hollow Log Ride reopened. Zombie Evilution and the Dreamworld Cinema are decommissioned. • 2019: Kickback Cove and
Sky Voyager open. Giggle and Hoot Hop n Hoot, Tower of Terror II, Trolls Village, V8 Supercars RedLine and Wipeout are decommissioned. Winterfest was inaugurated while Happy Halloween returned after 15 years. • 2020: Hot Wheels Sidewinder was refurbished and became The Gold Coaster. Big Red Car Ride, FlowRider and Rocky Hollow Log Ride are decommissioned. The park was closed for 6 months due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. • 2021: BuzzSaw was decommissioned.
Steel Taipan opens replacing the Thunder River Rapids Ride and Spring Country Fair was inaugurated. • 2022: Street Food Festival was inaugurated. The Giant Drop and Dreamworld Express rides are refurbished. Dreamworld Parents Centre was inaugurated. Rivertown project is Announced. • 2023: DreamWorks Experience is replaced by
Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland. Soaring Swing was decommissioned and replaced by the Big Red Boat Coaster. Seabed Splash and the Dreamworld Flyer open. ABC Kids World closes. • 2024: A spinning seat is added to both Steel Taipan trains. Rivertown opens with Jungle Rush, Murrissippi Motors & Jane's Rivertown Restaurant. The Claw's replacement "King Claw" is announced. • 2025: King Claw opens. Big Brother Australia returns for the third time to resume second revival after a year off air. • Late 2025: King Claw goes viral after opening but days before it opened King claw had a malfunction where it did a half swing and suddenly slowed down ==Events==