page_title: History of Dreamworld
section_title: 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: History of Dreamworld / 2000s
caption_attribution_description: English: The Rugrats Runaway Reptar roller coaster at Dreamworld. The train is just dropping into the first helix after the lift hill.
context_page_description: 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 its 30-year history.
  Dreamworld's most iconic attraction is the Dreamworld Tower which stands 119 metres high. The tower houses the Tower of Terror II and The Giant Drop. Other thrill rides at the park include BuzzSaw, The Claw, Cyclone, Mick Doohan's Motocoaster, and Wipeout. The park also features two children's areas based upon DreamWorks Animation and The Wiggles, respectively. 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  In the first half of 2002, the entrance to the Tower of Terror was relocated to the opposite side of the track. This was followed by the closure of the Central Cafe, Kennyland and part of Village Oval. Shortly after, a temporary children's area opened in Gum Tree Gully. Known as the Kid's Carnival, the area featured several of the rides from Kennyland including the Dream Copters, Kenny Karts and Adventure Trails. A children's ferris wheel was also included in the lineup. In August 2002, it was announced that Dreamworld would be adding Nickelodeon Central, however, specific details at the time were sparse. After investing $7 million Dreamworld officially opened Nickelodeon Central on 26 December 2002. New attractions included Rugrats Runaway Reptar roller coaster, Wild Thornberry's Rainforest Rampage and the Slime Bowl. The Zumer from the Country Fair themed area was relocated to Nickelodeon Central and rethemed to Swinger Zinger. Kennyland's Dream Copters ride was relocated and resumed operation under the same name and theme. The existing Carousel, Bumper Bowl and Avalanche were renamed to Nick-O-Round, Rocket Power Bumper Beach and Angry Beavers Spooty Spin, respectively.
  In 2003, Dreamworld further expanded its wildlife offerings by running the after hours, upcharge attraction Sunset Safari where guests are taken on a tour behind the scenes of Dreamworld's wildlife attractions. In August 2003, the Thunderbolt was closed. Dreamworld sought but failed to find a buyer for the ride, and Thunderbolt 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. At around the same time, the Dream Copters ride in Nickelodeon Central was rethemed to become Blues Skidoo. The retheme saw new dog-shaped vehicles added to the ride in place of the planes and helicopters it originally featured. A temporary scare attraction known as Lara Croft Tomb Raider – Enter the Tomb operated from 23 December 2003 until 18 April 2004.
  In April 2004, construction began on what was rumoured to be a Teen Market Thrill Ride to open later in the year. To aid in the construction, the northern end of Ocean Parade was closed off to the public forcing guests to detour through Nickelodeon Central to get to the other rides that area, including the Cyclone and the Wipeout. In July 2004, Dreamworld announced that the ride was going to be an Intamin Gyro Swing, a duplicate of Maelstrom at Drayton Manor in the United Kingdom. On 18 September 2004, The Claw officially opened to the public.
  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 July 2005, Gum Tree Gully closed to make way for Wiggles World. The world's first Wiggles World officially opened on 17 September 2005 with the Big Red Car Ride, Captain Feathersword's Ship and the Fun Spot.
  In November 2005, the owners of Dre
caption: Rugrats Runaway Reptar in 2006
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