Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland

Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland is a land at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the park's children's section, containing attractions themed to Dreamworld mascots Kenny and Belinda the Koala, as well ABC Kids programmes such as Play School, Bananas in Pyjamas and The Wiggles.

"Kid's World" redirects here. For other uses, see Kids World.

Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland
ThemeKenny and Belinda Koala
ABC Kids properties
Attractions
Total13
Roller coasters1
Other rides7
Shows1
Dreamworld
Coordinates27.864100°S 153.316752°E / -27.864100; 153.316752
Opened31 March 2012 (2012-03-31) (as DreamWorks Experience)
ReplacedDreamWorks Experience (2012-2022)
Kid's World (2011–2012)
Nickelodeon Central (2002–2011)
Kennyland (1999–2002)

The land was formerly themed to DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon properties.

History

Early History

The area which Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland currently occupies was originally known as Village Green when it opened in 1983.[1] In 1998, the area was renamed to Village Oval.[2] In 1999, the northern end of Village Oval was redesigned to become Kennyland.[3]

Nickelodeon Central

In early 2002, Kennyland was removed and most of Village Oval was fenced off. Some of the children's rides were moved to Rivertown to allow for the construction of Nickelodeon Central.[4] During that year the leftover rides were rethemed and relocated to their current positions as part of Nickelodeon Central.[5] Nickelodeon Central opened on 26 December 2002 as the largest children's area in an Australian theme park.[6] In 2008, SpongeBob FlyPants (now Gingy's Glider) opened to expand Nickelodeon Central's offerings.[7]

On 27 April 2010, the Dora the Explorer Seaplanes closed for maintenance and has not operated since.[8] The ride was removed in late 2010 from its position in the park in addition to it being removed from the attraction listing and park map.[9][10][11]

DreamWorks Experience
Logo for DreamWorks Experience

Towards the middle of 2011, elements of Nickelodeon theming started to be removed leading to speculation that the contract with the television network was being terminated.[12] By the start of the winter holidays on 25 June 2011, all of the rides were renamed to a generic interim kids theme: Kid's World. In October 2011, the former Nick Pics building and the Remota Boats area were demolished with work beginning on a replacement building on the Nick Pics site.[13]

Earlier in 2011, the outgoing CEO of Dreamworld, Noel Dempsey,[14] leaked Dreamworld's plans to team up with DreamWorks Animation on his LinkedIn profile page.[15] On 10 November 2011, Dreamworld officially announced a three-stage plan to incorporate DreamWorks Animation films and characters into its theme park. The first phase, set to open 19 December 2011, was the DreamWorks Holiday Shrektacular Show which featured 8 DreamWorks Animation characters live on stage. The second phase will include the retheming of Dreamworld's kids area, Kid's World, into a 8,400-square-metre (90,000 sq ft) DreamWorks Experience precinct. This phase is set to open in Easter 2012. The final phase will be the development of an eating and meet-and-greet area called Kung Fu garden.[16] The three phases are expected to cost $10 million to complete.[17]

In late 2011, construction of the DreamWorks Experience precinct began with the removal of the photo shop and the adjacent Remota Boats in Main Street.[18] On 1 February 2012 following the peak season, Dreamworld closed most of the rides in Kid's World.[19] Swinger Zinger, Mighty-Go-Round, Sky Rocket, Rainforest Rampage and Kite Flyer were all closed pending their retheme into DreamWorks Animation.[19] During this time, two temporary rides named Mini-Swingers (SBF Visa Group Circus Swing) and Choppers (SBF Visa Group Chopper Train) operated in Ocean Parade near The Claw and AVPX, respectively.[20][21][22][23] In February 2012, Dreamworld announced that the DreamWorks Experience precinct would originally consist of two areas (Madagascar Madness and Shrek’s Faire Faire Away) with a third area (Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness[24]) to be added later. Names for the rethemed rides were also announced.[25] On 31 March 2012, the DreamWorks Experience officially opened to the public.[26]

On 15 July 2012, the Avalanche was closed to make way for a new attraction at the end of the year.[27] The replacement attraction will be part of Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness and its opening will mark the final stage of the DreamWorks Experience.[16]


Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland

In November 2022, Dreamworld announced that as part of their new multi-million dollar expansion, the DreamWorks Experience would be replaced with Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland, bringing back the initial Kenny Koala theme that the area once had.[28] Most of the attractions will make it over, however the attractions in the "Kung Fu Panda - Land of Awesomeness" area will instead be moved to the Ocean Parade section.

Attraction history

The area has seen many different name changes and re-themes over the years to fit in with the licenses and brands.

Current
Kenny's Forest Flyer roller coaster (when it was Rugrats Runaway Reptar)
NameOpenedManufacturerDescription
Bananas in Pyjamas Carousel1983Carousel ride themed to the show of the same name. Formerly known as "Carousel" (1982-2002),[1] "Nick-O-Round" (2002-2008),[29] "Backyardigans Mighty-Go-Round" (2008-2011),[30] "Mighty-Go-Round" (2011-2012) and "Shrek's Ogre-Go-Round" (2012-2022)[31][32]
Belinda's Treehouse2002SCS InteractiveA ball play area that allows kids to fire foam balls throughout the enclosure at targets and each other. Formerly known as "Wild Thornberry's Rainforest Rampage" (2002-2011),[33] "Rainforest Rampage" (2011-2012)[31] and "MAD Jungle Jam" (2012-2022)[32][34]
Big Red Boat Coaster2023Children's Roller Coaster based on The Wiggles. It will open in 2023 as one of several new additions to the area.
Big Red Planes2023Arial Carousel-style Airplane ride based on The Wiggles. It will open in 2023 as one of several new additions to the area, replacing "Dronkey's Flyers".
Candy Flyer2008ZamperlaKite Flyer ride. It was the only new attraction added to the then-named Nickelodeon Central area throughout its tenure, being placed near the merchandise show and play area,[35][36] before being moved during the DreamWorks Experience re-theme adjacent to the Roller Coaster. Formerly known as "SpongeBob FlyPants" (2008-2011),[7][37] "Kite Flyer" (2011-2012),[31][32] and "Gingy's Glider" (2012-2022).

The current "Candy Flyer" theme is temporary, and the attraction will see a new theme in June 2023.

Dreamworld Theatre2002DreamworldShow Stage. Formerly known as "Slime Bowl" (2002-2011), "Dreambowl" (2011-2012)" and "King Julien's Theatre in the Wild" (2012-2022).

During the Nickelodeon Central era, shows included "Slime Time Live", "SpongeBob SquarePants: Stories from Bikini Bottom" or "Blue's Clues Live".[38][39][40]

During the Kid's World era, the shows were "The Kenny Koala Show" and "The Goldie the Clown Show".[41][42]

During the DreamWorks Experience era, it showed "Madagascar Live – Prepare to Party".

Kenny's Forest Flyer2002suspended family roller coaster, being the third of its type in the world, and the first one located in the Southern Hemisphere.[43] It was the only children's roller coaster at the park[30] until the future addition of the "Big Red Boat Coaster" in 2023.

Formerly known as "Rugrats Runaway Reptar" (2002-2011), "Sky Rocket" (2011-2012),[31][32] "Escape from Madagascar" (2012-2022)" and "Escape Coaster" (2022-2023). The Coaster is currently under refurbishment under its new name and will reopen in August 2023.

Play School Wheel2015ZamperlaMini Feriess Wheel themed to the show of the same name. It originally opened in 2015 as part of ABC Kids World and will be relocated to Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland following the closure of ABC Kids World.
Soaring Swing1982swinger ride. Formerly known as "Zoomer" (1982-2002),[44] "Swinger Zinger" (2002-2012)[45][30][31][32] and "Puss in Boots Sword Swing" (2012-2022).

The current name is temporary and will see a new theme and name in 2023.


Former
Avalanche (when it was Angry Beavers Spooty Spin)
NameOpenedClosed/RemovedManufacturerDescription
Avalanche19822012Bertazzon Ridesmatterhorn ride.[1] Formerly known as Angry Beavers Spooty Spin" (2002-2011)[46] until reverting back to its former name in 2011 with the Kid's World debranding.[31][32]

The ride closed on 15 July 2012[27] the ride was closed to make way for Pandamonium as part of the DreamWorks Experience re-theme.

Dora the Explorer Sea Planes19822010fixed arm, rotating plane ride themed to the show of the same name.[47] Formerly known as "Red Baron" (1982-2002),[44][48] and was relocated to at least three different locations under the name until staying in a specific spot.[49][29]

On 27 April 2010, the attraction was closed for maintenance.[50] However, the attraction never reopened and by Late-2010 the attraction was removed entirely, including on the attraction listing and park map.[51][52][53]

Dronkey's Flyers20022022A fixed arm, rotating plane ride. Formerly known as "Dream Copters" (2000-2003),[3][4] "Blue's Skidoo" (2002-2012)[54][55] and "Dronkey Flyers" (2012-2022). During it's "Blue's Skidoo" era, it would become the only ride in the de-branded Kid's World area to not gain a generic re-theme.

The ride will be replaced with a similar attraction - Big Red Planes for the 2023 season.

Kung Fu Academy20122022A small outdoor kids gym area. The area consists of small poles for kids to stretch.
Pandamonium20122022ZamperlaAir race ride themed to Kung Fu Panda. It replaced the former Avalanche ride.

In 2023, the attraction, alongside the other Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness attractions was relocated to the expanded Ocean Parade area, and the attraction reopened as "Serpent Slayer" later on in the year.

Skadoosh19832022bumper cars attraction. Formerly known as "Bumper Bowl" (1983-2002),[56] "Rocket Power Bumper Beach" (2002-2011)[57] and "Bumper Beach" (2011-2012).[31][32] Throughout its lifetime, the ride's entrance and exit gates have been modified several times although the actual ride has not been moved.

In 2023, the attraction, alongside the other Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness attractions was relocated to the expanded Ocean Parade area. The attraction gained the temporary "Dreamworld Dodgems" name in Late-2022 and will soon gain a refurbishment and re-theme as the "Deep Sea Dodgems" later on in the year. and the attraction reopened as "Serpent Slayer" later on in the year.

SpongeBob SquarePants Water Play20022006DreamworldThemed water play area for children. It was closed in 2006 following the start of local water restrictions.
Trolls Village20182019DreamworldA temporary walk-through attraction based on Trolls that contained a show stage, play area, and food outlet. Meet and greets and character shows would be held daily featuring the characters Poppy, Branch and DJ Suki.

Madagascar Cargo Hold

Madagascar Cargo Hold is a merchandise shop which sells Madagascar merchandise. It backs onto the Forever After's and was on the site of the former Nick Pics/Fun Snapz photo shop.

Forever After's

Forever After's is a merchandise shop which sells Shrek merchandise. It backs onto the Madagascar Cargo Hold and was on the site of the former Nick Pics/Fun Snapz photo shop.

Shrek's Treats

Shrek's Treats is a small food outlet located in the centre of the DreamWorks Experience precinct.

References
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