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The Gold Coast attracts thousands of visitors every year making it one of the best holiday destinations in Australia. 99% of those visitors don’t leave until they’ve visited at least one of the Gold Coast Theme Parks.

If you’ve got kids, then the theme parks really are a wonderful place. Or, if you are like me and love all those adrenalin rides, then this is the place for you!

There are lots of theme parks with lots to do. The aim of this article is to make sure you get the most from your visit.

Choosing the right Theme Park

There are 4 main Theme parks and it depends what you are into as to which one you choose to go to.

Sea World. This one is good for little kids and anyone into dolphins or Polar Bears.

Movie World – For anyone who loves their movies, super heros and film stunts. There’s a few rides here too

DreamWorld. If you love the big thrill rides then this is the place for you.

Wet n Wild The original water park with great flumes and slides

Two more theme parks exist

White Water World. Relatively new to the Gold Coast. This is another water park designed to give Wet n Wild a run for its money.

Outback Spectacular. A show and Aussie Barbeque depicting life in the Outback. Only open in the evenings.

Dream World and White Water World are best if you have teenage kids or are an adult looking for fun.

Sea World, Movie World and Wet n Wild are better if your kids are a bit younger or you really are into your movies or marine life.

Get the Right Ticket

There are two different owners of the parks so it’s best to pick between them to get the best value for money.

You can do Dreamworld and the White Water World together or

You can choose a package that takes in Movie World, Sea World and Wet n Wild.

Consider how long you want to spend in the parks as part of your overall holiday to the Gold Coast. Don’t presume you can quickly get round all 2 or all 3 in a day either. It can be just too much trying to do everything, what with the shows at certain times and of course the queues. Then if you add the likelihood of everyone wanting to do and see different things…..you get the picture?

Before you even leave for your trip, book your tickets on line It will save you lots of time as there is no queuing when you get to the park entrance. You can just use the e-ticket express gates.

Here are a list of the types of passes you can get:

Movie World, Sea World and Wet n Wild

Super pass. A 14 day pass that you can use at all 3 parks. Valid for a year. This is the best value for money if you think you’ll come back within the year. ($189 for adults; $129 for kids) (Kids are classed as being between 4-13 years old)

Fun Pass. Entry to 3 parks for 5 days but you only get one day at each park. Still good though especially if you want to take a break and have a day off from the parks. ($149 for adults; $95.95 for kids)

Escape Pass. Access to 2 parks over 5 days (one day per park) ($119 for adults; $75.95 for kids)

White Water World and Dreamworld

Two Day World Pass $68 for kids and $102 for adults

Two day Family and Friends World Pass (2 adults and 2 kids) $306

One Day World Pass $79 and $57 for kids

The parks are not all close together although Dreamworld and White Water World are pretty close. If you want to do more than one park, go for at least a 2 day pass. If you want to do 3 parks, go for a 3 day pass.

Get the following extra tickets if you are planning on going to Dream World

Early Entry. Book in advance for this gem. It gives you access to the park an hour before everyone else. There’s usually at least two of the big rides available. You may be lucky and get all 5.

Q4U. This system costs $10 plus $5 per person (a family of 4 would cost $30). It’s a bit like a beeper you get in a restaurant. You still have to queue as long as everyone else but you get to leave the queue and wander round the park. Much better than actually standing in line getting hot and bored. You can use if for up to 8 rides and again, numbers are limited so book ahead on line.

www.myfun.com.au is the best place to get tickets for Sea World, Movie World and Wet n Wild. Once you’ve booked, they are valid for up to one year. Go to www.dreamworld.com.au for the other two.

Getting from one park to the next

There are buses available that will take you to the parks so you don’t need to hire a car. Surfside Shuttle Buses offer the best service and they have brochures in most key places such as tourist offices, the airport and of course, on their buses.

Theme Parks Main Attractions

Part of the joy of a theme park is discovering the park as you go but if you are trying to cram everything in to a short space of time then PLAN your trip carefully. Work out the times of the shows and the key things you really want to do. If you’re not careful you will run out of time and miss the key attractions.

Sea World

Whilst this park is more about the fish than the rides, there is both here. The key ticket items are

The Polar Bear exhibition, Water Ski Wipe Out Show and the Imagine Show at Dolphin Cove

The Animal Adventures are worth a look but remember to book well in advance. You can swim with a dolphin or scuba dive with a shark.

The best rides here are probably the new Jet Rescue and the Corkscrew Roller Coaster. They both have height restrictions.

Movie World

Your favourite film characters will be wandering the streets so go look for them – Wonder Woman, Bat Man, Shrek and of course some Cartoon Characters

The Must Do items are

Hollywood Stunt Driver where you can see car stunts and lots of action in this 20 minute show Shrek Adventure, which is a 3D Movie (you get to wear those silly glasses) and there’s a few other things that go on to liven your senses including chairs that move. For the younger kids Looney Tunes Musical is a must. It will have them bopping in the aisle and shakin their tale feather. (11.30am daily)

The newest ride is the Batwing Space Shot. A rapid 4.5g vertical launch followed by a 60 meter drop. I hope you are brave enough. The Superman Escape is a more classic roller coaster of a ride and a good adrenalin rush.

Wet n Wild

This park isn’t too big but still has all the flumes and slides that you would expect. It’s good to be able to relax and enjoy the sunshine whilst the kids go off and play. You can still keep an eye on them.

Kamikaze – a ride for two people that reaches speeds of 50km/h with sheer drops and slopes

Tornado – ride on a dingy like tube down a huge flume

Black Hole – the dark just adds more excitement

Mach 5 – lots of twists and turns in the open air

Dreamworld

Looking for the best adrenalin rides?

Claw is like a big ferris wheel whisking you upside down;

Tower of Terror is a very fast roller coaster experience;

Wipe Out is the giant boat that tips you up and over and side to side;

Tower of Terror is a very fast roller coaster;

And Wipe Out is a giant boat that rocks from side to side and more.

Expect to queue well over an hour for these rides. These are the ones to head to first if you have bought the early entry tickets. Or use your Q4U here too.

There’s also Tiger Island where you can see white and gold Bengal Sumatran tigers. There’s lots of other family friendly rides too with the rapids and log flumes being classic favourites for the younger kids.

The Nickelodean area is also popular and in particular the Slime Time Live is amusing.

Don’t forget to bring your swimmers and have a go at the Flowrider. A machine that helps you surf. You’ll get a real feel for what it’s like to surf your own wave.

White Water World

This park offers something for all ages, with lots of slides and flumes.

Towering 20m above the ground, The Green Room is one of the more well known slides.

The Hydro Coaster will blast you 18m in your own rocket dinghy.

The Cave of Waves is a wave pool so much safer than swimming in the sea – no rips or sand banks to worry about. You can take a surf lesson here too. Lessons are 8-10am, three days a week, costing $115.

Other tips for getting the most out of the theme parks

You can take a packed lunch to some of the theme parks to save a bit of cash. Dream World and White Water World won’t allow it though.

Use the lockers to store your belongings but pick a good central location if you will need to keep going back and forth.

Take your mobile phones if you intend to split up and meet back at certain times. Keep each other informed of queue times so that you aren’t leaving half your party waiting and wondering how long you are going to be.

There’s so much more to the Gold Coast than the Theme Parks. Make sure your holiday to the Gold Coast takes in some of the other attractions including the Hinterland (The Green behind the Gold.)