Visiting Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast

I remember researching the Gold Coast before Jake and I left the UK. At the time I was overwhelmed by the size of Australia and the number different places we wanted to see. Straight away the Gold Coast stood out as a must visit because of its theme parks and water parks. With Movie World, Dreamworld, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild and White Water all located within 50km of one another it’s no surprise it’s named the “Theme Park Capital” of Australia. With a name like that Jake and I had to visit. So we booked a Helpx and on our first day off we visited Movie World, it was awesome. I hope this post will help other budget travellers plan their visit to Movie World. 

Purchasing tickets for Movie World

There are various ways to buy tickets for Movie World. The first and most obvious is a one time ticket at the gate or online and it’ll set you back $79.99. However you can also purchase a VIP Magic Pass that I think is better value for money. A VIP Magic Pass gets you unlimited entrance to Movie World, Wet and Wild and Sea World for 30 days and costs $99.99. Purchasing a VIP pass is a no brainer unless you’re sure you will only be visiting Movie World. You can find out more about it here.

You can purchase the VIP passes online and take the confirmation email to the theme park entrance. You don’t need to print the email confirmation, they can scan the barcode from your mobile. You will then have your photograph taken and be given a personalised pass. This same pass will get you entrance to any of the aforementioned attractions via the VIP pass entrance!

Getting to Movie World on Public transport

Jake and I don’t have a car so we travelled to Movie World by public transport. We travelled from the Gold Coast hinterlands so we got a bus to Robina train station, a train to Helensvale and a bus to Movie World. The 720 bus can be caught from Helensvale station and runs right to the entrance of Movie World. If you’re staying in Surfers Paradise the TX2 goes to Movie World.

The public bus provider on the Gold Coast is Surfside and you can find timetables and routes on here on the website. Surfside offer a “tap on, tap off” service like you’ll find in Sydney or Melbourne. The card is called a GoCard there is a $10.00 refundable deposit to get the card. Not only does the card make getting on and off the bus easier you also get at least 30% discount on a normal fare and even more on off peak buses. The GoCard can be used throughout south east Queensland and between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. I think it’s a good investment. You can get more information here.

What to expect from Movie World

 

We visited the park on a Thursday in March and were surprised by how quiet it was. There was no queue at the entrance at 9.30am and the longest we waited to get on a ride was 20 minutes. Most of the time we queued for less than 10 minutes before getting on. 

The park is clean, well laid out and the rides are packed together so you don’t have to walk for miles between rides. As well as the rides there park has a 4D cinema, live performances from various characters throughout the park and a stunt show. There are also lots of shops and food outlets.

The music and characters add a fun feel to the park and it’s hard not to get swept up in the Hollywood atmosphere!

The rides 

The only downside to Movie World is the number of rides. I have been spoiled by Alton Towers in the UK where there are well over 15 decent rides including at least 5 rollercoasters. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Movie World, I loved the themed rides and the effort gone into relating them to their associated film. Our favourite rides were:

1. Superman Escape
2. Wild West Falls
3. Arkham Asylum
4. Justice League 3D
5. Batwing spaceshot

 I have never been to a Warner Bros attraction before and I loved the stories being told around each of the rides especially Superman Escape and Justice League – I genuinely felt like I was part of the movie!

For me the most disappointing ride was Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster. I wasn’t expecting much from it since it’s aimed at children but I actually found it painful. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Extra attractions 

 

The park also has a 4D cinema, Rio was showing during our visit. We didn’t go because I can’t actually watch 4D movies because of my squint and we didn’t really have time anyway. But I think an air conditioned cinema would offer welcome relief for a family who have ran all over the park all day. The entrance is included in your entrance fee. 

There is also a stunt show featuring various cars. I wasn’t too bothered about seeing this but actually really enjoyed it. The speed the cars go and the precision is amazing. They drive around very close to one another making the show exciting.

Both of these attractions run several times throughout the day. You’ll be given a timetable with your entrance map.

Food and drinks vendors in the park

I was pleasantly surprised by the value for money with food and drink. I’m used to Alton Towers, a theme park in the UK, where once you’re in the park everything costs a premium but this isn’t the case in Movie World. Ok, don’t get me wrong it’s not cheap but it’s reasonable.

We had lunch at Ricks Cafe an all you can eat pizza, pasta and salad buffet and it cost $20 without a drink and $25 with refillable drink. There was plenty of options and the food was all warm and tasty. The buffet is on main street. The service was good and we weren’t rushed like you can be in other buffets. Jake loved the desert “pizza” with cherry crumble topping, I opted for ice cream with m’n’ms and jelly babies! As side from the buffet there is a variety of fast food restaurants and cafes in the park.

Wet’n’Wild 

Wet’n’Wild is next door to Movie World and you could do both parks in one day. We didn’t take our swim stuff so couldn’t do this but would have had time to especially since the queues were so short for the rides. We are visiting Wet’n’wild tomorrow and we will probably pop into Movie World as well using our VIP pass. Review on Wet’n’wild to follow. 

Overall thoughts

I had a great day at Movie World and even though I would have liked there to be a few more big rides I appreciated the effort gone into the existing rides. I think Movie World is a must do if you visit the Gold Coast.

Have fun and take care,

Lisa

I’d love to hear about your visit to Movie World on the Gold Coast. Would you agree with our review? what about the order we ranked the rides?