Address: Pacific Mwy, Oxenford QLD 4210
Recommend: yes (all ages)
Number of people in our group – 4
Getting There
Getting to Movie World is easy.
- Public Transport – recommended
If you’re staying in Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach you can’t go past public transport in my opinion. It’s so convenient. You simply board the tram to Helensvale (last stop so you can’t get it wrong) get off at the station, head to the bus stop which is clearly marked TX7 “Theme Parks” jump on and 10 min later you’ll arrive at the first park. Stay on until you’re at the park you want to visit. It is so easy and for us, the best bit is you can use the tram ride for all the crappy stuff – sun blocking, setting boundaries for the kids (big and small) and best of all not having to stress about traffic and directions. It really is a stress-free option. The tram has plenty of room for the pram so you don’t have to put it up and down, disturbing the kids.
If you are not staying in Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach or along the tram line, there will be buses to get you there. Use your translink app and type in whichever theme park you want to go to and it will give you step by step instructions on how to get there. Multiple buses may be a little more inconvenient as they’re not as large and spacious as the tram but still a good, cheap option over those below.
2. Organised Transfers – not recommended
I would not recommend this option at all. We tried it once, never again given the ease of public transport. It sounds good, they pick you up from your accommodation and drop you off at the park. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a small bus where others who are using the service for the day are also in accommodation close to you and everyone is going to the same park….. but….. there is no guarantee of this. You could end up on a large bus, detouring all over the Gold Coast picking people up and then you finally get to the theme park to discover yours in 3rd (or last) on the list of stops. You get there eventually but it will be way after opening, you’ll get caught in longer lines for tickets or entry to the park, the lines for rides (especially the thrill rides) will already be approaching 45-60 minutes because the early birds have already started and then you don’t have the flexibility of leaving when you want because there are limited departures. Then you do it all over again in reverse!
It is a good way to put you in a bad mood at the start and end of the day if you ask me. The price point of this option is also not cheap, especially if you start talking about family ticket options and it is probably the longest way to travel there.
3. Taxi – recommended
A taxi is definitely convenient. It will pick you up from your hotel and drop you to the gate. It will get you there faster as you don’t have to stop all the way for others. Depending on time of day and year, it isn’t necessarily miles faster than public transport though.
It’s the most expensive option but if you don’t mind paying for it, it is also a convenient one.
4. Private Car / Hire Car – recommended (with a note at the bottom)
If you have driven to the Gold Coast in your own car then hands down I would recommend driving there. You don’t pay for the car parking and you’re not paying for a hire car that may sit there unused for half your holiday.
If you have hired a car for your holiday because you need it for other things or just want it because you find it less stressful for your own circumstances then definitely drive. No point using any other method if you have the car there.
A note here though is that unless you plan on driving longer distances for sight seeing while on your holiday, you may not need a car so I recommend it if you already have one. I don’t recommend hiring a car to go to theme parks in general.
How long will you need
I’d plan to be there the whole day . Unless you have a yearly pass and plan on coming regularly and can therefore do some things one day and others on another day, you can easily spend the whole day here to get through everything. Even when my kids were 8 months, 3 and 4 we spent the whole day. Baby in a backpack so slept whenever he needed to and the other two walking around with us. We had a pram with us but I was never huge on my kids being strapped in when they could safely run. The best thing about the parks is that they’re clean, safe and quite spacious. Gives the kids some freedom to have a bit of fun.
For the big kids (or big kids at heart) they will happily be able to go on rides most of the day. Lines can get ridiculously long at peak times. They are usually ok very first thing upon opening and again much later in the day (depending on how many come via bus transfers as they wont be in yet).
Food and Drink
This is going to cost you significantly if you’re buying within the park. If it’s just two of you, it’s not a huge deal but if you have the whole family it is not going to be cheap. The parks say you can’t bring in food unless you have specific dietary requirements but they do seem reasonable about it as well and we haven’t had anyone go looking through all our bags for the first sign of food. I would normally bring in some sandwiches for lunch and then buy them some hot chips to go with it. If it was just my partner and I then I wouldn’t bother and we’d just buy within the park.
Drinks are another story though. I would highly recommend buying one of the refillable bottles. They’re about $15 and you can refill as often as you like. You can also use the bottle again when you visit other parks within the chain (e.g. Movie World, Seaworld and Wet n Wild or you may have tickets for Dreamworld and Whitewater World). The next time you visit will cost you less. January 2022 pricing for Movie World, Seaworld and Wet n Wild is $9 to refill for the day and again you can fill it as often as you like. I find this exceptionally good value. You get cold drinks when you need them. We kept our bottle from last year and had no issues revalidating it this year.
You may even be able to find promotions on drinks online. Worth checking out as if pre-purchasing things can save you money, why wouldn’t you…..
Lockers
There are lockers for hire in every park. See Ride Lockers 1 & 2 on the Movie World park map. They are about $15 for the day and very convenient. Rather than dragging clothes, towels, sunblock or even those sandwiches around you can stick them in the lockers, play light for the day and go back to get what you need when you need it.
They were especially convenient when we were here in the cooler months last year when the day time temperature was nice but got cool by the time the park was closing so we stuck extra clothes in the locker for the trip home.
Tickets
Tickets are definitely more expensive at the gate (not to mention inconvenient having to wait in line to purchase them) so shop around.
You can get multiple tickets online through the Warner Bros theme parks app, the theme parks website or sometimes you can get discounts through other promotions such as RACV (in Victoria) or other various online promotions.
If you plan on visiting a number of parks, I would recommend looking at the theme parks website for multi day passes to see what might suit your holiday most.
Currently (2022) we have an annual pass. While it is quite pricey for non locals ($250 per pass) we have already been here a couple of times through 2021 and plan on being here a couple more in 2022. I also want to be able to experience the special events they have.
Things To Do
There is a lot to do at Movie World.
Everything is listed on their website. Times of events and shows as well as all available activities.
One thing that can be disappointing is ride closures. You go there looking forward to a particular ride only to find it’s closed for maintenance. Check in advance if anything is closed (especially if you need to prepare kids for that disappointment – remember better that it’s under maintenance than running defective but it’s still disappointing).
- The Main Parade is on at the end of the day. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you note the time. It runs right along Main Street so there is plenty of places to see it along the way. The parade makes its way down toward the superman ride then turns around and comes back via Main Street.
- Check the app for times of the stunt driver show. Again, if you haven’t seen it before, it’s well worth making sure you get there. There are normally only a couple of shows a day so worthwhile noting which one will work in better with the things you would like to see / do.
- On their website / app check what time the character shows are on. These shows are along main street so you’ll need to be back there to see any that interest you. They are entertaining.
- Lastly, when you arrive at the park, go to the theatre on main street and check the times for the show. Work out which will work in best with the other plans you have made. There are lots of times so do this after you race for those thrill rides.
- Fill in the rest of the day with rides, shopping, food and walking around the park.
Ride queues can get long quickly so I would recommend picking your top couple of rides in order. The DC Rivals Hypercoaster seems to get busy quick. It is also a ride that takes longer than the others so will turn over less people in the same timeframe. Get to the park ON TIME, get in, get your locker and head straight for the big rides. If you’re lucky you will get the DC Rivals Hypercoaster, Green Lantern and Superman completed fast enough before it starts getting too busy.
For Mums and Dads, if you’re not wanting to go on rides but are hoping to get pictures, send the kids to the DC Rivals Hypercoaster first. You really don’t get a good view of this ride from inside the park so send them off while you get a locker and be ready for the Green Lantern which has a great viewing platform.
I recommend the above three first because they are all very close together (go through the main gates and you will see Superman in front of you, look left and you see Green Lantern and head straight down past Green Lantern for the DC Rivals Hypercoaster). The Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster is also a great ride which can have massive lines but it’s on the other side of the park so I wouldn’t waste time running back and forth. I’d do as many as you can in one go and early. That way it’s up to you if you want to wait in a line for an hour or more to do it again.
Some short ride videos from what you see at ground level.
Batwing Spaceshot – Movie World, Gold Coast – YouTube
Doomsday Destroyer – Movie World, Gold Coast – YouTube
Green Lantern – Movie World, Gold Coast – YouTube
Superman Escape – Movie World, Gold Coast – YouTube
WARNING – I feel compelled to note something here because it freaks me out that people possibly don’t recognise the safety consequences. You see it all the time. Ride heights have height limits for a reason. It’s to keep people safe. They are not simply there because if you’re too short you could fall out of a harness or if you’re too tall you could hit a guard rail. Please don’t allow / encourage your kids on rides they’re too small for by trying to make them seem taller than what they are. It’s sad that they have a tantrum and we have all been there. The website will list all minimum height requirements for rides to help you prepare your child for what they can or can’t ride, if you feel that is necessary for them. There are plenty of other things they can do. I remember having one tall enough who could ride but refused because it looked dangerous while the other was having a tantrum because she couldn’t. It’s all part of the journey and you will laugh about it years later while telling the kids how much trouble they were (they still won’t care for the record….).
There are more warnings than just height restrictions. Pay attention and think about it. On the off chance something goes wrong (as we have seen countless times over the years) do you really want your child or yourself in harms way? Is your life or the life (or qualify of life) of your child really worth one ride that you could do the next time you visit? The full risk assessment that determined the safety rules will not be displayed so you will never know the full extent of the things that could happen.
Virtual Queue
If you have loaded the app and your ticket includes a Virtual Queue you can use it through the app. Virtual Queue will allow you to “book” a space on a ride in advance so you don’t have to wait in line, instead you line up in the Virtual Queue line at the appropriate time, show your booking and you’ll be able to get on the ride. This is great if you do get on some of the rides early and you can use it for the one you didn’t get to in time.
Warning though – VQ lines can and do book out so don’t think you’ll leave it and do it after lunch. You may not be able to. When we were there today, a lot of the more popular rides were booked out for the VQ lines by 11am (how long they had been booked for I do not know). We didn’t use them today as it wasn’t too busy but definitely something to think about. Obviously try to avoid booking in during a time you would like to do something else (like the stunt show which is only on a couple of times a day).
Photo Packages
If you are a regular user of the theme parks, a photo package is probably not worth it (you can only see yourself on a ride so many times).
However, if this is your first family trip or the first trip where your kids are old enough to take on some of the thrill rides, this could be a really good idea. The ride cameras are obviously much better placed than what you can ever take and those first experiences on the rides can be real keepers. As you go on them more and more you know what the ride is going to do so your heart rate doesn’t increase quite as much and you know where the camera is so you know when to smile or pull a face.
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