Gold coast storms prompts Boxing Day closure of Dreamworld and Movie World

The weather system impacting Australia’s east coast over the Christmas period has prevented Gold Coast attractions Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Topgolf Gold Coast, Paradise Country and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast from opening on Boxing Day - what would have been expected to one of their busiest days of the year.

The storm that hit the Gold Coast late on Christmas Day uprooted trees, downed power lines and caused extensive flash flooding throughout the region - with ongoing clean-up work expected to take days.

As a result, Sea World was the Gold Coast’s only theme park to open its doors on Boxing Day while the rest remaining closed as damage is assessed.

Among the most impacted, Topgolf will remain closed indefinitely as a result of what Village Roadshows spokesman Mitchell Olivey advised was “significant” damage.

Advising that the staff team were working through the damages to the attraction to understand how long it would be closed, Olivey told the Gold Coast Bulletin “there’s been extensive damage to the outfield and the netting which is why we’ve got a longer closure.

“It’s not something you can just go down to Bunnings for - it’s all for order but we’re working with Topgolf International.”

The Oxenford-based Movie World and Wet’n’Wild were scheduled to reopen at 9.30am today (Wednesday 27th December) - but only Movie World reopened, with Wet ‘n’ Wild expected to reopen on Thursday.

Work at the neighbouring Paradise Country will keep it closed until Saturday morning.

Olivey confirmed all its animals were safe and would be cared for while the park was closed.

At neighbouring Helensvale, Dreamworld was also closed on Boxing Day but reopened this morning, with its Facebook page advising “only wildlife and Tiger Island remain closed due to guest access interruptions, we hope to have all areas open as soon as possible.”

The update added that “WhiteWater World remains closed due to an ongoing power outage, the park is ready to open as soon as power is restored, and we look forward to welcoming guests back.”

In a statement it added “all of our team members and wildlife are safe and we appreciate your support and patience as we prepare the park for your return.”

Severe storms result in deaths
Elsewhere, two campers in Victoria and three friends on a fishing trip in Queensland are among 10 lives lost to the Christmas storms.

The bodies of a man and a woman who had been camping in East Gippsland in flood-affected regional Victoria have been discovered.

The pair had been at the Buchan caves campground which was impacted by flash flooding.

Three friends who were enjoying an annual fishing trip in Moreton Bay near Brisbane also died after their yacht capsized.

Images: An uprooted tree at Warner Bros. Movie World with a ride being tested in the background (top, credit: supplied), damage at Topgolf Gold Coast (middle, credit: supplied) and the social media announcement of Movie World's reopening (below).