There's no denying that rollercoasters, monster water parks and giant slingshots are synonymous with the Gold Coast/Kombumerri. That's why thrill-seekers flock to the plethora of theme parks Gold Coast is famous for. Actually, its the biggest collection of thrill rides and slides in the Southern Hemisphere.
I'm filled with nostalgia rewinding my mind to giggly high school trips to Wet & Wild. Then again, Currumbin Wildlife hits different in your 20s. And now, with many a weekend spent marvelling at Movieworld's characters as a family, it's easy to see why the tourists adore it. So if you've put off a visit to one of the many adventure lands right here on the GC, here's my take on why a day at a theme park should definitely be on your radar.
Want to explore a bunch on your visit and not sure which theme park tickets to get? The Gold Coast Fun Pass covers four epic adventures in just one ticket, making your visits much more affordable. Or snag the new Annual Adventure Pass to visit four of the Coast’s big players in the theme park world at a discount. With maintenance happening on the reg', I recommend checking the websites ahead of your visit if you have your heart on a particular attraction or ride.
Whether you’re after a family-friendly teacup ride, have sea critters on your mind or a hunger that only zooming through the sky at record speed can satisfy, here’s the Urban List lowdown on the best Gold Coast theme parks to get your ticket to.
Gold Coast Theme Parks At A Glance:
Best Theme Parks For Rides
Warner Bros. Movie World
Pacific Motorway, Oxenford QLD 4210 | Adults $109, kids (3-13) $99
Image Credit: Movie World | supplied
Movie World is a place where glamorous movie characters spring to life, Looney Tunes mingle with Batman in the street and fairy floss counts as an acceptable breakfast. From the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster's rickety carriage to the 1.4km long DC Rivals Hypercoaster travelling at speeds of 115km, 61.6 metres up, which features the world’s first non-inverted loop. There’s no shortage of adrenaline pumping roller coasters. Or, for less thrill but all the magic, follow the yellow brick road to the new Wizard of Oz Precinct with two new family-friendly rides, the Flight of the Wicked Witch and the Kansas Twister. It's honestly super enchanting and a sight to behold, yes even at 33 years old.
If rides aren't your jam but street dance parties and stuntmen are, then you're also in luck at one of the most iconic theme parks Gold Coast is home to. Give your stomach a break and take in the Hollywood Stunt Show, the Streets Star Parade, or kick back at the 4D cinema. Because it wouldn’t be Movie World without watching an actual movie, right? Book tickets here.
To get to Movieworld, take exit 60 from the M1, pass under the motorway and turn left at the traffic lights. Enjoy free all day parking or access tram and bus routes via Translink.
For more information, click here.
Seaworld
Seaworld Dr, Main Beach QLD 4217 | Adults $109, kids (3-13) $99
While the rides at Seaworld might be a little more low-key than other theme parks Gold Coast boasts, it's a family-friendly winner to appreciate sealife, attend exciting shows and get curious during educational presentations.
Head along to Penguin Point for feeding time with rescued penguins, pop on a snorkel and explore tropical reefs, or learn about how to care for the precious sealife. Or take a float in a glass-floor boat over the shark lagoon to get a closer look at adorable turtles, rays, flish and sharks. Or mellow out with the sweet-natured dolphins and seals.
The New Atlantis precinct offers three thrilling rides including the wooden Leviathan rollercoaster that races at 80km an hour, the Trident which suspends and spins you in seats 42 metres up. Or the one I'm never game to go on, The Vortex that straps you in for a 360 degree rotation. Buy tickets here.
To get to Seaworld, 66 from the M1, turn right at the lights, continue onto Smith Street Motorway until you reach Gold Coast Highway. Turn right onto Gold Coast Highway, cross the bridge and turn right onto Waterways Drive. Follow the road until you reach Seaworld on your left. Enjoy free all day parking or access tram and bus routes via Translink.
For more information, click here.
Wet’n’Wild
Pacific Motorway, Oxenford QLD 4210 | Adults $89, kids (3-13) $79
Apart from the literal ocean, Wet ‘n’ Wild is up there as one of the biggest aquatic playgrounds in the world. And this splash-happy theme park is right here on the Gold Coast. A summertime essential, serious thrill seekers are in for a treat with stomach-flipping rides such as the fully-enclosed Black Hole, The - zero-gravity - Kamikaze and ultra competitive Super 8 Aqua Racer.
Or do as I do so often on a trip to this aquatic wonderland and opt to bob around Calypso Beach’s tropical lagoons, catch a flick at the Dive’n’Movies or soak in a hot tub at Whirlpool Springs. You heard what they said. Get wet. Get wild. Book tickets here.
To get here, take exit 60 from the M1, pass under the motorway and turn left at the traffic lights. Enjoy free all day parking or access tram and bus routes via Translink.
For more information, click here.
Dreamworld
Dreamworld Parkway, Coomera QLD 4209 | Adults from $109, kids (3-13) from $99
Dreamworld arguably is the theme park Gold Coast is most famous for. It’s the biggest theme park in Australia with over 40 rides, including five roller coasters. This theme park has it all, Australian wildlife encounters, WhiteWater World for thrilling slides, rollercoasters and dodge 'ems, ABC Kids World full of entertainment for the little ones and a whole lineup of events year 'round, including street food and night markets.
There are loads of rides on offer to suit everyone’s taste. Plummet from the tallest free-falling ride in the world, The Giant Drop, loop-de-loop on the gut-dropping Steel Taipan or experience the Southern Hemisphere's first flying theatre, Sky Voyager. Book tickets here.
To get to Dreamworld, take exit 57, turn right onto Hope Island Road then continue onto Dreamworld Pwy and arrive at Dreamworld on the right.
For more information, click here.
Best Theme Parks For Experiences
Hijinx Hotel
Cnr 3197 Elkhorn Ave Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 | Adults from $20, kids from $14
Image Credit: Hijinx Hotel | supplied
Take games night to a whole new level when you check into Surfers Paradise’s own challenge room themed hotel. Featuring 10 thrilling rooms, round up two to six mates and combine your noggins to score points for the ever-competitive leaderboard. I cannot stop snapping pics everytime I check this place out.
Each individually themed room has one key challenge to solve. So whether you’re plugging leaks in the Titanic, solving clues involving a giant piano or shooting hoops on your way to victory, unlike escape rooms, you’ll continually experience new spaces. Hijinx Hotel hosts specials in the bar and kitchen that range from corn ribs to The BellHop cocktail. What are these, you ask? Grab your room key to find out.
For more information, click here.
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Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
28 Tomewin St, Currumbin QLD 4223 | Adults $70, kids (3-13) $50
Image Credit: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary | supplied
This iconic wildlife-rescuing theme park Gold Coast has homed for over 75 years, is a furry friend lover’s dream. While rides look more like a cute train tooting through the forest and snaking along tiny tracks in tunnels, there’s no shortage of things to see and do.
Explore the expansive bird aviary, peer into wombat burrows, or even cuddle a koala. Try your hand at lorikeet feeding, head along to the pelican and eel show, or pay a visit to the working wildlife hospital. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a perfect day out for the little tackers or a cute date locale to get up close and personal along the nocturnal cave pathway. Book tickets here.
For more information, click here.
Holey Moley
Cnr 3197 Elkhorn Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 | From $28 pp for one game
Level 1 Piazza on the Blvd, Surfers Paradise LD 4217 | From $28 pp for one game
Image Credit: Holey Moley | supplied
Picture a themed day on the green. Except you’re inside. Donning a fluorescent visor. Living your best life under the glow of neon lights. Holey Moley’s impressively themed putt putt courses feature The Simpson’s lounge room and my personal favourite, a chilling Barbie scene and her scream mansion.
With an onsite bar, snacks galore and neighbouring bowling and private karaoke booths, this one’s up there with the best Gold Coast theme parks for tourists and locals alike ready for a bunch of adventures in one place.. Grab a Fun Lab Fun Pass to tick off laser tag, bowling, mini golf and arcade games in one. Buy tickets here.
For more information, click here.
Outback Spectacular
Pacific Motorway, Oxenford QLD 4210 | Adults $109, kids $79
Snuggled between its adventurous siblings, Wet’n’Wild and Movie World, Outback Spectacular is a ripper Australian experience like no other. Over the course of the evening, be led through a captivating journey to the high country, where legendary yarns come alive with death-defying stunts.
All that yelling, hooting and cheering will leave you famished, so opt for dinner and a show for a three-course chow down. Boot-scoot to the pub or talented musicians to wrap up your visit the most ocker theme park on the Gold Coast. Been once before? the show's narrative changes so you'll likely see a whole new show like I have on my handful of visits.
To get to Outback Spectacular, Take exit 60 from the M1, pass under the motorway and turn left at the traffic lights. Enjoy free all day parking or access tram and bus routes via Translink. Check out their website where I've snagged adults at children's prices in the past. Please and thank you. Book tickets here.
For more information, click here.
Infinity
3240 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 | Adults $30.90, kids $21.90
Sure, tunnels pulsing with spookiness, lined with rainforests or filled with water and rapids are a hoot. But have you ever experienced a mind-warping time tunnel? Say hello to Infinity Gold Coast.
Swap carriages for carrying scaredy-cats inside Infinity’s interactive maze of wonder. Stumble upon clues to guide you, from dazzling light-filled mirror rooms to giant ball pits and even tight spaces to crawl through. Tingle your senses over 30 minutes of exploration. Each themed room is a park of its own for grownups and the bravest little ones. Book tickets here.
The central location of Infinity means you can end your visit to one of the more understated theme parks on the Gold Coast with a wander down Cavill Avenue, icecream in hand, past buskers and to the ocean. What. A. Day.
For more information, click here.
Paradise Country
Production Drive, Oxenford QLD 4210 | Adults $59, kids (3-13) $49
Skip from Movie World to Paradise Country for the ultimate farmyard fix. This is the theme park Gold Coast animal-lovers and tourists alike venture to for a wholesome day on green pastures. You’ll find yourself face to face with sheep, cows, horses, chickens, ducks, pigs and doggos.
Visit an authentic shearing shed to see master shearers in action and learn the wool production process, or see dogs round up a flock of sheep. Learn how to throw a boomerang and witness the skill it takes to get that almighty crack from a stock whip. To get here, take exit 60 from the M1, pass under the motorway and turn left at the traffic lights, pass Movieworld, follow the signs down Helensvale Drive, turn right onto Production Drive. Enjoy free all day parking or access tram and bus routes via Translink.
Stay a little longer with a night or two of your choice of camping, caravanning or glamping in the eco tents where you can chill by the campfire post-sunset, then collect the freshly laid eggs and milk the cows at sunrise. Book tickets here.
For more information, click here.
Dracula's
1 Hooker Blvd, Broadbeach QLD 4218 | From $119 for adults
I firmly believe everyone needs to revel in the eery house of Dracula's at least once in their lifetime. Themed to spook and featuring an adult’s playground of kooky characters, this is one of the most iconic theme parks where Gold Coast performers wow from entry to curtain close. Plus it's been around since the 80s which is worthy of a round of applause. Opt for show only tickets, splurge on a three-course dinner or go all out with a full VIP experience ft. spesh privileges like priority entrance, premium seating and nibbles and bubbles on arrival. Book tickets here.
It includes all my favourite things. Live music, partial nudity and unrestrained comedy. Just try not to make eye contact with any of the performers if getting plucked out of a crowd isn’t your idea of a good time. I speak from experience. Belly laughs and 'wows' guaranteed at this spooky Gold Coast theme park.
For more information, click here.
Looking for more fun family ideas? Check out:
- The Gold Coast's Best Beaches
- The Gold Coast's Best Family-Friendly Accommodation
- The Gold Coast's Best Go Karting Tracks
Main image credit: Village Roadshow | supplied