Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
The place behind the rides.
A railway from the first day, tigers and koalas, and more than four decades of rides offer several ways into the story of Dreamworld.
On this page
A park in the bush
John Longhurst bought the land at Coomera in 1974, and Dreamworld opened on 15 December 1981.
The Dreamworld Express narrow-gauge railway has run since opening day. It was refurbished with a shorter track and reopened in July 2022.
Animals at the heart of the park
Koala Country opened in 1987 and Tiger Island in 1995. Tiger Island is home to Sumatran and Bengal tigers, and the park supports conservation through the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation.
WILD with Australian Geographic follows Australian landscapes from rainforest and woodland to wetland and outback, with the animals that live in each.
Rides through the decades
The Giant Drop opened in 1998 and lifts riders 119 metres. Steel Taipan followed in 2021 and Rivertown in 2024.
This history belongs to the place and the people who shaped it. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.