A local’s guide to the best Gold Coast theme parks

Everything you need to know about the world-famous Gold Coast theme parks.

Ready to get your heart racing? The Gold Coast is home to a handful of world-class theme parks and attractions — just call us the adrenaline capital of Australia, home to seven Gold Coast theme parks in total. Putting our local knowledge to paper, we’ve crafted the ultimate adventure-seeking guide, offering comprehensive navigation of every one of them: Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Wet’n’Wild, Sea World Gold Coast, Paradise Country and the Australian Outback Spectacular. Strap yourself in because those kids of yours (and your own inner child) are bound to be stirred.

Dreamworld

Best for: Shorter queues and serious thrills.

For some of the country’s most epic theme park experiences, including The Giant Drop and Steel Taipan, head to Australia’s biggest theme park, Dreamworld . From spine-tingling coasters to the kid-friendly Kenny & Belinda’s Dreamland (they’re those two cuddly koala mascots you see everywhere), there are over 40 attractions to lose yourself aboard.

The latest unveiling is Rivertown, which opened in December 2024, a dedicated section of the Gold Coast theme park that replaced ABC Kids World. It’s filled with jungle-inspired entertainment, like Murrissippi Motors, a car trail that evokes Indiana Jones-in-Disneyland vibes, and Jungle Rush, a mini rollercoaster. Nix hunger at Jane’s Rivertown Restaurant, which dishes up burgers, cheesy garlic bread and other comfort food.

Throughout the year, Dreamworld also hosts several themed events, including a Halloween night and Winterfest (complete with ice skating and faux snow), plus there’s the ongoing Dreamworld Night Market, one of the Gold Coast’s best markets, which drags in food trucks and face painting, giving you even more incentive to stay beyond sunset.

Prices: From $99 for both adults and children

Address: Dreamworld Pkwy, Coomera

WhiteWater World

Best for: Budget-friendly water slides (especially compared to Wet’n’Wild).

Next door to Dreamworld is WhiteWater World , open from September to April — the 2025 season launches on September 13. Spanning extreme water slides with twists, turns and gut-churning drops, to far more relaxing family-friendly drifting like the Cave of Waves wave pool and splash areas for kids, attractions are plenty varied.

Don’t miss the legendary Green Room — the one that looks like a giant funnel — which runs for 75 metres in the early stages before launching you into that 15-metre funnel and hitting you with a massive drop.

Prefer your downtime on ground level? Dial up your VIP status with a private cabana decked out with couches, a dedicated locker, service staff and a small fridge. If you’re simply there to get amongst it, squeeze more slides into your day with a Slide Express pass that offers priority queuing.

Prices: From $94 for adults and $74 for children

Address: Dreamworld Pkwy, Coomera

Warner Bros. Movie World

Best for: Movie-loving families and superhero fans.

It counts the southern hemisphere’s tallest, longest, and fastest rollercoaster in its repertoire, but Warner Bros. Movie World offers so much more than rides. Giving families the chance to interact with their favourite movie characters and superheroes (Batman and the Joker are hugely popular), this Gold Coast theme park is the closest thing to Disneyland that Australia gets.

That record-breaking thrill, the DC Rivals HyperCoaster, is a non-negotiable, storming at a top speed of 115km/h and reaching 61.6 metres in the air. Outside of the iconic Warner Bros. arch at the entrance (an obligatory photo moment), it’s the first thing you spy from the freeway and terrifies even from there.

A daily Star Parade is always a great idea as Looney Tunes legends and the full collective of those DC superheroes and villains (Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn represent the gals) slowly make their way down Main Street.

In December 2024, The Wizard of Oz precinct also found its way to this Gold Coast theme park, offering guests two new coasters, dining options and, naturally, a yellow brick road.

Keep an eye on the park schedule for random live performances too, like a Hollywood driving stunt show, Dorothy singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and Wonder Woman kicking serious bad guy butt.

Prices: From $109 for adults and children receive discounts depending on the time of year.

Address: Pacific Mwy, Oxenford

Wet’n’Wild

Best for: Swimwear-exclusive thrills.

Ready to make a splash? Make your way to Wet’n’Wild (a couple doors down from Warner Bros. Movie World) to lap up some of Australia’s biggest and most extreme water slides, including the mega Black Hole and the 2025 summer-introduced Zoom Zone with four of its own full-body water slides. Gentler options are also at your fingertips, like Calypso Beach which takes you via a wave pool around gardens and pirate-themed ruins. The River Rapids and Mammoth Falls are also a little less screamy, more summertime dreamy.

Upgrade your day trip by hiring a private cabana or take some time out in one of the Leisure Lounges, right near the Wave Pool.

A common question: What’s the difference between Wet’n’Wild and WhiteWater? Obviously, you’ll get very wet and have the best time at both but there are a few points to consider. Wet’n’Wild is much bigger than its counterpart, offering more things to do, so crowds are thicker. On the other hand, WhiteWater World is only a beat away from Dreamworld so visiting both in one day frequently appeals.

Prices: From $89 for adults and children receive discounts depending on the time of year.

Address: Pacific Mwy, Oxenford

Sea World Gold Coast

Best for: Small children and animal encounters.

Sea World Gold Coast is by far the most educational theme park of the lot, with interactive shows and presentations daily. Say hello to seals, penguins and stingrays, gawk at sharks shifting past huge windows, get within metres of polar bears, and learn how to actively care for our marine life.

Out of the water, your favourite Nickelodeon characters are also on-site, proving serious entertainment for toddlers and smaller bubs, and on that note, prams are highly recommended due to the spread-out nature of this park’s attractions and subsequent walking.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rise out of the sewers, and Paw Patrol pups, SpongeBob and Dora also put on shows, plus there are action-packed stunts performed by some of the best athletes in the country.

You can switch gears entirely at The New Atlantis precinct thanks to its adrenaline-pumping rides – the 80km/h Leviathan coaster, the 42-metre-tall Trident swing, and the 360-degree rotating Vortex.

Prices: From $109 for adults and children receive discounts depending on the time of year.

Address: Seaworld Dr, Main Beach

Paradise Country

Best for: Smaller children and an authentic Aussie farm experience.

If your little ones are more dazzled by livestock than levitation, Paradise Country is a safer bet, filled with heartwarming experiences for the whole clan. The Gold Coast theme park houses some of Australia’s unique wildlife (think snakes, kangaroos, koalas and more) as well as a farmyard nursery where tots clamber for a cuddle of their favourite fur-covered babies.

Live performances are also a hot ticket, including the Stockman Show, which sees sheep herded and boomerangs hurled, plus the Billy Tea Show, distilling the art of open-fire brewing.

The other notable drawcard of Paradise Country is that you can stay overnight (if you book well in advance because spaces are super limited). Inviting camping and glamping, the options come with clean amenities and water supplies, and you can bundle ticket entry to save dollars, too.

Prices: $49 for adults and children receive discounts depending on the time of year.

Address: Production Dr, Oxenford

Australian Outback Spectacular

Best for: Rodeo lovers keen for dinner and a show.

Be transported to the heart of the Australian bush at the Australian Outback Spectacular , located between Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet’n’Wild. Featuring Australian characters, a transformative arena, mesmerising animals and immersive technology, it’s a must-do storytelling experience that also includes food (win).

As the action plays out in front of you, tuck into a hearty three-course dinner with alcoholic beverages, including a woodfire-roasted vegetable tart, beef or farm-seasoned chicken with potato and vegetables, and a dessert that changes with the seasons.

Prices: From $109.99 for adults and $79.99 for children.

Address: Entertainment Rd, Oxenford

Are the Gold Coast theme parks family-friendly?

families and children playing at Paradise Country, Gold Coast — A fun-filled family time at Paradise Country.

Yep, bar the Australian Outback Spectacular, they’re all geared towards little ones while entirely catering for grown-ups.

Older kids will love the star-struck appeal of Warner Bros. Movie World and the summer adrenaline rushes of Wet’n’Wild, whereas toddlers and younger kids will get the most out of a visit to Sea World Gold Coast or Paradise Country. If parents can lock down a babysitter, the Australian Outback Spectacular invites children but drinks are way more fun without them, right?

Tips for visiting the Gold Coast theme parks

Save dollars by buying your tickets in advance online. If you plan to visit more than one theme park during your visit, investigate the many multi-park passes available, too. For example, if you’re visiting the Gold Coast for a week, you can score unlimited entry to four parks for seven consecutive days. If you live locally, snap up unlimited entry to four parks for a whole year.

We also recommend staying across each park’s website to know when rides shut down for maintenance. Additionally, the attraction tab on each site typically offers height limits and scare scales, which will save potential disappointment on the day if kids don’t meet restrictions and thrills prove a little too thrilling up close.

Discover the best restaurants to fuel up at on the Gold Coast

Originally written by Jemma Fletcher with updates by Kristie Lau-Adams

Exploring the world’s largest sand island starts with the perfect K’gari homebase.

The morning light is still soft, but it’s already a perfect sunny day. We left our K’gari homebase at Kingfisher Bay Resort with our guide, Peter Meyer, at 9 am to make the most of our time to explore all that the world’s largest sand island holds. The size of K’gari is hard to grasp until you arrive here. This is no sandbar. Stretching 120 kilometres, unique lakes, mangrove systems, rainforest, 75 Miles of beach, historic shipwrecks, small townships and even one of Queensland’s best bakeries are all hidden within its bounds.

But first, one of the island’s most iconic sights: the pure silica sand and crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Laying eyes on it for the first time, I’m finally able to confirm that the photos don’t lie. The sand is pure white, without the merest hint of yellow. The water fades from a light halo of aqua around the edges to a deeper, royal blue, the deeper it gets (not that it’s particularly deep, six metres at most). The surface remains surprisingly undisturbed, like a mirror.

Arriving with our guide before 10 am means that no one else is around when we get here. Which means we have the pleasure of breaking the smooth surface with our own ripples as we enter. As a self-confessed wimp with chilly water temperatures, my fears are quickly assuaged. Even in the morning, the water stays around 23 degrees – perfect for lazing about all day. But we have more sights to see.

Exploring K’gari

ariel of in lake mckenzie on k'gari fraser island — Relax in the warm waters of Lake McKenzie. (Image: Ayeisha Sheldon)

This was the Personalised 4WD tour offered by Kingfisher Bay Resort, and my absolute top pick of experiences. Over the course of the day, we had the freedom to create our own bespoke itinerary (plus a provided picnic lunch along the way), with an expert guide who had plenty of stories and local expertise to give context to what we were looking at. From the history of the SS Maheno shipwreck, which survived the First World War only to be washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, to a detailed description of how an island made of sand could sustain such diverse flora.

If it’s your first time to K’gari, the Beauty Spots Tour is another great option. Departing daily from Kingfisher Bay Resort (you’ll start to notice a trend, as many of the tours do start and end here), an air-conditioned, 4WD bus takes guests to the island’s most iconic locations, including the best places to swim, like Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The latter offers a gentle current, perfect for riding with a blow-up tyre out towards the ocean.

The next day, for a look at a completely different side of K’gari, I joined one of Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Immersive Ranger-guided tours to kayak through the mangroves of Dundonga Creek. This long, snake-like stretch of creek winds its way inland from the ocean outlet we entered by, at times too narrow for three kayaks to be side-by-side. Small insects buzz from leaf to leaf, while birds call overhead. Occasional bubbles indicate we’ve passed some fish that call this place home.

kayak tour through the mangroves at k'gari island — Learn about the island’s mangroves from your Ranger. (Image: Reuben Nutt/ TEQ)

If kayaking isn’t for you – or if, like me, you simply want more – other ranger-led experiences include nature walks and a dedicated Junior Eco Ranger Program for kids ages five to 12 (these run every weekend, and daily over the peak December holidays). Just ask for a timetable of upcoming tours when you check in.

While during whale season, Hervey Bay Whale Watch & Charters operates tours from the hotel’s jetty to get up close to the famous Humpback Highway of Hervey Bay, from 7 November to 31 May, attention turns to the Aqua Oasis Cruise . Departing from the resort every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for resort guests, adventure along the island’s remote western coast, pointing out wildlife like dolphins, turtles, flying fish and eagles along the way.

The cruise drops anchor so guests can jump into the water using the boat’s equipment – from SUP boards to inflatable slides and jumping platforms. Then refuel with a provided lunch, of course.

Unwind at sunset

two people drinking cocktails at sunset bar, kingfisher bay resort — Unwind at the Sunset Bar. (Image: Sean Scott)

As much as days on K’gari can be filled with adventure, to me, the afternoons and evenings there are for unwinding. Sunsets on K’gari are absolutely unbelievable, with Kingfisher Bay on the west side being the best spot to catch the colours.

The Sunset Bar , located at the start of the resort’s jetty and overlooking the beach, is the ultimate location for sundowners. Let chill beats wash over you as you sip on cool wines, beers and cocktails in a relaxed, friendly vibe. Personally, a cheese board was also absolutely called for. As the sun sinks, the sand, sea and horizon turn a vibrant shade of orange, with the jetty casting a dramatic shadow across the water.

When the show is over, head back to the hotel for dinner at the Asian-fusion Dune restaurant, or the pub-style Sand + Wood. But if your appetite is still whetted for more lights and colours, the evening isn’t over yet.

Settle into the Illumina stage for Return to Sky, an immersive light and sound show leading viewers on a captivating journey through K’gari’s stories and landscapes.

Indulge and disconnect

woman setting up massage room at kingfisher bay resort Island Day Spa — Find bliss at Island Day Spa. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Of course, there is a type of traveller who knows that balance is important, day or night. While Kingfisher Bay Resort offers more than one pool for guests to spend all day lounging by (they’ll even serve you food and drinks while you do it), you’ll find me at the Island Day Spa.

The masseuses could match the magic hands of any big city spa, and I felt the warm welcome as I walked into the light, breezy reception. Choose from a range of botanical facials, beauty treatments and soothing massages using traditional techniques (obviously, I couldn’t go past a relaxing massage). All products used contain organic, native botanical ingredients with nutrient-rich plant extracts to soothe skin and mind. To really indulge, try out one of the packages, couples treatment or even a pre-wedding day offering.

Getting there

kingfisher bay resort 4wd tour driving passed ss maheno on k'gari island — The world of K’gari awaits. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Getting to K’gari is shockingly easy. Find daily flights into Hervey Bay from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Kingfisher Bay Resort offers a shuttle bus between the airport, their headquarters in Hervey Bay and the ferry to take you to K’gari.