Wanna do the Goldy. Theme park advice?

[TeniBear]

Scott, you scared the poo out of me - I saw Ianto's name while I was scrolling down and thought I'd already posted and forgotten about it! Then I realised my ticker wasn't there and thought "someone else has named their kid Ianto" I'm a twit!

Anyway, if you sign up for a site called myfun, you get special deals and discounts off tickets and other stuff Of course, I signed up after we bought our tickets

[~clover~]

Lol, thanks Teni... you dag!!

[Fleur]

We did Australia Zoo recently & it was good but as Ozstar said it is 2 hours north, on the Sunny Coast (we stayed with mum)
My 2c - I'd do Dreamworld, it has heaps to offer and you can go back the second day for $10 or something.
Seaworld would be my second preference, then Movieworld - having said that they are all pretty good & if you can get a 3park pass, even better.
Then don't forget there's other stuff, you can go up to the top of Q1 if you like heights lol, do Cavill Ave & go to Ripleys etc.

What are the closest suburbs to the parks? We want a place close enough so we don't spend half the day driving, but would love to be near the beach

Closest suburbs - Dreamworld is at Coomera, northern end of the coast, Movieworld at Oxenford, also northern end. Seaworld is more central but depending on where you are staying could take just as long with traffic etc. All three parks should have transfers by bus or train (which won't matter of course if you are driving).
Really the coast is fairly accessible all round. It takes about 40 - 50 minutes to drive from one end to the other. If you are wanting to be near the beach I would make that your first priority, cost depending, and then work out if it's close enough to the parks for you, ITMS.

Ummm... How do these theme parks work? Do you pay to get in, then have to pay more when in there? For rides etc? Can you take your own food? (Expecting $10 for a small bucket of chips, lol).

Yep...and then the rest
Australia Zoo is the only one you are allowed to take your own food into. But we usually sneak a bit in nappy bags/ prams. Do be prepared to pay through the nose for food & drinks.
Rides are usually free but there will always be 'extras' that you can pay for - photos with animals or helicopter rides etc if you're die hard about spending money but really you can have a great day without all that, the idea is that you pay to get in & then ride for free. You just have to queue

HTH