But it wasn't the same theme park as before the tragedy. Signs at the entrance warned that every thrill ride was closed, a litany of safety checks yet to be completed, while the ride where the deaths occurred is firmly off limits to visitors.
Deputy Mayor of the City of Gold Coast, Donna Gates, said the closure had hit the people of the region hard both emotionally and economically. "None of us will ever forget the tragedy of six weeks ago," she said. "None of us imagine how deeply affected we would be."
Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson walked a fine line between respect for the victims' families and relief the park was now open.
Owners Ardent Leisure have had to write off around $70 million in lost ticket sales since the closure. "Today the smiles of Dreamworld staff sit atop heavy hearts," he said. "Reopening the doors today is an important milestone for our park, our staff and the Gold Coast community."
Davidson made a point of thanking the park's 1000 staff, and said he was pleased paying punters were back through the turnstiles.
"It's just fantastic to see the support there [from queuing customers] like a normal Saturday morning at Dreamworld," he said. "The community had responded beautifully and we're just happy to open the doors and welcome people back."
The company will donate $25 for every ticket sold this weekend to the Red Cross, and through them, to the victims' families.
First through the doors was self-confessed Dreamworld tragic Craig McGill. Clad in a Dreamworld-branded T-shirt, he told news.com.au he and his wife had visited at least once a week since they moved to the Gold Coast two years ago.
"I love the rides. I love the tigers," he said. "It's sad what happened but life goes on. We're here to support the Gold Coast."
Shellie Laverey was visiting the theme park with her family from Wollongong. She said she had booked the visit before Dreamworld closed. "I think it was respectful to the families to close," she said.
Laverey said she wasn't worried about safety at the park. "I'm not nervous, all the rides have been checked." Besides, her son Jake wanted to go on the unaffected and open water rides.
Davidson said the park was in touch with the families and the weekend's sales would "raise a great sum of money" for them.
The Thunder River Rapids rode is out of bounds, hidden behind a wall. Mr Davidson said it had yet to be demolished as planned - a memorial was planned but its form had yet to be decided upon.
Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and Cindy Low died in late October in what was the deadliest accident at an Australian theme park since the 1970s.
A family trip on the popular Thunder River Rapids ride on 25 October turned to tragedy when the raft the group were travelling in collided with a stationary raft and flipped, throwing the four into the machinery and water.
The four adults perished but both Low's 10-year-old son and Goodchild's 12-year-old daughter, who were also on the raft, were thrown clear and survived, in what police described as "almost a miracle".
Since the deaths, Dreamworld and its sister WhiteWater World park have been closed.
All slides and pools at WhiteWater World will reopen this weekend, while Dreamworld facilities given the all-clear include its wildlife areas, entertainment and family attractions in DreamWorks Experience, Wiggles World, ABC Kids World and the Motorsports Experience.
The company originally hoped to open the park just three days after the fatal incident but ongoing investigations at the crash site and a public backlash forced the park to close the doors indefinitely.
The rushed reopening was just one of a series of blunders the park and Ardent Leisure made in the initial aftermath of the deaths.
In unfortunate timing, the company's annual general meeting was held in the same week of the deaths. At the meeting, Ardent CEO Deborah Thomas refused to discuss an $168,000 bonus before belatedly donating it to charity.
In an excruciating encounter, she was also forced to admit that when she claimed the company had "reached out to the families" this did not include an actual phone call to see how they were.
Thomas has since taken on a much lower profile leaving Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson to lead the recovery effort.
During the closure, Dreamworld has conducted safety checks on its rides and announced that the Thunder River Rapids ride would be demolished.
Late last month, Workplace Health and Safety auditors issued seven improvement notices and three prohibition notices following inspections of Dreamworld and WhiteWater World.
The mother of Dreamworld victims Goodchild and Dorsett said earlier this month she had no issues with the Gold Coast theme park reopening and even planned to revisit, said a family friend.
Sandra Brookfield, who organised a crowd funding page which raised more than $67,000 for Ms Goodchild's two daughters, told AAP Kim Dorsett will one day visit Dreamworld.
"She's all good with it, she's fine. She does plan to revisit at some stage," Brookfield told AAP.
Ardent Leisure has revealed the closure had cost Dreamworld millions of dollars.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Ardent revealed Dreamworld generated $7.6 million in revenue in November last year.
As well as that lost revenue, the park has incurred operating costs of up to $4.2 million for the month while one-off costs associated with the tragedy are expected to tally about $1.6 million.
- Additional reporting: AAP
