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A video of the i-Ride structure inside the building found on instagram, looking like most of the main framework for where the gondolas sit is complete. This also pretty much confirms the ride will have a 60 seat capacity over 6 seperate gondolas, over 2 levels, facing the same orientation as the original dreamworld cinema. The caption of the post also states that the gondola installation will be happening very shortly.

TO be fair - he gets the news 3 hours before we do...

It's not a big question at all. This is a park that is over 80 years old, it is as much part of sydney's heritage as the opera house or the harbour bridge. It's a reason for them to be treated differently. In addition, the resident noise complaints that shut down the park previously have already been ruled on and overcome, and the resulting policy was designed to prevent that from shutting the park down in the future. An adverse ruling has caused a minor blip due to technical interpretation of said policy, and that will be rectified with amendments, to ensure the policy is carried out how it was intended. In 40 years, if Jamberoo is surrounded by Skyscrapers and those residents are complaining about noise, or ride colours, maybe the state government will step in and help them too.

*Note: full day product must be experienced over several months, as not all rides, shows and experiences are open year round due to never ending maintenance extensions

I think some people need to put aside their "me/my partner deserves to be able to feel/sure" viewpoint and take a short step back and look at the bigger picture here with some perspective. It's clear what was being 'meant' albeit if it wasn't eloquently written, here was that there has to be a certain expectation when you take a first responder emergency services job that you will at some point be faced with something gruesome. That's part of the role, and it would surely factor into your decision process of taking said job if you could handle that or not. That's not going to be the case for a mechanic, so if you're someone that would not deal with this kind of situation it likely wouldn't affect your decision to enter that field. It's like saying a McDonalds worker seeing someone shot in the head in a hold up should be able deal to deal with that the same as a military member enlisted for active duty. It's no slight on anyones feelings or experience, but there is 100% a "what you signed up for" situation applicable here, to think otherwise just doesn't make sense logically.

Let's be clear firstly - the fact that Sea World isn't a badass theme park that can keep up with Dreamworld & Warner Bros. Movie World in terms of attractions (which it did very well for nearly twenty years) is 100% a management oversight. The shift from "excellent standalone park" to "an upsell for Movie World customers and a playground for resort customers" should've never happened, and the result of that choice is a park that in some aspects still can't hold a candle to the park that it was over a decade ago. Will VRL sell Sea World? Last time I checked, the park, the resort and the resort's conference centre make great coin, so probably not. But should they be doing more instead of letting it cruise on autopilot like Wet 'n' Wild GC has done? Absolutely, VRTP has a lot to gain from the current CEO being less part time on-site nice guy & more like the Williams, Menzies and Longhursts of old, who were laser focussed and unabashed with their passion to get it right.

Quite the opposite actually, I guess I should have worded my reply a bit better, so I do apologise for that. MASSIVE props to LPS for keeping their HUSS rides running, the only other models running are the Pirate at Funfields, Enterprise at LPM, Wittingslow's travelling Pirate and Shot N Drop in Perth. It's a real shame to not see as many Huss rides around in Australia as there should and could be. But like I said, i love LPS for keeping the three former Wittingslow rides running to this day! In regards to the SBF model, I have heard from several people that the ride has had quite a few issues. Any ride is going to cost money and upkeep, but I think it was a bit of a shock for the park to have problems with a ride that was put in to replace a labour intensive machine that was costing more money as the years went on. With a bit of luck the HUSS rides will stay, and given some much needed love, especially the Break Dance. If only the owners of the park would experience some European Breakers, they'd see what gem they really have on their hands. Anyway, sorry for the negative posts. I will try check myself before I rant.

it's also just as clear that what was being 'meant' was that those in the first responder roles might not be as successful in their damages claim. If freak accident, I could agree. Given what we've heard so far at the inquest points to negligence, then they are just as liable as an employer to pay out to staff who have experienced trauma as a result. Those first responders (and let's not mince words - despite their qualifications, they were not employed as ambulance paramedics, or hospital trauma ward nurses. They staffed a first aid room.) didn't sign up to that job expecting to deal with a situation like this. A person who has never experienced this cannot possibly know whether this is something they can 'handle' until it happens. Something I learned very much the hard way, but that I have dealt with in a healthy way since. Within my service, I have inducted recruits, and we talk about the 'what ifs'. We do encourage those who feel they can't handle it to not attend incidents where those things are a possibility - but unfortunately not everyone knows what their limits are until they are exposed to it. If emergency responders were all hard asses, we wouldn't have industry programs like FESSN to promote and support the mental health and wellbeing of our emergency workers. A registered nurse doesn't necessarily have to work in a trauma ward or emergency department. She might spend her day administering pills to little old ladies in a nursing home. A paramedic might have left the critical care industry (or never started in it) because mass trauma had affected them previously, or their training exposure suggested they couldn't drive the big green bus, and so the job description of a first aider at a theme park dealing with little johnny's scraped knee from running down the tower of terror ramp, or little jane's bloody nose from diving underwater at the wave pool might be a good, happy place to get away from the daily (flesh) grind. Nobody can judge another person's experiences without walking a mile in their shoes. It's 100% "you don't know what they signed up for" situation applicable here, and to judge without knowing doesn't make sense logically. Part of me expects to be flamed for the above. the other part of me figures this is more than two iphone screens long, so it probably won't be read anyway.

Yeah, and? Hundreds of zoos don't have rides and seem to do great, just as much as there's other "SeaWorlds" that have a ton more rides and seem to do great, too. There's no rule for what exactly to do here - not all hotels need to have pools to be successful just as much as not all cars need four doors to sell well. But keeping with the car analogy - if i'm going to build a 4WD, I expect it to have a 4WD engine, not something out of a Corolla that's underpowered and not what I expected or paid for. That's Sea World's problem - from the perspective of either a day ticket (where you're paying the same as Dreamworld or Movie World) or as a season pass holder wanting to get a full day's worth of fun, it doesn't stack up compared to the other parks anymore, and it's compounded by the fact that for the longest time it did. So many things have been pulled out and either not replaced or have been filled in with cheap alternatives that hyper-focusses the product to such a specific age group that it alienates others. Continuing on that thought, the mentality of "competing against your own product" is so, so fundamentally flawed that it's a big contributor to why Village are so far in the hole, in my mind. It's like saying you don't need Paradise Country because you have animals at Sea World, or you don't need AOS because there's a stunt show at Movie World, or Movie World's kids area is okay to be left half-arsed and shitty because Sea World's is a bit better so they should just go there. If your products can't stand on their own feet, they're probably shit. It's how Dreamworld have managed to stay competitive - they've got a great full day product whilst every other park is still, at best, a solid half day product. It's not a hard thing to fix either - Village just needed to maintain what they had in the first place (cough, Skyway, cough Vikings). If their products can't stand on their own two feet as diverse & quality day experiences worth revisiting then as a park owner you're going to fail on driving revenue because there's no reason for guests to come back, and that's where the money is. Funny... other theme park chains have figured this out and they seem to be do fine.

I'm fine with LPS having relaxed regulations on temporary rides, but my 2c I'll give is that LPS should rethink the temporary rides strategy. They've spent plenty of money in the last 15 years on them and by now I wouldn't be surprised if the costs added up to a flat ride or two. There's a serious opportunity cost in spending money on temporary flat rides and LPS need to adopt a long term strategy for future survival that omits the temporary rides, they've only just gotten around to thinking long term 3-4 years ago. The money the park keeps spending on temporary flats should instead have been spent on replacing their 35+ year old World Expo veteran rides and building good quality flats, not crap imported from third-tier Italian manufacturers, and refurbishing their quickly aging Big Top facility that is the big money maker for the park (but has lost a lot of business after the ICC facility opened in Darling Harbour next door- but that discussion is for another time). 15 years of doing that over and over eventually adds up.

The Seaworld's in the USA are also referred to as Marine Parks yet they still have loads of rides and themed attractions that are being added all the time!

It's not branded as a theme park anymore. It's a marine park.

This December I will be heading overseas on another adventure, and this time making a stop in Paris and visiting my first Disney park, Disneyland Paris. My girlfriend and I will be staying in The Disney Village Nature Resort for two nights, but will only be visiting the parks for one of them. We have early access into the parks and will be visiting both the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studio Park. We will be visiting the park on a Friday, and I have looked at the crowd level forecast, and they are supposed to be light crowds. At this stage our plan is to visit Walt Disney Studio Park during the early access time and hoping to ride Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster and Ratatouille at the minimum. After that, we will head to the Disneyland Park, and obviously want to ride some of the classic attractions like Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, etc. My question is, what advice do people have that have visited these parks before? Are there rides we should go for first, what things do people recommend to do, and is my plan possible (We only have time to visit for one day). And are there any food outlets in the Disney Village people recommend for breakfast? And how does the Fast Pass' work, I know you don't pay extra, and you use your entry ticket, but what is the process and best way to use it?

The Mack Tango Train was indeed called the Disco Train when it operated at Darling Harbour throughout the late 1980's and early 90's. Previously to being put in Darling Harbour, the ride travelled the show circuit with Wittinsglows, who also owned most rides at that were on the site. The picture shows the original ride during its stay in Darling Harbour. Was the Love express a Mack Music Express? There IS a Music Express style ride called the Love Express owned by OCS Fun (same company that owns the Rainbow) that toured around Sydney during the early 2000's, and also made a rare appearance at the 2012 Fishers Ghost Festival in Campbelltown, however it isn't manufactured by Mack. The ride hasn't been seen for many years now , and is probably sitting out in someones paddock rusting away.

@AlexB, I read the whole judgement on The Flying Carousel court case a while ago. This whole current situation wasn't initiated out of a need for clarification after Hair Raiser. Even though Luna Park Sydney built Hair Raiser without a development consent and subsequently were told to apply for one by the NSW Planning Department, they still went ahead and tried building The Flying Carousel without one, which has caused the current events. The issue regarding temporary rides wasn't also sudden - to "install or operate amusement devices" requires approval from local government. There are exemptions for some temporary uses and structures under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 but "amusement devices" are excluded as that is not listed in the policy. Since 2001, approval shifted to the Planning Minister for Luna Park Sydney only and when they approved Luna Park Sydney's masterplan back in 2002, they only approved the park's future 'use' (like zoning) rather than the park's future 'development' (like construction). The latter the Planning Minister put a condition on the approval for as requiring subsequent DA's. The Court even found Luna Park Sydney was aware that they needed DA's for every new ride as early as May 2002, a few months after they were notified of that decision from the Planning Minister of the time (You may need to read the whole judgement to get the quote's full context though) : Also, the most noticeable issue in the media wasn't the potential lack of temporary rides in the future, it was the threat of closure. The State Government only reacted because of the threat of closure not because of the lack of temporary rides. In any case, I don't think Luna Park Sydney would've closed because of a lack of temporary rides. Lastly - Yes, Kangaroo Island is not temporary but the issue at the heart of the matter is similar (the DA process). Here is a quote from Jim Eddy, Jamberoo's managing director, which was in the Kiama Independent news article I linked to earlier: Doesn't that sound like what Luna Park Sydney have been saying recently? Particularly when you add this quote: That's definitely akin to Luna Park Sydney (like operating hours, noise, lighting etc.). Jamberoo may have been referring to permanent rides but the DA process is the same. I just was trying to say if Luna Park Sydney could get an exemption for temporary rides by complaining about the DA process, why can't Jamberoo get the temporary ride exemption as well? Imagine if Jamberoo suddenly wanted to install a temporary giant inflatable waterslide, that would require local government approval but like Luna Park Sydney, it might drag out for months or years because residents are complaining about the colours etc. Luna Park Sydney may have heritage value (which is why it has political influence) but the heritage & operation of the park isn't reliant on temporary rides otherwise like pointed out earlier, it defeats all heritage arguments. After all, despite the amendments, they will still need some sort form of approval for permanent rides and park refurbishments and that is what keeps Luna Park Sydney relevant and part of Sydney's heritage into the future: Rides & attractions themed around the 1930's (like Hair Raiser with development approval) - not temporary rides hidden behind Coney Island. If the DA exemptions were purely because it affected Luna Park's long-term heritage (like Coney Island), then I would be 100% for a Luna Park Sydney-only exemption. I'm still 100% for temporary ride DA exemptions but only if it was for all theme parks & community events in NSW - not just Luna Park Sydney - as the temporary rides individually don't form part of the long-term heritage of Luna Park Sydney.

Don't even get me started on having a HUSS Rainbow back running in Australia. We have TWO units here and neither are running, shame to say, OCS ran Wittingslow's once great model into the absolute ground! These days I have to travel to Paris just to ride one! (Even though its totally worth it riding and seeing the Eiffel Tower as you reach the top!) It always did interest me how Rainbow was in the original plans, but with the success it brought by being on the showgrounds and travelling, it was a far more successful decision to have the Rainbow travelling and the Ranger go into the park, especially when Wittingslow had a Fabbri Ranger travelling on the circuit also.

Nimble that was my thought as well- I thought that Luna Park's Love Express was purchased by a travelling showman that toured then went to Darling Harbour and back to Luna Park in 1994. Happy to be proven wrong if you have alternative info @19Michael96? To be clear here, the temporary ride strategy is only for peak and seasonal times . It is not an unusual strategy and is designed to provide buzz to the park in offering 2 or 3 extra attractions. Whilst they may not be everyone's cup of tea, they certainly provide the park with a good strategy to attract more visitors to the park at these times. I know my kids and their friends love to see what is coming over summer for the January school holidays, so do not discount the broad appeal that they have. Luna Park Melbourne is also operating on a similar strategy to great success. Rides such as Crazy Coaster, Pirates Revenge, The Avenger, Hard Rock , Freak Out and Disk O are all major travelling rides and very popular. Who wouldnt want to reride these again and again in the unique environment of Luna Park, covered under the one park pass at the time? The expense for hiring these rides is quite cost effective and is a factor in helping the park get to the stage where they are ready to pump $20 million in new rides and attractions for the future. Luna Park Melbourne is embarking on a similar strategy so that they can get themselves into the same financial situation where they can invest in new attractions. The costs for keeping the Scenic Railway , Carousel and Ghost train are quite large. This strategy of temporary rides is due to cease once the $20 million investment plan and a full ride compliment has been reached. Its certainly a positive step that the government has recognised that the interpretation of the DA process was onerous for the operators of Luna Park, especially given the numerous precedents over the last 12 years. Hopefully, this leads to an accommodation whereby they can resume the plans for the $20 million investment and continue on the important job of revitalising the park. Thanks for clarifying @HussRainbow87 I would certainly love for a Huss Rainbow unit to reside at LPS......it was in the original plans for the 1995 incarnation you know........love that ride!! It would have been iconic looking out over the harbour to see a Huss Rainbow in full swing!! What a view it could have been!!

Sorry mate forgot to answer your question! Yeah it came up on a Facebook post but there is certainly nothing untoward about it- @19Michael96 mentioned your name in regards to your post and I just replied to it as you saw was posted here. They certainly appear to still function- please visit https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Home Yeah fair point and I understand where you are coming from. If this was another operator then I would most certainly be apprehensive but the fact that the current managing director Peter Hearne , is on record as saying that this is something they would not do, this does alleviate those concerns somewhat. Plus, as has been shown, the legislation protecting the historical aspects of the park ( buildings, rides and amusements) are separate to any new developments and , in my understanding,take precedent over these. Interesting considering now that the NSW State government is looking to amend their interpretation of this process- 200 temporary rides and attractions over 12 years does demonstrate a fairly large precedent. Agree 100% here. Perhaps although I feel that it is reasonable to think that once the general public at large have read an article on the issue that would then be enough to educate them to form a reasonable opinion on the matter. Thanks for the excellent discussion AlexB, as always good value! What a particularly negative and absurd statement!! Just an observation- every post you submit on Luna Park seems to be very negative or overly criticising- it certainly appears that you have a unhealthy bias or ulterior motive against the park. Discussion and constructive criticism are certainly welcome. However, in my mind, blatant negativity and a particular bias are really not. Just my opinion. " Kinda glad to be honest..." Wow!!! Its like you just want to see the park fail- that statement certainly does nothing to detract from anyone gathering that opinion! Could not agree more mate..... The SBF Tango Train , in my opinion, is a well presented and well themed ride. It has an excellent lighting suite and it looks brilliant in its place along the midway. I certainly concede that it does not present as great a ride as the Mack model but lets give Luna Park a little kudos here. They replaced an old ride that was maintenance heavy and was likely costing money with extensive downtime. Instead of just ripping it out, they gave the ride its due and turned its leaving into a positive and then replaced it with a BRAND NEW ride that replicates the ride it replaces. It is this commitment to new investment in the park that should be celebrated here.

Not quite JF. The whole hoo-hah arose after Hair Raiser, with LPS seeking to clarify their position on the need for DAs moving forward. On ALL moves, adds and changes for rides - be they new, heritage, or temporary. The subsequent judgment handed down provided clarification, but it was not what LPS had expected, and also - it went a step further stating DAs were required for temporary rides as well. Given that LPS has been doing that already for years, it is the more immediately relevant issue at hand - especially since they made a very media-public point of saying they wouldn't have temporary attractions in the corner for the school holidays - it was a very immediately noticeable issue, which has of course lead the state government to recognise action was needed. Should Jamberoo be allowed to host temporary attractions without a DA? since they are not governed by the state legislation and the state department of heritage and conservation, you should direct your question to (i think) the Kiama Municipal Council. Not all councils would require a DA for a temporary attraction (especially one that was trailer mounted), so you are perhaps barking up a tree that hasn't even been planted yet. Finally, if your post was only meant to discuss temporary rides, why then did you immediately refer to Kangaroo Island, an undoubtedly un-temporary attraction?

For all those who responded to this question, I had intended that question to be a rhetorical question. It was given as an example as Jamberoo's owners were more angry 5 years ago about the DA process than Luna Park Sydney has been in the past few months even though the latter threatened closure and started a petition. Luna Park Sydney, being historic & iconic, has more political influence (particularly after the Big Dipper drama in the mid-1990's) hence why they threatened closure. I don't know about most people but I don't travel to Luna Park Sydney for temporary rides. To me, if Luna Park Sydney had no temporary rides, it would be no big loss, the attendance would not have dramatically changed to the point of closure plus valuable resources would have been saved, which could be added to a future permanent expansion program. If Luna Park Sydney says temporary rides are the reason it is currently still operating then they are (assuming accidentally) implying that the historic and iconic aspects of Luna Park Sydney like the entrance, Coney Island and the Ferris Wheel aren't the reason why people go to the park, which would then (assuming inadvertently) mean the reason that the park is important to Sydney's heritage is completely irrelevant. Jamberoo may not be as iconic & historic or as well attended as Luna Park Sydney but this issue isn't about long-term heritage protection, it's about DA processes for temporary rides. After all, where is the heritage value in temporary rides??? You can argue that the heritage value of Luna Park Sydney overall justifies them having exempt development for temporary rides but, whilst not a theme park, what about the Sydney Royal Easter Show? (I'm not 100% sure if the Sydney Royal Easter Show needs to put in DA's every year for their Carnivals though) Unlike Luna Park Sydney, I'm sure if the Sydney Royal Easter Show didn't have temporary rides there would be a huge drop in attendance. I'm all for heritage protections and streamlined DA processes for Luna Park Sydney but when other theme parks have complained about the lengthy DA process for very similar reasons, why can't they be allowed similar streamlined DA processes as well? The theme park industry of NSW as a whole would then benefit and not just Luna Park Sydney, who in my opinion, doesn't need temporary rides (or exemption from DA's for temporary rides) to survive. After all, it's just temporary rides. If the DA exemption for temporary rides at Luna Park Sydney was broadened to all theme parks in New South Wales, it wouldn't affect much so why not broaden it? There aren't that many theme parks in New South Wales anyway let along any that would utilise the DA exemption on a constant basis like Luna Park Sydney seemingly needs to do. After all, excluding Luna Park Sydney, how many theme parks are there in the entire world that rely on temporary rides for business? Temporary rides are only best for community events not theme parks. Plus, temporary rides have to be hired - no guarantee every single NSW theme park can hire one due to either availability, cost or distance required to travel to deliver and pick up the ride to/from the theme park. Also, the noise of Luna Park Sydney is irrelevant in this case. They haven't done temporary rides in nearly 2 decades I believe. It is referring to temporary rides.

I think this particular line is what has upset @Levithian and as an emergency service volunteer, I can understand it. Whether the OP intended that to be 'this is my opinion' or whether the intention was 'this is what dreamworld could argue', I have to say I grabbed that particular quote before I read all of the responses it has now generated. I'm glad Levithian responded, because if he didn't I would have. If OP intended it to be 'this is what dreamworld could argue' fine - but its a shit thing to say, and something that would immediately lose face in the public eye for the defendants in any damages case. Clearly, few people here have been first responders and seen the real life impacts of events that some first responders see every day. Those people should just shut up, and say thankyou to those who daily endure the mental health battering that they endure to ensure you and your family are safe, well, and able to spit vitriol at others online.

Well all the advices put there are already very good so I don't have much to add. Been living in Paris all my life, and in fact, Disney Paris opened the year I was born I rarely ever visit due to high prices and not being very much into Disneyland stuff - so I'm not the most familiar with the place despite it being one of my home parks. Even though the resort is most generally quite busy, I believe both parks are manageable in a single day too. Agree with the plan to start with the Studios (it's a somewhat lacklustre park in comparison imo..) and you should be done with this park by 13:00 at the very most. Agree too that Crush's Coaster should be done first or at least towards the very beginning of the day. It's a generic (layout-wise) Maurer SC2000 which capacity doesn't suit best the crowds of a Disney park, so it often gets 1hr+ lines. Big Thunder Mountain's track has been refurbished a few years back. Nothing too mind-blowing of course, but it does deliver an exciting wild ride - and the setting inside an island mountain is truly impressive. Indiana Jones has good theming and a compact layout, however I find it very uncomfortable sadly. It is an Intamin/Giovanola imitation of the Pinfari Zyklon Looping coaster. Being from 1993, it predates by a long while the amazing Intamin designs of the 00s and it shows. Nonetheless the lone vertical loop is quite intense, which makes me think the ride would much benefit from updated restraints just like Hyperspace Mountain did last year. Speaking of which, Disney Paris' flagship ride is a very ambitious creative effort which, in my opinion, doesn't live up to its full potential unfortunately. Part of it is the 1995 Vekoma hardware which didn't aged so well (secretly I wish current Vekoma would completely redo the ride layout in line with their recent very daring designs, but that would be prohibitively expensive!), part of it is also the many rebrandings of the theming. Defunctland put it in a better way that I will, but originally Space Mountain Paris used to have a unique Jules Vernes steampunk storyline, which was an inspiring blend of French and US influences. This appeal is now mostly gone and replaced with the Star Wars theme we all know. But enough ranting here. Have a nice visit at Disney Paris! Even for a non-Disney fan, it is an enjoyable experience that I would recomment Bon voyage !

Lets also look at the budget for most of Universals Attractions lets forget about anything to do with HP. Jurassic Park is around the 100million mark, Transformers is 120million, Revenge of the Mummy is 20-30million plus all of there attractions are all large scale investments compared to our parks. So even a small Universal park will still cost over the 500million-1 billion USD to build at LEAST! Considering Australia's most expensive attraction to date is DC Rivals at 30million I do not see this all feasible at this point in time or for a while. Plus once the park is built they would still need to continue to invest. A park needs to keep building new attractions or something new year after year or people get bored and don't come back.

Had a crack at Sanfa Fe Ice Cream shop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1474329656

Oh the tent on the flying saucer area would be for the Halloscream event (it’s one of the houses) They had one there last year too.

I think it's just being treated like this because of it's heritage, and people are sometimes idiots

Sorry I couldn’t take a picture over the barrier but they don’t like it.

This came across, and I think I have a fair picture of what you were listening to. I'm really enjoying your coverage, and want to thank you very sincerely for providing this to us. We are very lucky, and I am sure that the majority of folk here will join me in thanking you for doing this.

So I left after Ms Knight's evidence as I had to take the person I was going to the hearing with, back to the airport. As far as I am aware, Jason Johns, the next witness didn't provide anything major or new in regards to the case so I didn't miss much. Here is the link to yesterdays document: https://tinyurl.com/Thursday-inquest And here's todays: https://tinyurl.com/Friday-inquest There are many things I could say about Ms Knights evidence today but I really must refrain. What I will say is that she was very frustrating to get information out of and many of her answers were confusing or contradictory to previous answers she had given. Ms Knight appeared to be in quite a high level role yet seemed to have very minimal responsibilities or knowledge of her scope of responsibilities and powers. It was very difficult to listen to and quite concerning but I am so very glad that all of this is finally coming out. Such Damning evidence that points towards a complete failure of most aspects of that park.

I recently went on a trip to North Korea and visited the Kaeson Youth Park. It is centrally located in Pyongyang - a short drive from Kim Il Sung square, next to the Arch of Triumph (photos taken from the top of the Arch). Here is a google maps link for anyone interested: https://goo.gl/maps/sRmidMu3WRk The park is fairly small and only open in the evenings. It is next to Kim Il Sung University. The park is mostly moderate thrill rides aimed at the university students. You can see from the entrance that Pyongyang is a very safe city - there was no high fencing, just a simple rolling gate with no locks. That bathroom tile aesthetic in the buildings is extremely common in North Korea. They will tile the external walls of 30 Storey buildings on every floor. The park had a really fun suspended flying coaster with an egg-beater lift hill. I'm not sure of the model, but it was a really smooth, really fun ride. It has two inversions. You load onto the ride in a standing position and the operator closes a cage over you. You're tilted into the flying position by a large steel bar just before the lift hill. The two inversions are fairly intense considering you're not actually strapped into the cage, but they whip you around so fast you never really feel like you're gonna fall. They also had 3 Zamperla rides, a Disko, a Power Surge (i didn't photograph it but you can see all three rides in a row in this pic), and a Frisbee (with the most terrifyingly loose restraint I've ever experienced). In addition, there was some dodgem cars (the Korean's are really violent drivers), A small pirate ship, and an S&S Shot 'n' drop. There was a burger place inside the park (which was closed) but there were a bunch of street stalls outside selling snacks and soft-drinks. Unfortunately, while foreigners can visit the park, we aren't allowed to buy stuff from the local stores since they only accept the local Korean currency (North Korean Won) - which foreigners are not allowed to use. Foreigners can pay in Euro or Chinese Yuan. We had to pay 10 Euro Entry to the park, and the individual rides ranged between 3 and 5 Euro each. The park was quite empty - probably about as busy as you would expect Luna Park Melbourne to be on a random Friday night. It was National Day on the Sunday, and a Long Weekend, so people had a bunch of other stuff to do. I didn't have a lot of time there and I wanted to go on most of the rides, so I only managed to get a few photos (and some videos). I only took my iPhone, so I apologise for the quality. I've got a couple of videos, if people are really interested I can upload them but they're really just of the coaster and the general park. If I can get more photos and videos from the people I was traveling with, I'll upload them too if people are interested.

There are actually four amusement parks in Pyongyang. Mangyongdae Funfair, Taesongsan Funfair, and Kaeson Youth Park all date from the eighties – though the latter was levelled and rebuilt with a collection of Zamperla rides around 2010. The flying coaster you saw is a Zamperla Volare – not a type that's generally known for its comfort, but the one in the DPRK is remarkably good; I enjoyed it. Rungna People's Pleasure Ground opened in 2012 – after my trip. It has a Reverchon mouse. If anyone wants to do the parks I'd recommend going through Koryo Tours; in 2011 they were able to set up a private trip for me and a friend that took in the (then) three parks and all the major tourist sites in a week.

The final line is the important one - planning officials are in talks for future operations...

Sorry but it’s true. They’re never going to get the lifespan out of that SBF that they did with the Mack model. It’s not even that old and having issues. Ok. Great investment. And that image... even Aja knows the ride is junk.