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Here is some more info on the Big Banana Alpine coaster- straight from the DA documents found online. Thanks to New Display Name for the link. This proposal seeks Council’s consent to the construction and operation of an ‘Alpine Coaster’ within the confines of the Big Banana Fun Park. The proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ represents a significant investment by the Big Banana Fun Park, enhancing its reputation as one of Australia’s most iconic tourist attractions. The proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ is a track guided, gravity driven, above ground toboggan ride that can be operated all year round. It is perfectly suited to undulating terrain and is well suited to the subject land. The infrastructure which supports the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ comprises the track system, a terminal building for embarking and disembarking ride users, a storage building, access ramps, winch systems and coaster ‘toboggans’. This proposal is in keeping with the tourism activities occurring within the Big Banana Fun Park. These include water slides, water play areas, mini golf, indoor laser tag gaming and a toboggan ride and dry slide. Most especially, this proposal complements the existing toboggan ride which operates on the western hillslope of the site. The proposal includes the demolition of the existing toboggan ride building. In its place, a new building is proposed which provides an integrated entrance for both the existing toboggan ride and the proposed alpine coaster. The proposed Alpine Coaster track system is a gravity driven, tubular track that is supported above the natural ground surface by a steel subframe structure. The subframe structure sits on the ground and does not require foundations. Instead, the structure is held into position by its interconnecting components and is secured by earth-nails driven into the natural ground at intersecting ground points. The ride experience is enjoyed on a purpose-built toboggan which is independently speed controlled by the ride user operating a brake lever. A speed limiter is however incorporated into the toboggan design, limiting the speed of the toboggan to a maximum of forty (40) kilometres per hour. The toboggan has capacity for two riders only and minimum user heights apply. The front rider must be a minimum of 0.97m and is restrained by a two-point pelvis safety belt. A centre grip is provided to the rider for comfort and stability during the ride experience. The rear rider has control of the toboggan’s speed which is regulated by dual braking handles. The rear rider is also restrained by a shoulder and pelvis safety belt. The proposed Terminal building will be the access point for the proposed Alpine Coaster and the existing toboggan ride. Only within this building will riders be able to access the Alpine Coaster or the existing toboggan ride. Ride operators will guide riders into the toboggan or Alpine Coaster at the start position ensuring that safety harnesses are appropriately secured. Health, safety and ride operating instructions will form part of this process. At the completion of the ride, riders will return to this same location and alight their toboggan or coaster under the supervision of the ride operators. The proposed storage building is integrated with the proposed terminal building as shown below and in the accompanying architectural plans which are included in Annexure B. The storage building is an enclosed structure which will be used to store equipment for the existing toboggan ride and the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’. Access to each ride will be via a series of pedestrian ramps and landings extending from the existing footpath that is currently utilised for the toboggan ride. From the proposed terminal building, the Alpine Coaster toboggan cars, inclusive of ride users will travel along the ‘uplift track’ which relies on a ‘funicular’ system to pull the toboggan to the top of the slope where the ride commences its gravity driven downhill run. Figure 13 below shows the location of the uplift tract and the point at which the toboggan commences its downhill run. From the point at which the ride commences its downhill run and ending at the proposed terminal building, the proposed route incorporates several curves and straight-line sections weaving between existing vegetation on the subject land. The proposed route will require a very small area of existing any native vegetation. Both, the uplift and downhill tracks are mounted on steel support frames which will be anchored to the ground using earth nails. Notably, the height of the track determines the width of the steel support frames. Except for a small section (25m) of track within the RU2 Rural Landscape zone, the height of the remaining track system will not exceed the building height plane for RU2 Rural Landscape zone or the R1 General Residential zone. Once ride users are securely fastened into the toboggan and checked by the ride operator there is no opportunity for ride users to leave the ride until they return to the terminal building. Access to the area comprising the ‘Alpine Coaster’ ride is prohibited for ride users or visitors to the park. Appropriate exclusion fencing and or signage will be established prior to the opening of the proposed facility. The operation of the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ will be subject to risk audits in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. Prior to the commencement of each days operation, the entire track route will be inspected by the ride operator(s). Given that the proposed development is to be integrated with the existing fun park attractions, it is appropriate that the operational hours remain consistent with the opening times of the park being seven days per week between 9.00am and 6:00pm. There will be no additional staffing required to support the proposed development. Instead, the proposal integrates with the existing toboggan ride such that ride participants will queue, enter and exit within the same terminal building for both the existing toboggan ride and the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ ride. The new proposed Alpine Coaster will include 34 Wiegand-Toboggans running along an 872m Steel Track. The realistic capacity is about 50 people per run and every hour. All in all this will be an excellent addition to The Big Banana Funpark, and at an investment of just over $3 million dollars, represents excellent value for this park and being an Australian first, will certainly put this park on the map and in the spotlight for local enthusiasts to visit. Fingers crossed that other Australian parks will see the value for money that one gets for these type of attractions and hopefully think about installing one. Realistically I could see Jamberoo Action Park, Funfields or even Adventure World in Perth think seriously about adding one of these to their attraction lineup. Yeah the article states that the ride will come with 34 new Wiegand Toboggans. The DA info confirms this. It does not mention anywhere nor state that there will be 34 cars zooming down the track at any given time. Plus whilst all 34 cars could be accomodated on the track at once- that does not mean that they will all be cycled to run at the same time. I am sure that at least 10- 15 cars would be held in a holding pattern and released for riders in a safe manner. Just my thoughts on this.

While MWs queues were crazy, even DW had some impressive wait times. The park was the busiest I’ve seen in a while. Every ride had decent queues, with Steel Taipan having an hour wait (and using the extended queue) with both trains and fast operations. Sky Voyager was using the extended queue too. And all other rides had decent queues, was great to see.

I'll just leave this here

That’s good to hear. I didn’t know SE had 2 trains. Maybe it Would be better if instead of having a thread named/based on the parks maintenance schedule we have a thread called “(insert park name here) ride operations and closures” so it’s not just stat the obvious like “hey the website says DC rivals in getting maintenance in April” but more about how the rides are operating and wait times, the stuff that’s not on the website, which is basically what’s happening now but in its own thread.

Well, after having had many rides on both TNT and Project Zero throughout the day, all I can say is wow! What perfect additions to the park. Gumbya have really taken things to the next level with these additions. Starting with TNT, it’s a lot more intense than I was expecting and is actually quite forceful (the back row is the most intense). Though it’s just the right balance so that families with children can easily ride and enjoy the attraction too. The first drop is really spectacular, plunging you straight down into a tunnel (complete with an explosion sound effect as you pass through) follow by a fantastic near miss element with the giant target. There are actually a lot of great near-miss elements throughout the attraction such as the factory fly-through and the “brick wall” in the second trough (which has a great sight gag where it looks like someone has previously run into the wall and left an outline). The ride has a fantastic sense of humour throughout. The basic storyline is that a group of brothers named Tony and Terry (“TNT”, get it?) own and operate a very dodgy demolition company known as “Thunder Demolition Bros” and you’re taking a tour of the factory. The history of the company is proudly displayed in the office (or queue line). (If this is too blurry to read, I can re-type what it’s saying.) A lot of other signage in the building gives you a good idea of the kind of company Thunder Demolition is. As you can see, these guys really like rock and roll. Here’s the “head office”: Lots of other audio gear is scattered throughout the factory: The ride itself! All in all, a fantastic new addition to the park with great theming and a well thought out and executed story to boot! Now on to Project Zero… The storyline for this attraction is that the “A.S.T.R.O” space facility is having an open day and are allowing visitors to take part in testing their innovations. The queue as once again very heavily themed to sell the idea of it being a research/testing facility. As for the ride experience, well…. It’s Buzzsaw, just as intense and rough as you remember (though to be fair, it did feel slightly smoother today than it did last time I rode it at Dreamworld). Still, another fantastic addition to the park with some spectacular views over the countryside as well. Gumbya World have really knocked it out of the park with these two coasters and I’m now confident in saying that this is by far the best regional theme park in Australia now, beating out Adventure World by quite a margin.

The DWF have shared on their socials that the nocturnal house has undergone a refurbishment and has reopened as the ‘Twilight Trail’. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmoAeQWh_lp/?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc= Personally, this was one of my favourite parts of DWs animals precincts, so I am very happy to see its return.

I'm going to have to go on a tour sometime next year to check out all of these smaller parks that are suddenly going crazy with expansions and revamps

4 hours for rivals at one point

today was hell, opening crowd for scooby stretched out to Main street, finding anything under a 2hr wait midday onwards was near impossible.

I used to use the app but the following website also lets you check the queues https://queue-park.com/parks/village-roadshow/warner-bros-movie-world/

Yeah citing the teaser art is a bit like asking 'does anyone think it'll fall over in a stiff breeze as it clearly doesn't have many supports?' Best not to take it literally I'd say

Great find!! Thanks for sharing. Intersting to note this was first lodged back in Aug 2022. Looking forward to following this progress as it is built. It appears that the total cost of the Alpine coaster is an investment of $3 million dollars. Thats not bad pricing for the ride they will eventually get- an Australian first- and the accompanying spotlight that having this installed will bring the park. It will also have 2 lift hills for just over 872m of track- but it appears that length will include both lift hills so the ride component will not be overly long. The manufacturer is Wiegand and the proposal will include 34 ride vehicles with a realistic capacity of 50 riders per hour- so not a huge throughput. Yeah it was an old attraction that took you in a circuit around the Banana Plantation and traversed a small billabong/pond whereby an animatronic Bunyip would rise from the waters to greet you. The track is fairly unique insofar that it utilised a dual cement track for the ride vehicles to ride upon. The trains were recently sold from the storage where they have been kept for a number of years. The DA for the Alpine Coaster also details that any remnants of the monorail in the proposed Alpine coaster area will be removed with its construction. Ostensibly, an Alpine Coaster does not need a fast/ slow track. There is no real need to brake on the course as there is no danger of coming off the track, unlike a toboggan ride. I have looked at several Alpine Coasters installations across Europe and the US and not one has a fast/slow track. The attraction does not need it. The attraction was reported on in The Coast Advocate, which is an affiliate paper of the Daily Telegraph. Here is a link to the article but it is behind a paywall. It may detail some more info. If anyone has access could you please copy and paste the article in this thread please? https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fcoffs-harbour%2Fbig-banana-lodges-plan-for-new-rollercoaster-at-coffs-harbour%2Fnews-story%2F13734a848b08dd26bed436ad2bb0d82b&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-groupa-control-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append

As much as I hate the min by min updates, given the recent commentary in this thread, I feel it should be pointed out GL reopened, and Superman and Rivals were both running 2 trains with less than 4mins between dispatches today.

The Big Banana has finally lodged the application for the 1km alpine coaster with Coffs Harbour Council. https://chcc-icon.saas.t1cloud.com/Public/Pages/XC.Track/SearchApplication.aspx?id=349170

This "new" ride cycle, is a safety feature working as designed. The ride has been programmed to run the original 1 loop cycle that was on Buzzsaw. But after the relocation and refurb of the trains, the ride seems to be running faster than usual; and thus it's entering the vertical brake run too fast for the brakes/computer to successfully catch it on the first go. So the brakes don't engage, giving the extra swing back and forth (killing speed) so it can successfully 'catch' the train at a slower speed. I've gotten this cycle multiple times now, and I think it really adds to the overall ride experience. A lot of fun!

Took this during the night markets yesterday, over half the tower has now been painted

Add a new movie in the mix too! I don’t ride SV anymore because I’m sick of the same AUS movie… Where’s Canada? Europe? Africa? Something fictional like a Space Adventure? Heck, even chuck USA back into the mix again!

A sneak peak at Gumbuya World's 2 new coasters. Gumbuya World, located 66km southeast of Melbourne set itself the ambitious goal of opening two new roller coasters in 2022. With the grand opening planned just prior to Christmas, we give you a sneak peak of the rides as they undergo their finishing touches. Click here to continue reading