DaptoFunlandGuy

gee... now i see why Bussy loves riling people up so much... hehehe. Bren - i agree the visitation is higher in the central and eastern areas of sydney. So what do we do.... take an area already choking on its capacity for tourism (look at bondi on a hot day and find me a bit of sand to spread a towel on), and increase the draw card for it by adding another park, or pick an area that has a lower visitation rate, and increase its visitation by adding a commercially viable ATTRACTION... now thats not just "add a theme park" but an attraction - park, accomodation, water park, animal attraction, something unique to be a big draw card in itself... now this will - a) decrease the jobless rate in an area with a higher rate than the eastern suburbs promote tourism for cities and towns in the west who are starving for tourism c) lift the entire area, cosmetically d) release pressure on the other tourism hotspots around sydney e) promote industry in the area to support the attraction, thereby further decreasing the jobless rate f) promote residential construction in the area for the workers of the attraction, and the industrial area g) promote further business, in the guise of builders and labourers to build the residential properties h) promote commercial development - shopping centres, movie theatres and other smaller drawcards to the area, for the residents who live in the area, who work at the factories and the "attraction" and build the houses and work and live and play... i mean seriously... why choke an already overpopulated tourist destination when with a little brains and a few hours on Sim City, you can realise that building in an area that doesnt have the competition of other tourist hotspots, will mean YOU are why they come, YOU are why they stay, and nobody else is there to compete with you...

some very good points Rich, as always, and it picks a few good points from both sides of the conversation. on a side note, i have a lot more respect for you now that i have seen your photos (thanks to rod). although i knew you were at uni, i somehow pictured you a lot older.... in the original plans for wonderland, the extra land was for a resort, golf course, separate water park, separate wildlife park etc, however, a few local businesses including rooty hill RSL for one screamed it would kill their local business.... about the same way that nepean square screamed about penrith plaza when lend lease moved in, and hoyts screamed when panthers wanted to put in a multiplex cinema. so blacktown CC vetoed wonderland's original plans, which is why the beach was squeezed in behind the beast next to the road, and the wildlife park was jointed onto the park, which required the relocation of some attractions to accomodate it. Original planning for wonderland would have seen it become a somewhat less impressive version of the magic kingdom, in the sense that it would have been an attraction and accomodation facility in its own right. but the locals didnt want this to happen... so it didnt... and now the park is closed. oh well.

Well obviously some of the members on here have trouble understanding what is written and choose to read between the lines and interprate and opinion that just doesnt exist. The following points need to be made: I am not from Eastern Sydney, i am from the South Coast. oh good - a liberal and a hick. Besides i never said you were from eastern sydney... just that you wanted to built there. Yes I am a Liberal Supporter but that does not mean I hate Western Sydney, nor did i say i did. I simply said that I didnt think it was a good place for a theme park. I never said you hated western sydney, but as you've said there, you think its a bad tourist destination I commented that if you COULD build one at Bondi, it would work. I then went onto say that it wasnt feasable because of the high density residential buildings that are already there. Now, lets face facts..... People visit Bondi, who visits Western Sydney??? People visit Kings Cross too, but i don't think its a suitable place for a thriving tourism metropolis. Ask an asian tourist if they know Bondi? Ask and Asian tourist if they know Western Sydney? yes, you're right. they'd probably think western sydney was olympic park. Wait a minute... ask an asian tourist if they know the Blue Mountains, Three Sisters, Jenolan Caves The fact is that whilst we have to cater to domestic, we also have to cater to international. Domestic alone will not sustain a theme park. I never said this wasn't so. Wonderland thrived on the asian tourist market, most of which would stop off at "western sydney" on their way to the mountains. Some of you people on here need to pull your head out of the preverbial and start living in the real world. When Mr. J Howard does, I will. Have any of you ever heard of a business? Do you understand what is needed to make it viable? Yes. I run one. If you think wonderland is such a great idea, then where are the fully costed business proposals? Of cause not because at the end of the day, half of you want a dream and are not willing to face reality. Fully costed business proposals were done in 1982 - 1983 the park was viable then and would still be viable now. It is simply that the corporation that owned it got greedy, didnt want to own a theme park when it could sell the land and make many more millions than they paid for it. I came on here to post to offer some support for what i thought was the most realistic approach. Just because someone offers something to which is different to your opinion, it does not mean they are attacking you. I never said you were attacking me, or us. But i seriously feel that your idea was a little biased towards a common misconception. that misconception is that nobody who travels to australia wants to go anywhere west of Darling Harbour. I've worked in tourism, hospitality and retail since I left school, from the beaches to the mountains and beyond. and what you're saying is a crock. You guys seriously need to grow up. Ok and while im on this point, allow me to repeat something: Well obviously some of the members on here have trouble understanding what is written and choose to read between the lines and interprate and opinion that just doesnt exist. funny thing is, as i have just pointed out above, YOU didnt read what was written, and YOU chose to read between the lines. Hate to break it to you buster, but we're not all 15 year old theme park addicts stuck in front of a computer for entertainment.

ok, so a new toy appears in the window of a shop in a childs fantasyland, two maintenance men happen to stop at that window, and then turns around and points towards a ride that cannot be seen for the building facade in the way. gotcha. wait a minute... now you say they look at the toy, then they walk away, then they point at lethal weapon (no mention of maverick this time), then they look back at the window (it must be a long way away - they walked away remember?) and keep talking..... Oh wow you've got me... let me guess - the new Movie World attraction will be called the CONTRADICTION?

First of all, Walt Disney built his first theme park in a major "tourist destination type place" and he was sad at what became of the katella, Anaheim area because of Disneyland's placement, so as i recall, he bought a huge amount of land in florida, at the intersection of two major arterial roads, and built his magic kingdom. The magic kingdom BECAME a major tourist destination. bottom line is, if its worthwhile, and you build it, they will come. Wonderland, in the middle of western sydney, was a magnet to the locals for the first 7 odd years of its life. the biggest problem was it was too long between the introduction of new thrill rides to keep that magnet charged. So let me add this up - big liberal supporter, likes theme parks, thinks western sydney is a bad tourist destination, thinks one should be built in the eastern suburbs, and is willing to do a bit of lobbying to head honcho's in the political arena if we drop our wanting to save the wonderland site, and support his BUILD in BONDI idea..... sounds like a bunch of crap to me. as usual some political junkie out there to tell you he's there for you, while getting what he wants and screwing the opposition. dont get me wrong, i love the park too, but understand the lack of feasibility when it comes to reopening it now... i just found this guy's post to be a little off track to his own needs... back to the drawing board...

the clock was real, it kept time, but the chimes itself were computer controlled

contrary to popular belief, there weren't many cameras in the park. Snowy had its own independant system, to monitor the ride, as did bush beast to monitor the lift hill. excepting this, the park surveillance system mainly covered the retail sections of the park, the plaza, demon manor and also the car park, however there was one camera mounted on probe that could oversee most of the park, albeit at a long distance. a few other cameras were mounted in places that were necessary, but very few cameras actually covered the park the clock was real, it kept time, but the chimes itself were computer controlled

trust you to supply the computer info Buzz.... lol

i have ridden the zipper. My local shows are the Hawkesbury and Penrith shows, and there is frequently 2 or more zippers at these shows. I used to work the shows a bit, so i know most of the carnies, and scored free rides constantly. as far as the zipper goes, don't ride it multiple times in a short period. also try not to eat or drink for a while before you go on it. not everyone chucks on these rides but it doesnt make you feel too good nonetheless. i haven't ridden on anything else that comes close to the zipper. you're in a cage designed specifically for you to be part-standing up and part-sitting down. general running, without spinning the structure itself is just like a rough ferris wheel, but once they begin rotating the structure itself, it can get pretty crazy. My personal best spin record was 12 consecutive revolutions. so essentially, picture yourself spinning either forwards or backwards, like a somersault, combine that with the swooping feeling of falling fast, and then coming around and being catapulted to the top. every rotation or two, the forces combine to actually bring you to a stop, generally either at the top or the bottom, and you will then begin spinning the other way. theres nothing like it in my opinion as when you're on the "downward" run, and your gondola happens to be facing down, and you come so low to the ground you feel like you could reach out and touch it. Its scary as hell too because it is generally old and rickety. you feel like either the joins connecting you to the structure are going to break off and send you flying, or that the gate is going to fail and fling you onto the ground, and then roll over and crush you. if you're lucky, you will get an operator who knows the ride well, and will reach out as you come to the bottom, grab the gondola and send it spinning as you go round. well thats very jumbled... but i hope it gives you an idea of what the ride is like. although admittedly, the description does the real ride absolutely no justice..

yes but for me it just seems to be a big stretch of the imagination for an outsider to construe two hand gestures as an implication of what the park's new thrill ride will be.

I thought i'd start this off, rather than waiting for a specific question to jar another topic. Everything you ever wanted to know about wonderland. every snippet, tidbit and factoid... 1) Wonderland had three public parking bays. it was rare in the 90's that number 2 would be used, but it did fill all 3 in its opening season. the parking bays at wonderland had guard towers, which in earlier years was manned by lookouts to ensure the safety of your vehicle. Parking was chargeable, and it used to be a huge operation every morning with staff directing traffic to the most available area to park in. 2) Wonderland's entry gates used to be at the site of the retail plaza. you would walk up the hill (towards the most recent entry gates which didnt exist then) and the first thing you would see as you walk up would be bounty's. When the retail plaza was built, temporary entry gates were built at the entrance to the retail plaza, so you could not enter the shop without a ticket. Later the permanent gates we know today were constructed, which gave a nice little "void" area containing the retail plaza, the memories photo lab, the "plaza room", guest relations, first aid and security, and the outback restaurant. 3) Originally, the water features in the park were (mostly) all connected. The paddleboat lake supplied water to the fountains around the merry go round. the merry go round's water trickled down towards zodiac and into the waterfall on the site of space probe. the waterfall went under a couple of bridges and into the main lake, the lake fed down into goldrush past dragons flight and next to the skyhawk site. it went behind the bakery building, down behind the retail stalls and games, past goldrush theatre it continued to meander on down to snowy river, where it spilled into the bottom of snowy, near the holding reservoir. a pipeline was laid between snowy's holding lake, and the paddleboat lake, and the water was pumped back up to the top. After modifications and the introduction of the wildlife park, the paddleboat lake was cut off from the main line, as was the merry go round, which then had its own recycling pump. the pipeline was re-fed to the waterfall at the space probe site, and this cycle continued until closure. For the skeptics, it was easy to determine - dump a bottle of morning fresh into the fountain at merry go round, and watch the bubbles appear lakeside an hour later. check the paddleboats at the end of the day and sure enough little detergent bubbles had found their way to the top lake. thats all for now. who has something to add?

i dont believe dodgems were ever transportable. it was a custom built job specifically to be a permanent rig. First of all if it were a truck, the roof would be held up by metal poles coming directly from the floor - it isn't. its held up by timber struts, and the rooftop built over it is part of the structure as well. the maintenance area is also in there. a truck built job would not have the hinged exit as the cars are never meant to leave the trailer. No Sir, this was a permanent fixture to the park.

i dont visit movie world very often, but I didnt think it was possible to see LW from the Roxy.... aren't the shopfronts too high?

well Joz, if SW were to construct river off the side of the tower (the toboggan slide side), it could fit, but would probably put the landing pool somewhere next to Dolphin cove... Or, since everyone seems hell bent on sea world getting a thrill ride, you could put river out the back of the tower, and the landing pool could be in Shark Bay (*plummet 45 feet down through twisting turns of frothing foaming white water, and plunge into the home of the biggest man-eaters on the planet... Who Will Survive? - Coming to Sea World in 2005*)

i dont think SW has room for river, and i think the press release just said plunge.... so let's wait and see... of course, if they keep river at WnW, then it keeps that whole area in use until they build the new additions on the mammoth area.

electrical hazards, loose or cracked plasticfibreglass... seatbelts fraying....

i was waiting for that.

ok ok ok so its old news. i get the point!!! lol. i just stumbled across it in my search for flywheel info, hadn't heard about it before, and thought i would pass on the info for those who didnt know! is that a crime? lol just kidding.... ah well. some good construction pics up there though...

clears it up perfectly Richard, thanks a bunch. i spent hours googling it with no luck. i just couldn't understand how the pulley came into it. I didnt understand that this pulley was "fixed" to the cable so to speak. all the pulleys I was thinking of were like a pulley in a chain block, where the cable spun through it freely. i was picturing the pulley side on ( =====(o) to the axle rather than ======| . but anyway, thanks for clearing that up.

you keep getting me confused bus. i was not in entertainment. and I know a lot of rides at WLS that WERE "just cycled a few times". Those that required specific checks, were generally the more advanced or high tech rides. Beast, Demon, Probe and Beastie were generally those with in depth checks. bounty's, zodiac, endeavour, taz, autos, snowy are examples of a ride that was "just cycled"

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet.... thoughts anyone? Kingda Ka in Six Flags Great Adventure will surpass Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when it opens in Spring 2005. It will accelerate horizontally from 0 to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and will be 456 feet tall. Riders will then descend 418 feet back down in a 270-degree spiral, followed by a moment of weightlessness as they soar over a 129-foot-tall hill and then glide back into the station. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingda_Ka http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventu...om/explore.html http://www.amusementpics.com/SFGAdv%202005...onstruction.htm

You never miss a beat bus, ill give you that. I did not want to state "a daily track walk" in case it was not done EVERY day, to give you something to rant on. I did say AT LEAST once a week, and every day is more than once a week, which, as i said, again, was AT LEAST. I was not trying to say that Beast was cycled a few times, i know this is one of the most labour intensive rides in the park to get started, but i WAS saying that most OTHER rides are just cycled a few times.

sorry mate but i still dont understand... i mean an axle --- --- --- has a pulley--------- on the end of it... how does that work? ========================( o ) i know you're into the engineering sort of thing... do you have a diagram or something?

Its amazing to see how many posts hit this thread in such a short amount of time... Paul - the section you have highlighted in that photo is the covered walkway. this covered walkway was a "greeny" colour on the top through the bushes. (i think). if i am correct, it is not shadow you are seeing, but just the green walkway. Otherwise, maybe its just cloud cover? theres a bit of it up there, and there could be one little cloud perfectly sized to shadow out that little bit... the brakes are there, the shadows are correct to every degree.... what is the problem??? it is real. its simply as discussed above a matter of colour matching, an old picture thats a little fuzzy, not to mention that the image WAS probably retouched, SLIGHTLY, just to improve the look. but everything in that image was there when the photo was taken. as said before, you'd need George Lucas to get an image to look that real if it were fake.

its very informative richard, but i still dont understand precisely how it works.... and i dont get how a pulley on the end of the axle causes the coaster to launch...? sorry - im not a mechanically minded person...