Jobe

Work has officially started on the 2nd and newest Alone Coaster in Australia. The Big Banana’s Plantation Coaster is due to open for the September school holidays. Here is a link to vision and a report of the start of construction ceremony https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bb4HryE3c/?mibextid=wwXIfr

@jhunt2 I absolutely owe you an apology. My intention was not firstly to bully but merely comment on what occured. When I have re-read my phrasing I can definitely appreciate that it was 100% the wrong way to illustrate my view. In no way , shape or form did I wish to belittle you because of your illness ( or belittle you in general!), or attempt to mock you because of it. I can however, see , unreservedly, how you arrived at the conclusion that you did. I 100% agree with you on this and I feel very aggrieved that I have caused you such pain in how you have interpreted my poor choice of phrasing. That was never , ever my intent. I can see and empathise with you how you have arrived at this and I can feel and hear the pain in your voice in the video you have posted since. Again, I offer my humblest and sincere apologies. Please feel free to PM me as I would welcome the opportunity to clear the air further in an offline situation.

Yeah absolutely. I get that the owners of LPS were under a heritage order to maintain Wild Mouse as a heritage ride in its original form but i think we need to give kudos here to LPS for delivering what they have- a complete rebuild of an historic attraction to the original plans and specifcations. That doesnt happen very often on a world level let alone in Australia. Great committment by the park and this sort of attention to detail helps put our little industry on the world map. There have been so many prominent Youtubers who have visited Australia in the last 2 years ( Theme park Worldwide, Airtime Thrills, Coaster Studios, Canobie Coaster) who has lamented missing out on getting this credit. Thsi will certainly give them the impetus and motovation to return and that will mean focus on our parks and rides again and that can only be good for our local industry.

100%. That particular Youtuber has a history of clickbait titles that are only generated for one thing- viewership and monetisation with a particular focus on exaggerations and amplifying small issues into big ones to try and support his arguments. They are usually nothing but his own wild speculation and can be very damaging to the park in question. Please note how he toots his own horn in the video- several times- about how good his last MW rant video went and it garnered 75k views. He certainly sees this as some sort of validation when in all honesty its just people reacting to the click bait titles. He started a failed "coaster odyssey" where he was traveling the world and riding the best coaster in every country. Ambitious and it was laid out with much fanfare but he had some health issues and came home with his tail between his legs. His prior videos were ok- he has stolen and mined a LOT of material from a lot of different sources and he is quite mercenary in this.His video ideas seem to be lifted almost entirely by airtime thrills...best manufacturers coaster etc. He does not like anyone at all giving him criticism , be it soft, hard or genuine, and he is known to block anyone from commenting on his videos if they do. The video he did for Luna Park Sydney with the title of "Is Luna Park Sydney going to close forever?" did it for me. It was a wildly speculative opiniontated video that was very tenuous in its information and delivery and was made on the back when LPS had announced that the park was for sale. In short it was head shakingly terrible. I would avoid at all costs.

Probably not your best moment....

Yeah the land behind Maloney's Corner is still state owned and still utilised by Citi rail as an important marshalling yard for trains. Its also a very important walking corridor around Lavender Bay and is highly used. LPS tried to get the zoning for the land that they use as picnic grounds and overflow seating to allow rides and attractions and submitted a DA to allow this. The independent member for North Sydney Council, Ian Mutton ( a real douchebag when it comes to LPS) led a chorus of residents against the proposal and LPS instead of fighting it, quietly withdrew the application and so it remains what it is. Ian Mutton is also the main voice behind converting the railway line to a highline walkway all the way back to Wollstonecraft station. He has been lobbying the state govt for this for a number of years but the fact remains that Citi rail still require the land and the line so this is not happening anytime soon. There is zero chance of LPS getting any of the land behind Maloney's Corner due to a lack of political will and fierce resident objection plus the fact that the land is still currently in use and not surplus to demand by the railway. My ideas for how to expand LPS would definitely cost more that $37 million ( which if we are being honest- is not a huge amount of money if we are talking about reinvestment of attractions) but I guess any of my ideas could be done in stages. They are just ideas and form part of a plan on what I think would be great for the park- plenty will disagree or hate what I propose but at the end of the day they are just my views and ideas. The original poster who said that the top of the carpark is the only real available space left to expand is 100% correct. Currently it is a green space with soil, grass and seats but this could be easily removed. The soil and grass would have some weight to it but another factor we would need to check is safe load bearing for this area and if it can handle the weight of any attractions that would be placed upon it. It may mean that it will require some extra bracing and reinforcement to attain the safe load bearing structurally but I am sure that this could be easily done. What I first propose is to move every single kiddie ride and attraction to this central point. This includes all 6 kiddie rides from Maloney's Corner to be reinstalled here. This includes the Freaky Frogs, the Silly Sub, the Cloud Nine, the Loopy Lighthouse, the Bug mini Ferris Wheel and the Little Nipper Rollercoaster. This would then form a kiddie precinct with all the kids rides available in an accesible space. This then could be themed with sails and plenty of seating for the mums and dads. To access this new kids precinct, there would be a need to erect a walkway and accessible ramp with lanes for up and lanes for down. It needs to be big enough to accommodate prams and wheelchairs and its important to note that there would also be an entrance to this area located on street level at Alfred Street. This pedestrian ramp would be built in front of the current ticket office and shop at the front and would snake out so that it starts in the middle of the midway, allowing for access to the ticket office and shop underneath. Of course it would need to be themed and Luna Parkified and the below pic is just an illustration showing the concept. Now that we have room in Maloney's Corner we can think about what attractions we can add that would give value to the mix. IMHO, I feel that LPS is currently heavy in kiddie rides and then thrill rides. There is not a lot in between so I think that some rides that the entire family can appreciate would be in order. First order of business I would move Hair Raiser from its current position to inbetween Boomerangs Helix- making much better use of the available space. This would then free up its current space for a new attraction. In the space that is currently occupied by the kiddie ride Cloud Nine, I would install a Gerstlauer Sky Roller 16. This is a mild thrill ride that the entire family can enjoy and its thrill factor can be upped by how far you want to roll your gondola. This would fit well into the current available space and would not be too high so that it would interfere with the Luna Park Planning act. In the space next to Boomerang and what was formerly home to the Little Nipper kiddie coaster and The Bug Mini Ferris Wheel, I would install LPS's 5th roller coaster- an Intamin Vertical LSM coaster. The designs for these coasters have small, medium and large and they are promoted as being highly customisable. If Intamin can design and fit a Hot Racer coaster into where the Big Dipper is situated then they can surely fit one of these into the footprint that is available. I did consider the Zamperla Heart Coast or a Premier ride Sky Rocket II but I feel that given LPS's good relationship with Intamin this would be the best option. Not great capacity for a new coaster but given what is available and the land we have to work with this is probably the best we could see without taking out more rides than you are adding in. I would then remove the Dodgems from where they currently reside and build a new Dodgem Pavilion where the Silly Sub currently is situated, along the back wall of Coney Island. I would theme it to be sympathetic to the Coney Island aesethetic, The below pic is meant to give an illustration of what the new Dodgem pavilion "could" be like. In the space where the Hair Raiser currently sits, I would put in a family attraction that has a great throughput, is thrilling but fit for the whole family and would give much needed kinetic energy back to the midway. I am referring to a Fabbri Flying Carpet ride, which would fit in nicely in this footprint adjoining the ice cream parlour building. They have a high cpacity with 40 riders per cycle and up to 960 riders per hour. Where the Loopy Light house currently sits I would install another great family attraction in the form of a Zamperla Nebulaz. These are fascinating to watch and add great amounts of kinetic energy to the midway but I have heard they are fairly forceless. Still they are visually excellent and a unit would fit into the footprint perfectly and its a great ride for the entire family to experience. My plans for the space that is currently filled by the dodgems would possibly be controversial. With the dodgems removed to Maloney's Corner, this allows quite a large space to be utilised for a dark ride to be returned to LPS. I would envisage that this footprint could be expanded in 2 ways. There is a redundant ticketing office situated at the side of the front of the dodgem footprint that could be used and the footprint could also be extended to come out into the midway as far as the Big Dipper bridge which would also give back some space for the footprint ( please see below photo to see what I mean) Luna Parks Main toilet block for that end of the park is behind the redundant ticket office so that part of the footprint could not be utilised. Still this would give a decent space for a dark ride of some form. What would I like to see? Well I would return the Ghost Train back to LPS. Yes some would say that this is quite triggering but there are a few things as to why this could work. Firstly I think that the dark ride would work well as shooter with some scare elements attached to the ride. The shooting scenes could utilise props or screens or a combination of both. The concept is sound and is one that Luna Park had explored before- the park did an excellent in house scare walk through called Mystery Manor which was so popular that it stayed for longer than was intended. Lastly, the return of the Ghost train was planned in the early stages of the refurb for Maloney's Corner. A dark ride is needed at LPS and this plan would give the space available for the park to have one again. I think it would be an asbolute winner. Time to call Sally Dark Rides methinks! The final stage of my plan is also quite contoversial and one that I have mentioned here in years previously but i still see it as having merit. I would replace the current Ferris Wheel with a new unit. Specifically an Intamin Coaster Wheel. This would be unlke no other Ferris Wheel in Australia and it would cater to all members of the family- rides on these are quite thrilling on the swinging cars and there are also the static "normal" cars on the outside for people who wish to have a normal ferris wheel experience. This would be a win win in my opinion and you could theme it approriately with an excellent lighting package. Call it The Moon Wheel. So there you have it- my musings on how LPS could expand their ride and attraction lineup. This would give a total of 6 new rides - 1 new thrill coaster, 4 new family flat attractions and the return of a dark ride to LPS for the first time since the 1979 fire. Also you would have reimagined Dodgems and a "new" version of the Ferris Wheel. This would be quite an expansion for the park and it would certainly give the park an overall "Grona Lund" feel.TGis would round out the parks attractions , adding much needed capacity and would also flesh out the day for any visitor to the park. It also leaves the Big Top and the Crystal Palace intact for their functions side business which is hugely important to the overall LPS business plan. $37 million would not really cover it but lets all remember that they spent $15 million alone on the Big Top and Crystal Palace Immersive experiences.

Yeah this is great news. Further in to the podcast the CEO also revealed further that the Alpine Coaster is set for a September 2025 opening date and that he envisages that the Big Banana Park in 10 years will have an expansion to the water park with onsite accommodation as well. He would also love to install a family coaster within that timeframe and they have plans to resurrect the Bunyip in the lake. These are exciting times for this small regional park and its great to see the investment continue to gorw with plans for the future.

Yeah Narra wasnt saying that it was. He was referring to the text as the biggest in your face text on the front page...........

Yeah agree. However a retheme is 100% needed. I think that a new Straddle coaster type train such as quad bikes such as on Juvelon in Denmark would be ideal. Change colour of track, retheme station to be more sympathetic to the Rivertown area and maybe some themed elements without going to huge excess around the course could be done fairly efficiently. I think this would be a viable option and would make an unpopular and uncomfortable ride into a family coaster that would be far more enjoyable. Problem is as stated , I do not think Dreamworld would see this as a priority or even as a real option.

No one is disputing his right to defend his team. We know and he knows that media hype when these incidents occur are horrendous. We all agree with him in principle here. Even the poster who called him out in the screen shot agreed with him on that point. However, it was 100% completely unprofessional that he even mentioned his direct competitor's worst ever accident on social media in reference to this. He represents a brand and a directly competing park to the one he mentioned. He could have got his point across quite easily without mentioning Dreamworld or the 2016 accident. If he had , we would have all been supporting him in this. Now, because he directly referenced Dreamworld and the accident, it comes across as extremely petty, uneccessary and unprofessional in the extreme. That one comment is undefendable IMHO and it shows Bikash's complete arrogance and disregard for any sort of decorum. I bet any Dreamworld executive would be furious at this intimation that the park is unsafe after a full 8 years after the incident and various measures and new attractions have been put in place to revive Dreamworld's trust in the publc face. This is nothing but a cheap shot and Bikash would know that , hence why the comment has been deleted.

Yeah I get your logic here if we were specifcally talking about an attraction that was targeting international tourism as its main drawcard. That is 100% true. Specifically if its Disney or Universal or even Legoland. However, when Wonderland was opened , it was built for the local population and market. The same could also be said for Dreamworld , Seaworld and Movieworld even now. ( with the exception of the NZ market). The majority of their marketing is pushed towards a domestic target audience with internationals being drawn there as a secondary consideration. I am thinking of a new build park at Somersby that is also targeting just the local population as their major concern. This precludes the need for being near a major airport. However, being in the best possible space for local population visits is the most attractive option here and hence why the Somersby site should be considered to be a viable option. Being smack bang in the middle of a catchment area of 6 million people is a strong reason to consider. This catchment area is also twice the size of the local population base for Brisbane and the Gold Coast combined-namely Brisbane at 2.2 million and the Gold Coast at 600,000. 3 Million versus 6 million is a powerful argurment for consideration when looking at this. This certainly evens out when you take into account the number of tourist visits for the Gold Coast over a year at 3.7 million but it certainly places both sites on a fairly even keel in terms of catchment numbers. These numbers do not include any out of town tourist numbers that would also potentially visit the site from Sydney tourist numbers of which there would be a further 3 million to add into the mix ( both domestic and international) Time wise lets look- Newcastle/Hunter to Somersby - 80 minutes Sydney CBD to Sommersby - 70 minutes Blacktown to Somersby - 62 minutes Parramatta to Somersby -64 minutes Even Campbelltown to Somersby is around 90 minutes. The entire Sydney basin is within easy reach of a site at Somersby. All of these major population bases are connected by far better roads than when Wonderland was built in the 80's. The infrastructure to get to Somersby are on Motorways that are acknowledged as some of the best in the nation. Travelling by car is not an impediment here since the times to travel are more than reasonable for a major attraction for any of the locals that live in the target catcment area. We have already seen that people will travel locally for a decent attraction. We know the need in NSW for a theme park the size of Wonderland is needed. Local people within that 6 million catchment base could easily fit this in for a day trip and it would be far cheaper than travelling to the Gold Coast by flight. Its easier to organise and we know that locals will first and foremost , support their local park. Why else do VRTP offer a local pass for their properties? The Gold Coast parks do not have fantastic public transport options- its mainly buses or coaches with no rail options. Light Rail will be a good addition to this if it ever gets off the ground but the majority of people drive to the parks. This would be the same for any attraction at Somersby and would be very comparable to the GC sites. Of course, PT would be established if there was an attraction and its only 15 minutes to Somersby from Gosford Train station where a major hub could be easily established. Jamberoo and Gumbuya are certainly further from their customer bases and yet people are still willing to travel to them. Both parks are surviving and thriving. Have they had time to establish this? Certainly for Jamberoo but I would argue that Gumbuya has forged their own identity and loyal customer base very recently in the last few years since they expanded and transformed into the park that it is. There is nothing stopping a new attraction/park from doing the same thing right now. Gumbuya has proven this and it would of course be dependent on what was offered. If Wonderland was opened today on a site in Somersby do we really think that it would not attract a sizeable interest and following from the 6 million people it was targeting? I dont think so - the interest in it would be huge and local people and families would definitely travel for it since that it is quite reasonable to do so. I just think that IF NSW were to ever get another ground up theme park, a site at Somersby would have to figure in any planning or thinking. It simply has a lot of boxes that it ticks, espcially in relation to other options and I do not think it is one that can be summarily dismissed out of hand. When you dig a little deeper, the pros for a site at Somersby do stack up for mine. Its all pie in the sky stuff of course, and I think its a long way off before another theme park is even considered for Sydney and NSW. Sad as that is.

Look I get what you are saying. Let me expand on my thinking here. This is in the area of one of the biggest growth corridors in NSW and smack bang in the middle of the 3 biggest population bases in all of NSW next door to the biggest freeway and transport corridor between the two biggest population bases- that is a powerful case right there. Australia's Wonderland when it began in 1985 was probably in a far worse position when it opened- and it had the same issues that were probably more disadvantageous than what a site at Sommersby would be. Australia's Wonderland opened with no rail links, no close connection to any major airport and at the time the road infrastructure was far inferior than what we have today. I just think that as a ground up site, it has its advantages. Everything grew around Wonderland and I think that having a major theme park situated here in NSW people would travel for it. They would also couple it with visits to either the Hunter region or the Greater Sydney region. Dreamworld, when it was built, also had no real infrastructure around it either. To get there, you travelled by car or by coach. And yet they came. Yeah I am talking about a separate entity here- not aligning with the Reptile park. Travel from Western Sydney shouldnt be all that much of a problem-in fact its the exact obverse of what Australia's Wonderland faced when it first opened and now the road infrastructure is that much more superior to then. The M4 and the M7 directly link to the North Connex and that leads to the M1 and before you know it, you are on the Central Coast. Exactly. To me it all depends on the product. Australia's Wonderland worked because of its uniqueness and sheer size to anything that had been seen in NSW at the time. People travelled to it. And it worked. The infrastucture around it grew over time. If whatever was built was a compelling enough reason to visit, then people would. Thats how Australia's Wonderland lasted for 20 years. Of course we know its history and its ending- and that partly had to do with its location but it was not a barrier to its 20 years of existence. Could not have said this any better. But lets remember that when Wonderland opened, the M4 was not even built. That sort of infrastructure came later. The M1 is already there and is acknowledged as one of Australia's busiest highways between a population of 5 million, 350,000 on the Central Coast and another 700,000 in the Hunter. Being smack in the middle of a catchment area of 6 million people is a powerful consideration in my reckoning and with the road infrastructure already being in existence it certainly makes one think. The knock on effects for the Central Coast would be hugely positive. Gosford to Sommersby is just 15 minutes away by road. I just do not think that we can casually dismiss this idea for a future site. It will 99% most likely never happen but I can certainly see the merits of it being considered and I also think a strong business case could be made for one. The best thing I can say about this comment is thanks for your input.

The Central Coast has plenty of land at Sommersby near the Reptile Park. It is close to the M1 and in between the 2 biggest population centres of NSW in Sydney and Newcastle along with the Central Coast. If the land was cleared for a project such as a new theme park here, it would seem like its an excellent choice as it ticks a lot of boxes. It is not 100% ideal as of course it would be in the middle of nowhere without any huge infrastucture but being connected to the M1 and only being an hour away from your 2 biggest population base means that it would be a desirable site. I certainly would not put it in the poor choices category.

So are you going to post it or are you going to hold us all in suspense? 🤔

You forgot 2 mat racer slides as well 😉

Here is an updated interview with Jim Eddy, owner of the Jamberoo Action Park in NSW. It details that they are indeed gearing up for a new attraction that is planned for this year- weather and conditions permitting. That will be the Action River which , from the above artwork, looks super long and will encompass a large tunnel through the Funnel Web and Perfect Storm slide complex. What they also state is that a SECOND wave pool will be constructed along with the River. There is no mention as to if this Wave Pool will be any different to the exisiting Wave Pool but they do add that these attractions are being added to help with capacity. Beyond that, the artwork does show another slide complex to the right of The Funnel Web and also the Master Blaster water coaster that has its circuit around the end half of the new Action River. These 2 future attractions will complete the Kangaroo Ilsand Master Plan, started over 20 years ago. Hopefully the Action River will be the equal of Volcano Bay in Orlando's Action River, which has to be one of the best of its types and examples in the world. In other quick news Jamberoo have replaced their old land train with a new unit- one that is larger and higher capacity. Thennew land train is now powerful enough to climb the mountain and it completes a full circuit of the park with stops at every major slide and the 2nd Station of the Chairlift. Its a great addition to the park as it encompasses some great views of the surrounding landscape and is now a great attraction in its own right. This runs throughout the day and when i visited last weekend, proved to be extremely popular. So quick discussion here- will this addition catapult Jamberoo into the position of best water park in Australia? The competition is fierce and there are several contenders who could take that crown....... https://regionillawarra.com.au/how-visionary-jim-eddy-turned-a-cow-paddock-into-the-largest-water-theme-park-in-nsw/11216/

💯 accurate. The far more logical choice where it should have gone.

Absolutely think that Dreamworld should turn their attention on Motocoaster next. It badly needs a retheme and new trains to better fit in with the Rivertown them close by. I doubt they would opt for spinning cars however. They would be the best option and would really bring something to the ride for sure. Even if they heavily rethemed the entire layout, added in some enclosed sections and gave the ride generic straddle quad bike trains with similar restraints to Jet Rescue and this would still be a far better ride for it. Paddle steamer- I can definitley see the need for it but I think its a very small chance of it happening. A water coaster or a well themed log flume with indoor and well themed sections should happen before any new coaster. This should be the priority for mine after the Moto coaster retheme. As for flats I think Dreamworld needs something unique and different from what is already out there in the Australian theme park landscape. The reason Wipeout was so beloved and iconic was because there was nothing else like it in Australia at the time it was installed. Give the punters something that is good to ride, that is going to leave a positive impression but one that they can only get at Dreamworld and will leave them wanting to come back for more. Wipeout did that for the entirety of its lifespan and was why it was so successful. These would all be excellent contenders in my opinion. From RES - The Oracle Also from RES The Sunseeker From Fabbri Rides- The Spider From Fabbri Rides again The InControl A well themed one of these would make an excellent Family thrill installation Then again,how long before we see one of these in Australia? Or one of these? Or if we want to play with nostalgia lets have the updated Reef Diver II Incidentally , RES have done some great versions of flume rides and Rapid rides and they also have a a great concept for a Water coaster that Dreamworld could do wonders with a custom layout...... https://ride-engineers.com/rides/water-coaster/ Plenty of options for Dreamworld to play with. Great topic!! Looking forward to hearing other ideas!

Ahhh Another one bites the dust!!! Such a shame this could not have got off the ground. This would have been a great attraction for the Sunshine Coast area and couple with Aussie World and Australia Zoo would have stamped the Sunshine Coast as major alternative to the Gold Coast. The Sunshine Coast area is crying out for a water park on this level and it would do extremely well if another player were to come and pick up the pieces.

Amidst all the exciting news coming out of IAAPA today , we also have some news closer to home. The Monoply attraction in Melbourne, which had been delayed, is finally set to open today. Next time I am in Melbourne I will swing by and check this out. https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/travel-leisure/monopoly-dreams-melbourne-opening?fbclid=IwAR2mQuZTTosoRZnU3CyxU8NyhOFlNM4OvwENBJtP4r-E2Lu13iXKIGfDvq4 The attractions official website is here.

My assumption is that if they are announcing this on their map, then for mine the Go karts are gone for good. They certainly do occupy a decent parcel of land and whilst I do not expect a coaster announcement, it would be great for this park to install a new themed area with 2-3 new family thrill flat rides. This park needs to balance out its dry attraction offerings and this would go a long way in addressing that.

This 👆 💯 agree. Was going to respond exactly the same way. Could not have put it any better myself.

Hey I am just repeating what has been reported in the media and quoted what the park’s CEO has stated in an interview. They seem fairly confident it can and will be done.

Hmm interesting. Well if that is true then its not overly positive , however, it is their space and they can manage it as they see fit , just like any other function space. I do not think the intention here is to stop the Big Top from holding functions at all, ratheras I stated earlier, I believe that this will be a seasonal , holiday run attraction. Indeed the official media release says that this technology will be later used for corporate functions, live music and product launches etc.

Do you have examples here? I think you might be surprised here. Given that its a free entry park, people can choose if they just want to do this attraction and then leave. Also given that its an hour long experience, this pricing point sits pretty well with other similar events such as the Van Gogh travelling experience which was extremely popular. Of course , it will depend on how good this experience actually is and also will they be able to alter it so that different experiences can be shown to attain repeat patronage. Perhaps they will have seasonally different shows every year to entice people back. This may only have a limited holiday run as well. That will keep this experience quite fresh if they do. Time will tell but its great to see the park being innovative with the spaces they have.