Jobe

Depends on how you look at it doesn’t it? They are our biggest parks for sure, but if you add up all the smaller parks in the other states (including Aussie World) then they are very much in the minority. Whilst the GC is the hub for amusement parks in Australia- our Orlando if you will- it’s important to note that the amusement park industry is not just GC centric. Our smaller parks are an important part of the amusement park landscape in Australia, let’s not forget the important part they play as well as the bigger players.

Yeah I was taking the family for the first time in years- was also going on the first weekend!! Have already booked accommodation but hadn’t bought any RES tickets which is a good thing. Looks like we will be looking for something else to do in Sydney that weekend!! Huss it’s a shame for you guys- the RES is your biggest show!! I was looking forward to seeing all the ride companies best offerings come together this year!! LPS hasn’t said if they are closing yet ( however LPM have voluntarily closed for 2 weeks) do you know if they had any traveling rides scheduled for the school holiday period? I think it’s only a matter of time before we see a similar announcement from LPS, however.

This!!! This is a key point that needs greater awareness and wider spread dissemination amongst the public.

Cheers mate..yep it certainly does help!! Great info thanks for sharing. Good to see you are still on the boards too....I have missed your contributions mate!!

Interestingly enough, just recieved an email update from Parksavers on the effects of the Coronavirus on the 6 Disney theme park properties around the world. There is some sound advice here but there is also opportunity for those who wish to take the risk and visit the US Disney parks at the same time. Visiting the Orlando resort may see the lowest attendance for some time due to the virus outbreak. I know when we visited in 2017, we went in the middle of Hurricane Irma. Virtually every ride was a walkon ( including Seven Dwarves Mine Train !!) - it was such a great experience. It is all going to come down to your personal thoughts on the risk of travelling at this time.

Yeah that was my line of thinking when examing the pics. The lines run directly to service access points as seen in the photos we provided. I was not naive enough to think they were footer markings or even ride positioning but its very curious to see that they are locating these services in this location. Something is definitely happening , and we will have to wait and see if it actually is attraction related.

Yeah thats what I was going to say as well. This area has not had any work done to it since the park reopened in 2004 so the markings are definitely indicative of SOMETHING being done. I am not an expert on what work they are meant to indicate, but it is certainly very interesting and this area should become a hotspot for activity and to keep a close eye on. Couple with this turn of events is the fact that the park recently closed their Mystery Manor attraction and indicated that their next attraction will be in this space. As i said before, this is a decent sized space and this COULD be a very decent sized attraction, if it is indeed one at all. Yeah mate we stayed at the North Sydney Harbourview on Saturday night and we walked down and through the park to catch a ferry to Circular Quay. I saw these immediately and wondered what they meant!! Interesting and we will have to look at developments very closel over the next couple of months!!

Visited Luna Park today and saw some interesting markings on the area in Maloney’s Corner behind Coney Island. It would appear that work could be about to commence on a new attraction for the park. From viewing the markings, it appears that the attraction is of a decent size. I am not going to say definitively “coaster” but I would not like to rule it out!! Let the speculation begin!!

Pretty sure that THIS is a sign of demolition........... Seen any of these yet?? No? 😄

Well one thing is for sure is that it is going to worse before it gets better. The effects could be quite severe in the short to mid term and there are some projections that show that August is going to be the peak for Coronavirus in Australia, the ripple effects could quite conceivably carry on until well into 2021. Lets hope that this is not borne out because we need our amusement industry to thrive with the lingering after effects of the TRR tragedy still being felt.

I know what you mean...I joined in January 2003......17 years ago!!! Time does sure fly when your having fun!!

Excellent!! Expedition videos are some of the best on YouTube!! Good stuff!!

Steel Taipan works for me. Its a good strong name that invokes all sort of badassery. The name Gold Coaster would also work well with the rename of the Sidewinder. I suspect that the old girl still has some life left in her- its a fairly simple design and the fact that it stood SBNO for close to 6 years at LPS with minimal use means that despite its age, it actually has low km on the clock. I cant see it going anywhere in the short to medium term, espcailly when there are plenty of older Arrow loopers in the world still running.

Yep thats a flume ride with decent length!! This would also have to be a contender: Hell even our cousins across the water at Rainbow's End have a log flume...... Not sure that management at Dreamworld or Seaworld get that this should be a priority in restoring similar attractions back into their respective parks?

It certainly didnt shed light on where we can view said generic "News Segment" Cheers.

Are you sure? Sorry thats not how I saw it.....especially since it stood SBNO for a substantial time.

Same old same old.....

I really like this idea AlexB for all the things you have quoted. Having just got back from a visit to the park, (my first in 8 years) I felt that this are was underutilised. A wheel of some description would be an excellent addition here and as you rightly say, it needs some kinetic energy to help this area feel more alive. However, in thinking a bit more about that, I thought I would take your idea and add in something a little more unique- something like this. Installing an Intamin Coaster Wheel. This would still fulfil the same function as a normal Ferris Wheel but would add in a thrilling element of the "coasting" gondolas. They are very unique ( from memory there are only 2 installations of these in the world- not counting the original Deny's Wonder Wheel , from which they derive). The uniqueness of this ride plus the exciting visual appeal as you enter the park would be a winning combination for mine. Plus , we all know how photogenic the Coaster Wheel is at DCA.

Except for Fast and Furious Supercharged. That thing is a massive piece of crap and pales in comparison to what it replaced.

That rocking boat concept looks excellent!! I can see that one being very popular with parks in the future!!

Interesting. Those hoops must be extremely large given the length of time it has taken so far for no result still. I would love to see a comparison of the specifications and changes in safety systems before and after - they must be fairly significant changes for the length of time that has been added on to each project they have affected. Great info thanks @Jdude95. This has obviously affected their plans significantly - I wonder if other than affecting the planned timeline will it have any other serious side effects? Have some of the planned ride installations been cancelled? Food for thought.

Heheheh...or maybe lack of said items!!!!

So have contacted Aussie World regarding the SX360 and it will not be open anytime soon, according to the info I received. I will be visiting the park in the next 2 weeks and they certainly indicated that the ride will NOT be open within this timeframe. This is taking an monumentally large amount of time and despite the "it takes a long time to commision a comlex ride at times" spin from the park, it appears that SOMETHING is holding up the long stagnating official opening. Would anyone care to speculate just exactly what is holding up this ride? Does anyone feel that it is a fault with the ride or the installation or is it just the due process that needs to now occur in the wake of the TRR tragedy by the state government assessors? We will still be visiting the park and will provide a full trip report , its just a shame that we willl not be able to include any ride experiences from the SX360.

Wow. Thanks for the tip guys- this has altered our way of thinking immediately!! We will now look at going to MovieWorld on a Friday instead and hopefully this gives us the easier day we desire!! Will let you know how the trip pans out!! Cheers.

Thanks so much for posting this!! I saw this had been posted on Facebook- I remember seeing this footage and show "Just For the Record" when it originally aired in 1988 and I have been searching for it ever since!! Brilliant!! What a shame that this never opened to the public- it would have been unique in the world and enthusiasts would have come from everywhere just to have a ride on the thing!!! I think this is the only footage of the Orphan Rocker running to ever be aired publicly- this is a precious moment in Australian theme park history and gives us a glimpse of what could have been had the ride ever been allowed to open. It certainly looked liked it needed some form of better restraint!! Fantastic this has made my New Year's day!!