Jobe

Thanks for sharing the article and pasting it from behind the paywall- much appreciated! I think that the 50 people capacity figure applies to how many cars and riders can realistically ride safely in any given hour- this is known as throughput. I do not think that it means that there will be 50 people on the track at any given time at all- that to me seems excessive? Also, since the toboggans themselves can theoretically seat 2 riders, this could mean that only 25 cars in an hour is the expected capacity for safe operations.

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

Latest pics from the Big Banana Water park sees the new slide tower nearly completed!! This will be ready for action by Xmas and should prove a popular addition to the water park!!

Yeah but Bush Rush as a name brings about connotations that the park would'nt really like to deal with.......... it would have been problematic on so many levels! Jungle Rush certainly isn't accurate but its not too bad IMHO.

I seriously hope they consider adding water elements to the Wave Swinger! Just like the unit at Phantasialand in Germany. This would be absolutely brilliant and would also help smooth out somewhat the loss of any water attraction at Dreamworld in those hot summer Gold Coast days. This would be a great interim measure before they add a new water ride- which is sorely needed! Having this at the entrance to the park is a winner as it provides instant kinetic energy. If the theming is as per below in any way, this could be a real showstopper and arguably the best opening view of any Aussie theme park.

Awesome pics mate thanks for sharing!!

Great to see the use of such a large disused building being repurposed in such a way!! That certainly does take vision!! Oh and money- lots of it!! However there are quite a few disused Power stations that are sitting idly just rotting away here in Australia. This would be a perfect use for one or two of them- there are not too many indoor water parks in Australia with this scope! One that i can think off that is ripe for reutilisation is Wangi Wangi Power Station on Lake Macquarie. Its a heritage listed structure that is still currently up for sale. https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7508843/wangi-power-station-up-for-sale/ This could be a win win for the area and a unique first for Australia. But it would certainly take a huge investment. Great idea and Kokpunkten shows that it can work!. Anyone know of any other sites that an idea like this could feasibly work in Australia?

I think you are definitely on the right track here. Absolutely reopen and refurbish the Tobiggan Run but I would also install an Alpine Coaster as well —that could easily interact on the same footprint. Australia does not currently have one ( there is one being built at The Big Banana Coffs Harbour and there is at least one other planned) These would be high profile crowd pleasing additions but also more importantly they would be relatively low cost and easy to maintain. Would be an absolute awesome dual family attraction to have.

Here is a quick update on The Big Banana’s water park expansion. The new tower has been in place for some time now. What is new is that the slide parts have been on site, have now been moved down to the lower carpark and will soon be installed. This new tower could be open by January in ready for the school holidays and the bulk of summer. Hopefully once this is completed the park will look at installing their Alpine Coaster attraction by the end of next year!!

Great job Tim!! Thanks for keeping us informed!! A greta addition to the park's lineup!! Hopefully Adventure World is in line for a major new attraction soon as well!!

Um.....honestly I have never thought about this........

Don’t worry. You will get over it. To be fair I walked back my initial response and admitted my fault. To then call it out after that is the real embarrassment. But anyway back on topic.

Yeah fair enough. You are right in this instance- perhaps i was a bit over zealous in this case. However appropriation of other peoples content without the correct nod to the original creator is just not on- its not a courteous thing to do and happens all the time. What you have said is 100% true and I withdraw my comments regarding this link. Yeah see above reply. Fair call. But the same could be said for this post , which was only prompted by the posting in the original Facebook post. But yeah get your point. You are right in this instance. However, you have shown that you have taken other peoples material and post without the correct nods to the original creator- see the pic in the Gumbuya World's topic for example. It just annoys me when this occurs and I have seen it happen so many times. Not on a high horse just wanting the correct courtesy for original content to be correctly annotated. All good carry on. It is an interesting concept. $20 Million to spend on an attraction is nothig to sneeze at and is a fair investment. Its only the 2nd of its type in the world and is twice as large as the original one in Hong Kong. I reckon that Melbourne is probably the best location for an attraction of this type. Being indoor means its not weather dependant and Melbourne certainly has the population to sustain this. Its inner city location should make it accessible to all tourists and families and hopefully the end result is something that warrants revisits and regular patrons. Will be following this closely but I think its a win for Melbourne.

Mate love the enthusiasm but it’s considered courtesy if you quote where you get content that isn’t your own from. This link was posted on the Facebook site, Lost Amusement Parks of Australia 5 hours ago by the admin of the site. Coincidence? Yeah nah. https://www.facebook.com/groups/348435523186489/permalink/843338057029564/ It’s great that we all share content and news but let’s be fair and courteous when we share a link or a pic that we ensure that the originator of said content gets a shout out. I am only saying this as this is the second time you have appropriated someone else’s material and passed it off as your own. Cheers.

Well done to Mitty Theme Parks for the above picture as well. I do like to see the original content provider be attributed correctly.

Was coming here to post this. Your correction is 💯 right. I actually visited the site last Wednesday . Was going to remark that nothing had progressed further beyond the supports being installed. No slide pieces have been installed or removed at this stage. However, the slide pieces that you saw were not there on Wednesday, so must have arrived either the Thursday or the Friday when you visited. The park is certainly taking its time getting this expansion ready but I guess Covid has knocked its expansion timeline on its head. Hopefully we will see the Alpine Coaster start by next year.

Yeah I have been on the one at the Royal Easter Show in the early 2000's. Yeah they are definitely like a music trip on sterioids but the airtime that you receive on these is phenomenal. They give a really smooth ride ( which is what Huss rides of that generation are known for) and they look quite intimidating with the height they can achieve. However, they are certainly not too intense- they are definitely a family friendly thrill ride. What made these rides were the uniqueness of the restraints ( or lack thereof). Basically they simply consisted of a buzz bar that lowered in front of you that you could hold onto but gave you ample room for movement- both laterally and in airtime. No seatbelts. Thats what made these rides sooo much fun. @HussRainbow87do you know if the restraints have to be altered at all to conform to any new Australian safety compliance since it last operated? I was completely disappointed when i found out that the Rainbow was originally meant to be sold to LPS instead of the Ranger. It would have been hands down the most popular ride in the park. Heheh- I dont think @HussRainbow87 would agree that it would have been better at situated at LPS!! But man the missed opportunities to re-ride a Rainbow- at night- with THAT backdrop for a visual. That would take some beating!! Such a missed opportunity!! As for a Zipper-I also have never felt the inclination to go on one. I dont think I ever will!! 🤣

Oh agreed!! But I don’t think there is anything fair about it!! 😊

I have never heard that MW was looking at a Raptor before- how close did it come to being an reality?

Oooh don't forget- Big Dipper opening - first new major coaster in NSW in 26 years, 1st launched single rail coaster in the WORLD- Nothing but crickets.

Hmm I would take LPS's Wld Mouse over Aussie World's Dingo Racer or MW's Green Lantern. Not saying these are bad rides in the slightest but they dont have the out of control feel nor the spectacular view to go with it that Wild Mouse brings to the table. Horses for courses. Its all subjective. EFM is in now way a bad ride....its definitely not the worst in the country. It is what it is- an older Vekoma suspended Family Coaster and its a product of its time. The newer Boomerangs and SFC's coming to both MW and Gumbuya will be in another league entirely. What i am most interested in is what will be the better family shuttle- Boomerang at LPS by Gerstlauer or the new Vekoma units? The LPS coaster is a really fun addition which is more foreceful than you would expect from a family coaster. I expect the Vekoma units to be very similar.

Gee you could have at least had the courtesy to attribute this correctly- I mean the info is all there- its right in the post!!! But thanks anyway!!

You’re putting a new coaster at Dreamworld ahead of a new water or dark ride? For mine that’s where their attention needs to be focused. A new flume ride , family driven is absolutely essential and the first thing that should be added back to the park. Then they should look to a state of the art future dark ride to really round out their attraction selection. Once these are added in , only then would I even consider looking at a new thrill coaster. What that looks like is definitely open to debate but a grounds up RMC, any one of the new generation Vekoma’s would certainly fit the bill.

Thats an interesting claim. Do you have any evidence other than hearsay to back it up? Its not that I dont believe you its just that as with anything posted on this forum, the onus of proof is on the person making the claim. If not then I guess that makes it rather erroneous.

Great article and shows fleetingly the inner workings and thoughts of the Dreamworld upper management. Great insights and I think puts to bed any criticisms about the recent koala saga . Thanks so much for sharing- a great read!!