Jobe

Well said everyone!

Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no evidence of LPS definitely installing a Powersurge? This is just your supposition?

Ok. Remember I did say credible. Its no secret and common knowledge on these boards that LPS have embarked on a 5 year plan to renew their ride offering. Obviously this must mean that the Huss rides are in line for replacement, as you have correctly pointed out, they are old. They were actually 2nd hand rides at Expo so they are actually closer to 35 years old. Until LPS confirm that they are actually installing a new coaster, I am going to treat this as heresay and rumour at this stage. This would be a massive investment by the park that would have to be treated very delicately by LPS,especially in regards to the infamous history of their last coaster. I really do not think they would drop this info so casually before any official announcement. Don't get me wrong, I would love probably more than anyone to see a new coaster be installed at the park, but at the moment, its a case of I will believe it when I see it.

Its possible to fit a Eurofighter at LPS but it would have to be a custom layout in order to fit. Even then, it would possibly require much movement in the park in order to accommodate the layout. There are plenty of other off the shelf possibilities ( myself and others have extensively covered what coasters COULD be installed at LPS) from a myriad of manufacturers that would be far better suited for LPS's needs and requirements.

Hi all, Visited LPM recently and I thought I would pen a quick update on what is happening in the park. The weather was beautiful on the day we visited-unfortunately the Scenic Railway and the Ghost train were down for maintenance and restoration works- BOO HISS!! The biggest news is that upon walking into LPM, I was confronted with new construction! This is taking place on the far right of the park as you walk in and sits in between the entrance and the Ghost Train. Its a large 2 story construction. The new building will house a takeaway food area and a cafe area where guests can sit indoors and escape the weather. It will replace the current Scenic Eats. The Diner and other small food stalls will also remain but these all have small footprints that do not affect the park's space for new attractions. The Scenic Railway work is quite minor but it does need regular attention- I guess a 103 year old coaster is quite needy! The Ghost Train works , however, are more extensive. The Ghost Train needed a new rail installed which is quite a major job and they are taking this opportunity to restore many of the 'scares' back to their former glory and add a few new ones that are in keeping with the heritage nature of the ride. The park are also working on a new facade for the ride which, I am told, will look quite amazing! The Ghost train building itself has been stripped bare back to its original colour and is awaiting its new "bridge" work. The area that was inhabited by the former "Metropolis" coaster is still largely vacant, except for a temporary kiosk.This space where the Metropolis was will be used for temporary rides for the next couple of school holidays. LPM have hinted that there is something special in the plans for this space hopefully in the new year, but would not elaborate further. The return of the Rotor to LPM is something that has been discussed seriously , but will not occur in the next 12 months. It would be great to see this ride return back to LPM- its a ride that has great sentimental value to many supporters of LPM and it would be great to see a new version of the ride that highlights this history to the park. The park was heaving with guests on the day I visited-despite Scenic and Ghost train being down. The weather was absolutely cracking and many families were taking the opportunity to get out and about. The line up for wristbands went under Mr Moon and snaked into the adjacent park-it was great to see. The other rides were all looking in excellent condition-with the exception of Enterprise. This ride is fairly old and it would not surprise me if this was the next ride to be replaced within the park. LPM's latest ride, The Powersurge, is a good looking ride and proved to be extremely popular. However, it looks a little underdone in terms of theming and in its current setup, it still looks like a travelling ride. Hopefully this will be rectified in the near future. The PTC Carousel was looking absolutely brilliant. This icon of Melbourne has been through an extensive restoration recently and the results are stunning. It is the only PTC Carousel outside mainland North America left in existence and it was originally transported here in the early 1900's for Sydney's defunct White City amusement park. Sydney's loss and Melbourne's gain! In summary, LPM looked in great shape. Hopefully, some major investment in the form of new rides (they desperately need another coaster), plus the new Eating precinct currently being constructed, will see it further evolve and go from strength to strength. It is great to see Australia's oldest amusement park still attracting the crowds and be relevant in todays forms of entertainment. Its definitely worth a visit if you are in Melbourne and have a few hours to kill. I did have some pics to upload, but for some reason they will not work. I will endeavour to get these up for you guys to give you a visual representation. Cheers.

Interesting. The new rides in 5 years is not new information however, the number of rides in that time is new. Also a new Dipper , as far as I am aware , has not been discussed at all. May I ask your source and is it credible? This has been discussed before and has been answered. Here is the relevant quote that I posted some time ago and addresses both your concerns. Summary- I feel that LPS installing a new large coaster , whilst technically feasible and certainly legal on the parks side, is highly unlikely. They will want to maintain their current neutral relationship with the nearby residents.

Yep I covered the deaths at both Luna Parks in earlier posts. Just scroll back to have a look. Thanks.

You are thinking of the Taipan, which was formerly the Thrillseekers at Seaworld. Metropolis was most likely scrapped after removal from LPM.

Hehe you don't!!! In my case she loves coasters as much as you so you take her with you!!!

Yeah I didn't see to many problems with it sorry. It looks like a fairly standard announcement to me. What is interesting is that there is no mention of this on LPS's website or FB page- someone,most likely 20th Century Fox,have jumped the gun. A simultaneous press release to maximise effect would have been preferred. This will most likely be housed in "Popcorn Hall", the auditorium directly underneath the Wild Mouse. This is where the Prison Break Live! Maze was situated a few years ago. Of course they could also be situating this in the Big Top as well, especially if they have to accommodate large special effects. If this is where it will be going then this attraction will be quite substantial as the Big Top encompasses a good sized area.This is pretty exciting announcement- the Prison Break Live! attraction was very popular and this will diversify LPS's offering brilliantly. I have always stated that they should do more things like this!!

Yeah I know your not lover of Zacspins and to be honest I have not ridden one so I am at a disadvantage. They do have their supporters as well, it must be said. I am still looking foward to riding one in the near future.

While we are on Tailspin and the mention of Reef Diver, has there been any update on the possible sale of Reef Diver yet?

Are Shuttle Loops really that hard to maintain? (Forgive my ignorance- genuine question) If the park could fit in a Shuttle Loop then it could definitely fit in a Intamin Impulse, especially in the area I described. A Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop is 863ft in total length and 138ft in height. Intamin Twisted Impulse vary in height and length but they are certainly comparable in statistics to the Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loops. Steel Venom at Valley Fair has a length of 630ft and maximum height of 185ft. This should theoretically be possible for LPS to accommodate. I still maintain a Zacspin would be a great addition to either Luna Park. Why the hatred for a spinner?? Not one park in Australia has one- they would be a great addition to any small park line up, especially any from the Maurer Sohne offering. As stated before, I like the look of the Zamperla Motocoaster. Volare's are almost universally hated but like it or not it would be the first flying coaster in Australia. Very marketable and the general public would lap it up. What is wrong with Crystal Palace? It looks like its in pretty good condition to me- it is also a very successful wedding/function centre and a key income driver for the park. Are you perhaps referring to its former function from years gone by?

Exactly Joz. And that is the number one reason for LPS to look at these style of rides as a serious contender for an addition to their ride line up. Plus also the not insignificant point is that they do not take up much real estate and could fit in several places throughout the park. Personally I would like to see one of these placed where I stated in my previous post- down the access corridor between the Big Top and the cliffs whilst another smaller coaster ( Zamperla's moto coaster's look ideal and have a small footprint plus Gazza just gave them a positive review in his recent USA trip) is placed onto the Tumblebug area and the Tumblebug could be moved to where the Flying Saucer resided. This would give LPS 3xcoasters and improve their offering considerably, whilst still leaving room in Maloney's Corner for further permanent attractions.

GCI Woodie?? Sadly, as much as I would LOVE a modern re-imagining of the original Big Dipper it is never going to happen. Where would they put it? It would take up too much real estate unfortunately! The below pics are examples of probably what I feel is the best representation of what a new coaster COULD look like at LPS. Please note I am not saying that they are the best coasters but simply that they represent what would most likely fit given room and desire to keep residents on side. They are from various manufacturers - I will let you guys identify them. Thoughts? In saying all that in the above post, there are 2 types of coasters which I feel could work very well for LPS in a sense that they could fit in the park extremely well. ( Not that this is likely to happen- this is purely a hypothetical discussion) One is a very old model- a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop and the other is an Intamin Twisted Impulse. I would love to see one of these placed in the corridor between the cliff face and the Big Top. This would add a major coaster without having to take up any extra room from what little is left in the park for other attractions. This corridor is currently used as a staff and Maintenance access to the offices but this could be easily be moved to the other end. The queue could form over the existing Tumblebug slab and down to the ride. The proximity to both the cliff and the Big Top should keep noise levels to an acceptable level for residents. Pie in the sky stuff I know but I would love to see one of these babies at LPS!!

Interesting..good pick up themeparkgc. Also noted that they listed First State '88. I went to this when I was in school-certainly cannot recall anything that resembled a ride mechanism or a dark attraction. I am guessing that this would be work on several animatronics that were present at the exhibition.

Yeah both Skycoaster ( Centrifuge) and Space Mountain ( Supernova) are both still currently operating at Dreamworld in Thailand. By all accounts this is a nice little park! Happy to help out in any way MickeyD!! Let me know!

Yeah thanks Zacsta seen that before. Its the only POV I have seen of Big Dipper/Cyclone at LPS which makes it unique. Really showcases how close to the cliff the ride actually was!

Great topic MickeyD!! I never knew about the fate of Alien Encounters nor exactly what the ride entailed- its a shame this ride didn't survive to live on in another park in Australia! I am of a similar vintage to you and it is to my everlasting regret that I never got the chance to visit World Expo 88. Great video too Gary86- I had not seen that before! It is also with much regret to look at the Expo World Park and see the coasters and rides that were left to leave our shores. I would love to have seen a park pick up the other 2 coasters like Wonderland did with Titan. Here are some pics of various rides from the park. In the first you can see the Centrifuge and in the foreground the Breakdance which eventually ended up at LPS as Spider. ( LPS eventually acquired 3 Huss rides from Expo park for its '95 re-imagining, Spider, Ranger and the now defunct UFO) I have also included some pics of Supernova and also ones from where it currently resides- ironically Dreamworld in Thailand as Space Mountain. There are also some pics of Centrifuge at Expo park and also at Dreamworld ,Thailand where it is now currently called Skycoaster. What a shame that these 2 rides could not have stayed in Australia- I guess a visit to Thailand is in order!

Great photos MIckeyD but I don't think they are exactly what AlexB was looking for. Suprisingly, there does not appear to be many photos of Dipper at LPS on the net. It took a while, but I managed to dig some from other sources in my collection-namely Sam Marshall's "Just for Fun 70th anniversary" edition book and Edwin Dickinson's "The story of Australian Rollercoasters" (which is highly recommended by the way!) I have included some pics that show Dipper from an aerial view, both side and from front on, also a pic from construction of the Dipper in early 1995 and for comparison, aerial pics of LPS in its various incarnations dating from the 70's,80's and 90's until present. These illustrate graphically the changes to LPS's skyline over the years,both in the park and above it. ( See the gradual encroachment of the high rises over the decades) What is interesting to note about Big Dipper is that of course, it was custom built and custom designed for LPS's unique footprint. Big Dipper was designed by Arrow's Ron Toomer for this very reason. Aesthetically, I feel it looks far superior at LPS than what it does as Cyclone at Dreamworld, although, as WWW has organically grown around Cyclone, it has lost that feeling that it was just "plonked" in the first available space. Hope these pics give you some insight into Big Dipper's footprint at LPS AlexB. Cheers.

That would be interesting. Cyclone has always needed another train- it would give the ride the much needed capacity boost it requires. I would support the introduction of the Kumbak trains on Cyclone only as an addition to the original train. It would certainly give differing ride experiences. Is there any other instances of a single coaster having 2 entirely different trains running at the same time?? It must be rare but I hardly think it is unique.

Yeah I get that you don't. I respect that it's your opinion but I disagree. All I will say is that TOT is listed on RCDB as a coaster and that website is widely respected as being one of the best resource of coasters available on the Net.

Agree with you 100% Iwerks. TOT is an excellent attraction, a unique roller coaster and a world class attraction, IMHO. Although it doesn't run to its full speed potential, it deserves this status.

I think I have some about AlexB- I will dig about and see what I can find.

Interesting question JulieLovis. LPS are well within their rights to put in a ride of this scale and legally, there would be little impediment that the residents could do to stop it. However, I have maintained that LPS will never enter the large coaster game again after the experience of the former Big Dipper. The only way I see LPS getting another coaster is by installing any number of the smaller,compact models that are available today. A ride like Superman Ultimate Flight Deck could most certainly be able to be installed into the park, but at the moment, it remains very much on the wish list. Peter Hearne, managing director of LPS, has certainly flagged their intentions to try and reach the best compromise with residents in regards to rides, when he stated that Hair Raiser could have been built twice as high, but they chose the middle ground. For all intents and purposes, this tact appears to be working, as the introduction of Hair Raiser has been very smooth with not one objection raised by any nearby resident. Hair Raiser ultimately, could prove to be an important testing ground for future attractions at LPS