Jobe

Lol!! OMG. He is a newbie... Go a little easy on him!! Bloody funny though!!! And since no one has extended the proper courtesy- welcome to the board Vaero!! You will find us a likable bunch- if perhaps a tad sarcastic!! Enjoy and I look forward to further contributions from you!!

Lol!! OMG. He is a newbie... Go a little easy on him!! Bloody funny though!!! And since no one has extended the proper courtesy- welcome to the board Vaero!! You will find us a likable bunch- if perhaps a tad sarcastic!! Enjoy and I look forward to further contributions from you!!

Agreed AlexB. The time is very near where the parks will need to expand onto virgin territory-especially in the case of MovieWorld and Dreamworld. This will mean some involved planning and some real thought for the future as both parks decide on attractions and the direction that that each park will take over the next 5-10 years

If I was a betting man I would expect Joz to know something but at the moment he isn't commenting!! ;-)

Yep you did. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry it got lost in translation. I guess I was fixated on the original classification of it being a StarFlyer and thinking that is MUCH better than a common WaveSwinger. Still it must have been in very early stages of construction for you to mistake it as a StarFlyer- they are fairly dissimilar rides when completed!! Does anyone have any pics of the completed product??

Hands down Vallhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach wins for me!! Great ride but you do get drenched!!

Nice!! Thanks Troy81!! Just to clarify that this is definitely a WaveSwinger and not a SkyFlyer as previously reported by AlexB? A WaveSwinger is a great addition to this great family park but I think a SkyFlyer would have been far better attraction- its rarity in Australia would have really put the park on the map!! Bring on the reported Pinfari coaster!!

Yeah Grundys was a great place- in my mind certainly a little ahead of its time!! I think that if Grundy's was around today it would certainly be quite popular, especially given the number of tourists that visit the strip now compared to when it was in its hey day. It would be the perfect counterpart to the big GC themeparks and being in the dead centre of the GC on Cavil where all the action is centered , it would prove to be quite popular!! ( As is the Timezone which occupies part of its former site, and which is a pale imitation of its former self.)

Agree 100%. I would bet that this never gets past it's supposed planning stage. It's all piss and wind unfortunately!

Excellent news AlexB!! A starflyer will be an excellent addition to AussieWorld, more so than the more common WaveSwinger!! At this stage no other park in Australia has one of these rides and this will be a good attraction to continue to add to their growing popularity!! What was the suggestion of the coaster you were talking about?? Hopefully we get some more info regarding this soon!! It looks like Aussie World is progressing along nicely!!! Looking forward to re-visiting later in the year with the family!!

Further to that the ride is commonly called "The Scat". They used to be fairly common in the fairs and carnivals of Eastern Australia. There was even one at Luna Park Melbourne for the majority of the '70s and early '80s. A classic carnival ride that is becoming increasingly harder to find. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVtu-ntECtI Here is a video of one in action!!

Reconstructed?? Care to explain that one a little further please?? Source to establish veracity??

Visited Luna Park on Saturday night- it was a really hot day but what a great balmy Summer's night hitting the rides overlooking the lights of the harbour!! Brilliant!! A few observations from my visit. Hair Raiser is the perfect addition for LPS at this time. It isn't really all that tall but it does pack a good punch. Theming is pretty non existent, however the ride looks excellent with a good looking, wooden floor base. It certainly does not look like a cheap carnival ride just plonked wherever-it looks and feels like the shiny new permanent addition it is!! The ride was pretty much a walk on with only one cycle wait at the most. Operations were still pretty efficient despite this and they kept you turning over quickly without being tardy. I only have 2 gripes about this ride-1) its location. Given its relatively small size it could have been put in other locations like next to the Rotor. This would have left the current space it resides for other bigger,attractions. 2) Also disappointed with the fact that the ride has no light suite to speak of at night. This should be a signature ride for LPS and one that should encompass a really spectacular lighting rig but there is nothing. I fully expected the sphere at the top to at least have lights but no. Missed opportunity IMHO but of course they COULD be playing it safe with the residents. Tango Train was running which was a surprise. The latest info from the park stated that it would be down for most of January. In saying that, there is still something seriously wrong with this ride. LPS were only loading every second seat and the ride cycle consisted of forward operation only. It usually runs its fastest in the reverse cycle. It may still need some serious rehab but kudos to the park for getting it open for their peak time Coney Island- still as charming as always and the kids had an absolute ball. Major gripe is that 2 of the wonky walks were NOT walking- one has been down for over a year!! Seriously LPS Coney needs to be maintained effectively!! Also to my knowledge, they have never opened the middle slides. Only one side of the slides were running as well. I get that they are labour intensive but that is the nature of the attraction. I would expect full operation at this peak time or at the very least, a rotational policy. Flying Saucer is sitting there SBNO. I would surmise that its days are extremely numbered. The top of the Lighthouse has been removed as well and I sincerely hope that this theming is restored once the Flying Saucer is removed or fixed. Tumblebug is still popular and still gives good rides. The space next to it is wasted and I feel that if Flying Saucer were to be scrapped then Tumblebug could be moved to take its position, leaving a large amount of space for a new attraction. Did I hear anyone say coaster?? The new carousel is nice but it has nowhere near the charm of its predecessor. Also the historic Luna Park organ has not yet been installed with the carousel- hopefully it will be a future feature. The holiday rides were pretty good for the kids but the Freak Out is an excellent ride. Built by KMG it is very similar in operation to the Claw but with no over the shoulder harness. It pulled some serious G's and was so close to the adjacent building in Maloney's corner, you felt like you could reach out and touch it at full extension!! This should be a very serious contender for a permanent attraction and would be a welcome addition to LPS ride line up. Spider has obviously seen some maintenance and seemed to be running faster than in previous years. All in all we spent a good 8 hours at LPS. The weather was perfect but I think the heat kept big crowd numbers from forming. Riding at night is an a great experience and other than at LPM, is not an experience you can do regularly in Australia, barring the local shows. In my mind, the rides that could be most in contention for replacement are Ranger and Tango. Hopefully within the next 5 years we will see some more major investment for LPS to refresh their ride line up and attraction list. The atmosphere at the park was excellent, with several mini parades by LPS team members enacted several times during the day. All in all great value, especially if you have a Entertainment book voucher, which gives you 25% off your ticketing prices. We saved over $40 which enabled us to virtually pay for one of my kids ride wristbands. Until next January, I will await what the next 12 months brings for LPS!!

Thats a fair question then. However you would have avoided the previous postings if you had included that information in your original post!

Just like to point out that Wipeout technically isnt a Topspin........

Thanks GoGoBoy you are completely right!! That makes those figures all that more impressive for such a small park!! Especially considering all those parents and grandparents who visit the park but do not buy ride bands and then factor in the concert and function numbers, the Luna Park precinct's future is looking very healthy!! Just fingers crossed a new coaster is on the five year plan!!

Another good question Joz. Since Luna Park has free entry I would assume this figure would purely be drawn from ticket and wrist band sales. Luna also does offer a year pass so presumably these sales are taken into account. Of course visitors could also mean concert goers and function guests so its reasonable to assume that Luna would add an average from last year of these visitors, which would greatly boost attendance numbers. Taking all these into account and it is easy to see how Luna could forecast numbers of 600,000-it would most definitely would include all facets that the Luna Park precinct offers.

Agreed 100%!. A successful Luna Park is good for Sydney and NSW and will also show to investors that a fun park in this state can be a worthwhile investment. Luna Park are expecting 600,000 visitors this year, a very healthy figure!! New attractions ( and hopefully down the line a new major coaster) will only see Luna Park go from strength to strength!! Its unique location right in the middle of the harbour city and its diversity as a concert and function venue has seen it thrive for over 10 years in its current incarnation. More power to them and I hope Luna Park is here for the next 100 years!! Good question. What I believe ( and I have nothing solid to back this up ) is that possibly the maintenance and upkeep of these rides is built into the current lease. That is to say, that Luna Park, cannot remove these rides or intrinsically change them and must maintain them as long as the park remains in operation. They definitely could not remove for instance, Coney Island, to install a new coaster or attraction. Having heritage listed items carries with it a responsibility as well as some fairly taxing and inflexible laws attached to them. Ask anyone who has a heritage listed abode and the red tape and restrictions they have to abide by when doing ANYTHING to the building. It is a nightmare!!

There was a short article in the Daily Telegraph the other day with Warwick Doughty, the park director. It was mostly about the introduction of the Hair Raiser ride but it did contain some interesting titbits. These include: The Hair Raiser was built in Texas and custom built for Luna Park Original plans called for it to be twice as high but this was reversed due to the sensitive nature of Luna Park's neighbours The article explains that their are heritage listed rides such as Coney Island and Wild Mouse but Warwick admits that some rides are reaching their use by date The Hair Raiser is the first of several new attractions that are planned for the next five years Warwick Doughty understand the need to refresh and change. Obviously with the imminent removal of Flying Saucer, the unexpected downtime of Tango Train these holidays, and the recent opening of Wet and Wild, this has forced Luna Park to evaluate and refresh its ride line up and attraction list. No real surprise here and this was called out on this very board. Hopefully, these plans will include another coaster in the park at some point , but the mere fact that they have a five year plan is very encouraging to say the least. Link to the article is here: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

I agree- they will make it work despite these issues. To talk about them pulling up stumps is a massive overreaction , to say the least.

Wow..just wow!! This ride looks like an accident waiting to happen!!! As you said Spotty, VERY similar to the Nautic Jet rides in Europe....never knew we had something so similar in our own back yard!!! Would love to ride this thing!!!

Do we have any concrete info on when and if the fire effects will be brought into use?? Other than anectdotal evidence, are we certain that they are going to actually be brought into existence?? It seems strange to me that a major part of the rides theming has not been completed or even tested at this stage. Thoughts??

Great video of what looks like a great ride!! Oh and the coaster looks good too!!

LPS have confirmed that Tango will be down for the majority of the school holidays, which is a real shame. First Flying Saucer and now Tango not available. Tango's issue, whilst unscheduled, is at least fixable. Flying Saucer's eventual fate is yet to be disclosed.

Spoke to Aussie World today and they confirmed that the first of the new rides is indeed what POP saw being constructed. They will be making an announcement soon!! This will not be long in making its debut, and hopefully the coaster will not be too far behind. It's not unreasonable to assume that both rides could be in place before the Easter holidays.