Jobe

Hi guys- well the time is almost here for us to set off!! We fly out tomorrow for the trip of a lifetime!! Thanks to everyone for your comments and advice- they have all been helpful in many ways!! I am dirty that we will just miss out on the Dueling Dragons at Universal ( if only for the fact that to miss out on 2 unique B&M's is a bit gut wrenching!!) Ah well!! We will definitely try and fit in the Fun Spot park- the GCI woody there I have heard is excellent and one not to be missed! Hopefully will have plenty of pics and trip reports to post when I get back!! Cheers all!!!

Brilliant @Skeeta thanks for the update!! The Sunshine Coast is certainly coming along nicely!! Couple the opening of this with the announced Aussie World expansion, throw in Australia Zoo and the other attractions that the Sunshine Coast has to offer, it is certainly building up to be a viable alternative to the Gold Coast!

Nimble I was merely reflecting on the fact that you immediately took for gospel information regarding the park as truth straight away. If you want to be taken seriously on the boards you may need to learn to apply a filter, that's all. Happy to see someone so obviously young with a healthy love of Luna Park though so please do not stop your interest. Just because the park is not adding a Zierer model does not mean that the new ride will be a dud. That's your opinion. I get that you are a showman and that you love Huss rides and that you have certain opinions. I for one, am a little sick and tired of the negativity that is constantly being emitted by you about the park. The park has survived for 13 years in its current form. As a business , it is doing extremely well , balancing the profit of the amusement side with its entertainment options quite well. The park has announced a 5 year plan with a 25 million dollar refurbishment of their amusement offerings.This is cause for celebration and not one to constantly moan and groan about the park.The plan looks impressive and I am willing to wait until it comes to full fruition before we tear it apart. I am happy to offer criticism of the park where it is warranted ( the need for a redress in the balance of more ride and attraction offerings for one) but to continually be a negative nancy about everything the park is doing gives me the shits. Try and be more positive and a little more balanced in your opinions and we will get along just fine. I feel the need to add a little perspective here regarding Matthew's video. Brad Loxley , The Senior Amusement Manager for LPS has contacted me to give me some background to Matthew and the situation at hand. ( Yes he does regularly read the forums!!) This is what he wanted passed on: What LPS and the team are doing here is a brilliant thing- young Matthew has a healthy love of LPS but also amusement parks in general. Please let us all keep this in mind when we are commenting on the video and young Matthew in general. I am not sure if he reads these forums but lets all keep things clean, respectful and above all positive. The support that LPS have shown Matthew can certainly be mirrored here on the boards. Thanks for your consideration in this!

Other than the big purple monstrosity that is currently testing at Movieworld...............

Oh my god.....all credibility has gone out the window...................Seriously!!!!

Hi all, Well the family and some friends of mine are finally making the trip stateside and we will be visiting Orlando and all its attractions. Our itinerary is as follows: 6-Sep Wed Arrive Orlando 7-Sep Thur Disney World Animal Kingdom 8-Sep Fri Disney World Hollywood Studios 9-Sep Sat Disney World Blizzard Park 10-Sep Sun Kennedy Space Centre 11-Sep Mon Legoland 12-Sep Tue Disney World Typhoon Lagoon 13-Sep Wed Disney World Epcot 14-Sep Thu Disney World Magic Kingdom 15-Sep Fri Gator / Swamp tour 16-Sep Sat Change accommodation 17-Sep Sun Universal Island of Adventure 18-Sep Mon Seaworld Busch Gardens 19-Sep Tue Universal Studios 20-Sep Wed Seaworld 21-Sep Thu Universal Volcano 22-Sep Fri Free 23-Sep Sat Travel to Hawaii As you can see we are packing as much as we can in the time allotted. The days we have chosen are based on these 2 crowd calendars:Taken from these two crowd calendars https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar and https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/September-2017/ so as to maximise the best possible time. 11 theme parks in about 13 days is a lot to pack in but we are going to make the most of it.All of our tickets are prepaid and we have Fast passes organised for the Disney parks but nothing for the others as yet. I am just looking to draw on other more experienced members to get some ideas, tips and pointers for any of the parks listed or anything Orlando related. We are very much looking forward to the trip ( my kids are beside themselves!! ) but I think Hawaii for a week at the end will also be a welcome relief as well!! So please any thoughts or comments or helpful hints will be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

LPS bashing aside , you cannot post 2 contradictory views like this without it being called out. These rides were OLD when they came to LPS in 1994 and the trio remaining are pushing close to 30+ years old. You can not have it both ways. Why would the UFO be in fine condition and yet it was decommissioned? If it was in the "fine" condition as you say, then why state that LPS has no idea when it comes to looking after their rides? The reason that UFO WAS decommissioned was that it required a part for maintenance and it was becoming too costly to keep the ride running on a 30+ year old ride. It happens and there are many examples of of our parks refreshing older rides because of this very reason. LPS have successfully run HUSS rides since 1994-23 years. That's a pretty successful record and I refute your claim that they do NOT know how to maintain them. 23 plus years operating them says otherwise anyhow. Again this is a pretty inflammatory and generalised comment to make. I am not refuting you may have encountered this BUT every time? I have had far different experiences from yours. On the whole, I have found their ride operations to be excellent and I would say that they mirror at least the better operations of any of our bigger parks. That might be subjective and I acknowledge that. However, I certainly refute the 2nd part of your claim. The team members I have encountered have been nothing short of fantastic. I have seen excellent interactions from them with the paying public and have seen first hand excellent customer service in this area. What you have stated is simply wrong when applied to LPS team as a whole. I am sure there are other Parkz members who have also had positive experiences at LPS. This may be the case and there is truth in it , as LPS HAVE listed the ride for sale. However, the Flying Saucer WAS never listed for sale nor offered for a listing. The reason for it was obviously that it was simply not viable to maintain as a whole working unit and why parts of it are now being utilsed for LPM's Enterprise. I get that you are a HUSS fan- your monologues on the now mostly defunct AAF site are more than enough proof of that . That's fantastic-I think HUSS rides are excellent and well engineered as well. However,try not to let this love muddy the waters when it comes to being biased,however. Just a piece of advice- try and avoid generalisations when it comes to making claims like the ones you have stated. I get they are your opinions and thats fine but do expect some push back at some point.

This is a great idea- it would be far more cost effective than building a full coaster!! Just looking at their website- they have plenty of options that they can bring if this idea was ever to be fully explored. Seriously think this would be the way to go- there is no installations of this type in Australia and it would be a massive drawcard- especially if it was engineered to circuit near cliff faces for added thrills.This could also circuit the existing carpark without affecting capacity and make as much use of the available space. However check out this video of another of their products- Who could see Scenic World doing a deal with Wiegand and installing one of these and an Alpine coaster on the site? They could probably do it far cheaper than a single coaster and these guys are used to building in inaccessible and hard to get to terrains- perfect for the Blue Mountains!! This next video shows the Die Flyer in action at a park owned by Wiegand and also showcases several other of theor product offerings- love the Summer tubing!!! Not sure how Australian safety law would react to that though!!!

Hi all just to add a small update on happenings at Luna Park Sydney. Due to the sensitive location of the park and the strict heritage requirements surrounding it, the planning process for the new investment is quite lengthy and time consuming. That being said, the first new ride, a Wave Swinger, is scheduled to open in March next year. It is currently being built in Europe ( most probably by Zamperla) and will be a 64 seat version ( including 8 double seats) It will have the highest capacity of any Wave Swinger in Australia. Its colour scheme and theming is being designed to match the new building theme's throughout the park and it will help establish and enhance the classic LPS feel and aesthetic. I am not certain, but the obvious spot for the new ride would be on the Flying saucer site, to match this section's new look when it is completed: In other news, the Moon Ranger has roared back into life and has reopened, Its not certain if the ride is till on the open market ( I think this would still be the case) but it is certainly one of the rides earmarked for replacement with the new investment. Works should start on the new theming and buildings by the end of the year.

Should have gone to specsavers!!! Great story mate!!

Well its not surprising really. The last time i visited ( and posted a trip report here) was 5 years ago and the Orphan Rocker was in bad material shape then. It is a shame that this long gestating ride which has entered the annals of Australian ride history as the ride that never was, has finally been given its last rites. Hopefully the Orphan Rocker can be resurrected by a professional ride company in some shape or form. I would not put it past the Hammon family to already have a plan regarding this- the whole site is filled with the ambition of their father and the Orphan Rocker was his pet project. I would not bet against something being in the wings and being installed in honour of the person who had the vision for the entire site. Fingers Crossed anyway!!

Thanks for the trip report - great update!! Its good to see the smaller parks getting some love!! I feel the pain with the removal of Wild Mouse- always hate to see important history lost like this!! Hopefully the Spinning Mouse coaster replacement is not too far away!!

Really?

Yeah the video from Aussie World didnt quite illustrate its full features that well at all. The video that @SuperV posted earlier from SBF Visa shows the full features and ride cycles far more effectively. This shows what I was trying to illustrate in my earlier post.

Just a quick update- Aussie World have posted a quick YouTube video of the Wasp in action. It looks like a fantastic addition to the parks line up and occupies the space where the former Octopus ride resided. One thing I do really like is that the ride gives a level of interactivity to the rider- riders can press a button on a lever on each gondola which then shoots them high , giving them the sensation of flight. Basically you can control the type of ride you experience by making it more thrilling with each button push. Not entirely sure but is this the only unit of its type currently in Australia? If so, its always welcome to have a new ride type in the country. Given their target market, an excellent purchase for Aussie World. Bring on their plans for a further 4 new rides!

Yep you just beat me to it Tim.

It could be but I think it would be doubtful. Given Adventure World's experience with the Huss drop tower, Inferno, I think they would be reluctant to deal with Huss. Certainly Mark Shaw was less than complimentary about the drop ride and I think that would be a vital clue.....

Yep looks like quite an enjoyable park. Going to Universal Orlando in September as my first visit to a Universal park but very keen to do this one very soon with the family!!

I think this ride looks like a great addition to Aussie World's ride lineup- its somewhat different and unique to the park and indeed Australia , it looks like it packs a good thrill yet it is not too intense that it is not family friendly!! Great move Aussie World- lets bring on the Spinning Wild Mouse coaster next!!!

Great news on this-its fantastic to see a new major player rise in the market!! The plans look good and if it has @Mark Shaw involvement, even at a limited capacity, then you can be assure of quality!! Victoria is shaping up to become a good destination for visiting medium parks that are expanding at a good rate! @Gazza is completely correct RE Luna Park. It needs a similar investment , and given its history and location, has the potential to be a world class historical fun park. Gazza mentioned Grona Lund but I would liken LPM's appeal as being similar to Dreamland , Margate. Lindsay Fox you are on extreme notice!

Oh the irony of that statement!!!!

Hmm interesting. A couple of things, however. The article that @ash.1111 quoted above stated $4 million investment not $40 million. Massive difference in dollar spend and obviously a typo. The article that @ash.1111 quoted is also somewhat misleading as it states that "Gumbuya park to make a $4 million comeback", obviously inferring that the park is to receive a $4 million dollar upgrade and investment. However, upon further examination of the article, it appears that the $4 million dollar price tag refers to the purchase price only that has been agreed upon by the purchasing consortium. There is certainly a desire to revitalise the park and the article , as above , does mention spending several million on redevelopment but the $4 million number only refers to the price tag and not any direct correlation to any investment dollar spend. As @Gazza said, anything is possible and upon reading this article, I certainly would not rule out Gumbaya Park as being the target of Mark Shaw's original post. However, there are still many questions to be answered before we can definitively point to Gumbaya as the park in question. Let the speculation continue!! Interesting times however!! Time will tell- watch this space!

Did not @Gazza's post of Adventure Park's location being 1 hr and 15 min also from the airport clue you in?? Also to the fact that Adventure Park is well established and has already announced planned for expansion attractions. Gumbaya Park seems to me a little too small for this, despite Mark Shaw's involvement with the park. Adventure Park seems like a better fit for this announcement. Also the time frames do not add up for mine for a completely new park- mid November would be extremely tight to open a brand new park from scratch if they have just started clearing the land. My bet is Adventure Park. Either way , looking forward to seeing more info about this one!

Wow brilliant news!!! So many good things to look forward to in the theme park industry in Australia at the moment- and the majority of the parks are stepping up their game!! This is the cream on the cake and has really flown under the radar!! Given the developments on the Gold Coast, the new plans and attractions for Aussie World, the $20 million dollar investment in LPS, the continuing expansion of Jamberoo, the new attractions at Funfields and Adventure Park, MI3 at Adventure World, plus now this its a great time to be an amusement park lover! Looking forward to hearing more news and info as it comes to light!

Yeah just saw that myself thanks Gazza. Ah well. Still think the Disk O would be a better fit but either option still shows exciting times for Funfields!!