GoGoBoy

I just want to say that your illustrations are awesome and really captures the spirit of the Big Banana at that time. The only thing I know about the bunyip is that there still appears to be a little shed by the side of the lake that may have been the equipment room for the animatronic. My personal memories from riding the monorail are the bizarre people-eating banana plant animatronics, and the space station at the top of the hill

Just watched Mr Yum Yum's POV and all of the dark ride portion is awesome in my opinion. Big props to the park for putting so much effort into restoring as many animatronics as possible, and for the much improved lighting and screen animations. Massive improvement over Next Gen. Honestly I don't think the dark ride portion could be any better. Obviously the disco room is another story, but hopefully they address that in the future

Ok interesting, and very surprising, to hear that the blank disco room was a creative choice and not a budgetary one. The lights and/or lasers in the disco room (along with the pumping music) have always been a big part of the experience since the original, so I can't understand why this wouldn't be reinstated. It used to contrast so well with the dark ride portion

I'm going to assume that the majority of the budget went into replacing the control system, safety systems, track, lifts and cars. They probably then had a smaller budget for the theming refresh, which could be why the disco room has missed out. The new animation on both screens, updated lighting and the new Tiki head all would have cost a bit. I guess we have to remember that Aussie parks just don't have big budgets sadly (although in saying that I'm not sure how we were able to afford such blockbuster attractions like Scooby and WWF in the first place)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a full retrack! Maybe just a couple of small sections

Totally agree! Such a major water park should be adding attractions that are somewhat unique and special, not something you could find at a council aquatic centre, or the Big Banana.

Yeah my understanding is that parks would LIKE to extend operating hours but the cost-benefit just doesn't add up in most cases

Wow, that looks terrible!

More stuff like this would seem to be a good fit in the dark ride sections. From what I've seen so far the indoor sections and the promised 'show scene' seem pretty underwhelming. Still a great ride and well presented, but I was hoping for a bit more from the indoor parts

That's a shame - Triple Vortex was fun. They'd have to be disappointed having to remove at least two of the 'newer' slides surely. It's not a big park as it is

The trouble is it doesn't look like a gem. It looks like an egg

The proposed internal chamber theming looks great. I wonder how much more is planned to be completed? So far there's only a face, a small water feature and some bats, is that right? Would be good to see the blank walls covered with some themed material. Greg always said there was going to be a proper show scene with actual mechanical moving parts, so hopefully this all comes through

I think all things considered the theming is really excellent, particularly the inside queues. But even some of the little touches like the tractor etc around Kansas Twister are nice. If VRTP keeps this level up in the future, I'd find it very hard to complain (though knowing me I'll still try!). It does feel a bit like the Wizard of Oz 'courtyard' at the moment, so it would be great to see a future minor expansion such as an Oz-themed flat ride. This effort they've put into theming makes me hope they will build a decent dark ride again one day, or at least lengthy rides with dark ride portions, as they always used to build. I know it's a challenge, but it would truly be taking the park back to its glory days

WWW had so much potential too! I always thought it was a mistake not to install the proposed action/lazy river, as that would have made it more of a complete park. So sad to hear Triple Vortex is not open too as it's a very fun slide

I agree - it's awesome seeing VRTP being so transparent and informative when it comes to both the construction of their upcoming attractions and maintenance/updates relating to their existing attractions. Such a refreshing change. Wish more parks would do this! The social videos are 👌🏻