GoGoBoy

Oh I forgot about that Daniel, you are so right! I can't believe I forgot about Wonderland's new wall. I used to joke around and say that the big new attraction after years of waiting would be... a WALL. But the joke has become reality. Finally, something we can all be proud of. The best thing about it is the fact that no expense has been spared in creating the wall - they've gone all out by making it 2D!

I was just thinking the other day how good these forums have started to become with the increase in members. Unfortunately, we really haven't been given anything overly exciting to talk about (apart from fire and speculation ofcourse). This has been a very uneventful year for Aussie theme parks with no major rides added. Nope, not one. We can only hope that next year will be better for us all and really give us something to rave about. Probably the best thing to come out this year will be Shark Bay... and while I am certainly no fan of animal exhibits this looks like it will be a good one judging by the concept designs. But when it comes down to it I don't want animal exhibits, I want rides! Either amazing thrill rides or brilliantly themed rides or even better... both! I have recently been looking over various parks websites in the states and drooling. They have some incredible stuff over there. I love the fact that so many of their parks are so huge that they require at least 3 themed hotels/resorts and separate dining and shopping complexes. We can only dream at this stage. Hmm... maybe we are all in the wrong country?!

Haha never mind Daniel... It is obvious to me that you are just mucking around. In fact I have started to really enjoy some of your posts... very funny. I like the fact that you can be serious too when you need to be. And yeah, some of you guys could relax a bit, the changes Danielle made to your nick names were more humorous/affectionate rather than aggressive!

What do you guys think about the positioning of the Hulk stage and the Spiderman wall? I guess it will be hard to tell if it works until the work on the walls has been completed. I think they should have perhaps been spread out a little and not so close to those great Transylvania entrance gates. I do think that somewhere in Transylvania is probably the most appropriate place for Marvel appearances (ofcourse an actual Marvel land would be better). I am dissapointed that the Spidey wall does not look like it's going to be 3D like the Hulk stage.

I am so devastated about this! Wild West Falls is by far my fave Aussie theme park ride. I just think it's brilliant. As you said Richard, I sure hope they rebuild the effects properly. I love the finale scene with the big explosive tank and that massive gust of wind and smoke that pushes you out the top. It all works so well. Please don't change it or cut back Movie World!! That whole area at the top looks like it was seriously damaged though. I'm so sad about this. It's a relatively new ride too. Why did this have to happen to one of the best parks in Australia and one of the best rides?

Thanks for letting us know about the new site nightsthifter... it certainly looks better than the old one. I'm a little bit concerned though as there is no mention of the wild mouse under the 'rides' section. Every other ride is mentioned and has a photo. Is it possible the mouse won't be re-opening with the park? I heard that they were having some problems refurbishing the ride. The mouse is mentioned in other areas of the site and they have previously promised that it would return but it just seems strange that it is not listed with the other rides.

Wonderland gets over one million visitors per year. That's pretty equal with Dreamworld. Wonderland receives MASSIVE amounts of school and group tour bookings... even more than usual around this time of year. The place is apparantley packed out every day at the moment - rain, hail or shine. It's the only thing like it in Sydney so I guess they don't have to do too much to keep up that momentum.

One of the staff from the magic show told me that Wonderland's owners actually made the decision to cancel the show and that Tony and Juleen were a bit shocked. Not sure which one is true. It is possible that Tony himself would not neccesarily tell guests the whole truth... afterall that should be a fairly confidential thing.

Anyone know the actual reason the show is ending? Does it come down to those good old budget cuts or do you think Wonderland just thought it had been running for long enough? I for one agree that it was a good show but think it probably is time for it to move on. Do you guys think/know if anything will replace it? PS Congrats to Nightshifter for being the first person to post the info regarding the end of the show before the news became official. It's nice to see that at least SOME of the rumours posted on here turn out to be correct

Aww that's sad to hear. I didn't realise it had closed. We used to go there when I was little and always thought it was heaps of fun. They used to have a great waterslide/swimming area. There was this one waterslide which was a completely black tube... very fun and very scary. I can still remember the sound it made when you screamed going down, very echoey. I think they had a train ride too which I used to like. I can still remember the song from the ads "Eeeel Cabalo Blancooo la la laaa" ... I can't remember the words obviously

Regarding the website - congratulations to Wonderland for finally tidying it up for xmas. Over the last couple of weeks it has been looking really messy with icons and graphics everywhere. The main page has been fixed up so it is now possible to access all the info and the layout is symetrical again. The new buttons at the bottom of the page advertising the cubs, birthday parties and marvel parade look good... so do the pop-ups that appear when you click on them. The increased involvement of the Marvel characters in-park should be good (parade, photo areas etc). It is definitely needed if they are going to be so heavily advertised and incorporated into Wonderlands branding.

I was just looking at the pki.com website. There is now a list of all the attractions opening in Boomerang Bay. Have a good look down the full list. It makes me drool. This place is opening with a massive amount of slides and attractions. Wet n Wild doesn't even come close to it and its been open for years and years. It also makes me sad when I think about Wonderland's 'big' Beach refurb this year... and all we ended up with was SOME repainted slides. I also noticed something interesting... one of the attractions at Boomerang Bay is called 'Snowy River Rampage'. Sound familiar?

I personally think Cyclone fits in rather well with the Ocean Parade theming and therefore I don't think it need its own land anyway. Regarding this Delirium thingy... I must say I'm not overly thrilled at the idea of another flat ride but after looking at the Huss website it looks pretty cool. I like rides with water features incorporated into them. I think the Aztec theming would be great, but would it fit in with Ocean Parade? Still, if this is the ONLY new ride for 2004 I will be disappointed. It will mean we will have waited for AGES for something ok but not spectacular. Bring on the hyper coaster!

Ok so most of us agree that we like the landscaping and layout of Wonderland. I truly think if they are not going to invest regularly in major new attractions then they definitely do need to maintain a high level of detail. I don't want to turn this post negative but while we're talking about the aesthetics of the park I thought I'd mention one area which could be improved... Goldrush. There are 3 problems in this area where the attention to detail is lacking: 1. There is a new trend in Goldrush to start using banners instead of proper signs for the main ride signs and facades. I feel this looks a little cheap as the banners fade and go mouldy very quickly. Just look at The Great Race banner... not pretty. I think each ride needs exciting signage as it adds to the atmosphere of the whole park. 2. The elevated wooden water chute which used to run all the way around the front of Broken Hill mine and then down further. It was removed for some reason with just chunks of it remaining. 3. All of the badly sealed over pot holes where I assume poles holding up awnings used to be. In the games area in between Bush Beast and River Rampage there are tons and tons of these on the ground. That's all. Apart from that keep up the good work Wonderland's park presentation team!

I am so sad to read all of this. The first time I went on LW I fell totally in love with the ride and so did the friends I was with. It simply felt like you were flying. I thought it was the best thing I had ever been on. Years later, I went on it again and found it to be rather unpleasant. I was hoping this was just my imagination. But, obviously it wasn't. I find it so unacceptable that this ride has deteriorated so much. I never knew a roller coaster required so much maintenance to remain smooth! I don't know who to blame - Vekoma or Movie World? I have a lot of respect for Movie World so I'd rather blame Vekoma (they seem to be responsible for a fair bit of roughness) but I get the feeling Australia has, perhaps, not yet learnt how to look after its precious few coasters. Not good enough

It would be absolutely fantastic if DW added Spongebob 3D ASWELL as a massive new coaster next year. How happy would we all be! The Paramount parks often add multiple attractions in the one year... each one different to keep everyone happy

Yes, that is probably THE thing I like about Wonderland... beautiful landscaping. From Botany Bay with its fountains and neat little flower gardens to Goldrush with its native Australian landscapes to Transylvania with those awesome entry gates and spooky surrounds.

Joz... you definitely made a good point. It is quite likely that Wonderland would count wildlife park attendance in their overall park attendance figures. The wildlife park is basically counted as one of Wonderland's themed lands, not a totally separate facility. From what I hear though, a large number of families are still happy to fork out the bucks to enter the main park. And yes, if some of the people posting overly negative comments here are employees then you really do need to get out. A good work ethic is important for everyones sake and you should never bite the hand that feeds you. Afterall, they have given you a job. However, a little constructive criticism can go along way (whether it's from employees or not)... just leave the aggression out of it.

I've driven past a few times and there have often been workmen on the track at the place you are talking about - just at the bottom and pull out of the first drop.

I totally agree! Some (most) waterparks in the US look incredible. That's why I've always respected Wet n Wild 'cause each year they have added new attractions which have usually been of a world class standard. Unfortunately something went terribly wrong the past 2 years with the only addition being Whirlpool. They've taken a bit of a step back and now have some catching up to do. Definitely more tube slides please! It worries me though that you mention that wnw has had a busy year. If they have a busy year without adding anything decent then that might tell them that they can continue to get away with it. What's wrong with people? Why do they seem to visit parks more often when there are no new attractions? The Aussie public is going to give park owners the wrong idea. Anyway, I'm rambling a bit now (getting caught up in the wonderland sentiment). I noticed that Cedar Point is adding a new indoor waterpark this year. Looks great and HUGE. Lots of theming too. It's set to have loads of slides (it'll probably start out with more than wnw) with an uphill watercoaster (master blaster style) at its centre.

I definitely agree with Richard on this one. I doubt those numbers would be false. Overall, Wonderland still gets a pretty good attendance no matter what people on hear would like to believe. I have heard that even the mid week attendance has been pretty good lately. And as Richard said, all parks have quite a large number of quiet days during the year. They go from one extreme to the next. Wonderland does benefit from big group bookings though, in particular school groups. Is it really possible that wonderlands attendance is increasing? I have heard from a few sources that it is. Seems like they hardly have to lift a finger to get more people through the door. What is the explanation for this? Surely if the Gold Coast parks didn't add anything for 10 years their numbers would truly dwindle?! Now as long as we continue to look at Wonderland objectively, these forums will remain fair. Let's not get too caught up in emotions (particularly aggression).

You guys seem to be implying that attendance is seriously dropping at wonderland due to the lack of money being spent on the place. But the fact is from what I hear the park is still getting plenty of people through the gates. I often make this point. You hear about all these people complaining because rides are shut and there is nothing new and then they go and buy a Wonderpass! Doesn't make sense. If all these families and kids stopped going then maybe Wonderland would start improving or adding attractions. It doesn't seem fair to me that the Gold Coast parks constantly inject capital while Wonderland keeps taking and not giving anything back to the guests. So why do people keep supporting them?

Just adding some more to what I was saying before re Tony's show... I would really like to see it replaced with a big Marvel show (based on one of the characters... hulk, spiderman, whatever). The show would need to be better than action man (I hear that show was a little bit average) and have plenty of effects (lots of explosions please). Obviously it would never be as good as Police Academy but SOMEWHERE near that standard would be nice. Does anyone else think it's ridiculous that all of Wonderland's branding and advertising is filled with the Marvel characters and yet when you arrive at the park there is no Marvel themed show or attraction. All you've got is the occasional walk-about character and a retail shop. At this point it seems to me like they are really cashing in on the Marvel name without giving something in return.

I believe Nightshifter may be partially right about one thing. A staff member who knows one of the dancers in the Tony Laffan magic show told me that his contract is indeed up for re-negotiation around Jan/Feb. No one is sure at this stage whether Wonderland will renew his contract. I reckon it's time to say goodbye to Tony. It's time for something new! Hmm that should be Wonderland's new slogan...

The Tumble Bug at Kennywood is very similar to the original Tumble Bug which was built at Sydney's Luna Park in the 1930s. It was removed many years ago. A 'new' version of this ride was installed at Luna Park for its 1995 incarnation but it was just a typical Wittingslow travelling flat ride (one that made me feel quite queasy too). The facade design (a giant psychadelic bug) was based on the original 1930s design. I'm fairly sure they are reinstating this new version of the Tumble Bug in the 2004 Luna Park. I think they are keeping the giant bug from 1995 too.