GoGoBoy

C R A P P Y

Although the outside of the Big Top looks alright (at least they have themed it to give it a 'fun' and colourful sort of feel) it is nothing more than a huge shed. They say it is a 'state of the art' venue which may be true for people holding corporate functions and concerts but in reality it is just a big empty building. I think it's a real shame that a venue which contributes very little to the fun park's visitors experience is allowed to take up so much space. The site of the Big Top used to be home to 3 major attractions - the Ghost Train, River Caves and a large part of the Big Dipper. This entire site is now taken up by one building which sits there empty for many months out of the year. It's also the reason why they had to build Maloney's Corner so they could shove the leftover rides out the back

I can't remember the Malaysian park's attendance figures but I do know that they were not doing well financially. I have looked over a number of Sunway's (Sunway City's) financial end of year reports which clearly show this. The reports are freely accessible to anyone and can be found on the Kuala Lumpar stock exchange website. Have a bit of a look over them from the last 5 years or so and you will see for yourself. When any company buys a business such as a well-established and iconic theme park in a big city like Sydney (and the only one we had), there should be a serious intention/attempt to purchase it as a going concern and keep it alive. I do not believe they attempted this. Closing down a business of this kind can have large repercussions on the city and has the potential to impact heavily on both domestic and international tourism. I do believe that had an ethical and reasonable company (and even better a locally based company) bought Wonderland there is a large chance it would still be around today. Sunway is not that company

How about theming it around a sewerage outflow, flowing out to the ocean? The base of the lazy river could be painted a yellowish colour and the inflatable tubes and rafts could be brown

How about theming it around a sewerage outflow, flowing out to the ocean? The base of the lazy river could be painted a yellowish colour and the inflatable tubes and rafts could be brown

LunaParkFanatic - you've got to remember that the new Luna Park is nothing compared to what it once was. Taking up all that extra space now is the massive car park/ticket booths, the yet-to-open brasserie and the large corporate function spaces including the Big Top. Luna Park in the 80's was not all that crash hot but it was still a fun park 100% and was not taken up by all these other uses. The new Luna Park is only half a fun park. By the way thanks for that pic Zamperla, you're a legend! Any others from the 80's?

Why on earth would it have been impossible to keep the park open? That's exactly what they should have done. The park should have continued to improve and invest in new attractions (as every other decent theme park does) and there's no doubt they could have stayed open. They were getting 800,000 visitors per year (and those are the numbers they have admitted to, may have been higher in reality). That is very significant visitation and don't tell me they couldn't have improved on that with continued controlled investment in the park. What I'm getting at here is that Sunway was a tight foreign investor who had absolutely no interest in Australia/Sydney other than getting maximum return for their money. They gave no thought whatsoever to the impact their decisions might have on the area or the people of Sydney. Don't you think it's funny that all of the parks in their own country are not doing particularly well and yet they don't close them down - in fact they build new ones

Ofcourse the waterpark could have ANY theme Gazza. I just thought that since the area in question is adjacent to Ocean Parade it might be cool to tie the 2 areas in together. You would give it a different name, or at least a name that is an extension of Ocean Parade. Something that implies Ocean Parade is the dry section along the 'shore' whereas the waterpark is the actual beach/ocean itself. I always felt considering DW's Gold Coast home a nice Aussie beach themed waterpark paying homage would be the best

Ofcourse the waterpark could have ANY theme Gazza. I just thought that since the area in question is adjacent to Ocean Parade it might be cool to tie the 2 areas in together. You would give it a different name, or at least a name that is an extension of Ocean Parade. Something that implies Ocean Parade is the dry section along the 'shore' whereas the waterpark is the actual beach/ocean itself. I always felt considering DW's Gold Coast home a nice Aussie beach themed waterpark paying homage would be the best

Great post djrappa. I think you're very right - it would be a logical idea to use the Blue Lagoon site as the location for another coaster. That right hand side of the park definitely is too heavy at the moment. The park map is all out of balance. A big wooden coaster would suit that area really well. The old Thunder Bolt site would be perfect for a waterpark as it is directly adjacent to Ocean Parade and the theming tie-in would be perfect. Although considering DW and their usual theming consistency I can't see that one happening

So they've been sold eh? Sunway is STILL squeezing out every last dollar. Makes me sick

Yeah I think that's a good idea pazzap. I have heard quite a few people who have visited both Luna Parks suggest a water ride as a needed attraction. You could once again link it back to the history of the parks... LPM had a large water chute/flume ride way back in the early days and I think LPS had something similar. It would basically just take you straight up and then drop you down the massive chute in a boat. I think a modern take on this would be a Perilous Plunge style of ride. These type of rides tend to have a fairly small footprint (well, relatively small) so it would fit inside LPM nicely. Especially if you were creative with the supports and allowed other rides to be build under it

I sure hope it's true about this rumoured 'bigger, better' waterpark. A few of us on here have been saying for a while that not only is it a good idea but would probably be the logical next step for Dreamworld. I'd like to see something in line with the types of upgraded waterparks you find in US parks these days (and I'm sure it will be). Something that caters for the thrill market and not just the young ones

You have made some good points there Gazza. It has not been until recent years that the Luna Park's have become more like carnivals rather than fun parks. It is unfortunate that this is the way it has turned out and most people have simply accepted it. A lot of people are under the impression that this is the way the parks always were. It would take a lot more than sticking a few portable rides on a patch of asphalt to re-create the quality of the original parks. Gazza I think overall your lineup is pretty good. As you said, the parks should be more about fun, atmosphere and the experience than thrill rides

Alex you are spot on! Summed up exactly what I wanted to say. I agree that the Malaysian people must be wondering what has happened - their parks were much like Wonderland in the last 8 years (ie. no new attractions) and now all of a sudden they've got heaps. What a joke though, trying to pass them off as 'new', you couldn't get more second hand if you tried. Tired old hand-me-downs. Sunway is pathetic. And I really don't see how the Merry Go Round and Dragon's Flight fit in with the theme of the Lost World of Tambun... plus it's meant to be a waterpark not a dry park

Very nice Gazza! Your drawings are getting really good... that latest one looks extremely professional - could almost be used as a real blueprint. I really like the way you've fitted the new Big Dipper in as it's very space efficient. I'm still sad though that you didn't attempt to place some of the old attractions (River Caves, Giggle Palace etc.) in their original locations. However I am just a bit of a heritage nut when it comes to these parks. Great job overall

Yes, yes koolkidsyd very original - it's all been said by people a hundred times before. I wish someone would come up with a new argument instead of repeating the old "the park was there first, the residents should have known". What annoys me is that the case keeps getting set back. I just want to know the outcome but once again the date has been changed and now it's months away. I always find it interesting that they say the restricted Big Dipper operating hours forced the park to close. And yet the park is now completely without the Big Dipper or any other major attraction and is probably busier than it ever was in the 90's. Go figure. Maybe it has something to do with Sydney's scarily huge population growth levels

Good... and maybe this means people will stop creating new threads about this dead park. I still can't believe that Wonderland has the most posts out of any theme park on this site. Although it was once a decent park with potential, the place was nothing compared to the Gold Coast parks once the Malaysians took over. Come on people, it's time to move on and focus your attention on the real theme parks in this country

I have had a good look through my Luna Park 'Just for Fun' history book and have found the original locations for the River Caves and the Giggle Palace. I have marked the locations in red over the top of Gazza's drawing. The Big Dipper was actually located almost exactly where it is in your plan Gazza. The main large crest and turnback (or whatever you call those sections) of the coaster was at the beach end of the park with the track running over the top of the River Caves show building to save space. This technique was used at both LPM and LPS and it's a good way to cover up this part of the building as most back of house show buildings are not particularly attractive. The River Caves facade was a large themed mountain with a mill underneath it. It faced out to the park, next to the Dodgem Building. I'm not sure exactly how large the River Caves show building was or what shape it was so I have just marked out the approximate area. Apparantley in the old days the River Caves used to have a tea room built above it with the capacity for 2000 people and views of the park to one side and the beach to the other side. This could possibly be reinstated for corporate functions and events as an additional revenue raiser. I believe the Dodgem Building currently at Luna Park is the original so that location is obviously the same. There is definitely potential to add more to this building than just Dodgems as it is quite large. I don't think the Rotor should be placed inside this building though. It used to be housed in its own freestanding round/hexagonal 3 storey structure

This is really exciting stuff and it certainly sounds promising. Let's hope he actually does attempt to re-create some of the old attractions like the River Caves and Big Dipper. That would truly help the park to come alive again. The current owners of Luna Park Melbourne are similar to Luna Park Sydney's owners in that they were not willing to spend any big money on bringing back any of the classic attractions. They always claim to be interested in restoring the parks to their former glory but they refuse to do it with anything other than cheap 2nd hand carnival rides

How about making that a trip to Dreamworld instead? Right now is not a good time for users of this site to be supporting Movie World with the ridiculous policy they have just introduced

The Scenic Railway MUST stay. It is such an important and significant part of Luna Park's history and one of the few remaining original attractions. To remove it now would just be wrong. It also frames the park very nicely. I do think part of your plan however Gazza should include a full track and carriage refurbishment of the Scenic Railway to bring some smoothness and rideability back to the roller coaster. I think it's important to steer as far away from the current portable carnival ride setup of Luna Park as possible. Therefore, rides like the Ranger and Street Fighter (Technical Park) might be a step in the wrong direction. I really like the fact that in your proposal you have restored the River Caves. I think that is vital. I would like to see the River Caves facade restored almost exactly as it was but perhaps add some more thrilling changes to the ride on the inside. I also think you should try and place them in their exact original location, if you haven't done that already. I'm not sure about the idea of placing a coaster on top of the River Caves as this might change the historic facade. If you can do it cleverly it might be alright. Also, I'm not sure about the idea of putting the Rotor in the Dodgems building as this is also a 'historic' ride (even though it would be a remake) and should be placed where it was originally as a freestanding attraction. I think it is important to remember that what made Luna Park special in the old days was its atmosphere and the fact that it was totally unique. So if you can add plenty of theming and artwork to your proposal to create the feeling of another world I think that'd be great. Also, unique rides would probably be one of the keys to success

Sorry just having a Grundy's flashback... I used to love that place when I was really young. They had the best Ghost Train I have ever been on... really high quality. It would be great if Aussie World ended up getting Grundy's ghost train too but I get the feeling that ride was totally demolished when they closed

I think this is a real shame. In the Herald today they said it was expected to be bought by residential developers. So be prepared to say goodbye to the Big Pineapple and hello to a massive collection of ugly houses and apartments. It's sort of like Wonderland all over again... the land is becoming too valuable. The Big Pineapple has been there for over 30 years and is a real symbol of tropical Queensland. I remember when I was really young going on holidays with the family and it would really hit you that you were on the Sunshine Coast when you reached the Big Pineapple. It's a beautiful property and is a perfect spot for tourists, both domestic and international. My personal feeling is that it should receive a heritage listing

I have no idea why Luna Park's owners spent so much $$$ (so they claim) on covering the Ranger's noisy bits with massive ugly boxes when the ride itself is so old and average. I really don't think the ride is worth this much trouble. I would have closed the thing down long ago and brought something in to replace it