GoGoBoy

I agree but it's funny because Luna Park themselves didn't help at all in regards to the surrounding building clutter. One of the worst buildings behind Maloney's Corner in my opinion is the one which was actually built by Luna Park. The government let them build it to help fund the park apparantley. It is the most obtrusive building there and completely adjoins Maloney's Corner at its base. Before this was built the area was actually a steep untouched hillside covered in vegetation. It would have been a much nicer backdrop to complement the rides

I find it strange the way they are open earlier and later on all these random days. Why don't they just say every day from Dec through to Feb we are open 'till 7pm. They have some weird pattern going on at the moment

How come you got to ride the rides at night? Isn't the park only open till 5:00pm?

Hey nice start. But where's the rest of your trip report? I want details!

If you ever saw 2 marketing staff holding a bicycle wheel with a stick joined to it and pointing to an area of the park, I think it would be worth a mention

Relax Alex... it really doesn't matter too much. Besides from what I've seen over the last year or so, kennykoala's posts are usually fairly reliable as he seems to spend a fair bit of time at the parks just sussing out what's going on. And still no one has praised me for my seemingly accurate prediction at the start of this thread (which I wrote way back in May). I didn't have any sources it was just a guess - even if it was a fairly obvious one. Still, my Mum would be impressed

Relax Alex... it really doesn't matter too much. Besides from what I've seen over the last year or so, kennykoala's posts are usually fairly reliable as he seems to spend a fair bit of time at the parks just sussing out what is going on

Hey my guess at the start of this thread was pretty good don't you think? Especially considering I hadn't heard anything about a new ride for MW when I wrote it. I'm searching for some praise here

I agree with Jobe's comments regarding the Big Top. While the building looks great externally and fits in well with the look of the park, for most of the time it is not an accessible attraction to the general public. It is a building which takes up such a significant amount of prime space in the amusement park yet does not contribute to that side of the business at all. The Big Top site was once home to 3 of Luna Park's most popular attractions - Big Dipper, Ghost Train and River Caves. I was reading an article in the paper recently which mentioned that Luna Park has become the most popular function venue in Sydney. On top of this we all know the amusement park is doing well (even with the parks new emphasis on functions). So all in all it seems that most people are pretty happy with the parks current setup and overall mix

Luna Park was never built for kids. It was built for all the people of Sydney. To say the park is for kids is completely wrong. Why else would it have always been open till so late at night? In old pictures of the park you can see just as many adults as kids. A lot of money was spent on the park's re-opening this year but you have to remember that most of that money was NOT spent on the amusement park. It was spent on building a number of state of the art five star function and event venues. The rides at the park were already there they just needed some refurbishing and repainting

djrappa I totally agree with you. I think Luna Park needs to steer away from this 'temporary carnival' theme they have got going. It's not and never was a temporary carnival, it's a permanent fun park. Things like the Big Top work well because it has a carnival theme but is most definitely permanent and fixed on site. They need to get rid of all the trailers and crap. The area behind Coney is the worst culprit. I agree the mouse does not look good this year. As you said rappa, it is such a shame the way they added all those extra catwalks and stuff. I realise they probably had to do it for safety but still. I also much prefered the mouse when it had its 3D cheese enclosure as I am not a fan of 2D painted plywood walls. Nonetheless the artist is doing a good job and making the wall come alive as much as possible. I think it's there to stay... I doubt they have any other plans for it

MARK28 - get a job at Luna Park and you could operate it all day

Considering America has a waterpark in just about every second town, it only makes sense for us to get another one. I'd like to see some more built down south though too. Australians love water so waterparks should thrive in this country

Oh happy days. This is all good news. Paul Hollibone - why did you say you won't be going to Movie World? Is a brand new multi million dollar coaster not your thing? Would you prefer to stick to your beloved under $100,000 2nd hand 1970's carnival rides? Or is it because you can't actually get up to Movie World? I'm hoping it's the latter. I agree that $12 million sounds waaay too cheap for something amazing. But I'll be glad to see both MW and WnW get some much needed attention next year

joz I think you definitely need to make that your quote of the week if you're reading this

Ok here's something we've sort of missed. I was looking over the Australian Amusement Fanatics forums and found a recent article about Dreamworld's not too distant expansion plans. It's looking pretty major. We have discussed the proposed Coomera Town Centre and possibility of a hotel before, but this article bascially confirms it all... and more. Apparantley over the next few years they are looking at almost doubling the size of the existing park with new attractions etc.

Mickazee - you have put together some great history there. It is my understanding that Sunway bought the park in 1997 (including surrounding property) for only $50 million. They then gradually sold off and redeveloped parcels of property and eventually the park itself for HUNDREDS of millions of dollars. It is worth noting that they are not finished yet either... they still have some remaining property

The Big Pineapple is a great attraction for the Sunshine Coast... I can't believe you guys bagged it. It has been there for years and I can remember how exciting it was in the 80's stopping off at the Big Pineapple on the way to our holidays. It has such a tropical feel - it really reminds you that you are heading into the far end of Queensland. It would be terrible if it closed down

What ever happened to Daniel? Is it possible that he has been reincarnated as Galbraith? Daniel if you're in there - we miss you (well, some of us)

This thread has just re-confirmed my hatred for Sunway. I am surprised the park has now been ripped apart as they originally announced that it would be kept intact and everything maintained (including gardens) for some time to come. I guess that time has lapsed. It also once again proves just how disgracefully money hungry Sunway are. They have gone to great lengths to sell EVERY last piece of the park. It is unbelievable. They are obviously not content with the hundreds of millions they have already made from the land sale

Luckily this year Luna Park has huge support from the government which will make it harder for it to be shut down. The problem is that most of the local residents are very wealthy and are not likely to stop fighting no matter what the cost. The demand which makes me the angriest is the 4m wall around the Wild Mouse. This particular ride is a signifcant heritage attraction. To suggest it now needs to be destroyed by building a big wall around it is a joke. The only demands I can see as being anywhere near reasonable are the ones that relate to Maloney's Corner. It's current design really is inadequate as we all know. I really don't think those larger rides should have been dumped out there as they do emit a lot of noise. I think this entire area needs to be redesigned. When things like this happen it makes you understand why Luna's new owners seem to be hesitant in regards to making any significant investment into the amusement park. Can you imagine if they spent millions of dollars on a new ride only to have it closed down due to noise? This is when facilities like the proposed cinema make sense. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out. I think Luna Park has the upper hand this time and let's hope it stays that way

What is a top hat rollercoaster? Explain please

I prefer the idea of an Aussie/beach theme. Dreamworld is located in one of Australia's most popular holiday/tourism destinations so I think it's a good idea for them to cash in on this. As I said before, an extension to the Ocean Parade theme would work well (if they end up using the old TB site). You could even theme it around Surfers Paradise and Main Beach... but with things gone wrong like tidal waves, shark attacks etc.

Some interesting points there Jobe. Both you and Steve mentioned that Luna Park NEED new decent rides. But apparantley the amusement park is doing really, really well this year and beating budgets. So in reality the public is saying what they've got is fine. I disagree with this sentiment to some extent but the numbers speak for themselves. At the moment there is no drawcard attraction and the rides are the same as they were in '95 (minus 2) and yet the general public heads to the park in droves. This may change over time. I'm guessing the only time LPS will actually need to add anything new is when a new park opens up in Sydney. That's probably the only thing likely to cause a dent in their attendance figures. They may decide to take initiative and increase their attraction mix before that happens but only time will tell I guess

I think coaster_crazee is referring to the fact that in that model the parks focus was total amusement park. This years park is minus some flat rides and the drawcard attraction - the Big Dipper. Ofcourse it wasn't their fault the Big Dipper had to go. I guess it depends on what you prefer - a fun park or an entertainment precinct with some rides