GoGoBoy

Hmm it appears to be very small but I guess that could just be the pictures. Is it my imagination or is this going to be a mini top hat coaster? Sort of like a launch for kiddies. Hopefully the theming will make up for what it lacks in size

Thanks Adam. Does anyone know if this slide is basically just going to be another type of Mammoth River? You couldn't really call it 'new' and 'exciting' if that was the case. Wet 'n' Wild tends to do things like this. In the past they just enclosed the existing River Rapids ride and marketed it as a major new attraction for the year - Terror Canyon II. It's time WnW got itself either a master blaster or some decent enclosed tube slides (of which they do not have enough)

Great news! Look forward to your updates Richard

Good on them for the continuing expansion. However, if they do end up calling the ride 'Mammoth River' I will be appalled. Think of a moderately original name at least

Adam - your site looks great! The overall design is fantastic. Good on you for including lots of pics of the coaster under construction. I know the park has supposedly banned them but really what is a theme park site without pics of our biggest new attraction under construction? Top work!

Yeah I don't really see how we can hope for any major expansions of Dreamworld if they're going to build something like this on the excess land. It just wouldn't be feasible to have one of those giant coasters you see in the US at DW if the surrounding land is developed. A shame really

What were the crowds like? Surely the park must be declining in popularity fast. With all the recent media reports about problems with the rides and the fact that the current owners are selling up I am sure this would keep people away. I know if I had kids I wouldn't be taking them there in its current state. I may be wrong though, as the general public can behave in unpredicatable ways sometimes. I would imagine a lot of people will be waiting to see what happens with the new park

Comparing the 2 parks at this stage is pretty pointless. They both have 1 or 2 remnants of heritage significance with the rest of the park being made up with 2nd hand carnival rides. I think it will be a very different story when Luna Park Melbourne gets its upcoming 're-birth'. Hopefully it will become a true fun park in the spirit of the old Luna Park's and then the best park will be obvious to everyone

The Wiggles park map looks craptacular! I really think they need to get rid of that river as it's so dominating and ends up making the area seem very cramped. Also think it's a bit dodgey the way they have incorporated Farmyard Friends in an attempt to make Wiggle's World seem bigger. It might be have been ok if Farmyard Friends was a bit closer but as it is it's so far away it has to have a seperate reference on the map. So altogether we have 1 ride, some shops, an 'activity centre' and an already existing animal exhibit all surrounded by a big bushy swamp/river. Can't say I'm overly impressed. Sorry guys but you know how I love being picky, I can't help myself. One positive thing I will say though is this is a heck of a lot better than anything Wonderland would have produced. Remember the ads and big posters for 'Super Hero Headquarters'? Everyone got so excited and all it turned out to be was a Marvel merchandise section in the gift shop

I had a theory a while back (when I first found out they were building Wiggles World in River Town) that the current vintage car ride would be re-themed as the Big Red Car ride. Seemed like the sort of thing Dreamworld would do. Does anyone know if this is the case?

I tell you what Colin, the current Luna Park would certainly be an easier model to build. All you'd have to do is add a few conference buildings, a big warehouse/shed (Big Top), an office block, a brasserie building, a large ticket booth with a car park ramp behind it and a large flat area out behind Coney Island with a few portable pieces of junk scattered around randomly. Not nearly as fun as the old models though

It shows you just how small Dreamworld really is and how strange the layout is. Also shows how much the park needs another coaster. I have my doubts about how much space Dreamworld really has left (considering the fact they want to use the excess land as a town centre) for future expansion. I think it's about time to say goodbye to that river, especially now that Rivertown is gone. Or at least build something over the top of it. It just takes up so much space

Let's hope this new plan goes ahead the way it has been described. It will certainly give Luna Park Sydney a run for its money and show the general public that a Luna Park can be so much more than just 2nd hand carnival rides stuck on a bit of asphalt. I'm looking forward to seeing this new incarnation raise the bar and in turn people's expectations

I have seen a model similar to the one Zamperla posted sitting in the North Sydney library. I am not sure how accurate it is. I think you will find there is quite a large difference between the Beastie and LPS's original Big Dipper. The Big Dipper certainly seemed a lot longer and stretched a decent length of the park

A lot of the general public (the ones who aren't overly interested in theme parks) tend to think that just about every roller coaster or ride is called 'the Big Dipper'. I also find that particularly the older ones are under the impression that every ride has something to do with Luna Park. It's quite funny really

Yes your Dad is lying... or he's one of those people who like to sound like they know the facts when they are not really sure either way

The 2 coasters have nothing at all to do with each other from what I know. The Big Dipper at LPS was quite badly damaged by the Ghost Train fire. There was no River Caves fire as someone else mentioned... although a section of the River Caves was damaged by the Ghost Train fire. Although it could have been repaired, the owners of the park in the 80's completely demolished the Big Dipper and trashed it

Yeah there was something about the Roulette Wheel that really used to appeal to me too. I remember really enjoying the ride when I was a kid. Perhaps they modified the operation of the ride when it became Stingray? It certainly seems a lot tamer. I actually quite like the way they re-themed the ride to fit Ocean Parade and think it was a pretty clever transformation. You can't say they didn't put any effort into it. I have seen a picture of it recently and noticed they upgraded the op booth when they expanded Ocean Parade - looks good with the nautical theme and big octopus on top

I'm not debating whether Sunway had a right to do it or not. It is obvious that they were well within their rights to do it. But just because a company makes a decision doesn't mean you just have to agree with it or be happy about it. When companies do decide to close down factories employing lots of people, you don't find a lot of people saying "well, that's fine with me, it's their right" do you? You are going to get a lot of angry and upset people who are going to make it as difficult for the company as possible. It seems to me like a number of you guys (particularly the bitter ex-employees) are quite supportive of Sunway and their decision to close and sell off the park. No one's trying to bring Wonderland back to life anymore. However, I will continue to believe that what occured and the way in which it was carried out was very poor. It was sneakily sold off as an industrial estate by a foreign company. This is after 20 years of local ownership (at least part local) which had managed to keep it going strong as an iconic theme/wildlife park for the people of Sydney and its visitors

I'm not debating whether Sunway had a right to do it or not. It is obvious that they were well within their rights to do it. But just because a company makes a decision doesn't mean you just have to agree with it or be happy about it. When companies do decide to close down factories employing lots of people, you don't find a lot of people saying "well, that's fine with me, it's their right" do you? You are going to get a lot of angry and upset people who are going to make it as difficult for the company as possible. It seems to me like a number of you guys (particularly the bitter ex-employees) are quite supportive of Sunway and their decision to close and sell off the park. No one's trying to bring Wonderland back to life anymore. However, I will continue to believe that what occured and the way in which it was carried out was very poor. It was sneakily sold off as an industrial estate by a foreign company. This is after 20 years of local ownership (at least part local) which had managed to keep it going strong as an iconic theme/wildlife park for the people of Sydney and its visitors

Yeah I liked UnderwaterWorld although I did visit around 10 years ago. I really liked the whole layout and its location on the wharf. I thought it was what an aquarium should be. Much better than Sydney Aquarium (I could never understand why that place is so popular... I really dislike it for many reasons). And joz you're right - the surrounding shops and things are very nice. I have/had a brochure from when I visited that has an illustrated map of UnderWater World and the wharf/shops. It is in typical theme park cartoony style. It shows a bit of the surrounding area aswell including the beach across the road with windsurfers and beachy activities going on. Aaaah, reminds me of holidays

So based on what you guys are saying it would be quite ok for a company to buy out all of the Queensland theme parks, not invest any further in them, then close them down and sell off the land for residential purposes would it? And if the company did do this you would think that was perfectly fine and not have any problem with it? Never mind the fact that there would be no theme parks left - business is all about making money afterall, they can do what they like. When I become a crazy billionaire one day I am planning to invest heavily in Malaysia. I plan to buy out the Sunway parks (most of which are located in the heart of the city, with Sunway owned resorts and residential areas surrounding them), bulldoze them and turn them into dirty big stinking swamps. Wouldn't get much of a return financially but it would be fun

Yeah good point Jobe! I'd love to see more pics from LPM (and LPS) in the 80's, especially showing LPM's Big Dipper. I can't find anything

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