Funfields Dec 2022 Review/Tour

[Noll_57]

*Pic heavy thread*

Hi all! Whilst in Melbourne, I decided to visit Funfields theme park to wrap up 2022 and figured I’d share my thoughts here. 
 

For those who don’t know, Funfields is located in Whittlesea (about 40 mins from Melbourne’s CBD). Opening in February 1985 as the “Alpine Toboggan Park” (that’s right, this park pre-dates Wonderland) it was rebranded as Funfields in 2005 and has seen rapid expansion ever since.
 

The park no longer offers printed park maps, however a large sign containing the map (as well as a QR code that links you to a digital copy) is located near the entrance.

 

As you enter the park, you are greeted with a large outdoor picnic area complete with barbecues. Funfields allows (and even somewhat encourages) guests to bring their own food and drinks and camp out on the lawn (multiple people even brought tents which are also allowed). 
 

Turning left leads you to the first themed land in the park; “Mystic Kingdom”, a children’s area with a medieval theme.

The area features some impressive theming, including an interactive animatronic tree. 

 

The land is home to a series of flat rides for the youngsters, including an SBF mini drop tower, an SBF Airborne Shot, a ferris wheel, carousel, spinning balloon ride and a teacups ride re-located from Australia Zoo (most of which I forgot to take pictures of, opps)! 

 

I love the way this operator’s booth is themed.
 

The “Burnout” (formally the “Stingray” from Dreamworld) was also located in this area, but has since been retired to the car park (apparently it’s for sale).

Continuing through this area leads you to “Amazonia Falls”, the park’s interactive water playground with a jungle theme.
 

Manufactured by Wizard Works, this attraction is quite unique in that it’s completely solid-state and uses a computer to activate the water effects, rather than relying on the traditional mechanical valve technology most water playgrounds use. This also allows for some pretty interesting effects such as motion activated fountain jets and “TNT detonators” (where pushing the plunger will cause water jets hidden in the surrounding splash pool to suddenly activate, soaking unsuspecting guests). The structure also has a “tipping bucket” of sorts, though it’s not really a bucket at all. Instead the “treehouse” simply dumps water on guests every 3 mins. 
 

A smaller, more traditional water play structure by Whitewater West called Birdy Cove is also located nearby. This attraction is designed for children under 6.
 

Private cabanas are available to hire in this area as well.

 

Moving further up the hill, we arrive at the Tiki Bay Bumper Boats (manufactured by J&J Amusements), one of the older attractions at the park, having been installed in 2004. Still as popular as ever.

 

Behind Tiki Bay is the Typhoon, a Proslide Cannonbowl water slide advertised as being the longest of its kind in the world when it opened in 2013. Despite the many expansions and additional investments Funfields have made after its launch, Typhoon still remains one of my favourite slides not only in the park, but in the country! The sheer amount of speed you pick up in the enclosed section never fails to take my breath away. You absolutely FLY through this thing! That combined with the drop into the typhoon bowl itself and the suspense of not knowing if you’re going to complete the final drop facing forwards or backwards creates an incredibly fun and intense ride experience. A must do attraction when visiting the park! 

Next up is unfortunately the first stinker in the Funfields line-up IMHO, the Splashdown in-ground water slides. A flashback to the old “Alpine Toboggan Park” days, these slides were installed in the 80’s and quite frankly, that’s were they belong. Whilst they may have some historical significance, I wouldn’t mind seeing them be replaced with something a little more modern. 
 

Next are Wipeout and Blackout, two slides manufactured by Australian Waterslides and Leisure and installed in 2009. While they may have been somewhat overshadowed by their newer Proslide counterparts, these are still decent, fun slides that are worth checking out (especially Wipeout which lives up to its name. It has a tendency to launch riders over the final splashdown pool, providing a pretty thrilling finale).

 

Now we reach the ride that started it all, the Alpine Toboggan. Despite being installed in 1985, this attraction still holds up extremely well today. The carts were speed-limited a few years ago due to multiple accidents when guests ignored the warnings to slow down on corners. Some believe that this has negatively effected the ride experience, however I was still able to get my cart up to a decent speed and had a very enjoyable ride. Perhaps it differs from cart to cart? 
 

Between the Wipeout/Blackout waterslides and the toboggan is a path that leads to the rear section of the park. Following this takes you to…The Voodoo! A very highly themed Zamperla Discovery Revolution. Funfields really went all out with the theming for this attraction and the attention to detail is amazing! 
 

The basic storyline is that your are exploring an ancient temple, looking for lost treasure. However, the treasure is guarded by an ancient Voodoo spirit named “Tawhirl”. Signs throughout the queue combined with an ominous soundtrack help to set up the story and prepare you for the experience ahead. 
 

Many props (lost items from previous explorers who attempted to grab the treasure and failed) are scattered throughout the queue and around the ride area.

 

I love the attention to detail in this rock work too! It’s supposed to look as if the gondola has smashed through the middle.

Then, as you enter the site of the old temple (or board the ride) Tawhirl becomes displeased with your presence and unleashes her wrath, picking you up and throwing you around (the ride swinging you around) to keep you away from the treasure. 

The ride experience is a perfect balance of being fairly intense, but still something the whole family can enjoy. A perfect addition to the park with simply excellent theming and a well executed storyline. I also really love how the theming from nearby Volcano Beach in the background perfectly matches up with Voodoo’s theming in the foreground here. Seems the park actually thought about sight lines which is pretty impressive!

Speaking of which, Volcano Beach is the park’s wave pool and another very well themed area. I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking here:

 

As you can see, it’s probably the most immersive and highly themed wave pool in the country. I absolutely love having the volcano as the centrepiece and that there’s plenty of shade around the beach area to relax in. It pumps out some pretty decent waves too! A cafe is also located in the area offering takeaway food such as chips, burgers and pizza as well as ice creams and lollies. Salads and even coffee is also on offer here (a larger cafe near the front of the park carries a similar menu too). Private cabanas surrounding the wave pool are also available for hire.

 

Behind Volcano Beach sits the newest addition to the park, Supernova! 
 

It’s a shame this attraction has been largely overshadowed by the opening of Gumbya’s new coasters, as it’s the park’s biggest investment yet and is by far the best water ride they’ve installed to date. The pacing on this slide is fantastic. From the very beginning of the ride, you immediately pick up quite a lot of speed and navigate the first few turns at a pretty fast pace (this speed is maintained throughout the slide). The “Supanova” colour effects in the tunnel are very impressive and the fact you pass through them at fairly high speed really adds to the experience. Then comes a pretty intense drop into the main tornado (not sure if the drop is any steeper than other tornados, but it certainly feels that way) before taking one final turn and finally ending the ride in the splashdown pool. It may not come across in this write-up, but the slide is actually quite long in length and would have to be one of the most intense water slides I’ve been on (aside from maybe some drop slides). If I was to nitpick though, I would say the most disappointing aspect of the ride was the first “bowl” element near the beginning (not sure what it’s officially known as). I was expecting that you would spin around in this bowl or do something exciting. But nothing really happens. It’s just sort of there and you simply glide past it on one side and that’s it. Not really sure what the significance of it is TBH. Apart from that though, this is a sensational slide overall that is fast and thrilling and not to be missed! 

 

Next to Supernova is 2017’s Gravity Wave. I must say, the two slides weaving around each other looks very impressive from the tower. 

While Gravity Wave is definitely a decent attraction, I do unfortunately think it’s a bit of a one trick pony (at least compared to Supernova). The ride starts out incredibly slowly and meanders around until the main drop. While the main drop is still incredible and definitely worth checking out, Typhoon is still the superior slide overall IMHO, with Supernova beating them both by a mile. Still, having both Supernova and Gravity next to each other works really well and adds to a solid line-up in that area of the park. 


Next to Gravity wave is the Kraken Racer, a 4 lane aqua racer from Proslide. Another good addition to the park. 

 

The park is also home to Thunderdome Speedway, a go cart track installed in 1997 that still pulls in decent crowds today.

 

Heading back towards the front of the park leads us to Treasure Cove, a pirate themed mini golf course.

 

One of the holes even goes through a tunnel!

This cemetery area reminds me of Movie World’s Boot Hill.

In front of the mini golf is Sea World’s former Pirate Ship, Blackbeard’s Fury. Manufactured by Huss and added to the park in 2009, this attraction still rides beautifully and is well maintained by the park. It even has additional theming that wasn’t present during its time at SW. 

 

That covers all of the major attractions  the park currently has on offer. All up, Funfields is a very impressive park that is well kept, well run and features a fantastic line-up of rides with decent theming and a great atmosphere. Other factors such as themed audio throughout the park, decent food, friendly staff and great operators add to a fantastic overall experience. I do feel like the addition of a coaster is very much needed to complete with Gumbya, though there is plenty of room for expansion, so hopefully this will come later. The water rides on offer are far superior to what Gumbya currently have though. So they easily have them beat in that regard IMHO. All in all, Funfields is definitely a must do park while visiting Victoria and is easily one of the best regional parks in the country! 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Noll_57

[Vidgamer]

Great report. We moved up to QLD about 4 years ago but visited Funfields as one of the last things we did as residents of Victoria. This was all before they built the wave pool and overhauled the kids areas. Even before this I found Funfields to be a neat, tidy park with a decent range of attractions. I do like the feel of theme parks that let people bring in food and just 'relax' for the day. 

 

[TBoy]

8 hours ago, Noll_57 said:

I do feel like the addition of a coaster is very much needed to complete with Gumbya, though there is plenty of room for expansion, so hopefully this will come later. The water rides on offer are far superior to what Gumbya currently have though. So they easily have them beat in that regard IMHO. All in all, Funfields is definitely a must do park while visiting Victoria and is easily one of the best regional parks in the country! 

I agree, I would say Funfields has the best water slides while Gumbuya has the best land rides and animals. Unfortunately for Adventure Park they are alright but are the worst compared to the other two. Another good thing about Funfield's waterslides is that they have multiple towers while all of Gumbuya's slides share the same tower. I hope the latter will expand soon to have more waterslides (hopefully ProSlide ones). Either way, it is a close battle between Funfields and Gumbuya as Victoria's best theme park.

[Noll_57]

7 hours ago, TBoy said:

I agree, I would say Funfields has the best water slides while Gumbuya has the best land rides and animals. Unfortunately for Adventure Park they are alright but are the worst compared to the other two. Another good thing about Funfield's waterslides is that they have multiple towers while all of Gumbuya's slides share the same tower. I hope the latter will expand soon to have more waterslides (hopefully ProSlide ones). Either way, it is a close battle between Funfields and Gumbuya as Victoria's best theme park.

I’d say say both parks have a very different overall feel to them that goes beyond ride counts and attraction types. Gumbuya (which I just realized I misspelled in my original post) feels a bit more corporate and closer to a Gold Coast park, while Funfields seems a little more family oriented and has a unique charm to it. I think FF currently has the perfect balance of “family run action/adventure park” vibes while still having enough theming and a decent attraction line-up to be a legitimate theme park. Whereas GW is trying to emulate what’s happening on the Gold Coast. Not to say one is better than the other, but they’re both unique experiences.  

[Park Addict 93]

Appreciate the trip report and all the photos, have yet to make it to Gumbuya or Funfields.

[TBoy]

7 minutes ago, Park Addict 93 said:

Appreciate the trip report and all the photos, have yet to make it to Gumbuya or Funfields.

If you get to go to Melbourne one day you should try to get to both of them if you can. Maybe try to get to Adventure/Luna Park but if you could only pick two I would pick Gumbuya and Funfields.

[TBoy]

On 01/01/2023 at 8:31 PM, Noll_57 said:

Gumbuya (which I just realized I misspelled in my original post) feels a bit more corporate and closer to a Gold Coast park, while Funfields seems a little more family oriented and has a unique charm to it. I think FF currently has the perfect balance of “family run action/adventure park” vibes while still having enough theming and a decent attraction line-up to be a legitimate theme park. Whereas GW is trying to emulate what’s happening on the Gold Coast.

Sorry for the late post:

If I was to compare the two parks to another Australian park, they would be two different ones. For Funfields, I would compare it to Jamberoo Action Park in NSW. The two parks both have the same family-owned feel with the toboggans, but great rides to go to. Meanwhile, I would compare Gumbuya World to Dreamworld. Yes the former is much smaller than the latter, but they both have the same feel of Waterslides, Rides and Animals.

[REGIE]

Gumbuya has water slides?

[TBoy]

1 hour ago, REGIE said:

Gumbuya has water slides?

Yes they do. If I am correct these are the manufacturers for each water ride:

• Boomerango (White Water West Boomerango)
• Taipan (White Water West Rattler/Constrictor Fusion)
• Red Belly Racer (ProSlide Rally Racer)
• Tiger Snake Tango (ProSlide Custom TurboTwister)
• Typhoon Island (White Water West RainFortress)
• Surf's Up (White Water West Flowrider)
• Lazy River (White Water West Wave River)
• The Break (ProSlide Wave Pool)

Gumbuya went to WWW in Phase 1 and ProSlide in Phase 2. IIRC Funfields and White Water World only have White Water West for the water playground, Adventure Park only has them for a water playground/racing slide however Raging Waters and Wet N Wild have most of their slides with White Water West.

[REGIE]

Interesting I would love to see a polin water slide in Australia They do more themed slides. Also cool that SW swinging ship is still operating. Lots of good memories on that 

[Gazza]

3 minutes ago, REGIE said:

Interesting I would love to see a polin water slide in Australia They do more themed slides. Also cool that SW swinging ship is still operating. Lots of good memories on that 

We have many Polin slides in Australia (Distributed via Swimplex)

-Outback Splash

-Cockburn ARC

-Big Banana

-Fully 6 at Whitewater World

-Aquatopia Prariewood

And countless other quatic centers, eg Batemans bay, Adelaide Aquatic center, Craigeburn etc.

 

[Noll_57]

On 3/1/2023 at 6:57 PM, TBoy said:

Sorry for the late post:

If I was to compare the two parks to another Australian park, they would be two different ones. For Funfields, I would compare it to Jamberoo Action Park in NSW. The two parks both have the same family-owned feel with the toboggans, but great rides to go to. Meanwhile, I would compare Gumbuya World to Dreamworld. Yes the former is much smaller than the latter, but they both have the same feel of Waterslides, Rides and Animals.

Funfields has a lot more theming than Jamberoo. I personally would put FF closer to Adventure World in Perth in terms of similarities. Even though FF doesn’t currently have a coaster, I’ve found that the two parks have a pretty similar feel overall. 
 

2 hours ago, Gazza said:

We have many Polin slides in Australia (Distributed via Swimplex)

How does the quality of Polin slides compare with other brands? Haven’t they had some QC issues recently? 
 

[REGIE]

Yeah there has been some problems In the past but most of their new models are pretty good. One of their signature slides would be sick like the sting ray or giant sphere