Luna parks wooden wild mouse future

[REGIE]

This topic can probably be locked up if you want. The only confirmed news we have is the wild mouse is under maintenance and it’s heritage listed. In my opinion nothing can replace it I really really hope it stays. Being one of the last remaining rides of its kind and Luna park being a historic theme park it needs a historic coaster too. The wild mouse is why In my books Luna park S is better then adventure world. (Even though adventure world has better rides nothing can beat vintage coasters. Imo)

[New display name]

Maintaining the heritage and amenity of the area and keeping everything exactly the same are two very different things.

 

Who hasn't seen a heritage house with a box extension on the back?

 

[downunder]

48 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

I highly doubt the big slab of concrete out the back (where most of the expansion happened) is heritage listed 

Lol it should be. That may be site of where I rode my first ever coaster. I wish I was paying attention way back then.

[REGIE]

11 minutes ago, New display name said:

Maintaining the heritage and amenity of the area and keeping everything exactly the same are two very different things.

 

Who hasn't seen a heritage house with a box extension on the back?

 

That’s basically Luna park Sydney. They added a bunch of modern brand spanking attractions but they still have to leave that main house bit intact aka Luna face, Coney Island fun house, Big Dipper building, ect and the wild mouse is part of the house bit that has to be left intact in some way.

Edited February 6, 2023 by REGIE

[Jobe]

2 hours ago, New display name said:

You may be getting a bit over excited with this.   The whole park is heritage listed and LP just had its biggest expansion.

No not at all. To clarify, you are sort of correct but not entirely.

The whole park is not heritage listed rather there are items within the park that are placed on the state heritage listing and together they form the Luna Park Precinct. These include ( from the Conservation Management Plan Luna Park December 2019)

 

Further more, these items withing the precinct are also on the State Heritage listing and collectively appear on the National Trust of Australia register

In discussing Wild Mouse's historicial aspects , it is considered of significant value , as can be seen by the below heritage analysis. As can be seen, this does not leave much room for it to be altered or changed intrinsically in any significant way. Of course, safety will always trump heritage and there may be some future safety items that may needed to be added to ensure its ongoing operation. These will always be enacted with complete regard for heritage issues and its value- much like how the Scenic Railway currently operates at LPM

The heritage values of Luna Park Sydney are protected under a range of legislation, both state and local. Below provides  an overview of the pertinent legislation.

 

The below shows that the Wild Mouse MUST stay in its current site and cannot be ammended or significantly added to. There are areas within the parks where attractions can be added/removed ( hence how we just had 9 new rides added to the precinct , but this does NOT include removal or  altering  of the heritage signifcant items  such as Wild Mouse or Rotor)

 

The below snapshot of the site shows exactly what can be done with each area , including Wild Mouse and Rotor. This shows where new attractions and indeed any attractions can be located within the park and quite clearly states that Wild Mouse and Rotor may be moved within the park boundaries and can have fabric replacement BUT they must remain Luna Park rides.

So to summarise-

Wild Mouse cannot be altered or intrinsically changed. It MAY be moved with the park and can have new fabric replacement added to it to ensure its operation.( which being a wooden coaster is going to have to happen)

Undere the CMP, it MUST remain a Luna Park ride which means that anyone holding the lease MUST maintain it and ensure of its future operation.

I would urge you to track down the Conservation Management Plan to study as it is a very interesting read. This should quell any calls of the future of Wild Mouse into question and any speculation of its removal and finally any overreactions or "excitement" calls being elicited. 

[Dean Barnett]

 

[New display name]

@JobeI didn't say you're wrong, I said you were getting over excited with this.  You said they can't alter it and you have now cleared up what they can alter.

What will happen one day when no company is willing to build a new car for it?  A whole lot of legislation was written for Luna Park and not just the heritage stuff and if we have learnt anything from SW building heights, governments change this stuff all the time.  The ride is protected for now.

 @Dean Barnettthere is no need to add to what @Jobesaid, he did a good job all by himself.

[Jobe]

6 minutes ago, New display name said:

What will happen one day when no company is willing to build a new car for it?  A whole lot of legislation was written for Luna Park and not just the heritage stuff and if we have learnt anything from SW building heights, governments change this stuff all the time.  The ride is protected for now.

100%. The legislation can change. No doubt. But i think comparing the historical value of the Luna Park precinct to SW's heights issues is a little disingenous- they are 2 vastly different items. Changing things on the historical register and of state significance is quite hard- not impossible of course- but difficult nonetheless. I am quite comfortable in saying that Wild Mouse's future for the short to mid term is quite assured. But hey yeah things can happen.

11 minutes ago, New display name said:

@JobeI didn't say you're wrong, I said you were getting over excited with this.  You said they can't alter it and you have now cleared up what they can alter.

Ha- if you think I am over excited now you should see me after 4 or 5 schooners in!! Now thats excitement!!

You're welcome. 

[New display name]

7 minutes ago, Jobe said:

Ha- if you think I am over excited now you should see me after 4 or 5 schooners in!! Now thats excitement!!

You're welcome. 

I thought it was a requirement to be 4 or 5 schooners in before posting in here.  

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

3 minutes ago, New display name said:

I thought it was a requirement to be 4 or 5 schooners in before posting in here.  

That explains a lot, and I think your day drinking might be impacting on your job.

[New display name]

@DaptoFunlandGuylucky I work for myself these days.  

[REGIE]

2 hours ago, New display name said:

if we have learnt anything from SW building heights

What’s that got to do with the price of eggs in the Philippines

[Ranger]

My three cents here, it's not going anywhere. Firstly, there's no way that Luna Park would get rid of its most iconic attraction. When people think of LPS, they think of Wild Mouse. It's an icon of Sydney, as well as the only wooden Wild Mouse, left which is no small claim to fame. Sure, Big Dipper is a big drawcard for the park and probably a better ride overall, but Wild Mouse is WAYYYYY more iconic. It's like going through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel vs. The Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sure, the tunnel may be newer and in some cases faster, but nothing beats the original. Secondly, its heritage listed by the state government, meaning the park would have to go to hell and back to get it removed. They have enough trouble doing anything in the park, let alone removing a heritage-listed ride. It would have to be beyond repair for the park to remove it. 

[Baconjack]

7 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

I highly doubt the big slab of concrete out the back (where most of the expansion happened) is heritage listed 

From memory its the face, crystal palace, coney island, the wild mouse and the rotor that are specifically protected. None of these are going anywhere, nor should be suggested as such.

Otherwise the rest of the park is fair game. That said, the land is still zoned for use as an amusement park.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Baconjack

[REGIE]

55 minutes ago, Ranger said:

When people think of LPS, they think of Wild Mouse

Exactly! It’s that familiar face that makes you feel more at ease. Big Dipper is epic as a new coaster but wild mouse is the ride your grand parents probably went on and then you got to ride it and then your kids get to ride it. It’s that’s iconic muilt-generation experience  that is just as fun as it was back it the 60s/50s.  

[Noxegon]

1 hour ago, Ranger said:

as well as the only wooden Wild Mouse, left which is no small claim to fame

There are actually three wooden mice still in operation.

The other two are in Surabaya, Indonesia – one came from Adelaide and the other from Melbourne.

[Jobe]

3 hours ago, Noxegon said:

There are actually three wooden mice still in operation.

The other two are in Surabaya, Indonesia – one came from Adelaide and the other from Melbourne.

Yeah that point was raised quite a few posts ago- it’s annoying when reply’s obviously don’t read the posts that come after .

Interesting fact regarding the other 2 exisiting Wild Mouse coasters. When Luna Parks Ops manager Hoppy went overseas to secure new rides for the park, he purchased the rights to the Wild Mouse coaster. He came back and under license built not one but three units- one for Luna Park and 2 others for sites across Australia- namely the Melbourne and Adelaide show grounds. The 2 in Indonesia are these units. Both of them should never have been allowed to leave Australia. Either of them would have been a great fit in one of our 2nd tier parks- Aussie World should have bought one to replace their unit which came from the US via Perth. A hugely missed opportunity.

[REGIE]

I know! Australia could have been the wooden wild mouse capital of the world

[Jobe]

2 hours ago, REGIE said:

I know! Australia could have been the wooden wild mouse capital of the world

Could have been? It WAS the wooden Wild Mouse capital for a long big time when we actually had FOUR units available with Aussie World’s unit. Again I reiterate the Hopkins Wild Mouse that went to Indonesia should never have been allowed. What is such a rare model could only have resided in Australia. That’s why LPS’s unit is so important and historically significant and why enthusiasts will travel to add this rate coaster credit. 

 

[REGIE]

Wild mouse is still closed.  I haven’t seen many people cover it in videos or anyone show them doing much work on it at all.  I decided to contact the park just in case they had new information. They didn’t give me much but this makes me think it might be getting a retrack. 

[downunder]

It's been closed since what, August or September and that's on top of a lengthy closure earlier in 2022. 

Is it a bugdet thing or something seriously wrong they didn't anticipate?

There's been plenty of things they didn't get around to like the season pass loyalty rewards, the app. To be fair covid delaying reopening might have hit them hard.

 

[Noxegon]

On 06/02/2023 at 3:29 PM, Jobe said:

Interesting fact regarding the other 2 exisiting Wild Mouse coasters. When Luna Parks Ops manager Hoppy went overseas to secure new rides for the park, he purchased the rights to the Wild Mouse coaster. He came back and under license built not one but three units- one for Luna Park and 2 others for sites across Australia- namely the Melbourne and Adelaide show grounds. The 2 in Indonesia are these units. Both of them should never have been allowed to leave Australia. Either of them would have been a great fit in one of our 2nd tier parks- Aussie World should have bought one to replace their unit which came from the US via Perth. A hugely missed opportunity.

Why would a park remove a perfectly good wooden mouse and replace it with another? 

Aussie World's mouse was a great ride. It's a huge shame that they weren't able to keep it going.

[REGIE]

44 minutes ago, Noxegon said:

Why would a park remove a perfectly good wooden mouse and replace it with another? 

Aussie World's mouse was a great ride. It's a huge shame that they weren't able to keep it going.

Seems weird on paper but there is probably a lot more complications to maintaining and keeping a wooden WM up to safety standards.  My guess to why they removed it is AW wasn’t doing so good and couldn’t spend the money on it. It might have needed something major. But still I really wish they kept it.   
 

what I do not understand is why the hell did they replace it with another mouse…  so many better options for a similar price tag surely.  Like a ZDT’s switchback clone. But I guess that means they have to upkeep a wooden coaster again which obviously they don’t want to do.   But even a Vekoma family coaster would have been good.

[Park Addict 93]

9 hours ago, downunder said:

Is it a bugdet thing

This is my theory, Annual Pass prices dropped significantly and Twilight Tickets have been introduced. Merchandise pricing is even higher than Movie World.

[downunder]

1 hour ago, Park Addict 93 said:

This is my theory, Annual Pass prices dropped significantly and Twilight Tickets have been introduced. Merchandise pricing is even higher than Movie World.

While I'm supportive, given their circumstances just after they launched season passes, part of being willing to pay $199 for the season pass for me was the additional incentives that didn't happen. For some reason I didn't get the $99 offer to renew, but $125 is palatable.

They've got to get the wild mouse going again lol, it was my partner's first ever coaster, and she refuses to ride it ever again. It gives me the opportunity to encourage her to try again.