Go Karts Set to Close at Funfields

[themagician]

I noticed on the Funfields park map that it states that the Go Karts are set to close in Feburary 2024. My assumption is they are being closed permantley and we could see new attractions built here in the future. However, do the go karts usually close earlier or maybe they are doing some work to them? 

 

[Jobe]

1 hour ago, themagician said:

I noticed on the Funfields park map that it states that the Go Karts are set to close in Feburary 2024. My assumption is they are being closed permantley and we could see new attractions built here in the future. However, do the go karts usually close earlier or maybe they are doing some work to them? 

 

My assumption is that if they are announcing this on their map, then for mine the Go karts are gone for good. They certainly do occupy a decent parcel of land and whilst I do not expect a coaster announcement, it would be great for this park to install a new themed area with 2-3 new family thrill flat rides. This park needs to balance out its dry attraction offerings and this would go a long way in addressing that.

[TBoy]

8 hours ago, themagician said:

I noticed on the Funfields park map that it states that the Go Karts are set to close in Feburary 2024.

If true, hopefully something better than them can replace it. When I went in Feb this year they were running very slow as they were speed controlled. I would be happy if a flat or two replace it, the more thrilling the better.

Also looks like the golfing has been quietly removed and replaced by a picnic area.

Edited November 15, 2023 by TBoy

[wikiverse]

I think the most disappointing thing about this news is that @themagician missed an opportunity to title this thread: "Go Karts to become Stop Karts at Funfields"

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I have no inside knowledge, but looking at that park map, my thoughts would be to see a slide tower of some sort go in that gap, rather than flats. 

[themagician]

I believe in an interview or article (might have been on ParkChat), Funfields indicated that there focus was more on water slides. They indicated that when the weather isn't nice in Victoria, people don't go outside, but when it is nice (and hot) they mostly ride the water slides, so to meet that demand from their guests, that's where they put their focus.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It's been pointed out to me elsewhere that the city of whittlesea has published a building approval for demolition of the go karts to accommodate a proposed lazy river and dodgem cars. application was submitted 19/5 and approved 18/7.

[WalleyWorld]

On Friday Funfields announced through their social media channels that the official last operating day of the Thunderdome Go Karts will be today (Sunday 25th Feb 2024). There is approx. 20 operating days left for the 23/24 season. It'll be interesting to see how the crowds fare, without the go karts, during the Victoria labour day weekend and Easter school holidays.

Smart move by the park to retire an old, space-hogging, low-capacity attraction. And bring in 2x new timeless and family-friendly themepark/waterpark attractions, that will have a more flexible height/age restrictions than the go-karts (ultimately catering to a broader audience). Together, these new rides will should boost capacity significantly.

https://www.facebook.com/Funfields/posts/pfbid02ZBVb5UhRqsBrwCKZTmyikBzzvzBZingevhF72YgpTWSCxs5EPaAQ6qcg7mDbtixxl

Edited February 25 by WalleyWorld

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It's ok - if you love the gokarts, I heard they're headed west, so you'll still be able to ride them if you travel back in time 2 hours and 20 years by visiting Perth.

[themagician]

Just came across this video from Mitty Theme Parks showing the land has already been demolished to make way for the lazy river and dodgems. I believe the park is now closed for the cooler season, so we probably want see anything until the area is complete when the park reopens.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 08/04/2024 at 1:10 PM, themagician said:

so we probably want see anything until the area is complete when the park reopens.

au contraire, sir.

[shrug]

fibreglass has been installed on the new lazy river named Mystique

[Noll_57]

Funfields has released more information about their Lazy River expansion for this season. Its official name is “Lava Lagoon” and will feature theming that ties it into the nearby Volcano Beach wave pool and Voodoo (essentially turning that whole section of the park into one giant cohesively themed area). The park will also be adding bumper cars on the site of the former go karts shed. 

[Naazon]

Thats way too much itching for my comfort levels.

[Gazza]

What themed zone do the Cyber Drift bumper cars belong to?

[Noll_57]

3 hours ago, Gazza said:

What themed zone do the Cyber Drift bumper cars belong to?

Based on what the park has shown so far, I’m pretty sure they’re going to get their own dedicated area that’s separated from the Lava Lagoon/Volcano Beach zone. They’re going to be housed within a show building that appears to take up some of the land from the former Pirate themed Treasure Cove mini golf site. I’d say that entire area in front of Cyber Drift will be reworked to fit the attraction. I just hope they’re able to hide/disguise the rear of the building on the Lava Lagoon side so it doesn’t take away from the (what looks to be fairly impressive) theming. 

Edited October 10 by Noll_57
Spelling

[WalleyWorld]

 

[Noll_57]

I’m currently down in Melbourne to see family and managed to pop into Funfields to check out the progress on Lava Lagoon.

As you can see, it’s really starting to take shape and I love the quality of the rock work. The way the sight-lines match up with Voodoo, Volcano Beach and Lava Lagoon’s theming here is great. 

Speaking with staff, it sounds like there’s a lot more theming yet to be installed around LL. Apparently, there will be a number of special effects and audio throughout the river. Speaking of which, the park has also introduced a brand new IMAscore soundtrack for the entrance area this season, which I believe is the first use of IMAscore’s music in an Australian theme park! It’s fantastic to see the park caring about smaller details like this. 

[TBoy]

53 minutes ago, Noll_57 said:

It’s fantastic to see the park caring about smaller details like this. 

I love it too, I will be heading there in summer so will be cool to check out. I always love how Funfields puts special effort into theming, it could be the family owned nature that helps put in the special detail rather than corporate ownership who only care about making a profit.

The way it fits into both Voodoo and Volcano Bay is one thing I love as well, they put in the effort to make it cohesive (cough cough Superman next to Wizard of Oz) 

Edited November 16 by TBoy

[Narra]

Saw the designer post a scale model on their instagram the other day, its visible in the background of their website: https://www.biscuit.net.au/ and on YouTube:

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 17/11/2024 at 12:44 AM, TBoy said:

they put in the effort to make it cohesive (cough cough Superman next to Wizard of Oz) 

"Movie theme parks" get away with that though. You're walking through film sets which only matters what the camera can see. Guests are walking "behind the scenes"

23 hours ago, Narra said:

Saw the designer post a scale model on their instagram the other day, its visible in the background of their website: https://www.biscuit.net.au/ and on YouTube:

 

I didn't think Biscuit was still working for funfields? maybe this is an old render?

[Gazza]

On 17/11/2024 at 12:44 AM, TBoy said:

 

The way it fits into both Voodoo and Volcano Bay is one thing I love as well, they put in the effort to make it cohesive (cough cough Superman next to Wizard of Oz) 

Hang on a sec, the themed land has to transition at some point doesn't it? The whole park cant be superman themed, nor WoZ themed.

What attractions are on the other side of Volcano Bay or Voodoo, are they also tribal/island themed? If not, how is this any different?

Actually, I'll answer my own question @TBoy ....If it's ok to Have Gravity Wave / Supernova next to Volcano Bay, therefore it's ok to have Superman next to WoZ.

Edited November 17 by Gazza

[Noll_57]

On 17/11/2024 at 1:44 AM, TBoy said:

I love it too, I will be heading there in summer so will be cool to check out. I always love how Funfields puts special effort into theming, it could be the family owned nature that helps put in the special detail rather than corporate ownership who only care about making a profit. 

Yeah, Funfields is a very underrated park IMHO. They do so many things extremely well (especially for a family run operation). You can tell there’s a genuine effort from management to make the guest experience the best it can be and as you mentioned, there’s a real noticeable focus on things that I feel have been neglected at some of the GC parks recently (such as audio, theming, friendliness of the staff and overall park presentation). The only thing they need is a coaster! 

On 17/11/2024 at 1:44 AM, TBoy said:

The way it fits into both Voodoo and Volcano Bay is one thing I love as well, they put in the effort to make it cohesive (cough cough Superman next to Wizard of Oz) 

The thing to remember about Movie World is that the park is pretty small and space is limited, so there isn’t really much else they can do. As others have pointed out, you can get away with having multiple lands and attractions in close proximity to each other at MW because they’re all tied together with the overarching “movie studio backlot” theme. I actually think the park has done a fairly good job of separating Wizard of Oz from Superman Escape despite them being right next to each other (seeing as though a lot of WOO will be hidden away within the AA courtyard and pre-show building).

10 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I didn't think Biscuit was still working for funfields? maybe this is an old render?

I thought the same thing. This is definitely an early render since it has a completely different name and doesn’t feature any of the volcanic theming the park has decided to go with. 

[TBoy]

The point I am trying to make is that they make it cohesive down to the sightlines. The area here fits in with the theming of both Voodoo and Volcano Bay, making it a smooth transition. Whilst at Movie World you will be able to see almost all the coasters from WoO, I cannot remember seeing Superman fly a train of passengers in Wizard of Oz for example. But you are right, Movie World doesn’t have a lot of land especially compared to even the other parks on the coast.

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 hours ago, Noll_57 said:

I actually think the park has done a fairly good job of separating Wizard of Oz from Superman Escape despite them being right next to each other (seeing as though a lot of WOO will be hidden away within the AA courtyard and pre-show building).

Wanna know what they could have done better? Utilising the original pathway for that ride plot by opening up chinatown alley again, thereby having the Oz entrance right off mainstreet with a beautiful 'yellow brick road' themed path all the way back before the big reveal of the Emerald city IN FRONT of you (instead of behind as you enter).

By the looks of the latest vloggers posts like Jaggs, they're opening up the path from scooby and themeing it green, it wouldn't have taken much extra effort and the rainbow entrance could have been off main street instead of next to Superman's brake run....