Luna Park Sydney Wild Mouse

[downunder]

This article about Wild Mouse was in The Sydney Morning Herald today, I copied it to bypass the paywall:

‘White-knuckled terror’: Luna Park’s most popular ride to reopen after years-long restoration

Luna Park’s famous Wild Mouse rollercoaster will reopen to visitors after a two-year restoration project that left the amusement park to decode fading 60-year-old plans for the ride that were written in German.

The rackety wooden rollercoaster, which famously takes riders to views of Sydney Harbour before sending them on a series of gravity-driven dips, turns and bumps, will reopen on Thursday after being closed since 2023.

During its closure, the park’s operators removed every section of the ride and had to create a new 3D model of the site because there were no usable plans: the most recent ones they could access were more than 60 years old and entirely in German, the language of the original manufacturer.

“We’ve basically replicated every element on the old ride and then made it much better,” said Luna Park maintenance manager Raees Rafeeq, who oversaw the restorations. “We’ve got better timber structures, we have newer control systems. Everything is basically new.”

Luna Park chief executive John Hughes said the result was an “incredible engineering masterpiece that packs a lot in”.

The rollercoaster uses a conveyor-belt system that drags riders up to the highest point, by the water’s edge, before they plummet through a series of ups and downs propelled by gravity.

The Wild Mouse is one of the city’s iconic amusement park rides. It appeared in Sydney in 1963, after the park’s general manager, Ted Hopkins, had found the ride at Seattle’s World Fair years earlier. He purchased plans for the ride, which were created by German manufacturer Mack, and worked with his staff to assemble it.

It was originally conceived as a temporary ride and was dismantled and taken to the Brisbane Ekka, Melbourne and Sydney’s Easter Show. The ride was replaced by the Wild Cat in 1969 but returned in 1995 and was immediately placed on the heritage register.

“Its position is what makes it really different,” said Helen Pitt, a former Herald journalist writing a history of the park.

“It’s right on the water. Unlike the Big Dipper that went high up and around the eastern side of the park, the Wild Mouse gives you a terrifying ride over the harbour of Sydney, and it feels like you’re going to go up and spring right into the water.

“Most people don’t see the view though; they’re shutting their eyes and gripping on in white-knuckled terror.”

The ride’s restoration is the latest in a long chapter of the park’s recent rollercoaster-like ups and downs. Last year, then-owner Brookfield announced it was selling the remainder of its lease on the site. In December, NSW-based hospitality group Oscars was revealed as the new owner.

[New display name]

Some photos of the re-opening by Luna Park.

[Natti_amusements]

Looks to still be a seatbelt restraint which should mean just as good of a ride than before if not better. Glad to see this thing up and running again!

[Jobe]

23 hours ago, Natti_amusements said:

Looks to still be a seatbelt restraint which should mean just as good of a ride than before if not better. Glad to see this thing up and running again!

Yeah absolutely. I get that the owners of LPS were under a heritage order to maintain Wild Mouse as a heritage ride in its original form but i think we need to give kudos here to LPS for delivering what they have- a complete rebuild of an historic attraction to the original plans and specifcations. That doesnt happen very often on a world level let alone in Australia. Great committment by the park and this sort of attention to detail helps put our little industry on the world map. There have been so many prominent Youtubers  who have visited Australia in the last 2 years ( Theme park Worldwide, Airtime Thrills, Coaster Studios, Canobie Coaster) who has lamented missing out on getting this credit. Thsi will certainly give them the impetus and motovation to return and that will mean focus on our parks and rides again and that can only be good for our local industry.

[downunder]

^Well said, I'm really impressed too, they did an amazing job. I was looking at Wild Mouse POV video I must have taken possibly 12-14 years ago and I can really see the difference.

I'm glad they've restored it, I have a sentimental attachment to it. Wild Mouse was my partner's first coaster (albeit as a thirty-something who's always hated coasters and thinks they're unsafe) - and she never wanted to ride coasters again after lol.