Fun fairs over Christmas period?

[Noxegon]

Folks, It looks like I'll be heading down under for a week or so at the end of the year. As I always do, therefore, my question -- are there any fairs on in Australia over the Christmas period that will feature roller coasters? On my last visit (Easter 2008) I managed the Sydney Royal Easter Show - loved that Richard

[Gazza]

To the best of my knowledge I don't think there are any new coasters you haven't ridden (I don't like using the 'c' word ) on the travelling circuit at that time...Spotty, can you help? Picking up the rest of the coasters in Australia might actually be a bit of a challenge for you now...The Adelaide show has a Pinfari single looper (Big Dipper), but that is only rideable in early-mid September when that is on. The wooden mouse that used to be in Adelaide now has a home at Newcastle Show (26-28th of March) Over in Western Australia there is a Dragon Wagon and another Pinfari Looper (Python Loop), but they only appear over there (Best bet is the Royal Perth Show 26th September to the 3rd October. On the plus side, I'm presuming you will be visiting South East Queensland again, and it being the height of the school holidays means everything will be open, so riding Wild Mouse, Runaway Reptar, Jet Rescue and Sea Viper (Corkscrew is getting new trains and a retheme) should be easy,

[Noxegon]

Hmm, Sea World's site says that Corkscrew is closed 19 October-30 November - which I would have thought long enough for new trains and a retheme. Do you think it's going to be closed beyond that? http://seaworld.myfun.com.au/Attractions/A...Maintenance.htm

[Gazza]

I'd hope they can strap a new train to the tracks in the space of a over a month!...Half the re-theme is already done since they repainted the ride earlier in the year. Boxing day is the 'D-Day' for our parks, so that tends to be the absolute latest anything opens by, I cant imagine it coming to that though.

[Noxegon]

Perfect. The window I'm looking at is Dec 26-Jan 3 - which, allowing for flights, means I have six days to play with - 28/29/30/31/1/2. I will be arriving in Brisbane on the 28th, departing Melbourne the 2nd. I'm also contemplating going to see the fireworks in Sydney on New Years Eve, though I'm of mixed minds on this one as it'd be another flight and hotel change. So, for a non park related question -- with two or three days to spend in either Brisbane or Melbourne, what would people do? What sights would you go see?

[Gold Coaster]

Brisbane: Mt Cootha is awesome, that's where the TV stations are... being the highest point, you can see right over the city. The kiosk is a pretty good place to eat but the restaurant is overpriced and overrated. I am sick of Brisbane though so, really, that's the only thing I feel like mentioning. Southbank Parklands is pretty nice though and you can always get your Eye credit. And yes, I don't think anyone here would argue with me using the word 'credit' for this particular Eye... But if you don't give a crap about Eyes, you'll get a decent perspective from Mt Cootha. If you're looking for a great Chinese restaurant, go to BIG FORTUNE in New Farm (Merthyr Rd, where the Coles is). The chef is an ex-Hong Kong police inspector. Be sure to try his salt & pepper squid, ginger shallots as well as the crab & sweet corn soup. Melbourne: you could probably do the Neighbours tour if you're into that show, they'd probably run it through the holidays and assuming there's no filming going on, you will be taken to the actual street and walk around it, drive past the studios or whatever. Know you've been to Luna Park...hmm.... the Museum is also very very good. My one major visit was spent auditioning for Idol (and I made the Judges, go me! ) so I really didn't do all that much... afterwards I spent my time in Coburg, one of the outer suburbs visiting a couple of people so didn't really do all that much apart from what I mentioned...

Edited October 16, 2009 by Gold Coaster

[Spotty]

Travelling Coasters in Australia that are limited to 1 or 2 shows a year. Taipan (Sydney Show) Big Dipper (Adelaide) Python Loop (Perth) Wacky Worm (Moomba and Ekka) Gold Mine Coaster (Sydney Royal Easter Show) Coasters that travel more. Crazy Coaster (All Capitals + Regional shows in Victoria) Kiddie Roller-coasters (Sooper Jet's / Dragon Wagons)

[Gazza]

Bear in mind Melbourne does NYE fireworks too, but I guess they don't have the prestige of the Sydney ones. In Brisbane -Yeah, defintley go up to the Mt Coot-tha Summit And defintley have a look at South Bank. You can sort of do it in a loop and take it all in. Start at the Goodwill Bridge, and head up through the parklands, you'll pass the 'Streets beach' and a section with a number of cafes etc, keep heading up and you'll pass the wheel of Brisbane. You'll then reach the Cultural Center (Which has the Queensland Museum, Sciencenter, Qld Art Gallery, and the Gallery of Modern Art (All free bar the Sciencenter). Once you reach the very end you can cross back to the CBD side of the river via the new (And quite spectacular) Kurlipa Bridge ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurilpa_Bridge,_Brisbane ) -Jump on one of the CityCat ferries which run up and down the Brisbane river, with stops scattered between Uni of Queensland at St Lucia, the CBD and Hamilton. They run every 15 minutes. If you have a public transport ticket it is valid on CityCats.... $5.80 for a river cruise, bargain! http://download.translink.com.au/timetable...427_citycat.pdf http://download.translink.com.au/maps/080804_ferry.pdf -I guess its a simple one, but go to the Beach on the gold coast, they are nicer than the ones in Europe ...Shouldn't be too hard though, there is one across the road from Sea World. If you have a hire car, perhaps go for a drive up through the Gold coast hinterland, up to Tamborine etc. In Melbourne -If you do want to do more theme parky stuff, there is a large Wiegand alpine slide/toboggan run/sommarrodellbahnen at Funfields, which is 35Km north of the CBD. http://www.funfields.com.au/ -Eureka Tower is worth going up: http://www.eurekaskydeck.com.au/ , the best views of Greater Melbourne, if you want to pay extra there is this thing called 'The Edge' where you go in a box made of electric glass, and it gets extended out the side of the building, and then suddenly switched from opaque to transparent, so you are basically 300m in the air with only glass beneath you. -Spend some time just wandering the CBD, its a really nice place. In particular, Federation Square is a pretty interesting place, sort of the heart of the CBD since it was built (Though geographically not) There's also the whole Docklands precinct , which connects to the CBD. -Melbourne Museum in Carlton is worthwhile, it actually has a really nice rainforest section where you can see animals etc, so its not 100% indoors. museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/ Admission is rather quite cheap too -Just on Carlton, Lygon St is probably Melbournes main cafe district. -If you want to see an interesting natural sigh, then the Organ Pipes, 23km NW of the CDB are worth a look: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=167 It's pretty easy to get to, since its on the Calder Freeway.

[Noxegon]

Right folks, I've decided to push the "go" button on this trip, so my plans now are confirmed as follows: 28 Dec - Arrive into Brisbane at 9:00am, then visit Aussie World. 29 Dec - Sea World (morning), Dream World (afternoon) 30 Dec - Warner Brothers Movie World (as long as i feel like) then some tourism in Brisbane, culminating in dinner at Big Fortune restaurant as per recommendation! 31 Dec - Travel to Sydney, try not to grumble at what my hotel cost (!), then watch fireworks at 9pm and midnight. 1 Jan - Travel to Melbourne, Luna Park 2 Jan - Some general tourism in Melbourne area followed by late evening flight. I'd love to meet up with any local enthusiasts at any of the listed parks. Drop me a private message if you're going to be around.

[BNErider]

Dreamworld is a full-day park. Movie World and Sea World can be split up into half-day parks.

[Noxegon]

ash - Yeah, I know. However, having been to both already I know which one had the rides I liked better. As it is I might swap the parks around on the day depending on how things go. Gazza - Thanks for that, really appreciated. I'll certainly be doing that - I love those slides!

Edited October 17, 2009 by Noxegon

[Gazza]

I don't know how interested you are in water parks, but going back to Wet 'n' Wild to see the rest of the place is definitely a worthwhile exercise. However, you will be visiting on some of the busiest days of the year. My suggesting would be to get an after 5pm ticket ($24.95). The park will still be open till 9pm, and will be quieter, and you wont have to worry about sunburn. Oh, and the water jets are gone on Surfrider too, so that might be a positive or negative depending on your viewpoint.

Yeah, I know. However, having been to both already I know which one had the rides I liked better

Haha, if that's not an endorsement of WBMW, I don't know what is. Edited October 18, 2009 by Gazza

[Gold Coaster]

Hi there. Your schedule sounds great & I'd definitely love to meet up with you for Aussie World having never been there (don't have a car and enthusiasts really don't seem to want to go there)/ the other Gold Coast days. Anyway, please PM me with your IM/email detail. For some reason, I can't seem to send messages, Firefox is having conniptions.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Gold Coaster

[Noxegon]

Gold Coaster, my e-mail is my first name at my surname dot org. Drop me a line. For the Aussie World day if you can get yourself to Brisbane airport for when my flight arrives I can drop you back to somewhere close to my route afterwards (I've booked into a hotel in Surfers Paradise). The only thing I'd caution you about is that I'll be pretty tired that day (three consecutive seven hour flights will do that to you!) so I will probably not want to stay at the park more than a few hours at the outside. Gazza, I'll certainly contemplate that. I'd happily have spent longer in the park but it was bloody cold the day I was there.

[Noxegon]

Haha, if that's not an endorsement of WBMW, I don't know what is.

Bearing in mind that I don't generally do spin rides, the only attraction at Dreamworld that'd really encourages me to head back to the place is the Giant Drop - plus of course the Rugrats coaster that was closed on my last visit. Is it safe to assume that the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride is closed permanently given that it's not listed on the site any more? Personally I could spend an entire day reriding Scooby Doo at Warner Bros, and I was pretty taken with Superman too. I've also been kicking myself for missing the Looney Tunes River Ride last time, as dark rides are a major interest of mine. I know that the park is a half day one - which is fine, as I'll gladly take some time to do a little general tourism in Brisbane.

[Gold Coaster]

Certainly. I think even the biggest optimists on this board gave up on Eureka reopening ages ago! It's all boarded up and I gather they can no longer source the replacement parts. I too share a deep fondness for Scooby. LW is ok too but between Scooby, Wild West Falls and Superman, I would be happy if those were the only rides in the park. LTRR is excellent though dated in terms of technology and needing maintenance/refurbishment. But it has quite a good atmosphere. Much more than Bermuda Triangle these days which is kind of going by the wayside. Have you considered doing Australia Zoo at all?

Edited October 18, 2009 by Gold Coaster

[Noxegon]

Have you considered doing Australia Zoo at all?

Crikey! To be honest it doesn't hugely interest me... though maybe...

[Gold Coaster]

I never had the privilege of going while Steve was there still alive. I can imagine the place wouldn't be the same for those who were able to get there beforehand. That said, it's a place I definitely want to check out as an animal lover & I do freelance articles for a European amusement industry magazine. I suggested to the magazine that I conduct an interview with Terri & Bindi and a feature on the Zoo & they loved the idea.

[Noxegon]

To each their own. I can't say that I've much interest in wildlife in general - I walked around the requisite section of Dreamworld but didn't spend that long there.