A new ride replacing LPS Ranger?

[Ranger Dude]

Some pics of the new backdrop - can't see much unfortunately...

[T-Rex]

Hmm, so they repainted the backdrop, eh? Looks alright, though they should've kept the rainbow backdrop, since it does give hints that they originally were planning to have Rainbow. I hope they'll have one soon. BTW, what's with the moon in the backdrop? Is it gonna have the famous smiley face of the Luna Park entrance? It sure looks like it.

Edited August 10, 2010 by T-Rex

[Ranger Dude]

Apparently the Ranger is due to be reopened next Friday 20th. Here's another pic showing a bit more of the ride from the front, although it's mostly blocked by the fencing (which seems to be giving away a few clues as to the backdrop theming)

[T-Rex]

Okay, so it's not the LPS smiley face painted in the new backdrop for the Ranger. Glad to hear it's reopening next week.

Edited August 14, 2010 by T-Rex

[Jobe]

Okay, so it's not the LPS smiley face painted in the new backdrop for the Ranger. Glad to hear it's reopening next week.

The backdrop is actually a rendering from a famous French silent movie of 1902 called ironically, "A Trip To the Moon" The director, a George Melies, is considered one of the greatest innovators of early cinema. This movie used never before seen special effects and the movie itself was loosely based on 2 novels,"From the Earth to The Moon, by Jules Verne, and "The First Men In the Moon" by H G Wells. It has the distinction of being the first ever science fiction feature commited to film and was voted number 84th in an official 100 Greatest/influential films of the 20th Century I have attached 2 photos to show where LPS derived its inspiration for the Ranger's new backdrop. One is a still from the film ,while the other is a promotional sheet. LPS's new backdrop is obviously heavily influenced by both. Its about time that LPS put a little bit of effort into giving their rides a little bit of theming, even if its just a backdrop. As has been stated on these forums before, if all the rides had a themed bridge,much like the rides of LPS of yesteryear, it would go along way to restoring a feeling of consistency and would remove that "carnival" look that pervades the park at this time. The use of the motif in the Ranger's baricades as well could suggest that this could be a theme that could well be utilised throughout the park. I have to say that I like it and I think its a step in the right direction, albeit a small one. Cheers Jobe

[T-Rex]

Oh yeah, I remember that. I used to watch a lot of documentaries on astronomy when I was kid, and that's where I've seen that footage of the moon with the telescope in its eye. One thing I hope is that will make the Ranger run in its full potential. The first time I rode the Ranger it stopped at the top, so I was upsidedown for a few seconds. Pretty fun and thrilling experience. In that case of the new backdrop, the Ranger will now be referred to as a starship than a pirate ship. Wait a minute, don't we already have a space theme for Flying Saucer?

Edited August 20, 2010 by T-Rex

[Jobe]

The Ranger has been added back into the ride lineup list on the LPS website. It appears the backdrop is now much more than just scenery as their has been a name change to "Moon Ranger" . Well, it is an attempt at some semblance of themeing!! It appears it will be up and running for the upcoming school holidays. Also the website is running a competion for free tickets to John Farnham at The Big Top for LPS 75th anniversary, and also includes megapass giveaways.Entry is on the site..check it out- it looks very good!! I would really love to see a whole new ride that hearkens back to LPS's heyday be introduced in time for LPS 75th birthday-maybe the park have a few more surprises up their sleeve. Time will tell!!:-) Cheers Jobe.

[T-Rex]

I would really love to see a whole new ride that hearkens back to LPS's heyday be introduced in time for LPS 75th birthday-maybe the park have a few more surprises up their sleeve. Time will tell!!:-)

*sigh* if only that could happen. They should've kept Wave Swinger as a permanent addition to LPS. I really wish they could add Rainbow, KMG Experience, and Mondial Swinger, let alone a bigger and thrilling rollercoaster. That would've been awesome. Well, let's hope for the best in the future.

[Gazza]

appears the backdrop is now much more than just scenery as their has been a name change to "Moon Ranger" . Well, it is an attempt at some semblance of themeing!!

I've always wondered why this type of ride is called a "Ranger" anyway....I thought a ranger was a keeper of a national park/state forest?

[Jobe]

*sigh* if only that could happen. They should've kept Wave Swinger as a permanent addition to LPS. I really wish they could add Rainbow, KMG Experience, and Mondial Swinger, let alone a bigger and thrilling rollercoaster. That would've been awesome. Well, let's hope for the best in the future.

T-Rex, Waveswinger is staying at the park until at least March, which is a good thing. What is interesting is that both the "Moon Ranger" and "Waveswinger" do not have a location applied to either of the rides on the website. All the other rides such as Spider and Rotor have either a "Maloneys Corner" or " Midway" label attached to them. This could mean that the park has not finalised the exact location of these rides once the Moon Ranger finally comes back online. As has been stated before, this could mean that any temporary Xmas ride numbers could be curtailed, as the available space is diminishing. Unless of course they utilise the slab next to the Tumblebug, which is really the only decent sized space left in the park, once the space between the Crysatl Palace and the Ice Creamery is used.Still, I hope we get at least 2 more additional rides for the traditional Xmas hols!! This would make LPS that much more attractive for a school holiday visit!! Cheers Jobe

[T-Rex]

I've always wondered why this type of ride is called a "Ranger" anyway....I thought a ranger was a keeper of a national park/state forest?

Funny how you brought that up, Gazza, because I'm just remebering something about the Ranger. This may sound pretty dumb, but when I was little I misread the name of the ride as "Banger", because the letters coupled with it colored bright yellow played with my eyes. I was like "WTF do they mean by that?" Still, good point on why the ride is called "Ranger". I guess that's what the Germans decided to call it. All the same, they could have called it "Space Looper", or something along those lines.

[jjuttp]

i was there today, the wave swinger has already been put in and there is some psychedelic thinggo behind it