New Themepark Plans for Sunshine Coast

[cadboy]

Just spotted this article online: What do you think? Another park that won't ever get past planning? "QUEENSLAND'S richest man, Clive Palmer, has vowed to invest "a couple of billion dollars" to make the Sunshine Coast the jewel in the state's tourism crown. The mining magnate, who recently bought the Hyatt Regency Coolum Resort, said the area was unique in the world and deserved better recognition. Mr Palmer opened fire at politicians and the private sector, saying a lack of commitment in promoting tourism overseas had led to the industry's demise. "This generation has let it die. In the past we had images of Paul Hogan putting a shrimp on the barbie and World Expo. The potential has always been there, but we have let it slip," he said. "There are 10 million Chinese going to Waikiki and the US on package tours each year. Why don't they come here?" He foreshadowed a major redevelopment of the Hyatt site and "other properties in the area" to create a resort precinct that would be attractive to international tourists. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. He would not confirm or deny considering a casino element, but said an exciting family-oriented theme park or attraction could be in the mix. The Hyatt's championship golf course would stay. "I expect to announce a comprehensive plan in May next year," he said. Mr Palmer, whose company Mineralogy is private and unaffected by the sharemarket turmoil, was at Coolum yesterday to announce the Hyatt would sponsor his Gold Coast United soccer team in the upcoming A-League season. Queensland Tourism Minister Jan Jarratt said that Mr Palmer's promise of investment was a "vote of confidence" in the state's tourism industry. "If anyone knows a good investment when they see it, it would be Queensland's richest man," she said. Ms Jarratt said she disagreed that not enough was being done to attract international tourists. She said Tourism Queensland had established offices in China and was working hard to prepare operators for the emergence of what was expected to be a strong growth market. Mr Palmer also revealed he would work towards luring direct flights with China Airlines to Sunshine Coast Airport." Article Link

[jjuttp]

"There are 10 million Chinese going to Waikiki and the US on package tours each year. Why don't they come here?"

Has he been to Sydney lately? every 10ft is a plush koala with a stick up its ass.... ;P But otherwise; building: if the dev app goes through then yes i can see it happenning.... but other wise, cause he is willing to go for the billions in this.... and tourism: making it a major destination? bahahaha good luck getting it away from Goldie, unless theres a Bolliger and Mallard in store for this park.... 0.0 (we can only hope....) And having been to the Sunshine Coast atleat twice in less then a year, i can say that theres not much happening there, and maybe thats how they wanna keep it because the place is so mellow . Unless its a highway park like 4 out of the 5 operating, then it can be a good thing. Cause the way i see it is, that if he goes ahead with this and gets it built etc, then the Ettamogah Group will get money from people flocking to the pub and aussie world (if they get ANY input in it....) And then we can see one of the ettamogah's planned theme parks too....(id link it but the stupid BOS DET wont let me acess it cause its "uncatagorised"....) And theyve wanted this to go ahead for a while. The same page has been up since i was last on it in like 2006, but now it has more pretty pictures . And then we can see some more of their shows go to air etc. Plus i think i can see my DT major fitting in here somewhere.... "attractive to international tourists" then why not go with an Australia themed themepark? ^.^

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

why not go with an Australia themed themepark? ^.^

Well - when you really sit down and ask people what they consider 'australian' themed, with the exception of rusted water tanks and windmills, red dust, kangaroos and emus, (which oddly enough is a description of the roo\emu exhibit at the singapore zoo), there isn't much "aussie" stuff to theme, that would appeal to the overseas market. Landmarks etc aside - if you look at parks that have tried for such a specialty theme - Hard Rock for example - have failed, because they don't have the broad appeal. A park on the sunshine coast would need to rely (long term) on local revenue - and most people aren't going to want to go to a park that exaggerates the same world in which we live in. Besides - what are you going to call it.... Aussie World??? #Fail. Better to take a lead out of some of the big internationals that have sprung up recently... aka universal... find a franchise willing to jump on board and work off that... or model the park on another overseas - eg: Wonderland \ Canada's Wonderland. Most of the ground work was done, specific themes in place that weren't so totally focussed on one (very restrictive) element. Sure - have an "aussie" land within the park, where the tourists can buy all the ass-stuffed koalas they want, but don't make it the WHOLE park. Now that i've responded to that - as far as the overall announcement is concerned - i'm all for another park in the country that has the balls to compete on the world market (and the money) - whether it hinder or help our other parks i don't care - it may encourage them to invest more to keep up (or it may close them down), but either way - before we even think about the ramifications of it's effect on our other parks, we need to see it get past the "media release" stage... show us some concept drawings, public opinion poll, council discussions and SHOW ME THE MONEY before we really worry about anything else. I'm still waiting for the following:

• [*]Disneyland Sunshine Coast [*]Disneyland Cairns [*]Disneyland Gold Coast [*]Disneyland Melbourne [*]Disneyland Sydney [*]New sydney theme park (not WnWs) [*]Perth development from about 6 months ago [*]any other half baked idea i've missed [*]oh - and "Habitat Waterford" ...... bwahahahahahahhaha.....

[jjuttp]

1- Name it Terra Nullious, and ill post photos of it when im done.... and; 2-Six flags Down Under Adventure Waters O'Neals Adventureland Revival JDplay's Camden Waterpark

[joz]

Habitat waterford... Omg!!!

[Gazza]

When I hear the name Waterford I can't help but think of that sprawlsville suburb near Beenleigh. Also: - Pictura near Goulburn - Lindsay Fox's revival of Luna Park Melbourne

Edited August 13, 2011 by Gazza

[POP]

Sunny Coast residents do NOT want a major theme park. The reason people move to the sunny coast is because its the ANTI Gold Coast. With that in mind, it will not get past council. Trust me. A moderate sized water park could maybe work though.

[keadz]

Sunshine coast people shouldn't live in a tourist destination if they don't want that type if development there. Similar to people living in the inner city and complaining about high rise construction or apartments going up in the same suburb. I agree it won't go ahead though...