Wonderland Sydney is closing!

[willsy]

^ I'd say it's pretty darn official, since the parks CEO Steven Gailbraith stated that the park would close (along with a bunch of employees). Also, you wouldn't have to drive 14 hours to go to a theme park - Luna Park is opening on April 2nd!

Yeah but i mean a theme park with thrill rides like coasters and that. By the way what will luna park have as in the rides department?

[GoGoBoy]

If you wouldn't mind, save the Luna Park questions for the Luna Park section of these forums. I don't want to sidetrack from this important topic. Even though I guess it was inevitable for Wonderland to close considering the way Sunway were doing things... I am still amazed that we are even discussing this. It is all very surreal don't you think? I can't get my head around it. They day has actually come. No more WS. So, so weird. Richard - looking forward to your thoughts on this...

[Ian]

What I will be following is (1) where the rides will be going. or (2) if it will be redeveloped under a new ownership and opened as a new name down the road. As Sydney has a 4 million population they need a park.

[stdragon03]

This is sad news i have been going to wonderland since it open.This on top of the Luna park debacle.There is going to nothing for the youth,Families and us coaster enthusiasts to do. Who do you aim your disgust at the Park Management obviously they dont listen to their customers or even the State government for not doing enough to help with issues such as insurance premiums. What does the future hold for us in Sydney? I hope the Government does see a need for a decent theme Park and make it easy for someone to invest or create a new park hopefully this time build properly.

[Bussy]

I think everyone’s anger towards the management at Wonderland is misdirected. Yes they have made some bad decisions, and I am in no way defending them, but when there is zero or very little money made available from outside the park i.e. from the owners, it makes it very hard to do anything major to the park. As yet the park has not been sold or has any of the rides so after it closes the rides will remain and it will become a ghost theme park, however this will change as the rides will now be for sale on the market and we can also hope that Wonderland will be bought before it closes and will remain open for years to come. "The Bus is now leaving for Ownaview, Queensland"

[DJKostya]

Very sad. I was born the same day that Wonderland opened. (Not the official date though) I wonder what will happen next.

[Scared of Jack]

Well you cant entirely blame sunway! At least some of the blame must go to the so called park management. If they did listen to their guests and employees things might have changed. The CEO was hardly ever at wonderland How do you know they didnt have any money? How do you know if they will help the employees find work? All management cared for was themselves and driving around in flashy cars!!!!!! Maybe the blame should be directed at the CEO! Defending him? No way in the world!

[Psycho]

A very sad day. Surely this park could have and still could survive if the owners actually wanted it to. I think the sad part will be seeing Wonderland sitting dormant until the land is re-zoned, and factories are built in it's place...

[Scared of Jack]

I agree with psycho 110% It is a very sad day and reality has just sunk in!

[Richard]

Here's an article from a Malaysia newspaper. It says there mid-year, so maybe we have a bit longer than Wonderland suggested. What you must understand is the conditions that Wonderland's management were working under. As wonderbus suggested, they had next to no resources available. Sunway refused to give them any budget. Given the condition of the park, certainly up until the beginning of 2003, I think it was amazing how well they kept the place looking. I always thought Wonderland was a far better presented park than the Gold Coast parks. Stephen Galbraith should be praised for his efforts. To me he was not far off from being a miracle worker. You can't blame the management team for the closure. Sunway are closing the park. This is a decision from their board of directors and nothing Wonderland's management could change. Considering up until last year they were repainting much of the park and they're still running competitions right now (which don't expire until mid-year), I think this was sprung upon Wonderland's management as abruptly as it was to employees. I don't believe the "persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions" excuse. The park has been turning reasonable profits, and the market is only as difficult as their non-existant attraction budget made it. The truth - the unfortunate reality of it - is that the price they'd get for the land the park is on is what the park makes in profits every ten years. It's the same with the Gold Coast parks (Dreamworld's selling off just about everything that's not for the park), so Wonderland's not alone. A tip: if you want to get rich, theme parks isn't the business for you - real estate and development is what you want to me in. This is what Sunway are doing.

[mx5_boy]

A very sad day indeed, but not a great surprise. I agree with Richard it makes perfect business sense for Sunway to sell off the Wonderland property and make a packet out of it. It will be interesting to see how the local council takes all this in allowing the theme park land to be re-zoned 'industrial'. This had been a bit of a hurdle to Sunway before as the council did not want to lose the theme park or the jobs. The decision by Sunway to make this snap announcement must have both local and state governments fuming unless of course money has exchanged hands. We'll see what the news reports come out with in the meantime. So far over last 20 years we have lost the following: African Lion Safari Bullens Animal World Old Sydney Town Original Luna Park Waterworks Waterslide Park El Capalo Blanco Segaworld Original Manly Fun Pier Wonderland Sydney I cannot see another operator moving into Sydney and building a major new park without huge concessions on land tax and other freebies from the government. And with all the problems with our trains and hospitals I doubt and government of any persuasion would be prepared to stump up the dollars. And of course where is the land available? The state government has already tried to woo a theme park operator to Olympic Park. Perhaps now that Wonderland is closing someone might entertain the idea? We can only hope so. mb

[Wonderbuzz]

Okay all, as sad as it is here is the official word: www.----URL removed for non-compliance with Community Guidelines----

[screammachine]

Well it has finally sunk in! Sad but true, we are losing our last official ThemePark. What is happening to Sydney???? We are losing all of our main attractions!! The only hope would have been for another company to buy out Wonderland and hopefully, bring the themepark back to life. The main problem was always that Wonderland never had sufficient access to Public Transport, in order to cater for the needs of teenagers from all points of Sydney eg: Sydneys northern beaches etc. Take my situation for example. Driving from the Northern Suburbs to Wonderland Sydney is near an hour & twenty minutes drive! I spoke with my mates about it a few times and this is one solution that we came up with. If Wonderland was to have a Bus that start say at Avalon (Last suburb before Palm Beach), and let it run all stops to DeeWhy (a well populated area) and direct to Wonderland, then I sugest that there would have been a slightly lesser attendance problem than what has been. The kids in the area always complain about getting out there and back and it is a big favour to ask of your parents to drive you out there. Currently organising my last visit to Wonderland Sydney. I will be taking my mates digital camera.... But whats to do about it now! Lets just hope for the best and remember...."You'll always remember Wonderland Sydney" Screammachine

[pyro_man]

Do think that there is going to be a new park built with most of the Wonderland rides + the thunderbolt + new rides.Well I hope so.

[SydRider]

When I was there recently my Sister commented that the layout and gardens in the park where some of the nicest she has seen. I am curious that now it is offical that the park is closing whether the rides will stay within Australia or be sold else where. I do hope the majority of them stay within Australia ... whether it be at a new park in Sydney (big wish there) or one of the Gold Coast parks snapping them up.

[Nightshifter]

dont think positive becasue there aint no coming back the park is closing i am devastated we are all devasted especially residents of sydney, i suggest everyone should have tgheir last ride before the park closes, this bull ****. i knew it would happen but only in another 7 years, it's too eraly to make rash descisions. sell the rides to onlt australian companies, dreamworld, movie world, its the only smart thing to do. i thought they were closing it down and refurbshing but now the biggest forum here just got worse, richard i think after wonderland closes this forum will completely be unpoplar for the fact that there is no need to talk about wonderland when there is no wonderland. im in a wreck, im heading down saturday night and im taking my camera for my last precious memories.

[Richard]

I agree with your sister. They by far had the best gardens and just general nice feeling throughout the park. The park is nice and big, easy to navigate and incredibly open. Compared to Dreamworld or Sea World the place is very open (I didn't bother with Movie World, because that place is just plain hopeless in terms of layout and scale). I just really hope that as many of the rides as possible find new homes in Australia, not internationally or at a scrap-heap.

[Nightshifter]

i would like to end with a final note i wish wodnerland sydney the best i know these next few weeks will be packed out becasue everyone at school is going. i wish everyone the best i also hope these rides may find new homes, after 19 years of fun amzment one of the best theme parks is coming to a close which altogether still sounds weireed, does the wildlife park also go or is that staying? just now according to channel ten news most workers were shocked to find this morning that that park was closing. the park will definately not be opening again as the land has been sold fort over $50 million. the rides will be ever sold if possible or demiolished. this is the final eviction there is no way the park can come back now its horrible to hear peoepl have been complaining and are frustrated but its official.

[Andy_q69]

Hmmmm.. A sad day at that.. It was sad enough giving out the information to all my school friends. They were even shocked and they've only probably visited 2 or 3 times!! Let the mourning begin.

[rappa]

Yes its amazing how nice and wide you can make your roads/pathways without those anyoning ride things getting in the way all over the place :-p

[GoGoBoy]

djrappa - very well said. Channel seven news did a great segment on Wonderland tonight. They showed the CEO crapping on and on with his list of tragic world and local events which have affected the park.. all an obvious cover up. They made him look like a fool (which he is for the way he is handling this). They also showed the CEO saying only that there had been "an expression of interest" in the WS site. The report then went on to say that the site has actually been sold to ING for $52 million for industry purposes. He was therefore lieing to the staff last night when he told them that he "did not know" what was going to happen to the site. What a disgrace. Congratulations Malaysia - you have made some serious bucks out of one of our treasured assets and turned it into a pile of factories. Thanks again

[Scared of Jack]

Its amazing how the birdflu, sars, sept 11, bushfires, ansett collapsing, bali bombings and so on have not affected the other theme parks in oz. Let alone it has affected wonderland in a big way and they dont have no money. Does that mean the managers have to hand back there flashy little sports cars. HMMM! At least wonderland management could tell the public the real reason why its closing and to put all the stop to all the bull***t. They would of known this at least 4 weeks ago. And to anyone scratching there heads, yes I am pissed off!

[Nightshifter]

it didnt only affect wonderland im sure the whole list would of affected every theme park and all around the world. its crap, why didnt they seel the park to another company, why didnt they bring it up with sixflags or dreamworld even or anywhere for that matter before just selling the place to ING. sydney is going to be reallyu boring on the holidays now, and none of you say that at least we have luna park, oh what a bloody carnival, they better build another park in sydney becasue its the only largest populated place in australia reeaching what a good 3 million residents living in sydney. if anything wodnerland was probably doing to well and thought hey im making money how bout i make more buy selling the bloody place. i rest my case. for now.

[coasterfreak]

I was just advised of what was stated on the news and am totally disgusted as to the outcome. I believe that the handling of this entire situation is most disgraceful. They did not even give the park a chance to be sold to another party so that it could still operate and entertain the many Australian visitors that attend the park on a regular basis such as myself. Simply tear it down and here come the factories and I bet that they will rub it in our faces by calling the street Wonderland Drive or something. I feel that the owners have acted despicably and I really wonder how a business such as the Sunway Group can continue to operate when it has no regard for the people that it serves. I say boycott ING. DOWN WITH ING

[Psycho]

I agree, I don't think the park management are the real villains behind this move. Why would a park spend money repainting, performing maintenance on rides, and revamping The Beach if they new they were to close so soon after its completion? I think the sad fact is that Sunway didn't give another buyer a chance to purchase the park because they weren't interested in selling it in its current state. Realistically, in several years, the land Wonderland is sitting on is going to be prime real estate...Am I correct in saying it will virtually be the corner store to the M4 and the new Western Orbital? Although $50 million doesn't sound a lot for a theme park given that (if I remember correctly) Dreamworld was sold almost 10 years ago for around $85 million. So I'm guessing, everything in the park will be stripped back to a bare minimum come April...Rides sold off, buildings dismantled, and anything not tied down put under the hammer. I guess Sunway will try and get as much as they can from a dying carcass.