Wonderland Sydney is closing!

[Nightshifter]

i have something that may shock you, remember when the child died from the factories. well when that happened inspectors inspected the site as well as wodnerland, apparantly the park was told to fix a few things such as rides ect. and the cost was extradonairy, the bush beast needed more work done than a few pailings of wood, the demon need a coast of paint and the park itself needed a few things fixed up. wonderland than had no choice but to sell, close down, or operate a park in debt. well thats just a theory that has been going around but it has been true, the rides have been closed and refurbished which also took a lot of money out. and the swinging chairs is now swinging boats, whats going on, the park clearly cant operate a park with the money that they dont have. it still doesnt give an excuss for closing a perfectly good park down, you have 2 perfectly good wooden roller coasters a mad themed space probe ride a boomerang roller coaster a wildlife park and everything.

[Slick]

I've got to say that this is some of the worst news i have ever heard in my entire life, that is, in the matter of theme parks and centimental value. I remember, living half in Sydney, half in a town called Bathurst, that every weekend I would go past that gorgeous park next to the M4.... "someday mummy, will you take me there," the 8 year old pleads. Now the 8 year old grows up, still saying the same thing, although, this time, his dreams are shattered by a internal corporation who doesn't give a crap about one of the best parks in the southern hemisphere. Well, here's a toast to ING and you bastards at Sunway. But before i start, one thing i remember seeing the last time i went on the m4 that the space probe had a huge sign on the top saying the company that had funding into the SP, was that ING or something else? If so than i'll presume my toast. Firstly to ING, why gund the Space Probe when you can but the park and turn it into a cockroach infested craphole? You make me sick. And to you, Sunway, where the sun out of your ass is as bright as the sun. You are pathetic. Utterly, pathetic. You are what make terrorism, not freewill. You are what killed alot of people's place of hapiness. You destroyed Syndey's hope of having a nice, big themepark that could and did compete with the rest of the big boys (unlike Luna Park Sydney). Bloody Sunway, may your financial future be rotted like your half pumping heart. And here's to Wonderland, you were fantastic, and i will endeavour to visit you during the holidays. And on one final note, i have an idea. Thinking about rllercoasters etc., i think DW might just be looking towards BB and Demon, and maybe even Beastie, just a rumour to get your little hearts going, and one i thought would be nice is the Space Probe could go either a)into sea world instead of an impulse roller coaster at the small park on surfer's paradise c) where the Expo '88 tower is now. Rest In peace you mad park, may your fans endeavour to move to the coast..... PS: any swaring in this post is just a one-off, no other swaring will be displayed anywhere else on my behalf....

[joz]

The Gold Coast parks today announced that they are not interested in buying any of Wonderland's rides. This includes Dreamworld, who said even though they've bought a second hand ride from Sydney before, they don't intend to to that this time.

[tucky]

Wonder if Taronga Zoo can accomodate some/all rides for us. Build a big underground carpark, there is already a ferry terminal so transport would be covered. They already have to pay there insurance so that shouldnt be to much of a problem. Tidy up the gardens and there we have it, a nice new Park. Only question is could the rides be bulit on what land they have left over and can they get finance for it. (State-Govt spend our money on something decent) Oh well dreaming is over, Thank-u SunWay/ING/PACLIB for turning a nice place into industrial buildings.

[willsy]

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.

When was the last time you were at wonderland??? The gardens and lawn out side the park are excelent but once inside it is a **** heap, 3foot high grass around some of the rides, Dead branches everywhere **** like that all over the place.

[screammachine]

Hey All Well just came back after bombing the Sunway website with a few questions and some 'dirty' words on why they had to close Wonderland!!! If there is anyone who would like to express themselves to Sunway just click on the link below, and then click on "contact us" http://www.sunway.com.my Screammachine

[willsy]

Hey All Well just came back after bombing the Sunway website with a few questions and some 'dirty' words on why they had to close Wonderland!!! If there is anyone who would like to express themselves to Sunway just click on the link below, and then click on "contact us" http://www.sunway.com.my Screammachine

Just been there and told them what for, We need everyone on here to tell them !!!!!!!

[Richard]

I'd like to think people would have a bit more maturity than to send rude, perhaps harassing emails to the corporation. And Slick, really, don't you think what you said is a bit harsh? Wonderland Sydney is closing. They're not selling nuclear weapons to terrorists, they're shutting down a theme park, presumably because the land has the potential to be used for much more lucrative things. It's one thing to be sad or annoyed, but don't do or say something that you might regret later, because it just makes you look childish and silly. All I ask is you at least think about what you say, and be as rational as you can.

[joz]

I'd like to think people would have a bit more maturity than to send rude, perhaps harassing emails to the corporation.

Exactly, everyone knows you acheive more by hacking the coperate website. Seriously, comparing Sunway to a group of terrerists is pretty inappropriote. I also tend not to hold Steve accountable for all this. The Sunway philosiphy of not allowing the park the capital to add new attractions was the problem. I think in the interviews he seems to blame everything except this (and the weather strangly enough)

[joz]

I'd like to think people would have a bit more maturity than to send rude, perhaps harassing emails to the corporation.

Exactly, everyone knows you achieve more by hacking the corporate website. Seriously, comparing Sunway to a group of terrorists is pretty inappropriate. I also tend not to hold Steve accountable for all this. I think in the interviews he does well in blaming everything except the Sunway philosophy of not allowing the park the capital to add new attractions while mentioning everything else under the sun (except the weather strangely enough).

[willsy]

I'd like to think people would have a bit more maturity than to send rude, perhaps harassing emails to the corporation.   And Slick, really, don't you think what you said is a bit harsh? Wonderland Sydney is closing. They're not selling nuclear weapons to terrorists, they're shutting down a theme park, presumably because the land has the potential to be used for much more lucrative things.   It's one thing to be sad or annoyed, but don't do or say something that you might regret later, because it just makes you look childish and silly. All I ask is you at least think about what you say, and be as rational as you can.

There's nothing wrong with sending emails to the sunway corp, They Fu*ked up wonderland (and other people) and they fu*ked the wonderland fans by closing it. So I say Fu*k them.

[Bussy]

i have something that may shock you, remember when the child died from the factories. well when that happened inspectors inspected the site as well as wodnerland, apparantly the park was told to fix a few things such as rides ect. and the cost was extradonairy, the bush beast needed more work done than a few pailings of wood, the demon need a coast of paint and the park itself needed a few things fixed up. wonderland than had no choice but to sell, close down, or operate a park in debt. well thats just a theory that has been going around but it has been true, the rides have been closed and refurbished which also took a lot of money out. and the swinging chairs is now swinging boats, whats going on, the park clearly cant operate a park with the money that they dont have. it still doesnt give an excuss for closing a perfectly good park down, you have 2 perfectly good wooden roller coasters a mad themed space probe ride a boomerang roller coaster a wildlife park and everything.

Are you serious? WorkCover would not say "Oh Bush Beast is ok, there are bits of wood falling off and the whole track needs to be replaced, but you can continue to operate the ride". They would also not say that Demon needed a re-paint as I’m pretty sure that would not have much to do with the safety of the ride. When was the last time you were at Wonderland? The swinging chairs (Dragon's Flight) and the swinging boats (Galleon's Graveyard) are completely different rides, yes Dragon’s has been pulled apart but it is definitely a different ride. As for Wonderland having two perfectly good wooden coasters, let’s not start this argument up again, but news flash: Beastie has been closed for about 18 months now with zero maintenance done on it so it is not 'perfectly good'. "The Bus is now leaving for Gumeracha Sewerage Treatment Works, South Australia"

[rappa]

Okay guys let's all get some perspective here... Yes I'm upset its closing but I don't really care for myself, I haven't been to the park for years and if its close or stay the way it is it may as well close. I'm sad that something I remember from my childhood is going as I've seen a lot of attractions disappear over the last few years. I am more angry for all those hundreds that now are left with no jobs and also for the impact it will have on the local area and that council in particular, leaves a big hole out there. All this being said its certainly not like they are cutting off my leg or bombing orphans, its pretty dirty what they have done but in no way criminal. ING certainly have done nothing wrong, they were offered a good deal on land and they took it, its not their fault what it used to be used for. As for buying it, my guess is no one wanted it, it has already been said that the GC parks are not interested in the rides themselves otherwise they could have even bought the park and begun operating it. My guess is Six Flags is in no position to go buying parks at this stage and no other operator was interested. This may very well open up Sydney to a new major park/attraction in the future, only time will tell. As for re-locations its quite possible that one or 2 of the rides will stay local, after all its not like WL were saying they were closing last week, so there’s nothing to say secretly WVP or MLT are considering any of the attractions. You never know, Demon might be off to asia to join its old neighbor coasters...BTW where is Expo 88 tower?? Anyway that's pretty much my thoughts guys. Yes its sad, yes they kind of suck, but its not like its personal. You will certainly be able to go on living, I'm sure very soon a lot of you will come to see that a few lovely girls in Bikinis are a lot more pleasant that a ****ty theme park :-p See you all on the 7th I hope!

[Richard]

The tower (The Skyneedle) is now at South Brisbane. You probably all know the chain of hairdressers known as Stefans. The owner of the chain, amazingly with the name Sefan Ackerie, has always had a hobby of buying up old Brisbane icons. He purchased the Skyneedle and moved it to his hairdresser's academy and head office. Last time I actually drove past it, which was about six or so years ago, it was just surrounded by a vacant block of land, but I don't know if it has changed since. The thing is in quite reasonable condition. It is still lit up with its bright neon lights every night. It's really one of those icons that has not really come to be known as an icon. For what it's worth, a few years ago when the Milton Tennis Centre closed down, he purchased the giant racket sculpture that was fixed at the top of the stadium, he stuck his own name/logo on the thing and donated it as a sculpture for the front QEII sporting complex out at Mr Gravatt. Let's not stray too far from the topic at hand.

[Scared of Jack]

OK OK OK OK! You cannot blame ING for buying the land and turning it into industrial reasons. Yes you can part blame sunway for not putting any money into the themepark. Yes you can blame wonderland management for not telling their employees the real reason why they are closing the park. They would of known this a while ago, and kept denying the rumours at the time. At least they could of owned up to the fact instead of leaving 600+ workers in the dark like they always do!

[mx5_boy]

I have no problem with anyone spamming Sunway. The more the better. I will personally avoid any Malaysian products or services wherever possible well into the future. And I intend on making my views known to both Sunway and the Malaysian government. For far too long us residents in Sydney have sat on our collective arses and done nothing as corporations have raped and pillaged things in the city in the name of corporate dollars. What Sunway has done and how they went about it is despicable. On an unrelated note Coles Myer are on my hit list now too after killing off the Grace Bros name. mb

[ScReAMmachine!]

Well the news is out and yes, Wonderland Sydney is closing. Guys seriously, instead of bickering over our personal situations in having no amusement park in the west to attend... our sympathy should be directed to those staff who are losing their jobs. To continue working in a park with the knowledge the park could close its doors the very next day (even though a date is set) is very daunting. I hope that the park does actually assist those employees to find new jobs. Realistically, WL is one of the major employers west of Parramatta. It actively participated in the local community and lived by the motto that 'You'll Always Remember'. That won't change. Again the new owner of the land cant be blamed... honestly, land on the corner of what will be Australia's largest road intersected (after the M7 connects with the M4) is very valuable land and any interested company would be stupid to oversee the benifets of great exposure. What happens with the rides doesn't really bother me. However the space probe tower has established itself as a Western Sydney landmark. My final contribution would be...... WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL!?

[willsy]

^ Yeah lets hope they do help the employee's find new jobs. Good luck to all the wonderlander workers in finding a new job. bye

[thunder001]

I know that the Gold Coast Parks have said that they are not buying any of the rides at this stage, but this does not mean that it won't happen. Think of a nice Space Probe at Sea World, and the Demon at Dreamworld, and the others might also move. And yes I said MIGHT. I will tell you a story that happened to me a couple of years ago. I was at DW and overheard 3 gents in suits talking about moving the entrance for the TOT to the other side of the tracks. I posted it and got bombed with comments saying I was nuts, and the park also told me that it "was not something that the park was planning in the future". About 3 years down the track and now look what has happened. Take a leason in this thing called life and buiness and that is " Never say never when it comes to making money". The GC Parks will do what they can by spending as little as they can to gain the most from it, as we all remember DW latest ride. All I am saying on the fate of the rides is to wait and see, and the same goes for a new major park in Sydney. With Wonderland going, you never know what the state and local Gov will do to try to create new buiness within the state. Even if it means large tax breaks for a new park to be built. Just wait and see what happens and hope for the best and .......have faith!

[Ex Operator]

Have to agree with Wonderbus as to ride conditions they would need a lot of work to be viable in another park as wonderland maintenace crews were not provided with everything necessary to fix all rides and many patch jobs were done just to keep rides operating.ie second hand parts from unused Bush Beast train would be taken to keep other train operational rather than close the ride when new parts were not available Just a note on Workcover the only ride workcover has inspected in approx 10yrs was the demon after the union called the about staff safety during emergency evacuation of the ride. The ride was declared safe with a recomendation to re-install harness release foot pedal on the right hand side of the train.All aspects of the ride were safe for operation ,the pedal was simply to make evacuation easier on Lift 1.

[Jobe]

Well .The park is closing and there is no chance of it being given a reprieve in the form of a new owner. Lets look at the rides and at the possibilities within Australia of re-location.I dont think for a minute that one or 2 wont end up in the Gold Coast theme parks The Demon-Possibly Luna Park Melbourne(its original location after Expo '88). I think a more likely candidate could be Adventure World in Perth who could really gain from a coaster of the Demon's status. Definitely not Luna Park Sydney(as much as I wish!!) Dreamworld possibly as an interim replacement for the Thunderbolt. Space Probe- I think the best location here would be Seaworld. However any of the other parks previously mentioned would be ideal candidates.(Not sure about Luna Park Melbourne height restrictions and once again rule out LPS) Bush Beast and Beastie. I feel that these wont be relocated at all and will most likely be demolished. Luna Park Sydney could possibly gain flats like Dragon's Flight or HMS Endeavor. Luna Park Melbourne or Adventure World could also possibly gain. The Zodiac...who knows..could end up anywhere!! Anyone else like to add their 2 bits?? Cheers Jobe

[Richard]

I remember reading the memos from the discussions about Demon's inspection. There were some very stupid arguments put forward about Demon's safety, most of which were thankfully dismissed. You are entitled to your own opinions, but I think it is immature to spend time sending harassing emails. Voice your opinions by all means, but do so in a proper way. What you do is your own business, but at the very least, don't come here and encourage others to follow in your lead. It's sad that Wonderland is closing, but harassing emails, which presumably will just get tossed anyway, won't solve anything.

[Jobe]

Hear, Hear Richard! I agree 100%. We all agree thats its a very sad thing that this has happened however there are right and wrong ways to voice our discontent Do you think Richard that most of Wonderland's rides will find home in OZ?? Which parks do u feel will stand to gain the most from Wonderland's demise??? Cheers Jobe

[Daniel]

It's absolutely devastating news and it's going to be sadly missed. It's such a shame. Sunway purchased Wonderland with no purpose other than to re-zone it after it's been run into the ground. If they were interested in saving it, they'd have given weekend trading another shot or closed over winter. Something like that. That would have been perfectly acceptable in my book. A number of things could have been done to save the park including putting some money into it. It's really sad that the last ride that went in there was 1995. A large number of people are now out of a job but why would Mr Galbraith care? He's still got his cushy job with Sunway, therefore so will Zoe. They've never given a crap about anyone other than themselves anyway. Why help out staff now you boofheads? You haven't for a lot of years, why start now? You're full of crap and you're a bunch of liars. Three months it's been sold for now hey? Did Stevie mean to lie to staff on Monday night I wonder? How can ING be at any fault? Geez, it's prime real estate. As if you would pass up an opportunity like that. As for the rides, in my opinion, the only ride at Wonderland worth buying is Bounty's. The rest of them are stuffed and too old anyway. Probe's just 9 or so years but snuffed itself, it's more trouble than it's worth, and Demon, well it's just a heap of crap. Bush Beast will make a great bonfire. Dragon's has a great big crack in it and needs serious repair, the list just goes on. I just hope no one is stupid enough to buy some of their crap and be ripped off because Wonderland hasn't looked after them. Don't forget the $52.5 million was just for the theme park. The other 160 hectares has already been flogged off or soon to be. We're talking serious money. That's only touching on my thoughts on this subject. I'm both angry and sad on this issue and could go on for hours about reasons and my thoughts on how the place has been run, but I won't because most of you already know me and my thoughts. Guys, the staff need your help. Get the media involved as much as you can. Voice your digust to the Daily Telegraph about its closure and your sadness blah blah but subtly keep the pressure on Wonderland to give their workers what they deserve. They'll do their bloody best to keep entitlements to a legal minimum. E-mail your letters to letters@dailytelegraph.com.au . By the way, sorry for being AWOL for a number of weeks, but I'm back! I've got no one to protect anymore, they don't have their jobs anyway hey GC and DB.

[willsy]

People it is very sad that wonderland is closing as i was a huge fan and went there aswell. Yes people did lose jobs (they should be given the jobs at luna park) but we have to get over it, When the new site is developed there will be more jobs for people than wonderland had.