Luna Park Sydney - the future with Wet'n'Wild

[GoGoBoy]

Another good question Joz. Since Luna Park has free entry I would assume this figure would purely be drawn from ticket and wrist band sales. Luna also does offer a year pass so presumably these sales are taken into account. Of course visitors could also mean concert goers and function guests so its reasonable to assume that Luna would add an average from last year of these visitors, which would greatly boost attendance numbers. Taking all these into account and it is easy to see how Luna could forecast numbers of 600,000-it would most definitely would include all facets that the Luna Park precinct offers.

The article mentions that the 600,000 figure does not include event and function patrons, just the amusement park. Not bad for a small park, and new rides should only increase that number!

[Jobe]

Thanks GoGoBoy you are completely right!! That makes those figures all that more impressive for such a small park!! Especially considering all those parents and grandparents who visit the park but do not buy ride bands and then factor in the concert and function numbers, the Luna Park precinct's future is looking very healthy!! Just fingers crossed a new coaster is on the five year plan!!

[iwerks]

Some coverage of the opening of Hair Raiser.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/up-up-and-hooray-luna-park-launches-first-new-ride-in-ten-years-and-it-soars-a-hairraising-50m-into-the-sky/story-e6frg6n6-1226802356421

[Jobe]

Visited Luna Park on Saturday night- it was a really hot day but what a great balmy Summer's night hitting the rides overlooking the lights of the harbour!! Brilliant!!

A few observations from my visit.

• Hair Raiser is the perfect addition for LPS at this time. It isn't really all that tall but it does pack a good punch. Theming is pretty non existent, however the ride looks excellent with a good looking, wooden floor base. It certainly does not look like a cheap carnival ride just plonked wherever-it looks and feels like the shiny new permanent addition it is!! The ride was pretty much a walk on with only one cycle wait at the most. Operations were still pretty efficient despite this and they kept you turning over quickly without being tardy. I only have 2 gripes about this ride-1) its location. Given its relatively small size it could have been put in other locations like next to the Rotor. This would have left the current space it resides for other bigger,attractions. 2) Also disappointed with the fact that the ride has no light suite to speak of at night. This should be a signature ride for LPS and one that should encompass a really spectacular lighting rig but there is nothing. I fully expected the sphere at the top to at least have lights but no. Missed opportunity IMHO but of course they COULD be playing it safe with the residents.
• Tango Train was running which was a surprise. The latest info from the park stated that it would be down for most of January. In saying that, there is still something seriously wrong with this ride. LPS were only loading every second seat and the ride cycle consisted of forward operation only. It usually runs its fastest in the reverse cycle. It may still need some serious rehab but kudos to the park for getting it open for their peak time
• Coney Island- still as charming as always and the kids had an absolute ball. Major gripe is that 2 of the wonky walks were NOT walking- one has been down for over a year!! Seriously LPS Coney needs to be maintained effectively!! Also to my knowledge, they have never opened the middle slides. Only one side of the slides were running as well. I get that they are labour intensive but that is the nature of the attraction. I would expect full operation at this peak time or at the very least, a rotational policy.
• Flying Saucer is sitting there SBNO. I would surmise that its days are extremely numbered. The top of the Lighthouse has been removed as well and I sincerely hope that this theming is restored once the Flying Saucer is removed or fixed.
• Tumblebug is still popular and still gives good rides. The space next to it is wasted and I feel that if Flying Saucer were to be scrapped then Tumblebug could be moved to take its position, leaving a large amount of space for a new attraction. Did I hear anyone say coaster??
• The new carousel is nice but it has nowhere near the charm of its predecessor. Also the historic Luna Park organ has not yet been installed with the carousel- hopefully it will be a future feature.
• The holiday rides were pretty good for the kids but the Freak Out is an excellent ride. Built by KMG it is very similar in operation to the Claw but with no over the shoulder harness. It pulled some serious G's and was so close to the adjacent building in Maloney's corner, you felt like you could reach out and touch it at full extension!! This should be a very serious contender for a permanent attraction and would be a welcome addition to LPS ride line up.
• Spider has obviously seen some maintenance and seemed to be running faster than in previous years.

All in all we spent a good 8 hours at LPS. The weather was perfect but I think the heat kept big crowd numbers from forming. Riding at night is an a great experience and other than at LPM, is not an experience you can do regularly in Australia, barring the local shows. In my mind, the rides that could be most in contention for replacement are Ranger and Tango. Hopefully within the next 5 years we will see some more major investment for LPS to refresh their ride line up and attraction list. The atmosphere at the park was excellent, with several mini parades by LPS team members enacted several times during the day. All in all great value, especially if you have a Entertainment book voucher, which gives you 25% off your ticketing prices. We saved over $40 which enabled us to virtually pay for one of my kids ride wristbands.

Until next January, I will await what the next 12 months brings for LPS!!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Thanks for the info - looks like they're gearing up to freshen the whole park over the next year or so. Continuous development and expansion of these properties only serves to prompt the others in the industry to do their own continuous development and expansion of their own properties....

[JulieLovis]

I was at LPS on Saturday. It appears as though Flying Saucer is not coming back. Most of the ride appears to be gone now, leaving the space empty. Also signage, and all references to it in the park have been removed. A staff member said they had not been officially informed what is going on with it, however it is widely understood that the ride will not be returning. Hopefully they have plans afoot for a new ride in this location soon!

[Jobe]

Nice thanks for the update JulieLovis!! Whilst it is disappointing to see the Flying Saucer depart it is hoped that LPS have a definite plan for the space that will include a new ride/attraction ( read NO buying of Dreamworlds Reef Diver-that would be a poor substitute IMHO!!) . My preferred option as I have stated before , would be to move Tumblebug to Flying Saucer's position which would then free up space for a second compact coaster near the Big Top. Fingers crossed LPS use this as a good opportunity to introduce another new attraction like Hair Raiser!

[Ranger Dude]

This is really a defining moment for LPS…

1. Will they follow up Hair Raiser with another quality new attraction?

OR

2. Will they just go and put in another park's old 'hand me downs' (i.e. Dreamworld's Reef Diver)?

OR

3. Will they leave the space empty and just use it for crap carny rides during the holidays?

12 months ago, I would have said 3 without a doubt. Now, after showing they can introduce quality attractions in the ilk of Hair Raiser, I think we can expect at least 2, and hopefully 1.

The quality & execution of Hair Raiser is definitely streets ahead of any of their other rides, so it shows a bit of a change in approach. Let's hope we see another quality addition.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Ranger Dude

[AllegroCrab]

Nice thanks for the update JulieLovis!! Whilst it is disappointing to see the Flying Saucer depart it is hoped that LPS have a definite plan for the space that will include a new ride/attraction ( read NO buying of Dreamworlds Reef Diver-that would be a poor substitute IMHO!!) . My preferred option as I have stated before , would be to move Tumblebug to Flying Saucer's position which would then free up space for a second compact coaster near the Big Top. Fingers crossed LPS use this as a good opportunity to introduce another new attraction like Hair Raiser!

That's an incredible idea. But it'll be a minor miracle if it happens. I've always wanted the Taipan from the Easter Show to end up at Luna Park as a semi-permanent - permanent attraction. That ride is perfect for the ideology of LPS. Haven't been for a while, but there seems to be quite a bit of space where the log flume is (on google earth, not sure if it's still there because I'm sure the same one was at the easter show.) Doesn't look like it has a much smaller footprint than the wild mouse. So there may be space there for a compact. Coupled with your rooftop idea, I think the park would be worth a day trip to the city.

Edited March 3, 2014 by AllegroCrab

[DWP]

The log flume was a holiday only ride of about 2 years ago I believe and long gone now.

In that space now is a small kids kinda version of Shockwave (kinda not really but the closest example i can think of) and they had the Freak Out in that same area for it's holiday run which ended recently, so there's def space there for a permanent ride but as always at Luna Park hard to do much with the apartments right next to it all.

On a side note was at a concert at the Big Top last week and they opened up the Tumblebug area for people to smoke/drink which was a nice touch but obviously the Bug wasn't running

[zacsta_1997]

Any word on the 'flying saucer'?

[JulieLovis]

Staff now saying they have been told it has been "retired" and is not coming back.

I really don't want to see the reef diver there. I want something new!

[Ranger Dude]

It certainly appears to be gone, from the railway line on the bridge. Also Hairraiser looks very dark at night, has it got ANY lights?

[Jobe]

The answer to that in short form is no. I commented on the lack of lighting in an earlier post/trip report. It is one feature which I thought LPS would have ensured Hair Raiser would have been designed with- a great lighting suite to really highlight the ride at night. I am guessing that they had the residents best interests at heart and decided to make Hair Raiser as low impact as possible!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

thats quite a shame. It really would have added something to the harbour.

[JulieLovis]

When i asked The operator told me that there will be lighting it just hasn't been installed yet. Same with the temporary queue, that was still to be completed also, as of my last visit in feb.

[Jobe]

That's good news JulieLovis. It seems odd that the lighting suite was not installed with the ride before opening but at least there are plans to get one on the ride. I thought that this was a major opportunity lost when the ride opened and no lighting was apparent. This is the first major ride installation since 1995 and it now dominates the LPS skyline. Very glad to see that at night it will add to the wall of colour and atmosphere that LPS is famous for!!

[XxMrYoshixX]

Now the Flying Saucer is gone, they could move the Bug to the old Flying Saucer spot and put a new coaster like a small Eurofighter or an El loco where the Bug would be

Too bad the Saucer is gone, I only ever rid it twice in my life. D:

[Jobe]

Gee I wonder where you got that brilliant idea from?? Good to see you read the WHOLE thread from the beginning......

[Ranger Dude]

The Tumble bug space is not all that big- is there a coaster that would fit there!?

[Jobe]

The Tumble bug space is not all that big- is there a coaster that would fit there!?

Well we are not talking huge coasters but there are many compact coasters that I believe would be ideal for this space. If you look at the Wild Mouse space across the midway, you will see that the Tumblebug space is of a similar size. There are many examples of compact coasters from Zamperla, Mack,Pinfari,Maurer Sohne and Gerstlauter that would be brilliant additions to LPS. An Intamin Zacspin would easily fit in this space and be an Australian first! Food for thought!! Hopefully LPS management have the same vision and forward planning in their 5 year future strategy for the park.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Jobe

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

If LPS installs a Zacspin, I will be required to burn the park to the ground.

[Gazza]

No. Zacspins are frigging amazing. .I want one (Or an S&S free spin)

[Jobe]

No. Zacspins are frigging amazing. .I want one (Or an S&S free spin)

I agree completely Gazza!! Although I have never ridden one, I reckon they look like an awesome ride experience!! I love their small footprint- these rides are perfect for both our Luna Park's where space is at a premium!! This ride would IMHO be one of the best possible additions for LPS in regards to a new coaster- it just ticks all the right boxes!!

Curious AlexB- why the hatred for the Zacspin?? You have the advantage as you obviously have experienced one.......

Edited April 5, 2014 by Jobe

[Flea]

They'd be so insanely marketable too. Australia has never seen a similar ride type before.