Jamberoo Trip Report

[Jobe]

Hi guys,

Thought I would post a few pics and a quick trip report from Jamberoo Action Park

The day we went was overcast but still warm but this did serve to keep the crowds down. The park was looking excellent-it is well maintained and looked after.

The plans for Stage 2 of the Kangaroo Island development are well in advance and after contacting the park, they have stated they will be making an announcement soon. They hinted that it needs to match the impact that Funnel Web has made so expect either a Tantrum Alley or a Behemoth Bowl to be constructed next.

I have included a pic shows the final plans that will be implemented over the next few years. It is interesting to note that once it is all completed, Jamberoo will be the only water park in Australia with 2 Lazy Rivers- and the new Action River will serve as a transportation means to journey to each new ride in the Kangaroo Island development- a feature that was planned for Wet and Wild Sydney but not delivered!! Hopefully this feature remains with the Jamberoo plans.

Speaking of Funnel Web, Jamberoo are doing something a little unique to out do Wet and Wild!! They are adding theming to the ride, in the form of a massive Funnel Web Spider which will, when completed, crawl up the side of the slide. It is not complete as of yet but the basic steel structure is in place with the fibre glass spider parts ready to be added!! This is a nice touch and really enhances its already prominent position in the park!

Funnel Web is a great ride,with an excellent long section before the funnel. Seriously if you haven't been on it, its worth the trip to Jamberoo by itself!

The kids play area is excellent and the Funnel Web provides a good backdrop. This is something that Wet and Wild Sydney is lacking and the structure at Jamberoo does not disappoint!! This was the focal point for a lot of families and its great to see that Jamberoo let patrons bring in their own sun shelters to use. Lots of families made good use of the grounds near the play structure as their base and dozens of sun shelters dotted the landscape. Not sure if Wet and Wild allow patrons to bring these in??

The rock area of Jamberoo was quite popular. It allows patrons to jump from a fairly large height into a deep pool below. There are 2 heights that patrons can choose to jump. At either end of these jumps are 2 body slides, one for kids and a more elevated one for older teens. This area and the adjoining 2 "Splash Out" body slides along with the current toddlers area will be disappearing to make way for the eventual completion of Kangaroo Island.

The 2 toboggan runs were running very smoothly and were excellent. The mere fact that to ascend to the top of the hill is by chairlift is unique in itself. Operations were well run and very efficient all day.

The current Lazy River is probably one of the better examples in Australia at the moment and it has nice touches of theming all along its course- water jets, numerous waterfalls and caves, arches and bridges.

Encapsulated within the Lazy River is another kids/toddler area and this will probably get a revamp once the other toddler pools are removed.

Surf Hill is your standard Aqua Mat 8 slide and as always, is extremely re-rideable. This is very close to the Lazy River and the Tobaggans and there are several large picnic areas and huts nearby to make your base for the day.

Next to these attractions is the Taipan, a well themed,enclosed Mammoth slide.

The Wave pool, while not huge, is very well themed and is next to the main eateries. It also features another! toddlers play area and nice touches like real sand at the waters edge for the genuine beach feel!

Observations to note:

• Jamberoo offer a free train ride to transport patrons to and from each side of the park- its a nice touch and its great to see that its not an upcharge.
• The slides are well positioned and make excellent use of the terrain- it is interesting to note that as yet Jamberoo does not have a slide that requires a tower- the hilly terrain is utilised very effectively!! Walking up a cement path beats dozens of steps any day!!
• Although having several food options available it was a little disappointing to have only the main kiosk open near the wave pool. I understand that it was out of peak season and that given the day numbers were a little down but it did make this one food option very busy!
• The grounds and picnic huts/tables are numerous and extensive. Jamberoo encourages patrons to bring in their own food options and coin BBQs are available and you can also hire portable BBQ's if that is your desire. The grounds are very well maintained, extremely green and very well established! This is a big advantage over Wet and Wild Sydney until their landscaping grows with their park. It does provide a very nice ambience!
• The Jamberoo team were excellent and well trained and the park made sure that all attractions were adequately staffed and operations were efficient.

In summary, if your looking for an alternative to Wet and Wild then Jamberoo is a very attractive option. It is growing and is definitely not overawed by the newcomer on the block. In reality its 15 min from the heart of Wollongong and ridiculously easy to get to. There are plenty of accommodation choices in Wollongong, Shell Harbour and Kiama which are all 15 min away from the park.

My family make the trip to Jamberoo an annual event and if you have not visited before, then its well worth the effort!.

[zacsta_1997]

I live in wollongong and I go to jamberoo often. I'm glad to see they are putting a spider into the funnel, wish they put it in for the opening of the ride though. Can't wait for the rest of the expansion. I love jamberoo so much.

[_koppen]

That spider will look awesome once done!

Does anyone know when the next step in the expansion is coming?

[zacsta_1997]

Does anyone know when the next step in the expansion is coming?

It will start April when jamberoo closes for winter.

[Jobe]

Yeah although nothing official has been stated as yet that makes the most sense. They need to move onto Stage 2 this year in an effort to combat the Wet and Wild presence and also to raise their profile with some new big attractions. More power to them!!

[zacsta_1997]

The expansion is happening every 2 years untill the expansion is complete. There will be another 2 rides being made this year. After this year the next stage of the expansion is going to be in 2016.

[Jamberoo Fan]

The rock area of Jamberoo was quite popular. It allows patrons to jump from a fairly large height into a deep pool below. There are 2 heights that patrons can choose to jump. At either end of these jumps are 2 body slides, one for kids and a more elevated one for older teens. This area and the adjoining 2 "Splash Out" body slides along with the current toddlers area will be disappearing to make way for the eventual completion of Kangaroo Island.

Did Jamberoo Action Park tell you this or is this your own assumption as this was never featured in any of the 'Kangaroo Island' expansion plans?

[zacsta_1997]

I don't want 'splash out' to go. I hope this isn't true. Splash out is the only single person body slides in jamberoo, (excluding surf hill and slides from the child's area) I honestly think they should add a few more single body slides

[Jobe]

Did Jamberoo Action Park tell you this or is this your own assumption as this was never featured in any of the 'Kangaroo Island' expansion plans?

Well no it is my assumption but if you look at the pic I posted of the full precinct of the Kangaroo Island plans, the farthest slide adjoins the Chairlift and Toboggan area. In between these is the 2 Splash Out slides and the Rock area plus the toddlers pools. I think its a safe bet that one or both will be removed considering the size of the attractions they are wanting to put into place. Its a simple matter of real estate- I don't think these will survive the new additions. Mind you I am happy to be proved wrong, as I reckon the Rock area is brilliant and is an old school attraction that probably should remain. But looking at that map of the new area, I feel that this space will be needed. Just my opinion. Sorry I should have quantified that statement by prefacing that in the first place. What do you think will occur Jamberoo fan?

Edited March 9, 2014 by Jobe

[Jamberoo Fan]

Ok. I was just asking in case Jamberoo Action Park had unexpectedly changed their plans and they told you this. Whilst the photograph you posted of the full 'Kangaroo Island' precinct plans attached to some construction fencing shows the farthest slide adjoining the chairlift and bobsled area, the 'Splash Out' waterslides and 'The Rock' precinct are actually located well further over in a south-easterly direction (towards the middle of the photograph's right-hand side). You can clearly see this in their concept master plan (below) for the full 'Kangaroo Island' precinct which I posted to the forums over 2 years ago so given it was just your assumption, I think the 'Splash Out' waterslides and 'The Rock' precinct are going to continue operating.

[Jobe]

Ah!! Ok cheers!! Thanks for the clarification!! That IS good news!! I am all in favour of putting in new attractions without losing older ones!! Once this expansion is fully complete it will definitely make Wet and Wild sit up and take notice!! I really hope their new Action River lives up to the name- this has the potential to be brilliant and blow Wet and Wild's example out of the water!!

[AllegroCrab]

I was supposed to go with a group on Sunday 2nd, but they cancelled due to the rain. I went anyway and had a good time by myself, it is a water park after all.

I was suffering from a theme park drought, and the nice gardens/paths gave me that satisfaction that WnW hasn't yet been able to offer. How I'm imagining that spider to be like when done is exciting.

I can't wait to see the new developments. Will the lazy river have entrances and exits all around the circuit like train stations? I've had dreams about such things and it would be incredible if they had this.

[zacsta_1997]

Jamberoo should put a sky coaster in. That would wake WnW up.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Jamberoo should put a sky coaster in. That would wake WnW up.

Jamberoo should install something that WnW has in both of it's Australian sites already, and thats supposed to wake them up?

I can see it now... WnW wakes up, sees Jamberoo building a sky coaster and says 'stop copying me!' and then goes back to sleep.

How about Jamberoo builds an attraction not seen at the Sydney or Gold Coast parks, or at least something with a point of difference... oh wait - they're already doing that...

[Gazza]

If I were looking at the sequence of rides to put in at Jamberoo the next logical installation would be the Behemoth Bowl, followed by the Hydromagnetic, since WnWSyd has neither... The open air raft slide would make sense next too, and then perhaps finish off with the Tantrum (Though why are they planning a Tantrum when the Behemoth Bowl already has tantrum elements included in it?)

Lazy River should be last really, since all it will do is add capacity....They already have a lazy river anyway, so it won't be a big motivator.

[Jobe]

Lazy River should be last really, since all it will do is add capacity....They already have a lazy river anyway, so it won't be a big motivator.

Agreed, especially since the Action River is designed to link all the new attractions together as a means of transportation/people mover. This will be the first utilisation of a Lazy River for this purpose in Australia and will be the final piece in the overall development of Kangaroo Island. This one bit of planning will be what will really set Jamberoo apart from Wet and Wild. Wet and Wild had a huge opportunity in their early stages of planning to make a real statement with their own Lazy River, but the final plans were changed and we ended up with what was built in its present form. Looking forward to the full realization of Jamberoo's plans!

I can't wait to see the new developments. Will the lazy river have entrances and exits all around the circuit like train stations? I've had dreams about such things and it would be incredible if they had this.

Yep see above comment!! I agree its very exciting to see a family park like this grow and thrive and take on the majors in such a successful way!!

And also Jamberoo already has a huge point of difference to Wet and Wild in the form of their excellent dual toboggan run and chairlift.This is one of the original attractions from the early 80's and is the most iconic ride associated with the park.