Melbourne's Southern Star rolls near

[Richard]

http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=12 So much for ING the heartless park-munchers they are who will be responsible for the collapse of the entire western world. Turns out they're forming their own tourism trust, which may well see them getting fairly big in the theme park industry if all goes well.

[mikrowave]

$28 for a 30min ride on a ferris wheel? Seems a little pricey to me. But good luck to them =)

[Richard]

The London Eye costs about $26 per ride and is the most popular tourist attraction in the city, a pretty mean feat when put up against the sort of culture and historical attractions that city has to offer. You're right, it is pretty expensive, a ripoff if you will, but they'll still have absolutely no troubles churning people through on the thing.

[joz]

4109 people per day? I'd be tempted to call that wishful thinking. That's some 1370 more then each Gold Coast theme park gets in a day, which quite a bit. With Melbourne's famous weather also thrown into the mix, the I think they could be setting the bar a bit high from the outset. Just out of interest, does anyone know how many people go on London Eye a year?

[Bussy]

I just had a look at the London Eye website and got this quote:

How many visitors can fly the Eye each day? The 32 high-tech passenger capsules can carry over 15,000 visitors a day, enough to fill Concorde more than 150 times over.

So I guess it blows the Gold Coast theme parks out of the water. As for the comment about Melbourne's weather, I take it you have never been to London and experienced weather that is far worse than Melbourne's. I will put it this way at least Melbourne gets some sun during the year. "The Bus is now leaving for Pink Eye Corner Tank, Western Australia"

[Slick]

I think that is quite ironic if you will.... One Meisho ride gets pulled down in Australia, another gets put up. Well at least this one will be really cool to watch being pulled down when its lifetime is over, HEHE!!!! (If you read this forums constantly you'll understand why I put hehe in capitals!)

[joz]

Please, give me some credit Wonderbus, ( ) I have already been to the site, and saw the same information. Problem is that number is capacity, not actual ridership. That's like the Gold Coast parks making the claim "Our parks can accommodate 10,000 people everyday, which is enough to fill 2,500 4 seater cars!". Having said that I do expect London Eye would get more people then what the Gold Coast parks do (which is pretty bloody obvious really) I'd be guessing somewhere near 4mil, but that's a very blind stab in the dark. Just also touching on the weather thing: London is pretty much constantly covered in grey skies. I'm yet to experience London with sunshine (though reliable sources have told me it happens). Thing is with the sheer volumes of people on the street it doesn't seem to have any effect on the number of people who visit London I'm guessing you've been London as well, have you seen how many tourists swarm around the place? It amazes me that they still use the centre of the city for anything other then tourist attraction. Melbourne doesn't have those volumes of people on the street. It is (relatively) quiet on rainy days, which to me would hamper the Wheel's appeal. I really do hope this thing goes ahead, but to me it looks to be following the tradition of over estimating an attractions appeal in the early stages. Still, even without 1.5mil, I can imagine the profit margin of one of these wheels isn't that bad, and costs would probably covered.

[Bussy]

When I was there, there was a line up to get tickets, which give you a "departure time". Then there was a line up to get on the Eye. Every gondola was at capacity and it wasn't even peak season. So what they say on the website would be pretty close to true. As for the weather thing, being a Sydneysider I feel it is my duty to bag out Victorians at every opportunity, even if it is not the truth. Also as an Aussie it is also my duty to bag out the English. However when I was there, there were quite a few days when the sun was out and although it was cold it was nice. The day I went on the Eye was one such day. I don't think an attraction like this will do all that badly in any city but it would be much better to have it somewhere in Sydney with a nice view of the Harbour or city. At least with it in Sydney there would be a nice view. What does Melbourne have as a view? Crown Casino that’s right. "The Bus is now leaving for Two Wheel Creek, South Australia"

[Slick]

But what about Intamin?????? http://www.intaminworldwide.com/r_products_giant.htm Ohhhh 165 metrtes of *wipes drewl from mouth* That would go well with Syndey Harbour!

[joz]

That'd be perfect, being an Intamin ride people could even hurl themselves from it!

[GoGoBoy]

I agree it does seem strange to put the big wheel in Melbourne. Same with the $700m waterpark they have planned for Melb. Bring it all to Sydney I say!

[Richard]

I think it'd be surprising to actually see the numbers of tourists that there are around Melbourne. I think it'd be a lot more than most of you are actually giving credit for. Melbourne Airport does 17 million passengers per year, of which I think it'd be safe to say that no less than 5 million are tourists coming into Melbourne. To put that into perspective, Sydney does about 24 million and Brisbane a mere 12 million. Operating from what, 9am til 9pm or so every day of the year, getting every single backpacker and Japanese tourist group alike, simply because it's a two or so hour sort of thing, not a whole day and not "like all the amusement parks we've got at home", which is one major downfall of any theme park trying to attract tourists as opposed to the domestic market. I can't see this thing getting anything less than a million guests per year to be honest. Liken this to the Darling Harbour monorail or even just catching one of Sydney's iconic ferries. It's certainly not the same as a theme park, and can't easily be likened to one for attendance comparisons.

[mikrowave]

The Intamin coaster wheel drop looks pretty cool.

[joz]

How the hell are they going to spend $700mil on a water park? They going to build the whole thing out of solid gold? It'd better be friggen good for that sort of price tag.

[Richard]

And it is, as seen at Disney's California Adventure, known as Sun Wheel. One of the most oddly thrilling rides I've ever been on. There's truly nothing like just reaching that critical angle, then coasting down a gentle slope and hitting the end, swinging up to about 30º back and forth until the thing moves back around - you're up to 150ft in the air don't forget, and sitting unrestrained in a little cage. On the Sun Wheel, the purple cars give better swinging than the orange ones, in case you're wondering. Not sure if I liked the design of Intamin's larger Wheels. They're not as nice looking, and where other larger Ferris wheel manufacturers go for less larger gondolas, Intamin seem to have kept the smaller, more individual cars, but have many too many of them. I was surprised to read that Meisho are considered the world's major suppliers of not only Ferris wheels, but also amusement rides in general. I guess what goes on in that Asian amusement industry is really unknown to the rest of the world. Regarding the alleged water park, it's supposed to be similar to what Atlantis in the Bahamas has, or that crazy one in the Middle East whose name is slipping me right now. Incredibly optimistic, but we're talking the real deal, fully themed top to bottom - making Wet'n'Wild look like a backyard pool slide. Heat it and they'll come from around the world.

[mikrowave]

It's the Coaster Wheel at DCA right? That looks great, can't wait to try it out. But the Coaster Wheel Drop looks even better - it seems to incoporate freefall elements into it somehow. I'm not sure if 1 has been built anywhere yet, the picture on the Intamin website is concept art by the looks of things http://www.intaminworldwide.com/img/BILDER...WH/COASTER_.gif

[Bussy]

Atlantis has the best theming I have ever seen. Their slide "Leap of Faith" looks brilliant, it's a free fall slide where you go through a clear acrylic tube that is in a shark tank. Have a look here. There are not a lot of photos that show the true extent of the theming so if anyone has any more please tell us. Another water park that blew me out of the water is Rokko Island in Japan. Have a look at this photo to see what I mean and again if anyone has more pictures or links tell us please. "The Bus is now leaving for Atlantis Bay, Western Australia"

[Slick]

Wow! That last photo was amazing! ...Dreamworld take note......

[mikrowave]

That intertwining mass of water slides in Japan looks crazy!

[Richard]

By all means amazing, but don't be fooled - there's only two types of slides there, just about a dozen of each to give the place the capacity a Japanese park would need. DCA does have the Coaster Wheel - I forgot to add that the Coaster Wheel Drop looks seriously sweet. If it's anything like what the description suggests, it'd be an incredibly thrilling and amazing ride.

[Bussy]

By my count there are 42 slides on that spaghetti pile. Each pool has 6 slide exits and there are 7 pools. Yes Richard they probably are mostly the same slide, but damm that is impressive. "The Bus is now leaving for Count Bismark, Victoria"

[Gazza]

Too bad no one will ever get to ride it now, it was destroyed in the 1995 Kobe earthquake and it wasnt rebuilt. Well personally, I think that the wheel will be sucessful, some of Melbourne's newer attractions have been well recieved, and being located in such a good place in Melbourne, it will do well, I suppose I'd ride it (when its built) when I'm down there, something to do before going into Telstra Dome. As for Melbounes weather, well everyone still goes places when its wet and the cabins are enclosed. Now, for the water park, well Im really hoping it gets built, Again, I think it would be popular, especialy being in the middle of the suburbs, so its easily accesible. Again weather wont be an issue becasue there is always summer and anyway, If its costing $700 mill, you could expect a nice heating system to be in that price, or possibly, an eclosed complex (if the latter is the case, I hope there is a retractable roof) There would be no problems geting people to come, and wouldnt having them attract more tourists? they wouldnt just focus on the locals.

[HussRainbow]

it would have been better to have that wheel that was going to go in southbank, Wittingslow were going to be in that, but the development never went through, I actually have seen the area where the wheel is supposed to go, and I dunno, seems like in the middle of crap at the moment, I won't ride it, I have more fun riding the wheel at the show!

[Richard]

Don't you think it's a bit premature to be judging the ride, given that the development really hasn't begun? Then you go on to say that you think that the Royal Show's Ferris wheel is better. It keeps getting better and better. I still think that they should just buy the second-hand 38m Huss Ferris wheel that is listed on their website. It's Huss so it's clearly better than what they're building... Oh wait, nevermind, you were supposed to say that. My mistake.

[Gazza]

LOL, good one richo. Dont really see what sets huss apart from other ride makers anyway. Of course the ride is in the middle of "crap", its a construction site. Check out http://www.waterfrontcity.com.au, its got some nice pics of how the finished product will look, and it seems like a better than federation square. Still would have prefered the park, even if it was just a few modern rides with equaly modern buildings as a part of the development. But the waterpark is nothing to be sneezed at and no doubt i will be spending hundreds on V-line tickets to visit frequently when it opens (if it opens) But i guess something cool may happen down the track elsewhere....