Luna Park Sydney's expansion

[Jobe]

1 hour ago, Nimble said:

I like how they're all hyped about this ride.. They didn't do this much when the Hair Raiser was coming...

 

13 minutes ago, AlexB said:

I have no basis but my own opinion, but i feel like they might have had an inkling hair raiser was technically not permitted to be constructed, and they approached it quietly to avoid drawing attention until it was done.

 

Actually LPS initiated a teaser campaign on social media similar to the way Volare is now being marketed. I reckon both campaigns are following a similar course, and of course, with Volare being the first ride of the planned $20 million investment, I would not be surprised if we saw a TVC for it in the near future.

Given that Hair Raiser was heavily promoted through all media streams as shown, this goes against the notion that they were quietly avoiding attention until the ride was completed. The media and teaser campaign started strongly and the TVC's appeared AFTER the ride was completed. The issues with the ride not being DA permitted did not happen until well after the ride had opened, well into the media campaign for it. LPS simply saw their interpretation of the planning document and ran with it, thinking that they were well within their rights. 

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Thanks Jobe. Can honestly say I don't recall hearing anything about the ride, except construction updates on parkz, until the DA issues were raised, but as i'm 1000kms away, i'm happy to have your local knowledge to set the record straight. 😁 cheers.

Edited February 27, 2019 by AlexB

[Jobe]

I knew I had some shots of the teaser promos for Hairaiser- these ones were used in October of 2013. 

As for Volare, this will not be the first Wave Swinger to call LPS home- there was an installation of one in the 1982 incarnation of the park and it resided about halfway down the midway. It was later sold to a travelling showman and is still touring the circuits I believe. @HussRainbow87 will be able to help out with the showman who owns it....Is it March's?

And of course where the Volare has been installed was the location of the parks former and much lamented rare Huss UFO, named Flying Saucer, which was scrapped due to difficulty in obtaining parts for this scarce Huss creation. A great loss.

Of course  like many LPS rides,the name for the Huss UFO, Flying Saucer , was a throwback to another classic ride also named the Flying Saucer. This is an extremely rare type of ride, the only type of its type in existence to have come to Australia and there is only one surviving example of it in the world. This resides in England in Dingles Fairground Heritage  Centre, a living museum for rare and old heritage rides.  Please follow the link to learn more about this ride;

https://www.fairground-heritage.org.uk/collections/shaws-moonrocket/

 

 

Below are a couple of video blogs from trips to Dingles Heritage Centre and in them both you can see the Flying Saucer or Moon Rockets in action. If you love rare and heritage rides like me, then you will find this place a fascinating view. I would love to visit here one day. Enjoy.

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Jobe

[Tim Dasco]

That Wave Swinger looks Identical to March's I would say it most likely is their's.

[Spotty]

I can confirm it is March's unit that used to be at LPS. It actually went back there in the mid 2000's for a period of time before travelling again. On some of the panels around the ride when it's set up it actually has the history of the ride and how it came from LPS.

[MickeyD]

Looks like the Magic Mountain one but from memory that Park re-opened in this form around 1983?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Many of these wave swingers had very similar art work on them, so its quite easy to mistake one for the other - one has to trace the history of each to determine when, and where they came from...

[19Michael96]

21 hours ago, MickeyD said:

Looks like the Magic Mountain one but from memory that Park re-opened in this form around 1983?



The one at Magic Mountain ended up at Wonderland Sydney.

[StingRay]

The wave swinger that used to be at LPS always goes to the Sydney Easter show. A few years ago it was back at LPS for a short time.

[MickeyD]

Wow those old Wave Swingers last and last! The MM one was not brand new in the 80s and to think these things are still going around decades on!

I had heard it went to Wonderland, what after that? Is it the Aussie World one?

[HussRainbow87]

The Luna Park Zierer is indeed March's and the Aussie World one is a model from Europe, complete with a backdrop!

im thinking maybe the MM is OCS Fun? Who knows, they done a good job of ruining that ride too

[Wil_i_am_not]

If it was the Magic Mountain one that ended up at Wonderland, then this particular unit is still operating at Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia.

One interesting thing I noted the other week whilst browsing a UK forum was that there was a Wave Swinger imported to a UK Park (Pleasurewood Hills) from Australia in around 2016. Anyone have ideas of which park/showman could have owned this mystery Wave Swinger? 

The only conclusion I could come to was that maybe the Magic Mountain unit was put into storage, and that the one at Wonderland was a seperate unit altogether? 

[19Michael96]

21 hours ago, Wil_i_am_not said:

The only conclusion I could come to was that maybe the Magic Mountain unit was put into storage, and that the one at Wonderland was a seperate unit altogether? 

You know what? You're right; the Wonderland wave swinger - Dragon's Flight - was a separate unit to the Magic Mountain one. Turns out I made a mistake. I knew a ride from MM had gone to Wonderland, but it was actually the Parachute Drop Tower that was sent there in 1991, where it was renamed the "Skyhawk". Sorry for the flub...

Anyway, time for a weekly Volare update: the weather was MUCH more pleasant this week. A large crowd had gathered at the Big Top to attend the Rita Ora concert, so it was pretty busy. The ride itself is practically finished. Not too sure if the city backdrop fits the ride though... 

[Baconjack]

The ride looks really good, particularly the unique LPS deco on the ride itself. Are the Spitfire decals on the city backdrop still there? I hope LPS fix up this theming issue as it is important their rides are integrated in the area rather than just plonked in the Flying Saucer position.

[19Michael96]

15 hours ago, Baconjack said:

The ride looks really good, particularly the unique LPS deco on the ride itself. Are the Spitfire decals on the city backdrop still there? I hope LPS fix up this theming issue as it is important their rides are integrated in the area rather than just plonked in the Flying Saucer position.

Spitfire decals are gone, it's just the building there now.

[Spotty]

Looking at a video of the Wave Swinger at Pleasurewood, it looks suspiciously like the one OCS owned. Not sure if they have sold it or not.

[Wil_i_am_not]

Nah it's definitely not the OCS one, rode that at the Sydney Show last year, where as the Pleasurewood unit went into the park in 2016.

[19Michael96]

9 hours ago, 19Michael96 said:

Spitfire decals are gone, it's just the building there now.

*BUILDINGS.

[blurrybilly]

Luna Parks website says annual pass holders get an exclusive preview on the 15th and 16th of March.

 

Quote

Want to be one of the first to ride our exciting new family thrill ride - Volaré?

Become an Annual Pass Holder and get access to an EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW of Volaré on Friday 15th March and Saturday 16th March. 

https://lunaparksydney.com/whats-on/volaré

[StingRay]

Hi all. Went down to LPS today. Took some photos of Volare. It seems it has been under test or they are preparing for testing during the week while the park is closed. 

Also interesting to note ( it is in the pictures ) that a ride camera is facing towards Volare. It does visually fit into the area rather well. It seems like it will be another single operator ride as the gates will be controlled by actuators much like the Tango train 2.0. So i'd say it will be open hopefully within the next two or three weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by StingRay
doubled up on a photo

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The camera is interesting. Looking at the ride height, and imagining how high it will be during operation, riders are likely to be above the roof line, and will be obscured from the operator booth (especially in 1-man operation). Also given it's height above the midway, it would likely attract misbehavior from such an elevated position - so it would be a good opportunity to capture riders on film...

[StingRay]

Valid points. I know when the UFO used to operate the crew on the Ferris wheel would keep and eye out for anything unusual and UFO crew would do the same.

But obviously in today's world extra safety precautions are required.

[mason]

Wow it looks amazing. Surprised why they kept the city background to be honest, it doesn’t match at all and looks like a lazy ‘couldn’t be bothered’ leftover. BUT apart from that it suits the park so well and is such an amazing addition. Super excited to ride it

[Nimble]

38 minutes ago, mason said:

Wow it looks amazing. Surprised why they kept the city background to be honest, it doesn’t match at all and looks like a lazy ‘couldn’t be bothered’ leftover. BUT apart from that it suits the park so well and is such an amazing addition. Super excited to ride it

Yeah, but I don't know what they'd make if they were changing the city background.

[14burgeja]

14 hours ago, AlexB said:

The camera is interesting. Looking at the ride height, and imagining how high it will be during operation, riders are likely to be above the roof line, and will be obscured from the operator booth (especially in 1-man operation). Also given it's height above the midway, it would likely attract misbehavior from such an elevated position - so it would be a good opportunity to capture riders on film...

I have a feeling it could be a time-lapse camera. I've seen many in white enclosures like that in Brisbane for BCC works projects.