Something new from Wonderland History

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The Wonderland Sydney FB page posted a teaser video this morning for Wonderland History...
 

 

 

[Redboost]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone remember the approximate ride time of Bush Beast? I remember going on it so many times when it was around but cant remember if it would have held the the Australian record for longest track/ride time. Would DC Rivals hold that record now?

[New display name]

5 minutes ago, Redboost said:

Just out of curiosity, does anyone remember the approximate ride time of Bush Beast? I remember going on it so many times when it was around but cant remember if it would have held the the Australian record for longest track/ride time. Would DC Rivals hold that record now?

Parkz has a great database for this type of information.

[Brad2912]

Any light you can shed on this Alex? I know you may know more than you are allowed to share, but are we talking the long mooted wonderland museum, Site confirmation, DA lodgement?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Having watched the video, I think the direction of the message can be found by the fact that it's the Wonderland History details shown at the end of the video.

both the WS page, and the WLH group generally don't post their own information regarding possible new parks - although they do share posts by 'sydney's wonderland' which is a separately managed social page...

So from that, draw from it what you will....

[GoGoBoy]

5 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Any light you can shed on this Alex? I know you may know more than you are allowed to share, but are we talking the long mooted wonderland museum, Site confirmation, DA lodgement?

What the hell? A Wonderland museum? Can't be serious.

[Brad2912]

I don’t know the full extent of it, but know the beastie & bush beast trains were acquired with a view for them to be on public show one day in the future along with other memorabilia. 

[rappa]

Unless some amazing discovery has been made of a treasure trove of new wonderland history (and let's hope to god its not from the last 6 years it was open) I am standing by to be amazingly be impressed by the same collection of photos/videos that have been done to death being rehashed again... in whatever form

Call me less than optimistic on this one

[Whombex]

...they raided the field up near the watertower?

[Bussy]

I don't know for sure but I'm going to guess that they going to announce they have secured land to start planning and building "Sydney's Wonderland".

As for the 'museum' I think it's a ridiculous idea and if it is going to be part of the new park it should be a very small section and definitely not include the carriages they have secured and are very lucky to still have as the people who own them thought they could store them on someones land indefinitely and not pay for it. The target market for Sydney's Wonderland couldn't care less about a park that closed before most of them were born.

Happy 2018 everyone.

[Slick]

I was thinking given how much hype there is with no actual announcement they were just going to rename the website to DreamNova?

[GoGoBoy]

On 21/12/2017 at 6:17 PM, Brad2912 said:

I don’t know the full extent of it, but know the beastie & bush beast trains were acquired with a view for them to be on public show one day in the future along with other memorabilia. 

Why??????

[Spotty]

On 02/01/2018 at 10:24 AM, Roachie said:

I was thinking given how much hype there is with no actual announcement they were just going to rename the website to DreamNova?

#DreamNeva? 

[HussRainbow87]

I wish I could have visited Wonderland... such a shame those woodies arent around anymore, I saw cars off one of the coasters not long ago sitting at OCS' yard in Sydney, along with their (Wittingslows) Rainbow :-(

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 22/12/2017 at 2:22 PM, djrappa said:

Call me less than optimistic on this one

Rest assured, this isn't another digital rehash.

On 02/01/2018 at 6:30 AM, Bussy said:

I don't know for sure but I'm going to guess that they going to announce they have secured land to start planning and building "Sydney's Wonderland".

The tagline on the video is the History site. It won't be new park news as that's handled by a completely separate group - who would make their own message. The History team of course would share it, but it wouldn't be posted by them.

Museum wise I think that idea was way off base and far fetched - especially when every tom dick and harry thought their drink bottle, badge, sticker and coffee mug should go in there.

I'm fairly certain we should see more info soon though...

[XxMrYoshixX]

So apparently Wonderland History has teamed up with Artisans Park out in Bathurst to display some of the Bush Beast and Beastie's trains permanently. They currently only have one car on display at the moment but they intend to display a full set as seen by one of the pictures where there are at least three carriages are out there. Exciting news that these relics of Wonderland can now be seen in the public eye once again despite being required to travel all the way out to Bathurst to see them.

Edited February 28, 2018 by XxMrYoshixX

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Full release text

Quote

Major Announcement:
Since the closure of Wonderland Sydney in 2004, much has been made of the memory of the magical place. We have all been able to sustain ourselves, with the photos that many of us have to remind ourselves of that place that forever lived on Wallgrove Road at Eastern Creek.

Some of us are even lucky enough to have a small physical memory too which has lasted, a hat, a glass, an old ticket, a sticker or perhaps a park map. But despite the years that have passed since the closure of Wonderland the embers of the place still smoulder, and it is with great pleasure that we are ready to announce today that you will no longer need to be content keeping the memory of Wonderland in your minds and in your hearts, but you will be able to physically visit a once treasured piece of Wonderland itself.

Wonderland History, in conjunction with Artisans Park at Bathurst (https://www.facebook.com/ArtisansPark/)
are pleased to announce the permanent display of the Bush Beast and Beastie trains from Wonderland. As can be seen in the photo, the front carriage of the Bush Beast is already in place. Artisans Park is also in the process of building a station and a section of track, to allow the trains to be rolled out, and the opportunity to have photos taken, in and around the trains.

We strongly encourage all of you Wonderland Fans to like the page of Artisans Park, and please feel free to head there to go on a bit of a Wonderland pilgrimage to see the trains. We want to be able to share this special memory with as many fans of Wonderland as possible. Further details of the location, contact details and times, can be located on Artisans Park Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ArtisansPark/)

 

It should be noted that this is still a work in progress. More is to come out at Artisan's Park

Key points:

• A station will be built, as well as rails for the trains to once again 'coast' on. It won't be full circuit, but the old girl will roll again (and technically that will make it a shuttle coaster so for all your credit whores out there... )
• Artisan's plans to fully restore and refurbish each train carriage (without the assistance of Mack)
• The iconic front plates bearing the ride logo will be reproduced in loving detail and eventually fixed to the carriages
• Everyone who has contributed to obtaining, relocating and preserving these trains will be memorialised in a plaque in the future.

 

Artisan's Park isn't a fly by night place. It's been featured on lifestyle TV shows such as Better Homes & Gardens, numerous magazines, music videos, and is frequently used for filming, due to its unique location and wacky items on site (including a 1949 London Double Decker bus!)

Whilst websites aren't their greatest asset (it needs a bit of a revamp, but when compared to Village's recent monstrosity, its pretty good) but their Facebook page is where they're focussing their attention. the Wonderland History page recently hit 15,000 members, and it'd be great to push the profile of the Artisan's Park FB page - noted above as well.

 

I realise this isn't everyone's bag. Most of you know how much the park means to me, and i'm sure many others have similar memories. So if you don't care - by all means scroll on by - but for those who do - start making plans to head out to Bathurst!

Edited February 28, 2018 by AlexB

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

To add to this - the 'construction' pic Yoshi posted above was taken back in December, before this thread was started - details weren't announced as artisan's wasn't ready - but now we have the info, i can share some other pictures, and some other info too:

So - a few more 'construction' or 'onsite pics - in the first one you can see the bottom part of the 'vulture' sculpture i referred to above:

 

 

Something else the History team are looking into is whether the Operator's control panel can be replicated, and perhaps even a simple PLC system in behind it to simulate the ride actually running. It's also been suggested perhaps this could be tied into a ride simulator game - similar to the ones hosted by themagical.nl.

Old blueprints and photos have been scoured over, and even suppliers sourced for the right buttons, lights and indicators:

 

If there are any old operators who remember the functions well ( @Bussy i'm looking at you) please drop me a PM if you can give a good description of each indicator, light, button and sensor. I know a lot of them, but not all... and it would be good to get a full time trained operator's description of what was there...

As for how much of the trains are there (per Yoshi's post about how many carriages) - here's the full list:

The Bush Beast Red Train
Carriage A1 (FRONT)
Carriage A2
Carriage A3
Carriage A5
Carriage A7 (REAR)

The Bush Beast Yellow Train
Carriage B11
Carriage B12
Carriage B14 (REAR)

The Beastie dark blue train
Carriage A1 (FRONT)
Carriage A2
Carriage A4

The Beastie light blue train
Carriage B6 (FRONT)
Carriage B8
Carriage B9
Carriage B10 (REAR)

 

We are missing Bush Beast carriages A4, A6, B8, B9, B10, B13 and Beastie carriages A3, A5 and B7.

[webslave]

What was this Wonderland thing you keep mentioning?  Some kind of theme park concept?

[XxMrYoshixX]

4 minutes ago, webslave said:

What was this Wonderland thing you keep mentioning?  Some kind of theme park concept?

In a few words, a property developer, Ammar Khan, has been working for well over a decade trying to build a new park using the Wonderland name. His company first announced the plans for "Sydney's Wonderland" way back in 2013. He's got funding - $1 billion of it - but have yet to obtain land - which is why it hasn't got off the ground at this point in time, almost five years after it was first announced.

Edited March 1, 2018 by XxMrYoshixX

[Brad2912]

Whether he actually has $1b in funding is up for some conjecture... but let’s see what happens..

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The previously announced funding is no longer on the table.

However, i don't think this is what Webslave meant, and i think it was just a fun stab at me for what is obviously perceived as me rambling on about the park as much as I do.

[Wil_i_am_not]

This is so awesome, and even though I never got to visit Wonderland, I'd love to make the trip up to see some Australian theme park history.

Do you know where some of the cars were attained from @AlexB? I know a few were in some blokes paddock up in Camden, but was unsure if Wonderland History bought all of them in from there.

[Guest 239]

Always nice to see some old bits and bobs recycled for people to enjoy. 

I would love to visit, but I feel like the Wonderland History team might be waiting for me... 

They're like elephants. They remember.

Edited March 1, 2018 by CaptainLazerGuns

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Wil_i_am_not said:

Do you know where some of the cars were attained from @AlexB? I know a few were in some blokes paddock up in Camden, but was unsure if Wonderland History bought all of them in from there.

Top of my head, i don't know the precise location where they were located before they were acquired by the History team, but I believe they were purchased off a guy that ran a 'carnie' business (not intended to be derogatory) like Chant's or Wittingslow or something (not them specifically, but companies like that - the name escapes me). As you can see from my post above though, not every carriage was obtained, as they had previously sold them off one by one.

1 hour ago, CaptainLazerGuns said:

I would love to visit, but I feel like the Wonderland History team might be waiting for me...

Dom, you're absolutely fine. Apart from a few factual inaccuracies in your video (which we could have helped with) and that you hadn't actually asked to use them - Everyone quite liked what you'd produced. We're not vigilantes, and we don't hold grudges. We're all about everyone's love for the park - and wouldn't deny anyone wanting to visit. you're welcome anytime... join us for a beer, hey?