Luna Park Melbourne update

[Jobe]

Just a quick update on Luna Park Melbourne-

• They will be getting 2 new permanent kids rides in the form of a spinning coaster and a kids Ferris Wheel. The make and model of the coaster has not been confirmed but it has been stated as being geared towards younger guests so i would assume that it could possibly be a SBS Visa model such as the Crazy Coaster at Adventure park in Geelong

• These rides will be installed over the coming months and i expect them to be in the ride lineup for the January school holidays.
• There is no mention that these new rides would be replacing anything currently in the park, although given the size of LPM and the fact that it has limited room, I would not be surprised if these rides DID replace existing attractions. The Zamperla powered coaster Silly Serpent that is currently in the park is of a fair age now and it would not be unreasonable to see this new kids coaster replace the Silly Serpent. The park has stated that the space on the old Metropolis site will be retained for seasonal and temporary attractions.
• They have replaced their trackless train with a new model that boasts increased carriages.over the previous version.
• A new coaster for the old Metropolis site is very much on the top of their wish list but it is not on the horizon for the next couple of years. The reason for this is the expense and upkeep of their heritage attractions such as Scenic Railway, Carousel and Ghost Train. To keep these attractions running and in good condition requires a large budget and this eats into new attraction investment. ( Plus Lyndsey Fox is being stingy..)
• The 105 year old PTC Carousel has just completed a very delicate and expensive 12 month refit and is now open again to the public.
• They will still continue to use the Metropolis site for seasonal and holiday attractions such as the Pirates revenge flume and Crazy Spinning Coaster that they have utilised over the past couple of years. This mirrors their sister park , Luna Park Sydney and their schedule of rotating seasonal/holiday attractions.
• They have in that space for October the Famous Spiegeltent live attraction which will be in the park for a 3 week stay.

 

I am in Melbourne in January for a couple of weeks and will be visiting Luna park Melbourne, FunFields and Adventure Park with the family, the latter 2 for the first time. I will certainly upload some trip reports and pictures from these parks as they get little attention on these boards compared to their giant Gold Coast cousins. 

Cheers.

[19Michael96]

 I gotta say I'm pretty disappointed with these updates. I understand why they can't upgrade significantly given the expensive upkeep for their older rides but what they're doing now doesn't really change the fact that LPM is piss weak in it's current state. At least LPS is trying harder, despite some hurdles.

[Jobe]

Quick update to Luna Park Melbourne:

The aforementioned new kids rides are now installed in park and will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The spinning coaster appears to be , as previous speculation surmised, a clone of the SBF Visa spinner at Adventure Park in Geelong. This has yet to be confirmed , however.The LPM unit will be called  Speedy Beetle.

The other new ride is a kids Ferris Wheel called Moon Balloons.

What is good to note is that neither of these rides are replacing any existing  attractions- these are completely new ride installs. It would not have been unreasonable to expect that the Silly Serpent may have been updated or one of the older kids rides but this will not be the case.

The park cannot confirm at this time whether any seasonal rides will be located in the park for this summer period.

Not a huge update but its always nice to see new additions in any park. Younger families will most certainly  find them pleasing when visiting LPM

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Coaster - looks like they've taken inspiration from the bug run at Aussie World.

Meanwhile, someone should be showing Dreamworld this is how you do a kiddie ferris wheel - not with a crapshack of hot-house inducing perspex.

[New display name]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

Meanwhile, someone should be showing Dreamworld this is how you do a kiddie ferris wheel - not with a crapshack of hot-house inducing perspex.

Should have gone to specsavers. 😯

Edited November 25, 2018 by Skeeta

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Nah - should've just googled pictures to refresh my memory. My bad.

[New display name]

20 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Nah - should've just googled pictures to refresh my memory. My bad.

Google, what's that?   The question on everybody’s lips, does it have seatbelts?

[Jobe]

Just a small update for Luna Park Melbourne. The Zamperla powered family coaster, Silly Serpent has been retired from the park for good. It has been replaced on its site by the SBF Visa family coaster Speedy Beetle.  This was originally located on the old Metropolis coaster site since its introduction to the park late last year.

It was discussed at the time whether the Speedy Beetle was intended to be the Silly Serpent's eventual successor, given its age.

The park has intimated that their will be announcements soon on new rides that will be coming to the park.

Fingers crossed that they finally get a decent second coaster to replace the old Metropolis. There is a good amount of space to work with here and they could certainly fit in any number of smaller compact coasters- think Gerstlauer , Maurer , S & S or Zamperla.

Above is an older aerial pic of the park with the Metropolis still in place- ( a Pinfari model Zyklon) 

This area is a substantial bit of LPM's real estate and its high time that the park invested in a ride to fill this space and maximise its full potential. Of course this should only be the start of some targeted , real investment  into the park, which , has been sorely lacking for quite a while. Of course the heritage rides such as the Scenic Railway, the Ghost Train and the Carousel are all expensive attractions to maintain ( and SHOULD be retained) but there are many filler attractions that need replacing.

With LPS now having the roadblocks removed for their own $20 million dollar ride investment, its time that Lindsey Fox, as the owner of LPM, lives up to his promise to restore the park to its former glory, when he  stated when he purchased the park in 2005. 

[HussRainbow87]

As long as they keep their Huss Enterprise I’ll be happy 🙂

[pushbutton]

https://images.app.goo.gl/mninhtXFQvNJNhp9A

 

[Jobe]

You really have no idea , do you Push? 

[MickeyD]

11 hours ago, Jobe said:

Just a small update for Luna Park Melbourne. The Zamperla powered family coaster, Silly Serpent has been retired from the park for good. It has been replaced on its site by the SBF Visa family coaster Speedy Beetle.  This was originally located on the old Metropolis coaster site since its introduction to the park late last year.

It was discussed at the time whether the Speedy Beetle was intended to be the Silly Serpent's eventual successor, given its age.

The park has intimated that their will be announcements soon on new rides that will be coming to the park.

Fingers crossed that they finally get a decent second coaster to replace the old Metropolis. There is a good amount of space to work with here and they could certainly fit in any number of smaller compact coasters- think Gerstlauer , Maurer , S & S or Zamperla.

Above is an older aerial pic of the park with the Metropolis still in place- ( a Pinfari model Zyklon) 

This area is a substantial bit of LPM's real estate and its high time that the park invested in a ride to fill this space and maximise its full potential. Of course this should only be the start of some targeted , real investment  into the park, which , has been sorely lacking for quite a while. Of course the heritage rides such as the Scenic Railway, the Ghost Train and the Carousel are all expensive attractions to maintain ( and SHOULD be retained) but there are many filler attractions that need replacing.

With LPS now having the roadblocks removed for their own $20 million dollar ride investment, its time that Lindsey Fox, as the owner of LPM, lives up to his promise to restore the park to its former glory, when he  stated when he purchased the park in 2005. 

Thanks for bringing us all such a detailed update on LP Melbourne @Jobe. Hopefully we will see LP Melbourne move ahead with plans in both maintaining their existing gems along with introducing some decent new ones soon.

Oh and I thought it was worth re-posting this in attempt to block out a certain feeble response.

[Baconjack]

21 hours ago, Jobe said:

Fingers crossed that they finally get a decent second coaster to replace the old Metropolis. There is a good amount of space to work with here and they could certainly fit in any number of smaller compact coasters- think Gerstlauer , Maurer , S & S or Zamperla.

This area is a substantial bit of LPM's real estate and its high time that the park invested in a ride to fill this space and maximise its full potential. Of course this should only be the start of some targeted , real investment  into the park, which , has been sorely lacking for quite a while. Of course the heritage rides such as the Scenic Railway, the Ghost Train and the Carousel are all expensive attractions to maintain ( and SHOULD be retained) but there are many filler attractions that need replacing.

With LPS now having the roadblocks removed for their own $20 million dollar ride investment, its time that Lindsey Fox, as the owner of LPM, lives up to his promise to restore the park to its former glory, when he  stated when he purchased the park in 2005. 

When you think about it there really isnt a lot of room in the park to build something.

I'd rather have the Metropolis spot used for expansion flat rides than being used to cram in another coaster, forcing the park to become an organisational clusterfuck just so they can fit in a flat. Their flat ride collection is small, and nowhere near as good as LPS in my opinion. The only rides that are really replaceable is their enterprise, the ex SW AS-1 and double ranger (that I don't know the name of). The AS-1 isn't that much space so you cant really fit another ride in the spot. The Enterprise is prime real estate for something like an Air Race. The Spider is a historic ride too just like the Ghost Train, Scenic Railway and Carousel. It is kind of like LPS's Wild Mouse and I don't see that ride going anytime soon. I assume the remaining kiddie rides and the ferris wheel will stay.

If you really want a coaster, I'd rather see LPM buy the G-Force from Drayton Manor, if the park is still looking to sell it. Or alternatively, buy a Maurer spinning coaster, the same model that LPS has looked at getting in the past. That is probably going to be as much as the park will spend on a new ride, though. LPM is a tiny park even compared to its cousin in Sydney and I don't really think trying to cram in 2 coasters into there is going to do them well in the long run. Comparably you could fit 3 extra flat rides in that spot.

Edited August 31, 2019 by Baconjack

[MickeyD]

I love the Enterprise and hope they keep on restoring it for as long as possible. I miss not having my Enterprise fix from DW nowadays. Tailspin simply doesn't cut it.

[StingRay]

As much as keeping the old rides is great for nostalgia reasons at the same time parts become harder to get. Given the fact some rides have modifications over time also starts to change how they can be viewed during inspections etc. I've seen this with LPS. Enterprise rides are great but the central arm does undergo a massive amount of stress that can cause cracks. especially when near the ocean where corrosion can be worse. Seen that occur once.

[Mark Shaw]

On 31/08/2019 at 12:15 AM, MickeyD said:

Thanks for bringing us all such a detailed update on LP Melbourne @Jobe. Hopefully we will see LP Melbourne move ahead with plans in both maintaining their existing gems along with introducing some decent new ones soon.

Oh and I thought it was worth re-posting this in attempt to block out a certain feeble response.

The Park needs more than a change of rides. 

[Jobe]

1 hour ago, Mark Shaw said:

The Park needs more than a change of rides. 

Change of ownership perhaps @Mark Shaw ?

[Jobe]

On 31/08/2019 at 10:29 AM, Baconjack said:

When you think about it there really isnt a lot of room in the park to build something.

I'd rather have the Metropolis spot used for expansion flat rides than being used to cram in another coaster, forcing the park to become an organisational clusterfuck just so they can fit in a flat. Their flat ride collection is small, and nowhere near as good as LPS in my opinion. The only rides that are really replaceable is their enterprise, the ex SW AS-1 and double ranger (that I don't know the name of). The AS-1 isn't that much space so you cant really fit another ride in the spot. The Enterprise is prime real estate for something like an Air Race. The Spider is a historic ride too just like the Ghost Train, Scenic Railway and Carousel. It is kind of like LPS's Wild Mouse and I don't see that ride going anytime soon. I assume the remaining kiddie rides and the ferris wheel will stay.

If you really want a coaster, I'd rather see LPM buy the G-Force from Drayton Manor, if the park is still looking to sell it. Or alternatively, buy a Maurer spinning coaster, the same model that LPS has looked at getting in the past. That is probably going to be as much as the park will spend on a new ride, though. LPM is a tiny park even compared to its cousin in Sydney and I don't really think trying to cram in 2 coasters into there is going to do them well in the long run. Comparably you could fit 3 extra flat rides in that spot.

I dont agree with you in the slightest here BaconJack regarding a second coaster for LPM

 

Luna Park Melbourne has had 2 signature coasters since 1923.  Right now what is missing from their lineup is a modern steel compact coaster- one that will look good from a distance and add to the St Kilda skyline but also give a decent riding experience. There are plenty of coasters that could be developed to fit in the space they have- something from Gerstlauer  is the obvious choice.

With good planning and a customised layout, they could fit a decent coaster in and potentially another flat or even a dark ride. The potential is actually quite large.

Consider the above photo from the mid 70"s. LPM fit into the current Metropolis envelope the 1923 vintage wooden Big Dipper and also the River Caves dark ride. At this time the park also had the Giggle Palace, the Rotor and the Ghost train in operation. 

 

Yes there are definitely rides that need replacing from their current ride lineup.

The rides you quoted are probably about right. The AS1 is a piece of garbage now and a new modern simulator would be just the ticket.

As much as I love the Enterprise, I too feel that its days are becoming numbered ( Sorry @HussRainbow87) A Zamperla Super Air race would be a good replacement- the newer upgraded model would be that little bit different from Pandamonium at Dreamworld. Alternatively , A Zamperla Endeavor would almost be a like for like replacement.

The Meisho Swing ship is also ripe for replacement. A Zamperla Disk'O" would be an ideal replacement and would fit into the same ride envelope.

 I would also replace the current Ferris Wheel in favour of a newer and larger model- the Sky Lab wheel at LPS is one of the most popular rides and a similar sized wheel would have a similar attraction in St Kilda.

Finally, I think a Huss Rainbow type ride would be the perfect addition to LPM. These rides deliver a good amount of thrills but are great for entire families to ride. Pretty sure that Huss Rainbow's are no longer in production however ( @HussRainbow87 you can provide a definitive answer here) most major ride manufacturers have a similar type of ride that could be sourced.

 

However, the biggest change that needs to happen is that the park desperately needs an owner who is willing to invest in the park. A 5 year plan for overall improvements ( not just ride replacements- general park and facilities improvements ) is what is really required.

LPM is very small. What it does have is its sense of history and I think  the park undersells this to a major extent. Its never going to be a major player like our big parks but it certainly does fill a niche for the Victorian public. It is an icon of  Melbourne and is well located on the St Kilda seaside to take advantage of this beach and holiday atmosphere. Other than LPS, there is simply no other park like it in Australia.

[Gazza]

3 hours ago, Jobe said:

Super Air race would be a good replacement- the newer upgraded model would be that little bit different from Pandamonium at Dreamworld

Ok it rises up and down, but would still be mostly the same nauseating experience.

I reckon Cavell St should be closed to traffic and sold to the park, since that would give a strip for expansion.

[HussRainbow87]

Enterprise has some time left in it, and Rainbows are no longer in production. A lot of HUSS’s good rides are no longer produced. They focus on park rides these days. Which is a shame. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by HussRainbow87

[MickeyD]

I'd love to ride a HUSS Giant Jumper in one of our Parks and think it would be a great fit for Luna Park Melb.

Also another swing ride. As much as I love Wave Swingers, I think a Sky Swing that rises way above the Scenic Railway and tall enough to be a real draw and add to the Park's Skyline. (Much as SW's new Triton will).

 

[Jobe]

18 hours ago, Gazza said:

Ok it rises up and down, but would still be mostly the same nauseating experience.

I reckon Cavell St should be closed to traffic and sold to the park, since that would give a strip for expansion.

Hehehe....havent ridden Pandamonium yet so will let you know what I think of the ride experience. Going to Dreamworld  in January for the first time in 6 years so will definitely give it a whirl. They certainly do LOOK nauseating. Perhaps the Endeavour would be a better fit and replacement if Enterprise was to go- they are certainly popping up in Six Flags parks for next year. They certainly look like the spiritual successor to the Enterprise ( I am sure @HussRainbow87 may not agree 😉 )

Love the idea of utilising Cavel street for LPM. Whilst there would be some loss of parking , the loss of the street would not adversely affect any traffic flow and it would also create a seamless link to the nearby Palais theatre , linking the 2 precincts together as one.

They could also utilise the small parkland at the back of the park to link into the Cavell street area, giving them more room to work with in adapting the area to park use.

Dont think it will ever happen but it is a good thought!

 

 

 

1 hour ago, MickeyD said:

I'd love to ride a HUSS Giant Jumper in one of our Parks and think it would be a great fit for Luna Park Melb.

Also another swing ride. As much as I love Wave Swingers, I think a Sky Swing that rises way above the Scenic Railway and tall enough to be a real draw and add to the Park's Skyline. (Much as SW's new Triton will).

 

 The Huss Giant Jumper is a beast of a ride and I would LOVE to see one in Australia but I am thinking it would be a bit big to install in LPM. All the same , its a shame that no other park other than Canada's Wonderland has picked one of these up. The opportunity to ride this is another reason why Canada's Wonderland holds so much attraction. From what I have read though, this ride had notorious reliability issues- not sure if these have been resolved?

A Sky Flyer ride would be ideal. If the  park was clever, you could install a new custom coaster and fit this ride type somewhere in the coaster's envelope.  It doesn't have to be the biggest model either- something similar to Seaworld's travelling model would be ideal.

Also , a decent Drop Tower like the Hair Raiser at LPS would be an excellent ride to install. Small of footprint, this would provide a great backdrop for the LPM skyline and give sweeping views right across Port Phillip Bay.

One addition that is definitely a major possibility is the return of the Rotor. Once again, an attraction with a relatively small footprint, the Rotor  has a huge history at LPM. Installed at both parks at the same time, the Rotor disappeared from LPM in the mid 70"s. The park has mentioned several times their desire to see the Rotor returned to the park.

   

 

[Wil_i_am_not]

Would love to see Luna Park Melbourne do what Luna Park Sydney is currently doing, bringing the park back to its heritage roots. I honestly think the current space has a lot of potential, but at the moment, the only thing going for Luna Park is it's historical value. It's in a bit of a weird state, where you have some great classic attractions like the Scenic Railway, Ghost Train, Carousel, etc. but then right across the road is some Meisho swinging ship piece of junk...

I think just a revamp of exisiting rides would do wonders, actually making them fit within the boundaries of a 'classic amusement park' instead of just having random bits of theming strewn everywhere. This could be done whilst adding in a couple of newer attractions that would capture the attention of punters, but still fit in with the heritage feel of the park. A coaster I feel would do wonders here, something like a compact Eurofighter, but I think even classic attractions such as a Wave Swinger and maybe a well themed Air Race would really liven the place up. 

And for love of God, keep the damn Enterprise...

 

[Baconjack]

On 03/09/2019 at 12:27 PM, Jobe said:

I dont agree with you in the slightest here BaconJack regarding a second coaster for LPM

 

Luna Park Melbourne has had 2 signature coasters since 1923.  Right now what is missing from their lineup is a modern steel compact coaster- one that will look good from a distance and add to the St Kilda skyline but also give a decent riding experience. There are plenty of coasters that could be developed to fit in the space they have- something from Gerstlauer  is the obvious choice.

With good planning and a customised layout, they could fit a decent coaster in and potentially another flat or even a dark ride. The potential is actually quite large.

Consider the above photo from the mid 70"s. LPM fit into the current Metropolis envelope the 1923 vintage wooden Big Dipper and also the River Caves dark ride. At this time the park also had the Giggle Palace, the Rotor and the Ghost train in operation. 

But to think about it. Big Dipper took up much more land than the Metropolis site offers. About half of the site which it used is now occupied by the Meishio ranger and another flat. It is unwise to give the entirety valuable land up and put in another coaster and force only three flat rides to operate in the park.

If you eliminate that end of the land for the equation Metropolis wasnt exactly a big coaster in terms of footprint and it is an unwise decision to cram in another coaster for the reason that the land would be better utilised if used for a couple of extra flat rides. If they actually tried to fit one in, itd be a crappy Zamperla spinning coaster or some no-name Italian built coaster at most as that is all that will fit the space.

[Jobe]

51 minutes ago, Baconjack said:

But to think about it. Big Dipper took up much more land than the Metropolis site offers. About half of the site which it used is now occupied by the Meishio ranger and another flat. It is unwise to give the entirety valuable land up and put in another coaster and force only three flat rides to operate in the park.

If you eliminate that end of the land for the equation Metropolis wasnt exactly a big coaster in terms of footprint and it is an unwise decision to cram in another coaster for the reason that the land would be better utilised if used for a couple of extra flat rides. If they actually tried to fit one in, itd be a crappy Zamperla spinning coaster or some no-name Italian built coaster at most as that is all that will fit the space.

I never stated that they should utilise the entire footprint that Big Dipper occupied.  I am merely saying that there is enough room for a second coaster on the existing Metropolis site. Yes the Pinfari Zyklon is a compact coaster , however the site is now sitting empty and dormant. It is used as a space for temporary attractions for the moment. This space could more than handle a small Eurofighter, Maurer Spinner,  S&S El Loco, Premier Rides Sky Rocket II, Custom S & S Mine Train Coaster, Custom Mack Big Dipper Coaster, Custom Zamperla Thunderbolt, Custom Mack Wild Mouse- need i go on? 

The fact is that the public find coasters, on the whole, as the most thrilling exponent of any amusement park. To have a new coaster would be a far bigger drawcard than settling on 2 or 3 unremarkable flats. The introduction of any 2nd coaster would not precipitate the loss of any space currently utilised for flats so the number of rides within the park would be unaffected. And as I stated before, if the park is clever, you can certainly succeed in having another flat within or close to the ride envelope.  Potentially a Drop tower could  also be ideally situated in this space, depending on what coaster was actually installed.

Either way, its a moot point. LPM have confirmed that this space will eventually be the home of a 2nd coaster as a direct replacement for the long gone Metropolis. They have signalled that this is their intention and that , although there is no timeframe for this at the present time, they have been investigating options for the site.