Funfields Trip report January 2019

[Jobe]

The last fully fledged theme park of our Victorian trip is Funfields.

Funfields is located at Whittlesea, which is a 57 minute drive from the Melbourne CBD itself. Very easy to get to by car, but as with Adventure World, getting there by public transport is problematic.

The park bills itself as having 3 record holders in slides. I know this has been discussed on the forums before so I will only mention them briefly for each ride.

We arrived on one of the hottest days of the year with a top temperature of 42 degrees. Not sure what we were in for crowds wise, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the soaring temperatures actually served to keep people away from the park.

Like Adventure Park, Funfields is a park that divides itself between a water slide section, and a dry ride section. It has in recent years , been the destination for a couple of former rides from 2 of the Gold Coast theme parks. ( more on that later)

Like Adventure Park, Funfields utilises a height meter to sort ticket prices. A single ticket for the highest height bracket (135cm+) was $48. There is no family option so the grand total for a family of 4 for us was $192. (once again..ouch)

Given the heat, I had decided to bring in a small esky filled with water. This is allowed , however, upon entry, we were told that there are only certain places in the park where eskies are allowed and this was in the BBQ and picnic area. Eskies are not allowed anywhere near the water section of the park nor near the new area for the Volcano Beach.

This was not an issue as there was plenty of seating and shaded areas in the section we were directed to. Finding a spot, we then set about getting a locker for our valuables. This was the same price as Adventure Park ($12 all day) but did not feature the eminently practical wrist band solution as found at Adventure Park. Oh well back to remembering locker numbers and pin numbers!!

As well as the heat, there was a very strong hot wind that was blowing. At the entrance, the helpful gate assistant advised us that due to the winds, some attractions could close. With that excellent advice in mind , we decided to hit the dry rides first.

The first one we tackled was the Burnout, In a previous life, this ride had spent a number of years at Dreamworld as the Stingray. It was very well presented here and in excellent condition- it had received a very good refurb in its move here to Funfields.

The kids tackled the Samba Balloons next, a very nice looking unit from Zamperla. This and the Burnout formed a small family ride precinct that also included a small Ferris wheel, a carousel, a kids go kart track and a tea cups ride. Very well presented and very appealing to the younger family members.

We then decided to tackle Blackbeard's Fury, a HUSS swinging ship. This unit was an original ride from Seaworld on the Gold Coast. Once again, FunFields have done a wonderful job of refurbing this ride and it looked and rode excellent. The difference between this and the Meisho unit at LPM was night and day. Blackbeard's Fury swung an impressive degree and it was an entirely smooth ride experience. Funfields have even attempted some theming elements in front of the ride.

Not sure what Seaworld were thinking in getting rid of this ride- in its current excellent condition it could still easily operate at Seaworld today. A rather short sighted decision , in my opinion!

As a curious side note, Funfields also offers this ride as a VR experience for the princely sum of $6. Apparently the VR content is themed to a Dragon ride somehow. We rode Blackbeard's Fury 4 times throughout the day and not once did we see any VR units being utilised. I found the concept of VR on a swing ship ride quite odd.

We then headed to Voodoo , the parks 360 degree swing pendulum ride. This is an excellent attraction for any number of small parks- it gave great forces and yet had quite a small footprint. It also was a very smooth ride experience , although the seating was a little uncomfortable. We got 2 rides on this in quick succession which proved a shrewd move as about an hour later this was closed due to the high winds. It never reopened for the day. This ride is an exceptional addition to Funfields attraction lineup.

The next order of the day was to ride the parks Alpine Toboggan run. This example featured the  traditional cable lift hill to the top ( unlike Jamberoo's chairlift). It was  not as long as Jamberoo's toboggan run ( they also have 2) but it was a good example of this type of ride. In my opinion, the track felt in better condition that Jamberoo's 2 runs and the toboggans themselves were also in far better material condition. This was a walk on and we got in 5 runs in very quick succession. Excellent fun.

After the toboggans , we then headed to the Go karts. The layout had recently been shortened to accommodate the new Volcano Beach Wave Pool but I didnt feel that this affected the track overly at all. The karts themselves were all 2 person cars. You need to be 145 cm plus to drive alone and 100- 144cm can be passengers. There were 10 karts in operation this day and it was my sons first experience in driving them. They certainly were not overly fast but they did provide a decent speed once you stretched them out. Operations were a little slow on this and they would have been brutal if the park was majorly busy.

Given that the heat was increasing, we decided to hit the water portion of the park. Funfields has the standard water play structures found in most water parks now. This example included something a little different insofar as that it does not have a swinging bucket overhead. Instead, it has a "shack" structure that periodically releases the water deluge. There is no warning as to when this will occur so it was a little random as to when the water was released. Also, unlike a lot of other play structures, this one was situated in a shallow pool, which was perfect for parents to sit in either under or near the water mushrooms found therein. This was a welcome advantage on such a hot day unlike other water structures that are placed on foam or sponge underlay.

The kids then tried the bumper boast- an old school attraction to be sure. They are getting harder to find in Australia and they sure are ordinary when it comes to capacity but the kids loved them. 10 boats only does mean very slow operations though.

We then moved on to the Typhoon- billed by the park as the as the World's longest Proslide cannonball. Have to say this was my favourite slide of the park and was so much fun!! It certainly had a good length of slide before hitting the bowl and it gained a good deal of momentum as you burst onto the lip of the curve. Great fun and very re-rideable.

What is great about the operations on this slide is that Funfields offer single tube and dual tube rider options. This gives a lot of flexibility for any group of riders.

The slides directly next to the Typhoon are the original body slides and obviously have a bit of age about them. They are nearly identical to ones found in Jamberoo and even share a similar name in Splash Down. However, at Funfields, they make you ride these with mats and this makes for a very disappointing slide experience. The mats seemed to slow down your momentum to the point where we all thought we would stop on the course at some point.These slides should remain as body slides to get the most out of them. Jamberoo's are far superior , in my thinking,

The next 2 slides are enclosed tube slides called  Blackout and Wipeout. They are pretty standard slides but fun nonetheless. As its name suggests, Blackout is completely dark through its course entirety.

Like Typhoon, these slides operated with singe tube and double tube options.

The next slide is the Kraken racer, the 2nd purportedly record holder. Its billed as the World's Longest Proslide Kraken Racer and when I saw it i was very underwhelmed. I have been on many different racers in water parks around the world and to me, this is really stretching a point. There are longer racers in Australia, by far ( albeit by other manufacturers- hell the racers at Adventure Park in the SAME state were far longer.) Its fairly representative of its type of slide but the less said about its alleged "World Record" the better.

The third Record holder, the Gravity Wave, is a far more impressive slide. Billed as the World's Biggest, Longest and Tallest Proslide Wave and Victoria's tallest waterslide this is a slide to be proud of.  This gave an impressive amount of ride time and the dive into the wave is great fun. Interestingly , you can only ride this in either 4 person or 2 person configuration- not 3. I asked about this and this is  Proslides specification and not the park's , according to the ride attendant. Funny how you can ride Tornado's with 3 riders but not this slide.

And as can be seen, Funfields are also touting a new slide to join Gravity Wave in the near future. The infrastructure is all there, they just need to erect the slide. I am betting that they have already purchased the next slide and we will see it installed early next year.

This is a very cool thing which Funfields have done very well in implementing. Near the queue lines to all the major slides, they have installed these structures made of PVC piping for riders to store their thongs and hats. This was crucial and very beneficial , given that it was such a hot day and the heat emanating from the cement necessitated wearing footwear of some kind. This allowed all riders to neatly stack them in the pipes provided and to gather them to move on once the ride had finished. This played in very well with my love of all things practical. All water parks in Australia should see this and take note!! (Jamberoo hint hint)

Volcano Beach is the new inclusion for this year and opened in December. As a Wave Pool its a little on the smaller side, ( its only reaches 1.8 metres at its deepest depth) but the surrounding area is nicely themed. The vegetation surrounding the area will look much better in 12 months and will give the  area a much more organic look. This is the first wave pool in Victoria and it is also heated so that its use can be extended into the cooler months. It certainly did not need the heating element on the day we visited!!!

Stage 2 will also see a new cafe and eatery be added to this area. All in all, a nice addition to the park.

 

Funfields , for mine wins the battle of the water parks in Victoria. It feels far more complete and well rounded. It certainly is Jamberoo's Victorian cousin and those 2 parks share quite a lot in DNA and similarity. Given that this is also the closer of the 2 parks to Melbourne, it is the easiest to get to by car. 

If you are staying or planning a family trip to Melbourne, then a visit to this burgeoning park  should be on your list of things to do.

My next installment of our Melbourne trip will see non theme park related attractions added in together to give an overview of some of the other points of interest that you can experience whilst in the fair Victorian capital.

These will include:

• Werribee Open Plain Zoo
• Sovereign Hill
• Melbourne Zoo
• The Melbourne Aquarium
• Amaze and Things, Phillip Island
• The Penguin Parade, Phillip Island
• ArtVo 3D Art Gallery and Southern Star Observation Wheel
• MCG Tour and National Sports Museum.

Because I am a glutton for punishment and like us all, a bit of a theme park nut, I will be visiting Wet 'N'Wild Sydney this weekend and also our annual Jamberoo trip is the weekend after. I will post a trip report for each of them as well in the coming days. Thanks for letting me share our experiences and I hope you have enjoyed the trip reports as they come.

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Jobe

[Paula]

10 hours ago, Jobe said:

hell the racers at Adventure Park in the SAME state were far longer.

Funfields' Kraken Racer is estimated between 20-29m longer than the Aqua Racer. Estimate 85m for Aqua Racer (although they state 80+m) & 109m for Kraken. Kraken Racer is also a lot faster with estimated speeds of 50-60kms depending on rider. Aqua Racer around 40kms.

[webslave]

14 hours ago, Jobe said:

This is the first wave pool in Victoria

First outdoor wave pool I believe.

[Paula]

16 hours ago, Jobe said:

My next installment of our Melbourne trip will see non theme park related attractions added in together to give an overview of some of the other points of interest that you can experience whilst in the fair Victorian capital.

Maybe include Kryal Castle just outside Ballarat; a lovely little medieval themed park. And Fairy Park in Anakie. Both with rich history and quite unique.

[Gazza]

Did you check out Gumbuya World on this trip too?

[Jobe]

2 hours ago, Gazza said:

Did you check out Gumbuya World on this trip too?

No it was on the shortlist but ultimately we had to drop it. Honestly, we did so much I guess we had to leave something to do for next time 😊👍

[Jobe]

On 02/02/2019 at 12:20 PM, Paula said:

Funfields' Kraken Racer is estimated between 20-29m longer than the Aqua Racer. Estimate 85m for Aqua Racer (although they state 80+m) & 109m for Kraken. Kraken Racer is also a lot faster with estimated speeds of 50-60kms depending on rider. Aqua Racer around 40kms.

Thanks for the clarification here Paula- it really did not seem that Funfields was the longer unit! Is this longer than the Octo 8 racers at WWW, or the Racers at Wet 'N Wild Sydney, do you know?

 

On 02/02/2019 at 4:04 PM, webslave said:

First outdoor wave pool I believe.

Ah..cheers thanks for that clarification. Where in Victoria is the Indoor unit located?

On 02/02/2019 at 5:32 PM, Paula said:

Maybe include Kryal Castle just outside Ballarat; a lovely little medieval themed park. And Fairy Park in Anakie. Both with rich history and quite unique.

We saw Kryal Castle  when we went to Sovereign Hill, but sadly did not get time to go there!! Will have to check it out !!

[webslave]

6 minutes ago, Jobe said:

Ah..cheers thanks for that clarification. Where in Victoria is the Indoor unit located?

There's three that I know of - Monash in Glen Waverley, Melton Waves and MSAC.

[Paula]

On 04/02/2019 at 4:43 PM, Jobe said:

Thanks for the clarification here Paula- it really did not seem that Funfields was the longer unit! Is this longer than the Octo 8 racers at WWW, or the Racers at Wet 'N Wild Sydney, do you know?

Hi Jobe, Correction the Kraken Racer at Funfields is 113m long. ProSlide did a case study stating 113m.
The Octo at WWW is 120m long (states around 50kms/hr). Not sure about the H2Go Racer; looks like a longer ride duration and a bit slow but no idea on length.