Sea World Monorail removed from website and park map

[Tricoart]

I think part of the case for the Monorail track & train still remaining is just that they somewhat consider the ride heritage. As a result, I don’t know how keen they’d be to have it completely demolished or turned into something else entirely (especially as it isn’t impeding anything). I think, though I’d like to be wrong, this is just them removing the valuable/operational hardware from the track so they can future-proof keeping it standing.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

2 hours ago, franky said:

- University study on what to do with the track

Pretty sure this was a 'what if' and was purely academic. The study was on 'sustainability' not 'what would you do with this old ride' and can be found here, provided google's linking works properly.

1 hour ago, New display name said:

I've posted a concept plan in Parkz somewhere before, of the track been turned into a walkway.

The same study references this, but the proposal was for the Sydney monorail, and they simply suggested it could be done here too.

 

They expand on the idea further:

The trouble with this idea is either it is an incomplete circuit, or they spend a lot of money building a walkway that goes out over the carpark. There's also a question of how wide a walkway could be, built on top of the narrow monorail supports, and whether it could handle the different forces put on it by a moving crowd.

Either way, i think these proposals were entirely academic - they were done in 2019 before the pandemic and before most of Atlantis was built and i'd suggest their currency and relevance today is questionable, especially since they made up only a small portion of the overall sustainability proposals the university actually set out to do.

10 minutes ago, Tricoart said:

I think part of the case for the Monorail track & train still remaining is just that they somewhat consider the ride heritage

Nope.

The entire reason Arkham remained standing as long as it did was because they didn't need the space for something else yet, and it wasn't unsafe to remain as it was. 

If they decide Monorail is gone, then as soon as Sea World needs monorail space for the next attraction, it'll get knocked down - though this doesn't mean the entire thing will go either.

If they cared about heritage - we'd still have Viking's revenge. The bridge. The Ski Show. Heritage really doesn't play a part here (and for the most part, it shouldn't, save for the extremely enduring heritage attractions the likes of LPS Wild Mouse or Scenic Railway. 

[Tricoart]

11 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Nope.

The entire reason Arkham remained standing as long as it did was because they didn't need the space for something else yet, and it wasn't unsafe to remain as it was. 

If they decide Monorail is gone, then as soon as Sea World needs monorail space for the next attraction, it'll get knocked down - though this doesn't mean the entire thing will go either.

21 minutes ago, Tricoart said:

As a result, I don’t know how keen they’d be to have it completely demolished or turned into something else entirely (especially as it isn’t impeding anything)

I mean, I don’t see them removing it completely or turning it into something like a walkway instead, partially ‘cause they consider the Monorail heritage. If they needed space that it’s blocking, it’d be cleared no doubt about it.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Tricoart

[New display name]

@Tricoartare you talking to yourself?  😀     Send it to the scrap yard.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

50 minutes ago, Tricoart said:

I mean, I don’t see them removing it completely or turning it into something like a walkway instead, partially ‘cause they consider the Monorail heritage

It has nothing to do with heritage. 

[Baconjack]

5 hours ago, Tricoart said:

I mean, I don’t see them removing it completely or turning it into something like a walkway instead, partially ‘cause they consider the Monorail heritage. If they needed space that it’s blocking, it’d be cleared no doubt about it.

Are we gonna argue Vikings was kept around so long for the same reason?

[Tricoart]

1 hour ago, Baconjack said:

Are we gonna argue Vikings was kept around so long for the same reason?

I don’t see why it wouldn’t have been a reason. If they had no current plans for the area, why get rid of it when there could’ve been plans in the future that incorporated elements of the ride? Really don’t get how this became a point of argument tbh, I never said ‘heritage’ is the only reason, as obviously if there’s no reason to demolish something, they more often than not wouldn’t spend the money to do so (cough cough WB Kids hut). Just that it could be a reason for them actively wanting the track to stay standing, keeping 1 old train, and doing minor repairs while its SBNO.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Tricoart

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

9 hours ago, Tricoart said:

obviously if there’s no reason to demolish something, they more often than not wouldn’t spend the money to do so

This is the key here. There is absolutely nothing to do with heritage, it is - plain and simply - not worth spending the money on tearing something down unless you need that space for something else, OR it's dangerous leaving it as it is.

When Storm Coaster was built, the quoted "cost" of the ride included the costs of demolishing Bermuda. By including the demolition costs in the overall construction, it forms part of the 'new ride' budget, rather than having to find capital works budget elsewhere. It also has potential tax benefits if it was costed as part of new capital infrastructure, as opposed to standalone demolition of end-of-life assets.

There are many benefits to doing it as part of your new project. There are no benefits (other than perhaps aesthetics of the park) to remove it at end of life with no plan on what you're doing with it.

Heritage doesn't even play a part. No question. End of story. Period.

[Oliver]

Hi there ― Sorry for jumping in here, I just came across this discussion. I’ve never been to Australia, but I know the history of the Sea World Monorail very well, because it’s the “sibling” of the EP Express Monorail over here in Germany.

The World Expo 88 in Brisbane had a monorail with 4 trains, it was the same make and model as the one in Sea World (“Von Roll Mk-II”). So, when the World Expo was over, one of the trains went to Sea World, not far away (so its fleet grew from two to three trains). The other 3 trains from World Expo 88 went on a much longer journey ― they were bought by “Europa-Park”, one of the largest theme parks in Europe. This monorail is now called EP Express, and it’s still in operation today. In fact it’s one of the main attractions, and the Europa-Park engineers are keeping the trains in excellent shape.

I’m very sad to hear that the sibling in Sea World Australia has been taken out of service (apparently forever). It would be nice if Europa-Park bought these three trains, too, and expanded the track of the EP Express. That would make sense because Europa-Park has grown considerably in the past 30 years and covers a much larger area now. However, I’m afraid that is just wishful thinking.

So … Farewell, Sea World Monorail. I’ll be thinking of you next time I ride EP Express.

Best regards ― Oliver from Germany

[Gobbledok]

Jesus christ!
 

Guess AS3000 is just a fun guideline

[Whombex]

Welcome @Oliver - I suspect that the Monorails here would need significant maintenance, possibly rebuilds, to be rated for use again her - let alone whatever safety standards are in place in Germany.

[Stevie]

On 25/07/2023 at 2:30 PM, New display name said:

@Tricoartare you talking to yourself?  😀     Send it to the scrap yard.

Even with the price of scrap steel, they'd still fetch a few bucks from dropping it off at SIMS 

[Oliver]

10 hours ago, Whombex said:

Welcome @Oliver - I suspect that the Monorails here would need significant maintenance, possibly rebuilds, to be rated for use again her - let alone whatever safety standards are in place in Germany.

Well, yes, after two or three years of neglect, they are certainly in need of maintenance. And a “TÜV” certification is required in Germany, for safety of operation.

However, as I mentioned, the engineers and technicians at Europa-Park are very experienced in such things. They also partially rebuilt two of their trains that were damaged by an accident a few years ago (thankfully there were no bad injuries, only the train driver and another employee were slightly injured). Here’s a short press coverage: 

(Sorry, it’s in German, but you can clearly see what happened. Basically she says that the passengers were rescued by the park’s fire brigade, and that the cause of the accident and the damage sum are yet unknown.) The track and trains of the EP Express are equipped with proximity sensors and block control, that should normally prevent two trains from coming too close to each other. Operation of EP Express resumed the same afternoon, using the third train. One of the damaged trains was repaired and back in operation the next day already (it only had some body damage), the other one took somewhat longer because the control panel in the driver’s cabin was affected.

It’s also interesting to know that the trains at Europa-Park were somewhat modified. In particular, they got air condition back in 1995 (that’s the bumps that you can see on the roof of the trains). As far as I know, the trains in Australia did not have air condition.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Oliver
correction

[REGIE]

No the Aussie ones were very very hot inside.    If it comes back some aircon would be nice though not necessarily needed.

Edited July 30, 2023 by REGIE

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The monorail air-con debate has been had numerous times on Parkz. 

I think the main issues were that the train clearances were insufficient in some places around the park - the most notable being the Plaza roof towards the Stingrays if I remember correctly, but there was also the Corkscrew track to navigate at one point as well. 

[Oliver]

Two quick questions … The Wikipedia article says that the Sea World Monorail was closed in 2022. Somewhere else (I don’t remember where) I found the information that the last ride took place in 2020. Which one is true? Does somebody know the exact date of the last ride of Australia’s last monorail?

And second: I have read that one of the trains is still standing on the track. Is that true, or have all of them been removed by now?

[Muhammad K]

 I’ve contacted Seaworld/ village roadshow theme parks on multiple occasions asking about any updates and they keep on coming back saying,

“We are currently investigating options for the future of the attraction with our manufacturers and partners. This process will require some time, and as such, no decision regarding the future of the monorail has been finalized.”

-village roadshow theme parks
(I got this email on Wednesday 19th July 2023) 

I’m thinking they are taking it down sadly but I hope not. 

they could be refurbishing/ replacing some of the old parts to the system and getting ready to remove the current train from the mid station since it’s been used since it opened in 1986 so it can be taken off the track and be destroyed and hopefully a new one will be added to the track.

Why is it taking so long to reopen? Could be because it’s an old system, parts are very hard to source which is why a lot of systems are being dismantled. 

The monorail manufacturing company VON ROLL stopped making these monorails years ago. Surviving monorail systems have to rely on second hand parts or local manufacturing companies to remake the parts from scratch which could cost a bit and may not last as long.

We’ll see what the future holds for the monorail, personally as much as I want this system to stay I don’t think it will sadly.

[Whombex]

On 09/08/2023 at 2:03 AM, Oliver said:

Two quick questions … The Wikipedia article says that the Sea World Monorail was closed in 2022. Somewhere else (I don’t remember where) I found the information that the last ride took place in 2020. Which one is true? Does somebody know the exact date of the last ride of Australia’s last monorail?

And second: I have read that one of the trains is still standing on the track. Is that true, or have all of them been removed by now?

Go back a page on this thread, one's still on the track. The monorail hasn't run since the Pandemic stated I believe.

[webslave]

The park confirmed to me that the monorail is done, but they reserve the right to replace it in the distant future. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

yeah once they started bolting lights to the track and removing the safety cowling and power bars (not to mention scrapping the monorail train), it was done. 

This is the part where i'd lambast Bikash for his statements when they scrapped the other train, but the reality is they may not have had a decision at that time and now they do, so benefit of the doubt. It's a shame to see it go, but if it is truly done for, then I hope that:

• The park makes every effort to remove the track and pylons around the park wherever possible and as soon as possible.
• A new, modern slow-paced, family friendly attraction is investigated and procured to take advantage of the unique and picturesque location on the spit. (I'd love a modern transport attraction, but a big wheel would be just fine. The Southern Star Wheel in Docklands Melbourne is having some financial difficulties - Imagine that giant star lit up across the spit at night!

Since Flume and the castle are both done too, now would be a great opportunity to redevelop that whole mid-station precinct. Despite New Atlantis, there is a gaping (physical) hole in the park's lineup right now that needs to be addressed.

[webslave]

I absolutely think there's scope for a transport ride in a park spread so linearly; I mean it was only a few years ago they had two.  The park is a massive chore to navigate, to the point that it's probably guest-hostile.  Artificial barriers to flow all over the place

[themagician]

And at one point in the parks life they had 3. Monorail, SkyWay and the train. And they were all popular and extended your day at the park because they each offered something different. And now the park is left with none, which I think is a massive mistake. 

[New display name]

Hot, stuffy and smelt funny, that's how I remember the Monorail.  

 

And stay out!

[webslave]

[rappa]

100% a new gondola system with a mid-station at the castle and then continuing to the resort!