Big Banana plans $50 million dollar expansion over the next 20 years

[Natti_amusements]

“City of Coffs Harbour is set to vote on a development application for a new tourist attraction at The Big Banana Fun Park.

The proposed $2.9 million ‘Alpine Coaster’ will come before councillors at their ordinary general meeting on Thursday.

While the coaster would exceed height limits at the site, council officers have recommended approval of the development.

The proposed Alpine Coaster would include 34 toboggans running along a steel track. 

The cart track follows the existing toboggan ride route, with some extensions and loops away from this existing path, particularly upslope to the west.

The Alpine Coaster would be gravity driven, and run on an 860 metre long tubular track.

“This coaster is a significant addition to our fun park and a key element of our 15-year master plan which is expected to be another anchor attraction, fortifying our reputation as a must-visit destination on the North Coast,” Big Banana chief executive officer Michael Lockman said.

“Beyond the thrill and scenery, safety of our guests is our upmost priority. 

“Riders on our Alpine Coaster are securely fastened in carts that are firmly affixed to the coaster track, ensuring a safe ride, even during the most thrilling moments.”

The development would include the rollercoaster track system, a terminal and storage building, pedestrian access ramps and a winch system.

Some demolition work would be required, including an old monorail track and a shed.

Council staff have identified height, noise, loss of views and vegetation removal as the main assessment issues for the proposed development.”

[Noll_57]

The Big Banana has already closed the Demolition Derby and is now removing the ride from the park.

[TBoy]

12 minutes ago, Noll_57 said:

The Big Banana has already closed the Demolition Derby and is now removing the ride from the park.

Could it have a chance of being relocated instead of scrapped? It was added less than 2 years ago, I would like to think it is being moved to make way for something in the area.

[Ashley Jeffery]

26 minutes ago, TBoy said:

Could it have a chance of being relocated instead of scrapped? It was added less than 2 years ago, I would like to think it is being moved to make way for something in the area.

Probably end up with a showman

[Vidgamer]

It says on the big banana website that bumper cars are coming in that spot early 2024 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yeah Demo Derby was a trailer mounted unit, i'm not sure if it was ever intended to be permanent or just a filler attraction until their next expansion. While they did build a roof for it, the install looked very temporary, and in the few visits we made to the park since it went in, we never once saw it operating.

[Rabbit2014]

Announced in September for a end of year opening, interactive bumber cars.
 

https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/the-big-banana-fun-park-to-introduce-bumper-car-attraction/

Edited October 11, 2023 by Rabbit2014

[GoGoBoy]

I always wondered why they built such a seemingly expensive permanent shelter for that attraction. But I'm assuming the new bumper cars would be too big to fit under it? 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

You don't need a super big space for bumper cars. take a look at many timezones around the place and you'll see just how small a space you can make it. I can't see them doing any more earthworks to that site so unless they take over some of the footpath i'd say the existing site is probably all she wrote. It should fit but if so it's going to be a fairly small course - which is probably fine for BB considering most times of the year even only a few cars wouldn't generate much of a wait...

[Jobe]

On 11/10/2023 at 12:23 PM, Rabbit2014 said:

Announced in September for a end of year opening, interactive bumber cars.
 

https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/the-big-banana-fun-park-to-introduce-bumper-car-attraction/

Just to add to this here is the article. ( Thanks @Rabbit2014 for the link)  It has some interesting info in it.

THE BIG BANANA FUN PARK TO INTRODUCE BUMPER CAR ATTRACTION

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

ATTRACTIONS / ENTERTAINMENT / SAFETY / TOURISM

Coffs Harbour landmark The Big Banana Fun Park has announced that its latest addition, an interactive Bumper Car attraction, will open before the end of the year.

Featuring an infrared shooting system and a digital scoring display, the new attraction will provides a modern twist on the classic Dodgem Car ride, making it a more thrilling and competitive experience.

Manufactured by the market leading Italian supplier Eurogames, the attraction’s original ‘shoot & spin’ function makes the Bumper Cars spin when shot while a digital scoreboard keeps track of the number of targets hit, to reward players and enhance their ride experience.

Anticipating that the new Bumper Cars attraction will captivate both families and thrillseekers, The Big Banana Chief Executive, Michael Lockman advises "we are delighted to introduce an attraction that not only adds excitement for our customers, but also aligns with our strategic vision for the future.”

Emphasising the importance of innovation for the fun park, Lockman adds “the Bumper Cars attraction is designed for customers as young as three years of age, making it an exciting experience for the entire family.

“This facility has been designed to operate in all weather conditions and is expected to offer a competitive edge over other destinations, as it will be a unique attraction in Regional NSW.”

Images courtesy of The Big Banana.

Also opening by Christmas is the much delayed second tower in the waterpark. It will feature a duelling raft slide and will add some good capacity to the water park and beef up their offering.

The Alpine Slide is apparently still in the planning and development stages still and is definitely going ahead. The delay may mean that there were some issues getting this approved through council. With this delay, this means that wilst the Big Banana Alpine coaster was the first to be announced in Australia, the new Alpine Coaster at Thredbo be built now will be the first to open in Australia. Good times though!!

Thredbo Plan New Alpine Coaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowy Magazine

Nov 21 2022Updated November 21, 2022

 

 

EXCITING: An image of the proposed Thredbo Alpine Coaster. PHOTO: Thredbo / digitally enhanced

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THREDBO Resort have submitted a development application for a new Alpine Coaster ride that will add another layer of adventure at the resort.

When approved, this rollercoaster-like toboggan amusement attraction will wind 1,040m through alpine and subalpine vegetation zones, from the top of Lovers Leap to the Valley Terminal precinct. Running adjacent to the existing Snowgums chair for the uplink, the top station and start of the ride would commence just below the current first Snowgums unload.

The rendered image (above) supplied by Thredbo shows proximity to the village and the base area around the Merritts Gondola and the current old tennis court area.

The proposed line and location of the Alpine Coaster.

 

Thredbo Resort General Manager, Stuart Diver has previously discussed the planned ride at stakeholder marketing presentations.

“Subject to approvals we expect the Alpine Coaster to be open for winter 2024,” said Mr Diver.

“The Alpine Coaster will be a really exciting addition to Thredbo’s year round adventure offering and will provide an experience that aligns with Thredbo’s focus is to provide premium experiences for our guests in addition to the great offerings we currently have.”

This is all part of a new wave of upgrades at the resort that guests will see in the coming years. Following the construction of the Merritts Gondola launched for winter 2020 and the Easy Rider T-Bar replacement for winter 2022, Thredbo will roll out a comprehensive lift replacement plan over the next eight years – including replacing the Snowgums Chairlift and Gunbarrel Chairlift with high-speed six-seater chairlifts. This will increase lifting capacity by up to 40% at the resort.

Development application (DA) Images and location of the proposed new Alpine Coaster.

 

 

 

 

[themagician]

The CEO of the Big Banana has confirmed this Alpine Coaster has been ordered and is on its way. It’s a $5 million investment, will be opening later this year, will be just under 1km long, will have two lift hills in sections be 12m above the ground. The name hasn’t yet been confirmed (Plantation Coaster is a name being considered).

Credit to Dane’s Theme Park Life for the interview with the CEO revealing this info.

[Jobe]

On 15/02/2025 at 5:17 PM, themagician said:

The CEO of the Big Banana has confirmed this Alpine Coaster has been ordered and is on its way. It’s a $5 million investment, will be opening later this year, will be just under 1km long, will have two lift hills in sections be 12m above the ground. The name hasn’t yet been confirmed (Plantation Coaster is a name being considered).

Credit to Dane’s Theme Park Life for the interview with the CEO revealing this info.

Yeah this is great news. Further in to the podcast the CEO also revealed further that the Alpine Coaster is set for a September 2025 opening date and that he envisages that the Big Banana Park in 10 years will have an expansion to the water park with onsite accommodation as well. He would also love to install a family coaster within that timeframe and they have plans to resurrect the Bunyip in the lake. These are exciting times for this small regional park and its great to see the investment continue to gorw with plans for the future.

[Noll_57]

I’m pleased to hear the park is interested in bringing back the animatronic Bunyip. It was an iconic part of the Big Banana and I’ve seen quite a lot of interest and discussion about it online. I do wonder if the original Bunyip is still sitting in that lake? Last time I was there, I noticed what appeared to be the old control hut for it still standing beside the lake, along with a bunch of pipes and wires running into the water. 

[Cactus_Matt]

I don't know if I've already mentioned as much but it's kinda weird how 'big' a part the Big Banana was a part of my childhood (from ages 5-16 or so) we'd visit once or twice a year on our annual or bi-annual trip from Gold Coast to Sydney to visit my grandparents. But for the last 20 years since then (oh boy, I'm 37 years old... yep I'm 37...) I haven't been to Coffs Harbour and the Big Banana once. I know what I'm saying probably means very little but the kind of minimal investments that this park is doing for seemingly a large amount of money makes me no more inspired to visit even if I'm planning my first proper cross-state road trip from my current home in Melbourne back to the Gold Coast for the first time in 20 years. I'm sure I'll stop outside the titular banana and take a photo for 'the lols' buts its gonna take a lot more than what they're planning to actually spend a cent inside their park #sorrynotsorry

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I'm a fan of the wiegand toboggan (though the coffs toboggan is very much the poor cousin to the likes of Jamberoo or Corin Forest, for example) and i'm looking forward to an opportunity to try out the Alpine coaster, so will most likely make a stop there once it's open. 

The facilities and attractions at Banana are great for families. We always stop in to the candy kitchen for a supply of fruit rock, and between the ice rink, mini golf, reptile park, toboggan, waterpark and a couple other attractions we haven't gotten to try yet - there's plenty of things to do on a stopover day if you're making coffs the halfway mark to sydney.

But definitely they've been targeting the families with young kids with their current offerings.  

I do think they need to lift their game with what they offer to make them worth the detour as the coffs harbour bypass is coming (you can see it on Google now) and you can only rely on family 80's nostalgia to bring people by for so long before they stop coming.

[Ashley Jeffery]

2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I'm a fan of the wiegand toboggan (though the coffs toboggan is very much the poor cousin to the likes of Jamberoo or Corin Forest, for example) and i'm looking forward to an opportunity to try out the Alpine coaster, so will most likely make a stop there once it's open. 

The facilities and attractions at Banana are great for families. We always stop in to the candy kitchen for a supply of fruit rock, and between the ice rink, mini golf, reptile park, toboggan, waterpark and a couple other attractions we haven't gotten to try yet - there's plenty of things to do on a stopover day if you're making coffs the halfway mark to sydney.

But definitely they've been targeting the families with young kids with their current offerings.  

I do think they need to lift their game with what they offer to make them worth the detour as the coffs harbour bypass is coming (you can see it on Google now) and you can only rely on family 80's nostalgia to bring people by for so long before they stop coming.

I hope they don't end up like the big pineapple.

[Brad2912]

The bypass will absolutely kill that town unless the council spends big to make it a true destination hub for travelers - its not just all on the Big Banana. 

I'm counting the days until i don't have to drive through there on our 2-3 yearly Sydney roadtrips, it's one of only 2-3 bottlenecks left on the entire trip.

With all the bypass's south of the border down to Coffs, its only just over a 3 hour drive which doesn't place it well for a stopover, so it really only has the benefit of attracting Sydney travelers heading north, but if you are only 3 hours away from your destination, and there isn't much to do, you'd just keep driving to your destination. 

[downunder]

It will be interesting to see the impact of the bypass. I play in sports events every year at Coffs and it'll be so much easier in the morning getting from the north end of town to the stadium in the far south when the bypass comes in lol. Maybe it will still be a destination in the same way places like Port Macquarie are (albeit roughly 150 km further away from Gold Coast than Coffs), though I know I'd rather be in Surfers. 

I've only been to Big Banana once, and that was only because the day's play was washed out, but the alpine coaster would definitely get me more interested. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The thing is the town isn't what it once was. I doubt the council will spend up - its a sleepy little seaside town - rampant with petty crime and vandalism.

We have family in the Coffs region so will always be stopping, but the bypass will still save us time going through the main strip at 60. The banana feasibly could be a stop, but rather than go through town, we'd take the exit at korora and double back if we wanted to do that.

A park more akin to Aussie World would be worth the stop for more folks though I reckon.