What if the Ghost Train Fire never happened?

[AheadMatthewawsome]

I've always have had this question fueling in my mind. Personally, I think that probably another incident. Maybe even worse would have happened. But, let's pretend that there was NO INCIDENTS AND THERE NEVER WAS! 

I think Wonderland would of never been built because it was because of the void of LPS that got Wonderland going in the first place. 7 people would still be around today. A family would not be in smithereens. Probably the owners would of either tried to knock down the park like they tried to do in the early 70s. It may of been successful. But I think that if it stayed. The Big Dipper, the Ghost Train, and the River Caves would have also became heritage listed. I don't think that Maloney's Corner, and Lavender Green would exist in this world. And lots of rides around the front of the park and where the Wild Mouse is today would move around. It would look more like Luna Park Melbourne now basically.

But what do you think? And also I want you all to check out this video uploaded by Yyosh. It's about Clive James going into a empty and abandond LPS in 1991 during a storm. It's great, and I think you should watch it too!

 

[Yyosh]

Oh hey that's me! All I did was upload a snippet of a TV show ahaha! Thanks...

I have thought about this a lot too and there are really three possibilities I come down to. The first is that Luna Park still exists today, but it's very different to what we know it as. The pop-art aesthetic would still exist and the classic rides such as Big Dipper, River Caves and Coney Island may exist. Back in 1979, the owners could have demolished anything they wanted (of course, with public disapproval, but they would probably be allowed to get rid of Coney Island, for example). There were no heritage laws stopping them. Who knows what the owners could've added or removed!

The second is the park had another bad accident that causes it to close for good. The owners didn't really give Luna Park the attention it deserved after Ted Hopkins left, and through what I've seen, the place looked run down in the late 70s, even with Martin Sharp's art team. In April of 1979 two trains on Big Dipper collided, and the park hadn't been following fire safety standards. A worse accident could've happened, closing the place for good. 

The third is just that the park loses attendance and withers away. It's a boring scenario but this shit happens. That was the fate of the original Luna Park in the 40s.

In conclusion, Luna Park would be a different place and might not even exist, but there are too many possibilities and I won't be able to even think of them, and you just spend too long reading me rambling on about an amusement park ahaha.

[Jobe]

On 07/02/2021 at 12:11 PM, AheadMatthewawsome said:

I think Wonderland would of never been built because it was because of the void of LPS that got Wonderland going in the first place.

Wonderland opened in 1985 and LPS reopened in the aftermath of the Ghost Train fire in 1983. There was no void and both parks coexisted in the 80's until LPS shut down for renovations until reopening in 1995.

I get what you are saying though. I have no doubt that if the Big Dipper, the River Caves and Ghost Train had survived then they would now be heritage listed. However, the events of Luna Park Melbourne in the 80's are a cautionary tale and could have been replicated at LPS for the same reasons. In the aftermath of the Giggle Palace fire , the River Caves at LPM were deemed a fire hazard and were removed as a result. The Big Dipper was also pulled down in 1989 , even with a interim heritage order being placed on it. Luckily the 1935 Ghost Train/Pretzel ride survived and is now under heritage protection and one of the few remaining rides of that era left in the world. These events could easily have happened in the 80's to LPS , especially since amusement park history and preservation were almost unheard of, especially in this country.

The loss of the Big Dipper , River Caves and the Ghost Train is a huge loss to the fabric of the park. However, we now have a brand new, $30 million dollar investment to look forward to, that will propel LPS into the future for many decades to come. LPS will now be a fine mix of heritage , nods to the past and brand new attractions. The park that really should not have survived the many roadblocks of the past now has outlived and out shone its nearest competition to become a true Sydney icon.

[StingRay]

On 07/02/2021 at 12:11 PM, AheadMatthewawsome said:

I've always have had this question fueling in my mind. Personally, I think that probably another incident. Maybe even worse would have happened. But, let's pretend that there was NO INCIDENTS AND THERE NEVER WAS! 

I think Wonderland would of never been built because it was because of the void of LPS that got Wonderland going in the first place. 7 people would still be around today. A family would not be in smithereens. Probably the owners would of either tried to knock down the park like they tried to do in the early 70s. It may of been successful. But I think that if it stayed. The Big Dipper, the Ghost Train, and the River Caves would have also became heritage listed. I don't think that Maloney's Corner, and Lavender Green would exist in this world. And lots of rides around the front of the park and where the Wild Mouse is today would move around. It would look more like Luna Park Melbourne now basically.

But what do you think? And also I want you all to check out this video uploaded by Yyosh. It's about Clive James going into a empty and abandond LPS in 1991 during a storm. It's great, and I think you should watch it too!

 

Wow, that's some amazing footage gouge found here. 

The famous “what if” question. We still had the big dipper accident just weeks before the fire. The parks rides where starting to show age and getting neglected in some cases. 

I truly think it would have turned into a shopping centre with a cinema and maybe a few kids ride with the Ferris wheel. Those concepts existed in peoples minds right up until the mid-2000s.

It's hard to tell what would have occurred tho. We only know what occurred and what bought the park to its current time and place. 

The fire, while terrible and very tragic showed one thing, it helped the park survive. The parks downfall was the accident. People showed love for the park tho. That speaks volumes. 
 

Wonderland Sydney would have still existed. From my memory (without cheating by using Google) the yanks had been looking for a location since the mid 70’s. 
 

one thing I know for a fact. Seven people would have grown old, those haunting photos and videos would haven't have occurred on that faithful night. 

[Jdude95]

The original AndrewH