Luna park 9 new rides construction

[themagician]

Thanks for the review and photos. I don’t think this coaster is anywhere near the levels of Rivals or ST. I think better comparisons would be Gold Coaster (Sidewinder/Cyclone), Green Lantern and maybe MDMC and Jet Rescue too?

[Baconjack]

I reckon that’s a little bit harsh considering Gold Coaster is a glorified family coaster, MDMC is boring and awful, green lantern is a “just there” coaster and jet rescue is fine if a tad under rated. It does quite a lot for a coaster that is otherwise not that fast and not that tall. 

Nothing beats rivals but this is far closer to that then it is to those four

Edited December 26, 2021 by Baconjack

[Im Hungry]

Tbh, I don't feel as hyped about the new big dipper. Like yeah it's an Australian-first, but it looks a little lacklustre with only two major elements to make up for it. Don't get me wrong, second launch does look killer.

I don't feel an urge to ride this tbh, but I'm down to give it a go when I visit Sydney - if ever.

Gotta agree with @themagician here. It isn't anywhere near the levels of Rivals or Taipan. Thinking it is may be a teeny bit of a stretch...

[Rivals]

imo Big Dipper looks very comparable to Green Lantern. Both Coasters are unique to their parks as well as Australia, both seem like great crowd pleasing coasters but for coaster enthusiasts, they don’t offer anything mind blowing, but still deliver them an enjoyable ride experience. at this current moment it possibly is in Top 5 aus coasters, but once Leviathan opens next year (hopefully) i can see it being pushed out

[MARK28]

Not sure why this coaster is being compared to DC Rivals 🤔. It was always going to be a smaller profile coaster. 

[Baconjack]

18 minutes ago, MARK28 said:

Not sure why this coaster is being compared to DC Rivals 🤔. It was always going to be a smaller profile coaster. 

I didn’t say that lmao, I said it was near it in terms of the quality of domestic coasters and have always said it was inferior

Some people are lacking reading comprehension in the thread

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Baconjack

[Yyosh]

How were the operations? I'm guessing the trains would've been stacking due to the ride's short length but were the dispatches fast?

[Baconjack]

2 minutes ago, Yyosh said:

How were the operations? I'm guessing the trains would've been stacking due to the ride's short length but were the dispatches fast?

Dispatches were pretty fast which I guess is needed given the low capacity of the ride, but one train would stack on the brake run for a little while. 2 trains were run for the first couple hours but one of them was pulled off for a wheel assembly problem so it’s been running on one train since then

Edited December 26, 2021 by Baconjack

[AheadMatthewawsome]

Hi all, I'm sorry there hasn't been that much posting for the past few months. The lockdown came and screwed everything up, and it was pretty much done by the end of the lockdown! But now we got something exciting! I don't like to boast, but I just have to spread the word. I was very lucky to be the *first* rider on Big Dipper III (although that there was a press event earlier, and human tests. But at least the first guest...)! I throw up on Teacups, so there were high standards to prevent raining vomit. I never felt nauseous, even on my 3rd go (just because)! Your back gets pushed in as you launched, which forces a smile, even on the most upset of people, the photos will give you proof! Then at the second launch, you know truly a thrill ride. The most intense part for me was the Luna Land section of the coaster, it's like a strict parent pinning you to bed and yelling at you: "GO TO SLEEP! FOR GOODNESS SAKES, G O T O S L E E P!!!".  At the last section of the coaster, you go very low to all the customers in the queue, and gives chills to those waiting to ride. They had a GoPro facing me to see my reaction, I'll try to grab that recording, and a few others that I have that should be available on my social media soon! There was a Red Train, and a Blue Train. The first one to go was the red train, but broke down around twelve hours and thirty minutes post meridian & was put into a siding. I went on the Blue Train the other 2 times. They had GoPro holders on both right now, they'll be using the Blue Train for more recording tomorrow. But they will probably take them off soon... I think that's a shame as it can cause trouble and violence against staff from people not using a chest strap for their GoPros, and this would be an easier way to do it in theory. There was also trouble with people using the bridge to cross the track to the queue for people filming the ride, blocking way for people wishing to ride. A good spot for a vantage point in the future they might want to add is either expanding the bridge slightly (unlikely), or use the area where the Big Dipper 1 queue painting is right now, and a few other places around the Foyer 2 area (more likely (at least) ).

There were also new mascots at the park who arrived today! Meet Loop & Zag, and there were 4 people in full body suits in 4 different colours, I couldn't get their name because they can't talk, but they're interested in getting a 5th member, but I believe that's already been taken. 

Thanks so much to the builders, architects, managers, team members, media, guests, enthusiasts, and video bombers for making this day possible! Every single person has made this 20 year dream into a reality! 

Matthew

Edited December 26, 2021 by AheadMatthewawsome

[TomiJ]

Thanks for the updates @AheadMatthewawsome and @Baconjack

[Baconjack]

Thanks for the review mate! Night rides on BD are pretty good too can confirm, i think i had about 23 rides on it all up today lol, although there was a bit of a nasty rattle in the rows further back that might spoil the experience for some.

Having never visited the park since it re-opened (or any time in the last 5 years for that matter), it was my first time on all the new rides today as well. Thought that Boomerang was a fun little family coaster. Unfortunately Sledgehammer's cycle I found to be very short and very disappointing with its ability to only go 240 degrees, and Maloney's Corner has a very strong "the park ran out of money" vibe.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Baconjack

[Gtmichaels]

Just had my first ride on BD today, as well as all the other new rides other than Sledgehammer (employee benefits haha). Now, I have moved on with my work life to new and better opportunities for me, so I haven’t worked at Luna Park for close to 3 weeks. I had to come down here and try BD, and WOW! Ngl, it looks sluggish on camera, but it’s absolutely amazing, and has great pacing. I got a front seat ride first time, and it was not too jolty at all. 

Being an enthusiast for almost all my life, I’ve travelled around Australia and the world for the best Rollercoasters and Theme Parks there are. Port Aventura and Ferrari Land, Ferrari World, USO, Disneyworld, BGT, SWO are just some of the parks I have done outside of Australia, and I would gladly put BD in my top 30-40, also it’s close to home so that makes it more special to me  And i’ve been on the fastest coaster in the world so that’s saying something.

I’m glad Sydney has a park to be proud of now, and I’m so happy my dream of a new Luna Park has been brought to reality!

[Ranger]

 

2 hours ago, Gtmichaels said:

Just had my first ride on BD today, as well as all the other new rides other than Sledgehammer (employee benefits haha). Now, I have moved on with my work life to new and better opportunities for me, so I haven’t worked at Luna Park for close to 3 weeks. I had to come down here and try BD, and WOW! Ngl, it looks sluggish on camera, but it’s absolutely amazing, and has great pacing. I got a front seat ride first time, and it was not too jolty at all. 

Being an enthusiast for almost all my life, I’ve travelled around Australia and the world for the best Rollercoasters and Theme Parks there are. Port Aventura and Ferrari Land, Ferrari World, USO, Disneyworld, BGT, SWO are just some of the parks I have done outside of Australia, and I would gladly put BD in my top 30-40, also it’s close to home so that makes it more special to me  And i’ve been on the fastest coaster in the world so that’s saying something.

I’m glad Sydney has a park to be proud of now, and I’m so happy my dream of a new Luna Park has been brought to reality!

Did the coaster feel short to you?

[AheadMatthewawsome]

BTW…

Please be careful when filming on the bridge, especially when you don’t intend on riding! It’s causing lots of problems for the staff with crowd control, as people are blocking the way for people wishing to ride!

[Gtmichaels]

26 minutes ago, Ranger said:

 

Did the coaster feel short to you?

Yeh it was quite a short ride, but so was TOT2 and Red Force! Even though this is no where near, I feel like it packs in some decent elements for what the ride length is.

3 minutes ago, AheadMatthewawsome said:

BTW…

Please be careful when filming on the bridge, especially when you don’t intend on riding! It’s causing lots of problems for the staff with crowd control, as people are blocking the way for people wishing to ride!

Absolutely agree. We were waiting for someone to move so I took a quick vid  There were many people lingering that had to be told to move when there wasn’t a line up there. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 26/12/21 at 2:26 PM, Baconjack said:

I reckon that’s a little bit harsh considering Gold Coaster is a glorified family coaster,

Just for the record, I think comparing a new coaster with the exact coaster it replaced is a fair comparison IMO.

[Jobe]

On 26/12/21 at 3:26 PM, Baconjack said:

I reckon that’s a little bit harsh considering Gold Coaster is a glorified family coaster,

And I reckon it’s a bit harsh calling Gold Coaster a glorified family coaster. It most certainly isn’t. It’s a thrill coaster that is well on its way to becoming a classic. Yes it may not be as intense as some of the newer installs such as Steel Taipan but we have to remember that the ride is coming up to 27 years old. It’s a product of its time and we are lucky to have retained it for the duration and the excellent condition that it currently  is in. May it be a feature of Dreamworld for many years yet!! 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Jobe

[joz]

What I want to know is when Gold Coaster closes how well will new Big Dipper fit?

 

Honestly looks like a fun little ride, I reckon it'll be just enough to make me go for a short driving holiday to Sydney.

[Jobe]

Yeah I cannot wait to ride it. Doing so in early January.
I have been on these forums for a long time now and I have always been a proponent of Luna Park receiving a new coaster. It’s been a passion of mine and I dared to believe and hold out hope that it would actually happen. Now that it finally has occurred the scale and audacity of what has been installed is so much more than what I had dreamed. After the debacle of the 2nd Big Dipper and the ensuing  resident problems a lot of people ( some on these boards) expressed grave doubts that the park would ever see another coaster. Now we have 2 excellent additions- a neat family coaster and a world first Intamin prototype. We really have to take our hats of to Luna Park and their management for believing in the park itself , the guts to see it through after such a long time and the vision and foresight to deliver what we see today. This is a massive cause for celebrations and it’s also such a massive shot in the arm for the amusement park industry which could have seriously positive ramifications for the future of amusement parks in the rest of the country, in an industry which has been primarily Gold Coast centric. Perhaps the decision to spend $30 million at Luna Park spurred on Gumbuya’s surprising decision to purchase Buzzsaw ( another prediction which many on this board said wouldn’t happen)

Hopefully this in turn will see new investment in our parks as a sign of a healthy amusement park industry- both on the Gold  Coast and elsewhere in the nation. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Jobe

[ATI]

Here's a new POV of the ride by CoasterLife; the ride has sped up SIGNIFICANTLY from the POV the park posted!

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by ATI

[Gtmichaels]

I love how in the sign, the blue train has only belts on, and the red train has the lap bars. Also two riders per carriage? Just some random thoughts I have while waiting in line 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Yyosh]

Went to Luna Park today and I got to get my first rides on Big Dipper! I don't have many things to say that others haven't said yet, but that was so much better than I expected! It's not the most intense coaster I've been on, but it was a really, really fun ride, especially at the Maloney's Corner section. I also found it to not be as rough as it looks offride thankfully, but it did have a rattle, especially in the back rows. Only the red train was operating today but the crew was very efficient and dispatches were extremely fast (some were around 40 seconds)!

Wild Mouse was also operating, and it felt a lot faster than I remember it being back in January! For some reason though the park website still lists it as under maintenance.

[AheadMatthewawsome]

Hi all, I just want to let you all know that if anybody was at LPS on Boxing Day, there has been COVID. I've gotten the standard COVID text. I've done a RAT today with it negative. I would also recommend anybody who was there to do the same thing! This has been a very common occurrence. Every time from what I remember I've bought home the Service NSW text!

Thanks,

Matthew

 

[Ranger]

Does SH still only do half cycles?

[jhunt2]

25 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Does SH still only do half cycles?

Yes. Operators when I rode it said there was some sort of sensor issue, but take that with a grain of salt as they followed that up by saying they weren't really sure and were just being instructed to run it on half cycles.

My best guess is that it's something that requires the manufacturer to get involved, either for parts or for reassessment, and that there's delays on that due to the ongoing complexities of COVID. No idea how long it'll be, but the park certainly seem to be suggesting it's a temporary measure due to issues with the ride.

That's the only thing that makes sense to me. The other rumours I've heard swirling about SH breaking height and noise restrictions at 360 degrees seems unlikely given how much thought was put into meeting those requirements in the designing of Luna Land.