Luna park 9 new rides construction

[Coasterlife]

Bug was testing again today 

(Credit) Coastersodaa via Instagram 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Coasterlife

[Ranger]

 

On 08/03/2020 at 11:19 PM, Jobe said:

Visited Luna Park today and saw some interesting markings on the area in Maloney’s  Corner behind Coney Island.

It would appear that work could be about to commence on a new attraction for the park. From viewing  the markings, it appears that the attraction is of a decent size. I am not going to say definitively “coaster” but I would not like to rule it out!! 
 

Let the speculation begin!! 

 

These were posts on another forum about the LPS expansion in March 2020. Do you think these markings were for the 9 new rides?

Edited May 8, 2021 by Ranger

[Coasterlife]

20 minutes ago, Ranger said:

These were posts on another forum about the LPS expansion in March 2020. Do you think these markings were for the 9 new rides?

Im going to say yes

[Jobe]

4 hours ago, Ranger said:

 

These were posts on another forum about the LPS expansion in March 2020. Do you think these markings were for the 9 new rides?

Now we know what we know, absolutely 100%. Interesting to see that I posted that in March 2020 and the announcement came 8 months later. Goes to show this expansion has been years in the planning. 

[StingRay]

[Yyosh]

I wonder if they'll do anything to make Rockin' Tug look less tacky with that fading paint, Zamperla logo and temporary fencing.

[StingRay]

5 hours ago, StingRay said:

I forgot to add this geek shots. 

 

[19Michael96]

2 hours ago, Yyosh said:

I wonder if they'll do anything to make Rockin' Tug look less tacky with that fading paint, Zamperla logo and temporary fencing.

I hope they would. And put it in a more suitable location.

[Jobe]

23 hours ago, Yyosh said:

I wonder if they'll do anything to make Rockin' Tug look less tacky with that fading paint, Zamperla logo and temporary fencing.

 

20 hours ago, 19Michael96 said:

I hope they would. And put it in a more suitable location.

Yeah agree 100%. It looks tacky for mine where it is and it looks well out of place with all the new work going on around it. It could certainly do with a revamp and a permanent looking installation. Whilst I am loving the new rides and the investment, on a closer , judicial inspection, I would offer the opinion that the park is now a little too heavy in kid rides. I think that one more family or thrill attraction would better balance out the park. Something else that all the family can ride such as a Zamperla Disko or a Sartori Techno Jump would be just the ticket for mine. I would rather see one of these than the Rock ' N Tug thats for certain.

[Ranger]

 

35 minutes ago, Jobe said:

 

Yeah agree 100%. It looks tacky for mine where it is and it looks well out of place with all the new work going on around it. It could certainly do with a revamp and a permanent looking installation. Whilst I am loving the new rides and the investment, on a closer , judicial inspection, I would offer the opinion that the park is now a little too heavy in kid rides. I think that one more family or thrill attraction would better balance out the park. Something else that all the family can ride such as a Zamperla Disko or a Sartori Techno Jump would be just the ticket for mine. I would rather see one of these than the Rock ' N Tug thats for certain.

Whilst I do agree with your point with the park having a lot of family rides, LPS has always been a family oriented park. I think that getting the Big Dipper and Sledgehammer is enough rides for now. You've also got Wild Mouse, Rotor, Hair Raiser and Tango Train. For a park that old and small, the fact that the park has a decent amount of thrill rides. 

[Yyosh]

 

1 hour ago, Jobe said:

Something else that all the family can ride such as a Zamperla Disko or a Sartori Techno Jump would be just the ticket for mine. I would rather see one of these than the Rock ' N Tug thats for certain.

These rides would fit in the Amphitheatre/picnic area between Ferris Wheel and the Crystal Palace, but that would mean removing a pretty popular seating area which is pretty crowded whenever I visit.

52 minutes ago, Ranger said:

 

LPS has always been a family oriented park. I think that getting the Big Dipper and Sledgehammer is enough rides for now. You've also got Wild Mouse, Rotor, Hair Raiser and Tango Train. For a park that old and small, the fact that the park has a decent amount of thrill rides. 

I do agree Luna Park has always been family oriented but a lot of the rides being introduced now are Kiddy Rides. I doubt many teenagers or younger adults would be keen on riding Cloud 9, Freaky Frog, Little Nipper, Silly Sub, Bug and Loopy Lighthouse. Looking at a satellite image from 1965, the 'family' rides such as the Dodgems, U-Drive, River Caves, etc. would still have been popular for the audience I mentioned above. I don't think there was a single ride designed for young children exclusively yet they would still be able to have a fulfilling day at the park.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Yyosh

[Jobe]

2 minutes ago, Yyosh said:

I do agree Luna Park has always been family oriented a lot of the rides being introduced now are Kiddy Rides. I doubt many teenagers or younger adults would be keen on riding Cloud 9, Freaky Frog, Little Nipper, Silly Sub, Bug and Loopy Lighthouse. Looking at a satellite image from 1965, the 'family' rides such as the Dodgems, U-Drive, River Caves, etc. would still have been popular for the audience I mentioned above. I don't think there was a single ride designed for young children exclusively yet they would still be able to have a fulfilling day at the park.

 

Yeah thats exactly my point. 100%. You are looking at rides that are for the entire family that are thrilling enough for both adults and children. I still think the space above the carpark could be utilised somehow and incoporated into the Midway somehow. Ah well lets enjoy what we are getting , which is extremely good!!

[Coasterlife]

I kind of wished they got a Zamperla Nebulaz in the mix just for some of the following reasons 

1) They have a lot of airtime moments

2) They are very satisfying to watch 

3) It can also fit up to 32 passengers at a time 

4) It's in between the family and thill ride stage

Just looking at the video it is mesmerising 

 

 

 

[Jobe]

13 hours ago, Coasterlife said:

I kind of wished they got a Zamperla Nebulaz in the mix just for some of the following reasons 

1) They have a lot of airtime moments

2) They are very satisfying to watch 

3) It can also fit up to 32 passengers at a time 

4) It's in between the family and thill ride stage

Just looking at the video it is mesmerising 

 

 

 

Yeah 100%. This is exactly the type of ride that would be a great addition to Luna Park. It has good capacity, small footprint and would be unique in Australia. My only concern here would be the unload/load times, which by all accounts can be quite slow. However, this shouldnt prove to be too much of a problem for Luna Park. It might be , however, one of the reasons why one of our bigger parks has not installed one yet.

If we could find room within the park, and removing the Rock 'N' Tug from the line up altogether, here are some mildy thrilling / family attractions that I think would work well within Luna Parks attraction offering. Please keep in mind here, that I have tried to keep rides to attractions that the whole family could enjoy , and that is fairly unique in Australia, with no examples of these units in another park, to offer that exclusivisity and attraction to ride, reride and revisit.

Number one is the Huss Condor: - yes its still being manufactured!! Take a look at this brilliant example at Tivoli Gardens which is the hybrid ride that Huss is offering- there are 2 ride motions in one. 

Number 2 is the Chance Freestyle- a new take on the classic Trabant style ride that has been around for decades.

Number 3 is a Fabbri Giant Aladdin Magic Carpet ride.

Number 3 is a Huss Airboat- the spiritual successor to the Troika and the previous Tumblebug. These are smaller than the original Troika's and have a much smaller footprint.

Number 4 is the Zamperla Endeavour. This is the spiritual successor to the Huss Enterprise and is probably the most thrilling ride on this list. However it would have good value as a ride that the majority of the family could ride. Its available in single seat 24 rider or 2 seat 48 rider configuration, although there are only 2 of those examples that have been built so far.

Number 5 is the Gerstlauer Bavarian Express. This is the modern take on another popular ride of Luna Park's past , the Traver Tumble Bug. Aside from the nostalgia this ride would inspire, its also a great family ride that would appeal to everyone, young and old. I would much rather have seen this fit into the new Luna Land in Boomerangs helixes instead of the Zamperla Samba Balloon or Frog Hopper if i am honest.

Number 6- Larson Flying Scooter- I just wanted to include one of these because I have never ridden one and they look like so much fun. They also have a retro feel about them and yet they would be unique in Australia. Why some park here have not added one of these rides is beyond me! Some park, somewhere please do it!!

Its a nice what if? scenario and any of these rides would be a great stage 3 addition to Luna Parks ride offering. All these rides would have broad appeal to the entire family and each of them are unique to any ride offering in Australia, which means making a visit to Luna Park that much more attractive. All of these rides are still in production as well, it is worth noting.

The only issue is where would you locate one of these in the new park? As has been stated, space is of the ultimate premium and there is not much more room. 

One option is of course to utilise the space between the Ferris Wheel and the Crystal Palace but this would mean altering the steps that are already there. This , for mine, would be the most logical expansion point as you could reconfigure the entrance here whilst at the same time leaving enough room for one new attraction.

If we are putting in one of these rides to replace the Rock ' N Tug, then the space it occupies becomes available. However, only one of these rides , the Fabbri Magic Carpet ride would have a chance of fitting in here and I think it would be a tight fit , but doable. You could also potentially move either the Zamperla Samba Balloons or the Frog Hopper ride here to potentially fit in one of these suggested rides in Luna Land at the back.

The last option for extra space would be the site ontop of the carpark, directly above the ticketing office. This could accomodate 2 or possibly 3 new rides if utilised. The park would have to find some way to connect this space with the midway and have some option for a ramp access. Any of the rides I have listed above would be a good option to fit into this space. 

It is worth noting that rides within the blue zone are permissable at this location under the Luna Park site act. They are also permissable in the ampitheatre space next to the Ferris Wheel and also next to the Rotor. Perhaps the Hair Raiser could be moved next to the Rotor to free up some space for anothr attraction?

What is also interesting is that the current space where the Rock ' N Tug is situated, appears to be a space that is not permissable for permanent attractions, so i would expect that this ride will be moved in the near future.

What other ideas or future attractions/expansions would you like to see Luna Park explore in the coming years?. What attractions could you potentially move or situate elsewhere in the park to make room for another attraction? Is a Dark Ride a real possibility for the park?

 

One thing is for certain these are certainly exciting times as we count down to the reopening of the park. 

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Jobe

[Jim]

Hey I am a new member to this discussion; I have seen these forum posts about Luna Park Sydney for years. 

Yeah I think more rides are possible for the park down the track of course space will be an issue.

I think it is possible that they may build a new ride behind the wild mouse. So not where the hair raiser is the other side of the wild mouse where there is seating. Now it would be cool if they put rides on top of the carpark, but I guess it depends if those supports can support rides on top of it?

In terms of a future dark ride coming to the park, maybe, the only place it would fit would be under the wild mouse or if they moved the dodgems under the wild mouse and put the new dark ride underneath the big dipper. But then you are sacrificing function space which is vital to the park's ongoing existence, but who knows? Or maybe the new dark ride will be built on top of the carpark? 

So yeah I guess more rides are possible in the future, but I am only guessing. 

But with the nine new rides opening this year, I think that would change the feeling of the park a lot more. Having a upside down roller coaster will really make a star attraction. A bit like how the Santa Monica pier roller coaster really makes the pier exciting. 

So yeah looking forward to hearing what others have to say about this?

Edited May 11, 2021 by Jim

[Yyosh]

I'd love to see the River Caves return, but the original thing was massive and took up the space underneath the first and third turnaround of Big Dipper. If we wanted to build an exact replica of the ride in the same space it'd require demolishing a small part of the Big Top, the office building, Tango Train and Volare. There's no room for a ride of that size anywhere else in the park. The space under Wild Mouse can't be used either, as it's being used for the Hungry Horse Cafe.

1 hour ago, Jobe said:

The last option for extra space would be the site ontop of the carpark, directly above the ticketing office. This could accomodate 2 or possibly 3 new rides if utilised. The park would have to find some way to connect this space with the midway and have some option for a ramp access. Any of the rides I have listed above would be a good option to fit into this space. 

My worry about that is how people will get there. It'd require a lot of planning and altering to the tickets building to add stairs and a ramp but why would you go through so much effort to open up such a small part of land which can only fit 2 or 3 small rides? The area is tiny.

31 minutes ago, Jim said:

I think it is possible that they may build a new ride behind the wild mouse. So not where the hair raiser is the other side of the wild mouse where there is seating. Now it would be cool if they put rides on top of the carpark, but I guess it depends if those supports can support rides on top of it?

That's being used for more of the Hungry Horse Cafe. Like the steps next to the Ferris Wheel, it's usually busy and building there would mean cutting off yet another means of access into the park from the boardwalk.

 

Anyways, I still can't wait for Luna Park to reopen, even if my posts it sounds as if I'm disappointed. This is really exciting and seeing new rides being constructed at my home park which I thought would never get a second coaster is very exciting!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Jobe said:

The only issue is where would you locate one of these in the new park?

Ultimately, I feel if LPS is to be allowed to grow, I think there needs to be conversations about a boardwalk style expansion:

Naturally this would be met with large opposition from Lavender Bay residents and similar - however as it seems the park has the full support and backing of the NSW government, we shouldn't totally discount this as an option (although, nautical access to the sheltered bay should be maintained for the many moorings. An expansion into the mouth of the bay, perhaps with a partial sea-wall, might even benefit the moorings and provide more shelter from rough weather.

[19Michael96]

9 hours ago, Jobe said:

What is also interesting is that the current space where the Rock ' N Tug is situated, appears to be a space that is not permissable for permanent attractions, so i would expect that this ride will be moved in the near future.

This is exactly what I brought up in a previous post of mine complaining about the location of the ride. If the Tug is going to be a permanent LPS ride now, then it needs to be placed in a more suitable spot that has good space surrounding it; not cramped in next to another ride who's queue fencing needed to be partially removed so people could walk past. And of course the ride should be refurbished to look permanent and fit in with the current park scenery.

9 hours ago, Jobe said:

The only issue is where would you locate one of these in the new park? As has been stated, space is of the ultimate premium and there is not much more room. 

One option is of course to utilise the space between the Ferris Wheel and the Crystal Palace but this would mean altering the steps that are already there. This, for me, would be the most logical expansion point as you could reconfigure the entrance here whilst at the same time leaving enough room for one new attraction.

If we are putting in one of these rides to replace the Rock ' N Tug, then the space it occupies becomes available. However, only one of these rides, the Fabbri Magic Carpet ride would have a chance of fitting in here and I think it would be a tight fit, but doable. You could also potentially move either the Zamperla Samba Balloons or the Frog Hopper ride here to potentially fit in one of these suggested rides in Luna Land at the back.

The last option for extra space would be the site ontop of the carpark, directly above the ticketing office. This could accomodate 2 or possibly 3 new rides if utilised. The park would have to find some way to connect this space with the midway and have some option for a ramp access. Any of the rides I have listed above would be a good option to fit into this space. 

It is worth noting that rides within the blue zone are permissable at this location under the Luna Park site act. They are also permissable in the ampitheatre space next to the Ferris Wheel and also next to the Rotor. Perhaps the Hair Raiser could be moved next to the Rotor to free up some space for anothr attraction?

I'll be quite frank here, how many times have we had this conversation about space come up repeatedly on this forum in the past decade? Yes there are very nice potential rides out there the park could get in the future, and yes space could be made to fit them somewhere, but I'll be honest: the location suggestions you have brought up many times here, I don't think are feasible aside from the amphitheatre steps, which is where I agree a future ride could be placed. But I don't think the grassed area above the car park entrance is strong enough to hold a ride, it would be a major hassle trying to install a proper entrance to the midway below so it's connected with the main park, and as I said a few years ago and this belief still stands, the Hair Raiser would not be a good fit next to the Rotor as it blocks the entrance to the loading dock and side gate and it would be too cramped. The only way you're gonna fit in more rides at the front of the park is if they get rid of the car park altogether and return the midway to how it used to be. And that's not gonna happen in a million years. 

And honestly I don't see much issue with the new rides we're getting anyway. It's not like the kids rides we're getting are exclusively for kids like the old ones were; all ages can rides these ones too. I feel there's a real stigma going on; just because they're marketed as kids rides doesn't mean they should be held in lesser value than rides marketed towards higher age groups. And speaking as a 25 year old, some of these look to be rides that even I can enjoy. I have very low tolerance for thrill rides and high speeds and the only rides I can really enjoy atm are the carousel, ferris wheel, dodgems and the Coney Island attractions. So I'm pleased there's more stuff coming that looks to be in my wheelhouse, even if I'm not exactly the perfect demographic for them.

Really, beyond this current expansion for me, is if they level the amphitheatre steps, put in a walk through ride/attraction there ala Davy Jones Locker but make it scary cause I believe the park needs a good haunted attraction, and then find someway to bring the River caves back. I'd tell you how but this is one fantasy I do not wish to have ruined with logic and practicalities.

[Gtmichaels]

Sledgehammer revealed today on the website

Also forgot the logo here:

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I think my favourite part is that they're embracing the fact that the ride is gonna make people scream. 

Meanwhile all the residents are pouting.

[joz]

Yeah I love that sort of thing. I remember at the height of their battle with the locals, signs were put up saying 'Scream! You're at Alton Towers!'

 

So question for those in the know (which from the looks of things many people are); when are they hoping to have Big Dipper up and running by? Is it a "Hopefully by boxing day" thing or is it more "All things going well, early December"?

[Gtmichaels]

7 hours ago, joz said:

So question for those in the know (which from the looks of things many people are); when are they hoping to have Big Dipper up and running by? Is it a "Hopefully by boxing day" thing or is it more "All things going well, early December"?

I'd say it's an "all things going well, early December" scenario so far. Obviously this might change in the future, but Luna Park seems to be right on schedule with the 8 new rides being installed now.

As stated on the website, they are definitely  aiming for a December opening. Earlier on in development they stated to the Sydney Morning Herald that a November/December reopening would be the plan. I believe they would be aiming for an opening around December school holidays to get the best bang for their buck, so 20th of December is my best absolute guess. This is just speculation though, opening dates are extremely malleable as we've seen in the past, especially recently due to Covid! XD

Edited May 12, 2021 by Gtmichaels

[StingRay]

Artist impression is on display near Boomerang 

View of station area

 

Second view showing metal "skeleton" already made.

Footer holes have been dug in Maloneys corner.

Footers are constructed while future materials for other footers sit and wait.

 

I think we are aiming for a mid-late November soft opening for sure. Things seem to be progressing rather well when it comes to what limited construction they've been able to do so far for BD 3.0
 

 

 

[Coasterlife]

Sledgehammers queues are also supposed to be underneath BD so i wonder if they will start the installation of that before the parks reopening especially since the parks ride manager told me that parts of BD have started to arrive in the country i wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see track in the next few weeks 

[StingRay]

1 minute ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

FTFY

Thank you ☺️