Scenic World and Orphan Rocker

[Ranger]

Scenic World, as you probably know, is a tourist attraction in the Blue Mountains. It has 3 ' rides ' ( if you could call them rides ), which are the Scenic Skyway, the Scenic Railway and the Scenic Cableway. It once had a coaster named Orphan Rocker which never opened to the public and has a multitude of rumours surrounding it ( Anetha Hammond, the founders daughter has debunked the rumors ) My questions are: 

1. How would Scenic World be different if the Orphan Rocker was opened today?

2. Do you think Scenic World is a theme park?

3. Do you think Scenic World will add anymore ride?

[Im Hungry]

All I know is Scenic World would not be a theme park.

[StingRay]

22 hours ago, Ranger said:

1. How would Scenic World be different if the Orphan Rocker was opened today?

2. Do you think Scenic World is a theme park?

3. Do you think Scenic World will add anymore ride?

1, Yes it would be different cause it would have Orphan Rocker. That's assuming it would have been kept up to date with safety standards, that's due exact reason it never opened tho. couldn't comply. 

2, No, it's not a theme park. That's like saying Timezone is a theme park because its bumper cars and a simulator. 

3, Scenic world won't add any more rides, they don't have any rides anyway. I see them adding maybe another attraction in the future. They could utilise a nice alpine coaster but, I see a lot of resistance from locals for such a development. 

You need to also know the Scenic Word is based within the National Park. So limitations could exist on what can and can't be done. They also don't have a super amount of space for anything major. Due to this also it's usual for the cable car rides to no operate until fog, wind or bushfires have ceased. Investing in any major side just wouldn't be worth it. 

[Gazza]

Orphan Rocker would have made sense at the time in the 80s but I don't think it would ever be done now because it would be the wrong 'tone' for an eco-tourism attraction (Which is what Scenic World is)

A coaster roaring through a serene natural environment is not the right fit, as amazing and unique it would have been.

Perhaps a more likely thing would be one of those zip coasters like Tree Top crazy rider.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Gazza

[Jim]

I always thought it would better if the Orphan Rocker was a suspended arrow type coaster, I think that would fit it nicely and it would go well with the scenic railway and the cable cars as it is suspended and has that thrill look to it.

I guess it's unlikely we will see Scenic World build a roller coaster, but in saying that you never know, who would have thought the Big Dipper would have returned to Luna Park in Sydney. There are so many compact type coasters being built and designed that Scenic World might think about potential coasters, heck even a single rail coaster would fit the place. Or even a Big Thunder Railroad sort of coaster would work, but that's probably too expensive and plus locals would be sensitive to the idea of a roller coaster being built, but they could add tunnels to the coaster to reduce the noise or they could add scream shield to it, so who knows?

Any thoughts on this? It would be great to have a discussion on what the future of the Orphan Rocker may or may not look like? 

[Jobe]

4 hours ago, Jim said:

I always thought it would better if the Orphan Rocker was a suspended arrow type coaster, I think that would fit it nicely and it would go well with the scenic railway and the cable cars as it is suspended and has that thrill look to it.

I guess it's unlikely we will see Scenic World build a roller coaster, but in saying that you never know, who would have thought the Big Dipper would have returned to Luna Park in Sydney. There are so many compact type coasters being built and designed that Scenic World might think about potential coasters, heck even a single rail coaster would fit the place. Or even a Big Thunder Railroad sort of coaster would work, but that's probably too expensive and plus locals would be sensitive to the idea of a roller coaster being built, but they could add tunnels to the coaster to reduce the noise or they could add scream shield to it, so who knows?

Any thoughts on this? It would be great to have a discussion on what the future of the Orphan Rocker may or may not look like? 

The Orphan Rocker was the brain child of Phil Hammon and then in the early to mid  2000's the flame was picked up by his daughter, Anthea Hammon. At the time she was coaster obsessed and was actively working towards getting the Rocker open. However, the hurdles were numerous and due to a shift on her and Scenic World's priorities, the Rocker was never completed. They put considerable investment into first building the Scenic Cablecar, which journeyed to the bottom of the Jamieson Valley below, installing brand new "Red Devil" Trains on the Scenic Railway and installing and updating the Scenic Skyway, firstly by having it stop at a station on the other side, allowing you to make the picturesque walk back around to Scenic World and then finally by installing a larger , bigger capacity car that also had frosted glass technology, allowing the riders to view the valley floor below. They were also instrumental in building the walkway on the Valley floor , which gives riders of either the Scenic Cablecar or the Railway something to do- and it is a highlight and a must do.

Parkz did an excellent article on Scenicworld and the Orphan Rocker about 8 years ago when several track pieces of the Rocker were removed.

https://www.parkz.com.au/article/2017/07/12/522-Orphan_Rocker_roller_coaster_crumbles_at_Katoombas_Scenic_World.html

Its such a shame that it did not open- it would have been a unique and awesome ride experience just for the location alone. Enthusiasts from all over the world would have travelled just to have a ride on this thing- it would have been even more infamous than it is now if it had actually opened!

I think it is highly unlikely that Scenic World will ever build a proper coaster on the site- their priorities have shifted to more attractions that involve the mountain setting more than thrills. Also, residential opposition would be extremely strong and is also one of the Orphan Rocker's final nails in its coffin, with issues surrounding noise from the ride being cited as quite strong in the community and out of place for the site.

At the very most, I could see them installing an Alpine coaster that could certainly be eco friendly, make excellent use of the terrain and would be a thrilling and appropriate installation at the site. However, I do not think that the Hammons would look into this type of attraction anymore. Something like this would be excellent however and is in a similar mountain setting in Switzerland.

 

[Noxegon]

I can't see an alpine coaster having the capacity that a ride at Scenic World would need. That place gets seriously busy.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

58 minutes ago, Noxegon said:

I can't see an alpine coaster having the capacity that a ride at Scenic World would need. That place gets seriously busy.

Going by the usual demographics of the place, they could probably handle it. Although busy, Scenic World's core is primary school groups and chinese tourists - neither of which are likely to be riding an alpine coaster in any great numbers...

Then again, without that core ridership, it probably wouldn't be worth building it.

[Gazza]

Chinese tourists would love an alpine coaster, have you seen the one at the Great Wall?

But that would actually be perfect, but I would like if was like the one in Germany with airtime hills.

Twin track model would be great, and to be honest that is probably a better fit for the vibe of the park.

Or keep it as a single track but charge more.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

9 minutes ago, Gazza said:

Chinese tourists would love an alpine coaster, have you seen the one at the Great Wall?

I haven't - i was taking my lead from the fact that Hong Kong Disneyland had to station cast out front of Space Mountain to tell everyone it was a roller coaster - in fact the whole park as originally opened was based on the local chinese not being big fans of high thrill attractions - not realising how much attendance they'd get from foreign regions was their misfortune.

If the chinese  are into it though, maybe we do need a twin track...

[Ranger]

C'mon, heaps of domestic tourists go there.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well there you go, I stand corrected - according to a 2015 development application, approximately 25% of their visitation comes from tour-bus, with 70% (mostly domestic presumably) by car.

 

It seems they were trying to increase their Chinese appeal however:

And there's also mention in an article reporting the council's partial approval of this application that extended trading would specifically be permitted on days relevant to Chinese New Year

[Ranger]

2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Well there you go, I stand corrected - according to a 2015 development application, approximately 25% of their visitation comes from tour-bus, with 70% (mostly domestic presumably) by car.

 

It seems they were trying to increase their Chinese appeal however:

And there's also mention in an article reporting the council's partial approval of this application that extended trading would specifically be permitted on days relevant to Chinese New Year

 I do agree that there's a lot of Chinese tourists ( and other nationalities, may I add ) but yeah, I think the locals love it.

[Kevin]

On 04/09/2021 at 3:06 PM, Ranger said:

1. How would Scenic World be different if the Orphan Rocker was opened today?

2. Do you think Scenic World is a theme park?

3. Do you think Scenic World will add anymore ride?

1. They would get more visitors!

2. No, tourist attraction as in the national park. 
 

3. With all the talk about alpine coasters there isn’t really much of a slope down to the cliff edge for that. 
 

I doubt we’ll see a new 🎢 there as they’ve shown no interest in that market since OR never opened and noise levels are an issue with their neighbours. 

[Jim]

On 07/09/2021 at 7:31 PM, Jobe said:

The Orphan Rocker was the brain child of Phil Hammon and then in the early to mid  2000's the flame was picked up by his daughter, Anthea Hammon. At the time she was coaster obsessed and was actively working towards getting the Rocker open. However, the hurdles were numerous and due to a shift on her and Scenic World's priorities, the Rocker was never completed. They put considerable investment into first building the Scenic Cablecar, which journeyed to the bottom of the Jamieson Valley below, installing brand new "Red Devil" Trains on the Scenic Railway and installing and updating the Scenic Skyway, firstly by having it stop at a station on the other side, allowing you to make the picturesque walk back around to Scenic World and then finally by installing a larger , bigger capacity car that also had frosted glass technology, allowing the riders to view the valley floor below. They were also instrumental in building the walkway on the Valley floor , which gives riders of either the Scenic Cablecar or the Railway something to do- and it is a highlight and a must do.

Parkz did an excellent article on Scenicworld and the Orphan Rocker about 8 years ago when several track pieces of the Rocker were removed.

https://www.parkz.com.au/article/2017/07/12/522-Orphan_Rocker_roller_coaster_crumbles_at_Katoombas_Scenic_World.html

Its such a shame that it did not open- it would have been a unique and awesome ride experience just for the location alone. Enthusiasts from all over the world would have travelled just to have a ride on this thing- it would have been even more infamous than it is now if it had actually opened!

I think it is highly unlikely that Scenic World will ever build a proper coaster on the site- their priorities have shifted to more attractions that involve the mountain setting more than thrills. Also, residential opposition would be extremely strong and is also one of the Orphan Rocker's final nails in its coffin, with issues surrounding noise from the ride being cited as quite strong in the community and out of place for the site.

At the very most, I could see them installing an Alpine coaster that could certainly be eco friendly, make excellent use of the terrain and would be a thrilling and appropriate installation at the site. However, I do not think that the Hammons would look into this type of attraction anymore. Something like this would be excellent however and is in a similar mountain setting in Switzerland.

 

Thanks for replying Jobe and thanks for all the information. I enjoyed reading your response and it was helpful. Yeah it is a shame it never ran its always going to be one of those weird moments where they built it but nothing really happened. It is a shame, oh well maybe one day we will see some sort of mountain coaster attraction or Apline coaster which would be cool.