[Movement @ the station]

Driving past at about 1:30pm today I noticed that the top part of the SP has been removed; I am quite sure it was intact when I drove by in the morning. No photos unfortunately. Daveb.

[Orphan Rocker]

Whilst at the airport yesterday talking to a friend from Katoomba about the Orphan Rocker, a tourist next to me overheard the conversation and said she had been at Scenic World the day before and had seen the coaster being tested.  She said the train had what appeared to be dummy bags in it which had fallen out during the test. :eek:   Sadly, I guess we will be waiting alot longer before we get the chance to ride it.

Whether or not she saw the coaster being tested (a possibility I suppose), any references to bags being thrown overboard were more likely just a recount of the old story about bags being thrown overboard during a test run. These stories are just that: stories (ie urban myths). I would discourage promoting them. Cheers, Daveb.

[Park Visit]

The park was maintained for about 3 months after the park closed, however it is now 8 months since the closure.

Why did they even bother maintaining the park for the 3 months? There doesn't seem to be any commerical gain in doing so, other than perhaps keeping it looking nice for potential buyers of equipment.

[Demon or Space Probe]

Having driven past Wonderland yesterday, I saw no sign of Zodiac at all. Was it sold? I'll be having another look today and will try to get some drive-by shots of the Demon being dismantled (if it is).

As of this morning it was still there. The arms are horizontal (both sets of gondolas are in half raised) so it doesn't stand out like it used to, but is still visible from a distance (before the M7 construction work) as you drive Westbound on the M4. Cheers, Dave.

[Demon or Space Probe]

On the topic of the Demon rollercoaster... Driving along the M4 today I noticed a large crane in place alongside the rollercoaster, though the coaster structure did not appear to have had any sections removed so far (as best I could tell from a distance travelling along a motorway!). Presumably they are beginning to take it down for transport to the US, as Wonderbus has previously informed the forum. DaveB.

[What Would You Have Done With WLS Had It Not Closed Down?]

I'm sure you will understand when I tell you that the reasons given to the public for the close were a load of crap.  The only reason it closed is that it was time for Sunway to cash in on their investment.  

I agree that this was quite obvious. The land clearly has the potential to be very lucrative industrial land. The location says it all: on the intersection of the main East-West transport link (M4 motorway) and the soon-to-be main North-South transport link (Weslink M7 motorway). With the Weslink M7 currently under construction, clearly the time was right to "cash in on their investment" (ie the now prime industrial real estate Wonderland has sat on since well before the M4 was even in its current state), and this is obviously what has happened. Daveb.

[What would you like to see happen to the Bush Beast?]

Wonderland's Malaysian owners don't want to bargain. They have already made millions out of the park and are obviously not going to be happy until they squeeze every last cent out of the place. I hope it backfires

On a tangentally related note... A month or two ago I noticed the Zodiac either in operation (ie gondolas actually moving) or having recently operated (ie different arm raised cf last time) when on my frequent morning drives westbound along the M4. I note that previous discussions here suggested that such operations were likely related to maintenance. However, driving along this week (after a break of a few weeks) I have noticed that the Zodiac appears to be permanently part-raised... of course it's difficult to tell at 100+ km/h, but the Zodiac doesn't seem to have the same height profile and the higher arm seems to be in a less vertical plane. Daveb.