Jobe

Yeah ok fair enough!! It is highly improbable and the way I posted it was meant to convey that!! Will follow the story with interest though to see what develops!!

2 people on this forum have no sense of humour!! 😂😂

Yeah thats if we believe the veracity of the claim. Its not out of the question but from my understanding is that the track and train are in decent condition its the operating system that cannot be upgraded and is shot. The final point is that if it was economical for the park to get operating again, then MW would have already have done so. I would be interested to see if there is a way for the ride to be made operable again. Also it just says that the ride has been sold to another park. It could be that potentially the ride has been sold for spares for a park with another SLC?

Confirmed- AA to Gumbuya!! Gumbuya World is set to become the biggest buyer of ex GC coasters!! 🤣

So from my estimation there is only the Funfields slide in Victoria and the Alpine slides all located in NSW that are left operating in Australia? Interesting to see this. The 7 Alpine slides in NSW are : Jamberoo Action Park- 2 slides with access via a chairlift, both 900 metres in length Corrin Forest in the ACT- 1 slide, uphill tow, 1.2km long ( longest Alpine Slide in the Southern Hemisphere) Tobaggan Hill Park- Nelson Bay 1 slide , up hill tow, 1 km in length The Big Banana Fun Park, Coffs Harbour, 1 slide ,up hill tow, 500m long Thredbo Alpine Slide, 1 slide, up hill tow, 700m in length. Magic Mountain Merimbula, 1 slide , up hill tow, 900m in length. Big Buzz Fun Park 1 slide concrete, up hill tow, 480 metres in length. The Alpine Slide in Victoria is: Funfields , Whittlesea- 1 Slide uphill tow, 700 metres in length. The Big Buzz Fun park toboggan is the one that is the most unique in this group.

Interesting!! Are any of these still in operation?

Well no groundwork has been started at this stage and I am not surprised by this , given the wet weather that the Eastern states have been experiencing these last couple of months. The Big Banana have said in their announcement that their Alpine Coaster would be opened within 12 months so at this stage I expect it to be at least next year. The DA and approvals have been given so its just a matter of getting to construction phase. I visit Coffs regularly for work and are due up there soon so I will check out anything next time I am up there and get some pics and report back.👍 "A number of other major development applications have been submitted to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. These will see substantial investment over the coming years to develop and enhance some of the most popular areas of the resort, including the: development of a new Merritts Mountain House; development of a new Alpine Coaster to replace the Thredbo Bobsled – an exciting year-round attraction;" Given that Thredbo are just at the DA submission stage, I would not expect this new Alpine coaster attraction to come to fruition for at least 2-3 years yet. Its a shame that they are removing the Alpine Tobaggan though- it would have been great to have had both attractions operating at the same time. I actually haven't ridden this one but at 700 metres in length , its one of the longer units in NSW. Interesting that whilst NSW has 7 Alpine slides, Queensland has none. I know of the one at Funfields in Victoria ( its a great track and quite long as well) but does any one know of any other examples in the other states? Here is a POV of the Thredbo slide:

Yeah The Big Banana has posted plans and a submitted DA for one. Its in advanced planning and is expected to open within the next 12-18 months. Jamberoo did indeed have plans for an Alpine Coaster and had submitted a DA for one but this has been withdrawn at this stage. Given The Big Banana's advanced stages for their unit, I would expect that this will be the first to open and therefore will be considered Australia's first Alpine coaster. This is great news though- too long has Australia not had one of these excellent and relatively inexpensive attractions! One of these would not look out of place at Funfields or Gumbuya World either........

Yeah that timeline was very ambitious and there have been too many high impact weather events and sustained rains that have contributed to the timeline blowout. Its not Leviathan blowout proportions but it is significant.

Ok thanks. I was obviously unaware. Cheers

Wow. Seriously. Wow. You ask a legitimate question with nothing but civility and respect but because you had the temerity to even raise a query that may have been slightly negative your posts get deleted without any explanation. Not even a courtesy private message to explain the situation further or to reach out and try and smooth over the situation. This is redaction of the worst kind. And because it’s been done without even trying to reach out and explain it makes you feel like your opinion and your contributions are not even valued. Sorry to me this is a type of arrogance that shouldn’t be on display for a community like this. The whole thing has left a seriously bad taste in my mouth.

Richard that sounds like a fine idea but when the site is promoted and seen as the best resource for Australian amusement park information ( which it really is) then I guess the expectation is that there would be something. Usually the articles that appear are written by a member of admin. I would have happily proffered my services for an article if I thought it was a necessity- it could have been edited and manipulated any way you could have liked. There are several long term NSW based contributors on this site that could have easily contributed. I have been a member since the Roller Coaster.Com..au days and have championed LPS from day one. I have relentlessly campaigned for a new coaster for LPS for years and whilst the initial hype was excellent to have nothing noted on the new coaster opening from Parkz to mark the event, is in my opinion, a tad disappointing. I don’t think that being in another state is an excuse. You have valuable resources at your fingertips in every state of Australia. Most would be happy to contribute to the community and to give back a bit of the passion which drives them to keep coming back to this site in the first place. Just some genuine , heartfelt feedback from a long term member.

Wow…..nothing but crickets 🦗 Excellent. 😂

From what I can ascertain the Big Dipper will be out of action for about 2 weeks. Its to do with Intamin requiring on the initial installation to have every nut and bolt tension checked after a certian period of operating. This has come from Warwick Doughty on Facebook.

It does have a weight limit though 😂😂 😎👍

Great pics!! Its certainly a photogenic coaster!!. Other than the shortcomings that have been discussed, the park looks bright and vibrant. Certainly an improvement over previous years.

The queue section has remained the same since the 95 reopening. I was referring to the actual facade which has seen extensive new signage and reimagining since the reopening of 2004. This of course is all done in-house by resident artist Ashley Taylor and the end result is quite effective. Hopefully he can have the opportunity to do similar upgrades witht he new rides as time goes on.

It’s a bit more than a theory though. The General Manager of Luna Park Sydney himself , Warwick Doughty stated that there were certainly budgetary constraints that reflected on the theming. This is where this reason came from. I guess we will just have to take him at his word and at face value. He has been very generous with his comments and quite honest as well, in my dealings with him. We also have to remember that the park has not had the ideal start to Big Dipper’s launch with Omnicron rearing it’s ugly head right at the worst time. Time will tell if improvements are made , however from what we have seen of the park over the last few years has shown a willingness to improve on overall theming, with the new lighthouse structure , Helter Skelter cafe and the Wild Mouse building all receiving fantastic looking upgrades. I am sure that given time this will improve for the new area and Big Dipper as well.

To be fair this looks like the ride MDMC SHOULD have been!! This looks like Jetski coaster on steroids!! I reckon this will be a hit and a great coaster- just looking at the video it shits all over MDMC. This ride looks like it has serious potential for fun!

How about 86%? That's pretty close!!😆

Yeah so was I. It makes sense since underneath it is a main thoroughfare and exit to the nearby stairs.

Said it before and I will say it again....bloody move it to Seaworld already!! Its time to call fail on this experiment of putting in a coaster like this at a water park!! It would be far better suited at Seaworld. Just do it!!

For good? That’s a shame if so!! That’s a Gold Coast institution!!

100% spot on. Did just build Rivals and Green Lantern? Rivals opened in late 2017- nearly 4 years ago and Green Lantern in 2011-approx 11 years ago. They have hardly just been built........ 100% spot on again. This is really disappointing.... Sorry but completely dumb decision...... Sorry I disagree entirely here- that is a load of poppycock. Just because AA has been SBNO for an extended period of time is ANYONE going to be thinking that. People still remember AA and what ride it was- an intense inverted and thrilling coaster. Its still in plain view for all to see. Once it is torn down and replaced with 3 "family" coasters then there will be angst , mark my words. It will be a general feeling of being underwhelmed thats for sure. However if Movieworld's plans included the STC Vekoma model then the GP would see a direct replacement for AA and 2 NEW family coasters- much better than what was there before. As it stands, the plans are extremely underwhelming and are a completely missed opportunity..... Absolutely hit the nail on the head here spot on yet again. Great comment and I 100% agree with everything you have stated here mate. Sums it up very well.... Yeah you got it. Like Gazza I thought it was the Vekoma STC model and this would very much be able to compete with ST as a response. Now....well Dreamworld can breathe a little easier as these plans do nothing to reach the same level of impact that Steel Taipan has had. Dreamworld would be smiling at this news i reckon- it gives them time to follow up ST with another attraction of the same impact.

Sorry but how is it pretty clear from your first response that you were talking about the Gold Coast being disrupted by staff shortages? You would need an Allan key Brad to unlock that sentiment from that post or you might as well be in another timezone trying to communicate. Sarcastic replies like your first one , whilst sometimes funny do not convey anything other than that- sarcasm. Longer term members like me and @DaptoFunlandGuy realise you support extended Summer hours and we wholeheartedly agree but most of the time the sarcasm is lost on newer members. Sometimes its just not needed as well.