Jobe

Yeah that point was raised quite a few posts ago- it’s annoying when reply’s obviously don’t read the posts that come after . Interesting fact regarding the other 2 exisiting Wild Mouse coasters. When Luna Parks Ops manager Hoppy went overseas to secure new rides for the park, he purchased the rights to the Wild Mouse coaster. He came back and under license built not one but three units- one for Luna Park and 2 others for sites across Australia- namely the Melbourne and Adelaide show grounds. The 2 in Indonesia are these units. Both of them should never have been allowed to leave Australia. Either of them would have been a great fit in one of our 2nd tier parks- Aussie World should have bought one to replace their unit which came from the US via Perth. A hugely missed opportunity.

100%. The legislation can change. No doubt. But i think comparing the historical value of the Luna Park precinct to SW's heights issues is a little disingenous- they are 2 vastly different items. Changing things on the historical register and of state significance is quite hard- not impossible of course- but difficult nonetheless. I am quite comfortable in saying that Wild Mouse's future for the short to mid term is quite assured. But hey yeah things can happen. Ha- if you think I am over excited now you should see me after 4 or 5 schooners in!! Now thats excitement!! You're welcome.

No not at all. To clarify, you are sort of correct but not entirely. The whole park is not heritage listed rather there are items within the park that are placed on the state heritage listing and together they form the Luna Park Precinct. These include ( from the Conservation Management Plan Luna Park December 2019) Further more, these items withing the precinct are also on the State Heritage listing and collectively appear on the National Trust of Australia register In discussing Wild Mouse's historicial aspects , it is considered of significant value , as can be seen by the below heritage analysis. As can be seen, this does not leave much room for it to be altered or changed intrinsically in any significant way. Of course, safety will always trump heritage and there may be some future safety items that may needed to be added to ensure its ongoing operation. These will always be enacted with complete regard for heritage issues and its value- much like how the Scenic Railway currently operates at LPM The heritage values of Luna Park Sydney are protected under a range of legislation, both state and local. Below provides an overview of the pertinent legislation. The below shows that the Wild Mouse MUST stay in its current site and cannot be ammended or significantly added to. There are areas within the parks where attractions can be added/removed ( hence how we just had 9 new rides added to the precinct , but this does NOT include removal or altering of the heritage signifcant items such as Wild Mouse or Rotor) The below snapshot of the site shows exactly what can be done with each area , including Wild Mouse and Rotor. This shows where new attractions and indeed any attractions can be located within the park and quite clearly states that Wild Mouse and Rotor may be moved within the park boundaries and can have fabric replacement BUT they must remain Luna Park rides. So to summarise- Wild Mouse cannot be altered or intrinsically changed. It MAY be moved with the park and can have new fabric replacement added to it to ensure its operation.( which being a wooden coaster is going to have to happen) Undere the CMP, it MUST remain a Luna Park ride which means that anyone holding the lease MUST maintain it and ensure of its future operation. I would urge you to track down the Conservation Management Plan to study as it is a very interesting read. This should quell any calls of the future of Wild Mouse into question and any speculation of its removal and finally any overreactions or "excitement" calls being elicited.

Ok lets put this misinformation and speculation to bed. Wild Mouse at LPS has a heritage order placed on it. It can not be altered and must be maintained as part of the operations of the site. Even if they WANTED to do something on that site, they simply cannot. ( But why would they? The park knows the value of such an historical attraction and its uniqueness given its long and varied history) There may be some issues that may require some new fabrication of parts ( of course given its age and its rarity, these parts are not simply ordered online and there the next day) It is one of only three wooden wild mouse left in the world. The heritage order alone makes this a signifcant historical ride and LPS knows this. If you believe REDDIT posts that state its being removed due to flooding ( if you even know anything about the ride how does that even happen??) then I am sorry, if you cannot dimiss that sort of blarney immediately, then more fool you. It is definitely Australia's 2nd oldest Roller coaster and only one of 3 wooden coasters left in the country. Simply put , Wild Mouse is not going anywhere and to even suggest that it is should be met with increduilty. All of the above information can be easily verified through simple Google searches. 100% this.

Given the main topic of conversation is Australia’s first ever Alpine Coaster, with a length of 872 metres, it’s ironic that Coastercrazy would post a video of the Top 10 longest Alpine coasters in the World. Number one looks like a doozy!!

For all of those that didn’t get to see the Big Banana Monorail in action ( a misnomer really as it ran on two dual concrete rails) here is a VERY 80’s clip of the park showing the train in all its glory, with including shots of the Bunyip and the Billabong. Thanks to Facebook user Chris who recently posted this on the Lost Amusement Parks of Australia Facebook group.

Here is some more info on the Big Banana Alpine coaster- straight from the DA documents found online. Thanks to New Display Name for the link. This proposal seeks Council’s consent to the construction and operation of an ‘Alpine Coaster’ within the confines of the Big Banana Fun Park. The proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ represents a significant investment by the Big Banana Fun Park, enhancing its reputation as one of Australia’s most iconic tourist attractions. The proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ is a track guided, gravity driven, above ground toboggan ride that can be operated all year round. It is perfectly suited to undulating terrain and is well suited to the subject land. The infrastructure which supports the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ comprises the track system, a terminal building for embarking and disembarking ride users, a storage building, access ramps, winch systems and coaster ‘toboggans’. This proposal is in keeping with the tourism activities occurring within the Big Banana Fun Park. These include water slides, water play areas, mini golf, indoor laser tag gaming and a toboggan ride and dry slide. Most especially, this proposal complements the existing toboggan ride which operates on the western hillslope of the site. The proposal includes the demolition of the existing toboggan ride building. In its place, a new building is proposed which provides an integrated entrance for both the existing toboggan ride and the proposed alpine coaster. The proposed Alpine Coaster track system is a gravity driven, tubular track that is supported above the natural ground surface by a steel subframe structure. The subframe structure sits on the ground and does not require foundations. Instead, the structure is held into position by its interconnecting components and is secured by earth-nails driven into the natural ground at intersecting ground points. The ride experience is enjoyed on a purpose-built toboggan which is independently speed controlled by the ride user operating a brake lever. A speed limiter is however incorporated into the toboggan design, limiting the speed of the toboggan to a maximum of forty (40) kilometres per hour. The toboggan has capacity for two riders only and minimum user heights apply. The front rider must be a minimum of 0.97m and is restrained by a two-point pelvis safety belt. A centre grip is provided to the rider for comfort and stability during the ride experience. The rear rider has control of the toboggan’s speed which is regulated by dual braking handles. The rear rider is also restrained by a shoulder and pelvis safety belt. The proposed Terminal building will be the access point for the proposed Alpine Coaster and the existing toboggan ride. Only within this building will riders be able to access the Alpine Coaster or the existing toboggan ride. Ride operators will guide riders into the toboggan or Alpine Coaster at the start position ensuring that safety harnesses are appropriately secured. Health, safety and ride operating instructions will form part of this process. At the completion of the ride, riders will return to this same location and alight their toboggan or coaster under the supervision of the ride operators. The proposed storage building is integrated with the proposed terminal building as shown below and in the accompanying architectural plans which are included in Annexure B. The storage building is an enclosed structure which will be used to store equipment for the existing toboggan ride and the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’. Access to each ride will be via a series of pedestrian ramps and landings extending from the existing footpath that is currently utilised for the toboggan ride. From the proposed terminal building, the Alpine Coaster toboggan cars, inclusive of ride users will travel along the ‘uplift track’ which relies on a ‘funicular’ system to pull the toboggan to the top of the slope where the ride commences its gravity driven downhill run. Figure 13 below shows the location of the uplift tract and the point at which the toboggan commences its downhill run. From the point at which the ride commences its downhill run and ending at the proposed terminal building, the proposed route incorporates several curves and straight-line sections weaving between existing vegetation on the subject land. The proposed route will require a very small area of existing any native vegetation. Both, the uplift and downhill tracks are mounted on steel support frames which will be anchored to the ground using earth nails. Notably, the height of the track determines the width of the steel support frames. Except for a small section (25m) of track within the RU2 Rural Landscape zone, the height of the remaining track system will not exceed the building height plane for RU2 Rural Landscape zone or the R1 General Residential zone. Once ride users are securely fastened into the toboggan and checked by the ride operator there is no opportunity for ride users to leave the ride until they return to the terminal building. Access to the area comprising the ‘Alpine Coaster’ ride is prohibited for ride users or visitors to the park. Appropriate exclusion fencing and or signage will be established prior to the opening of the proposed facility. The operation of the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ will be subject to risk audits in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. Prior to the commencement of each days operation, the entire track route will be inspected by the ride operator(s). Given that the proposed development is to be integrated with the existing fun park attractions, it is appropriate that the operational hours remain consistent with the opening times of the park being seven days per week between 9.00am and 6:00pm. There will be no additional staffing required to support the proposed development. Instead, the proposal integrates with the existing toboggan ride such that ride participants will queue, enter and exit within the same terminal building for both the existing toboggan ride and the proposed ‘Alpine Coaster’ ride. The new proposed Alpine Coaster will include 34 Wiegand-Toboggans running along an 872m Steel Track. The realistic capacity is about 50 people per run and every hour. All in all this will be an excellent addition to The Big Banana Funpark, and at an investment of just over $3 million dollars, represents excellent value for this park and being an Australian first, will certainly put this park on the map and in the spotlight for local enthusiasts to visit. Fingers crossed that other Australian parks will see the value for money that one gets for these type of attractions and hopefully think about installing one. Realistically I could see Jamberoo Action Park, Funfields or even Adventure World in Perth think seriously about adding one of these to their attraction lineup. Yeah the article states that the ride will come with 34 new Wiegand Toboggans. The DA info confirms this. It does not mention anywhere nor state that there will be 34 cars zooming down the track at any given time. Plus whilst all 34 cars could be accomodated on the track at once- that does not mean that they will all be cycled to run at the same time. I am sure that at least 10- 15 cars would be held in a holding pattern and released for riders in a safe manner. Just my thoughts on this.

Thanks for sharing the article and pasting it from behind the paywall- much appreciated! I think that the 50 people capacity figure applies to how many cars and riders can realistically ride safely in any given hour- this is known as throughput. I do not think that it means that there will be 50 people on the track at any given time at all- that to me seems excessive? Also, since the toboggans themselves can theoretically seat 2 riders, this could mean that only 25 cars in an hour is the expected capacity for safe operations.

Great find!! Thanks for sharing. Intersting to note this was first lodged back in Aug 2022. Looking forward to following this progress as it is built. It appears that the total cost of the Alpine coaster is an investment of $3 million dollars. Thats not bad pricing for the ride they will eventually get- an Australian first- and the accompanying spotlight that having this installed will bring the park. It will also have 2 lift hills for just over 872m of track- but it appears that length will include both lift hills so the ride component will not be overly long. The manufacturer is Wiegand and the proposal will include 34 ride vehicles with a realistic capacity of 50 riders per hour- so not a huge throughput. Yeah it was an old attraction that took you in a circuit around the Banana Plantation and traversed a small billabong/pond whereby an animatronic Bunyip would rise from the waters to greet you. The track is fairly unique insofar that it utilised a dual cement track for the ride vehicles to ride upon. The trains were recently sold from the storage where they have been kept for a number of years. The DA for the Alpine Coaster also details that any remnants of the monorail in the proposed Alpine coaster area will be removed with its construction. Ostensibly, an Alpine Coaster does not need a fast/ slow track. There is no real need to brake on the course as there is no danger of coming off the track, unlike a toboggan ride. I have looked at several Alpine Coasters installations across Europe and the US and not one has a fast/slow track. The attraction does not need it. The attraction was reported on in The Coast Advocate, which is an affiliate paper of the Daily Telegraph. Here is a link to the article but it is behind a paywall. It may detail some more info. If anyone has access could you please copy and paste the article in this thread please? https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fcoffs-harbour%2Fbig-banana-lodges-plan-for-new-rollercoaster-at-coffs-harbour%2Fnews-story%2F13734a848b08dd26bed436ad2bb0d82b&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-groupa-control-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append

Latest pics from the Big Banana Water park sees the new slide tower nearly completed!! This will be ready for action by Xmas and should prove a popular addition to the water park!!

Yeah but Bush Rush as a name brings about connotations that the park would'nt really like to deal with.......... it would have been problematic on so many levels! Jungle Rush certainly isn't accurate but its not too bad IMHO.

I seriously hope they consider adding water elements to the Wave Swinger! Just like the unit at Phantasialand in Germany. This would be absolutely brilliant and would also help smooth out somewhat the loss of any water attraction at Dreamworld in those hot summer Gold Coast days. This would be a great interim measure before they add a new water ride- which is sorely needed! Having this at the entrance to the park is a winner as it provides instant kinetic energy. If the theming is as per below in any way, this could be a real showstopper and arguably the best opening view of any Aussie theme park.

Awesome pics mate thanks for sharing!!

Great to see the use of such a large disused building being repurposed in such a way!! That certainly does take vision!! Oh and money- lots of it!! However there are quite a few disused Power stations that are sitting idly just rotting away here in Australia. This would be a perfect use for one or two of them- there are not too many indoor water parks in Australia with this scope! One that i can think off that is ripe for reutilisation is Wangi Wangi Power Station on Lake Macquarie. Its a heritage listed structure that is still currently up for sale. https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7508843/wangi-power-station-up-for-sale/ This could be a win win for the area and a unique first for Australia. But it would certainly take a huge investment. Great idea and Kokpunkten shows that it can work!. Anyone know of any other sites that an idea like this could feasibly work in Australia?

I think you are definitely on the right track here. Absolutely reopen and refurbish the Tobiggan Run but I would also install an Alpine Coaster as well —that could easily interact on the same footprint. Australia does not currently have one ( there is one being built at The Big Banana Coffs Harbour and there is at least one other planned) These would be high profile crowd pleasing additions but also more importantly they would be relatively low cost and easy to maintain. Would be an absolute awesome dual family attraction to have.

Here is a quick update on The Big Banana’s water park expansion. The new tower has been in place for some time now. What is new is that the slide parts have been on site, have now been moved down to the lower carpark and will soon be installed. This new tower could be open by January in ready for the school holidays and the bulk of summer. Hopefully once this is completed the park will look at installing their Alpine Coaster attraction by the end of next year!!

Great job Tim!! Thanks for keeping us informed!! A greta addition to the park's lineup!! Hopefully Adventure World is in line for a major new attraction soon as well!!

Um.....honestly I have never thought about this........

Don’t worry. You will get over it. To be fair I walked back my initial response and admitted my fault. To then call it out after that is the real embarrassment. But anyway back on topic.

Yeah fair enough. You are right in this instance- perhaps i was a bit over zealous in this case. However appropriation of other peoples content without the correct nod to the original creator is just not on- its not a courteous thing to do and happens all the time. What you have said is 100% true and I withdraw my comments regarding this link. Yeah see above reply. Fair call. But the same could be said for this post , which was only prompted by the posting in the original Facebook post. But yeah get your point. You are right in this instance. However, you have shown that you have taken other peoples material and post without the correct nods to the original creator- see the pic in the Gumbuya World's topic for example. It just annoys me when this occurs and I have seen it happen so many times. Not on a high horse just wanting the correct courtesy for original content to be correctly annotated. All good carry on. It is an interesting concept. $20 Million to spend on an attraction is nothig to sneeze at and is a fair investment. Its only the 2nd of its type in the world and is twice as large as the original one in Hong Kong. I reckon that Melbourne is probably the best location for an attraction of this type. Being indoor means its not weather dependant and Melbourne certainly has the population to sustain this. Its inner city location should make it accessible to all tourists and families and hopefully the end result is something that warrants revisits and regular patrons. Will be following this closely but I think its a win for Melbourne.

Mate love the enthusiasm but it’s considered courtesy if you quote where you get content that isn’t your own from. This link was posted on the Facebook site, Lost Amusement Parks of Australia 5 hours ago by the admin of the site. Coincidence? Yeah nah. https://www.facebook.com/groups/348435523186489/permalink/843338057029564/ It’s great that we all share content and news but let’s be fair and courteous when we share a link or a pic that we ensure that the originator of said content gets a shout out. I am only saying this as this is the second time you have appropriated someone else’s material and passed it off as your own. Cheers.

Well done to Mitty Theme Parks for the above picture as well. I do like to see the original content provider be attributed correctly.

Was coming here to post this. Your correction is 💯 right. I actually visited the site last Wednesday . Was going to remark that nothing had progressed further beyond the supports being installed. No slide pieces have been installed or removed at this stage. However, the slide pieces that you saw were not there on Wednesday, so must have arrived either the Thursday or the Friday when you visited. The park is certainly taking its time getting this expansion ready but I guess Covid has knocked its expansion timeline on its head. Hopefully we will see the Alpine Coaster start by next year.

Yeah I have been on the one at the Royal Easter Show in the early 2000's. Yeah they are definitely like a music trip on sterioids but the airtime that you receive on these is phenomenal. They give a really smooth ride ( which is what Huss rides of that generation are known for) and they look quite intimidating with the height they can achieve. However, they are certainly not too intense- they are definitely a family friendly thrill ride. What made these rides were the uniqueness of the restraints ( or lack thereof). Basically they simply consisted of a buzz bar that lowered in front of you that you could hold onto but gave you ample room for movement- both laterally and in airtime. No seatbelts. Thats what made these rides sooo much fun. @HussRainbow87do you know if the restraints have to be altered at all to conform to any new Australian safety compliance since it last operated? I was completely disappointed when i found out that the Rainbow was originally meant to be sold to LPS instead of the Ranger. It would have been hands down the most popular ride in the park. Heheh- I dont think @HussRainbow87 would agree that it would have been better at situated at LPS!! But man the missed opportunities to re-ride a Rainbow- at night- with THAT backdrop for a visual. That would take some beating!! Such a missed opportunity!! As for a Zipper-I also have never felt the inclination to go on one. I dont think I ever will!! 🤣

Oh agreed!! But I don’t think there is anything fair about it!! 😊