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19Michael96

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Posts posted by 19Michael96

  1. Disagree. It’s making a much better use of the Big Top space for ordinary park patrons which is a plus in my view. LPS has always been about innovation and to remain commercially viable they need to move with the times, so what better way than this? The closest thing to a dark ride/experience the park has had since 1979. Besides, the park just installed 9 new rides 2 years ago so it's not like that demographic is forgotten. 

    My biggest issue is the need to complete the theming around the park, build "bridges" for the rides, etc. restore Coney Island.

    • Like 4
  2. 1 hour ago, Tricoart said:

    1. Scenic Railway @ Luna Park Melbourne (Scenic Railway, 1912)
    2. Sapphire Speed Coaster @ Merimbula's Magic Mountain (Pinfari Zyklon, 1994)
    3. Wild Mouse @ Luna Park Sydney (Hopkins & Pearce Wooden Wild Mouse, 1995)
    4. Road Runner Roller Coaster @ Movie World (Vekoma Junior Coaster, 2000)
    5. Big Dipper/Cyclone/Hot Wheels Sidewinder/Gold Coaster @ Luna Park Sydney/Dreamworld (Arrow Looper, 2001)

    Wild Mouse is 1962. It returned to the park in 1995 but that doesn't mean it had no life before that; it was a staple of the Easter Show through the 70's and 80's after it was replaced by the Wild Cat. And Gold Coaster is 1994/5.

    11 hours ago, REGIE said:

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    I don't believe this for a second. I don't recall any floods at LPS in recent years. Not to mention the ride is high on a platform; it's hard for things to flood at that height. I'd really put it down to it likely being an old ride that will need more and more maintenance as time goes by and is probably due for a massive upgrade, coupled with a time stretched maintenance crew who are busy having to take care of other rides.

    • Like 1
  3. 5 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

    Wasn't there a fairly lengthy discussion during construction when people were picking on the presentation, and the response that came fairly loudly was 'but they're building 9 rides at once and don't have a lot of money' - has that changed?

     

    I still personally maintain that tight budgets are preventing more ambitious theming at this moment in time.

  4. I finally got to return to the park for the first time in months this evening which was a perfect opportunity to see the current status of LPS with my own eyes. I took photos (duh).

    First, the Big Dipper: 

    IMG_6283.thumb.jpeg.b41fa1bc9b133de03b38796a676ad2ec.jpeg

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    I also took a video of it undergoing a test run:

    Next, a few outside shots of "Luna Land". I noticed that unlike the midway, the music playing was contemporary pop music (Sledgehammer had, well, Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel for example which is hilarious considering how innuendo ridden that song is and it's playing at a family destination lol), which would suggest this section of the park is going for a more "modern" flavour. Apart from lack of theming and bridges the fact that a banner for Luna Land was erected instead of a proper sign as was proposed in the concept art seems to suggest that they ran out of money to add more desired embellishments at this time:

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    I also got video of the Boomerang in action:

    Thirdly, the Wild Mouse track looks to be intact again though I'm sure restoration and repair is still in progress. You can tell which parts of the structure have and haven't been overhauled:

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    And finally a photo of what's sure to make many LPS history buffs cream themselves, restoration of the original Big Dipper carriage has been making great progress:

    IMG_6267.thumb.jpeg.1539d835b821589a5836ec94dbb565bb.jpeg

    (Side note: I also took these of the workers walkway passing under the Big Dipper. I still think this section of path should be opened up to the public to make it easier for disabled access and to make Luna Land more connected to the rest of the park in general)

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    • Like 5
  5. 2 hours ago, Dom said:

    None of this is supported by evidence but I feel like LPS' main objective this year was to get the rides in and then use the money generated from the hype/crowds so that they can continue to develop the area. Considering that the park was meant to be open in July I can imagine that Luna Park were hoping to have cashflow to support Big Dipper as well but very little this year has gone to plan. Still I think it's impressive that for a park literally in the epicentre of what was one of Australia's worst COVID outbreaks that they still managed to pull this off. I'll hold off judgement to see how Luna Park Sydney develops over the next few years because I'm sure that the new rides will pull in some good cash for the park and draw back lucrative patrons like families.

    This is exactly my sentiment.

  6. Christ everyone's a critic aren't they? I would like to bring back this quote of @Jobe's from last September. 

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    And I would also remind people once again what park manager Warwick Doughty himself said on the History of Luna Park Facebook page. 

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    And who's to say theming won't be beefed up in the longer term once finances allow it? COVID has hit every business hard and Luna Park is no exception. Finances need to be directed to where it is most needed and if theming has to take a back seat at the expense of general maintenance or running events, then that's the way it is. Theming is something that's still a work in progress anyway; need I remind everyone that theming around the Tango Train, Volare and Wild Mouse base STILL isn't finished 5-4 years after it started. But it will get done in time, as I'm sure plans for extra theming in Maloney's Corner will as well. If that doesn't satisfy people then I wouldn't suggest you take your complaints to Peter Herne and Warwick Doughty.

    44 minutes ago, rappa said:

    Unless its a temp construction site and this is backstage only then this looks SHIT!

    Some cream painted picket fence, burgundy trim and festoon lighting is all that was needed here. A crappy chain link fence and this horrid bridge doesn’t cut it on a heritage site. 

    Gurl it's not finished yet. The platform surface hasn't even been completed. Other rides that have this chain fence actually have graphic backdrops wrapped around it; who's to say this won't be the case here? And that bridge is a necessity given the layout of the coaster; how else are people gonna access the loading station from the Big Dipper building? They'd be trying to pass through a lot of twisted steel otherwise. It's not more offensive to the site than the former loading station in the 90's. And that's not even mentioning the coaster itself which in retrospect was way too big. Let's hold our horse here is all I'm saying OK?

    • Like 1
  7. On 28/09/2021 at 5:09 PM, Jim said:

    But if they were to put rides there I think it could be a great spot for a future River Caves attraction and the entrance could be below the 3rd Big Dipper?

    What does everyone think to the land potentially being used for a future River Caves ride?    

    This is what I've been wanting all along and I will not rest until the River Caves come back; reality be damned!!

    • Like 1
  8. 23 hours ago, Jobe said:

    Here is an interesting post that Warwick Doughty, Director of Luna Park Sydney , posted in response to a question about the Big Dipper trains and their generic look.

    image.thumb.png.66bace397163faaedf777c5fdf690944.png 

     

    As most of us suspected, the choice of trains was limited to financial constraints by the park to design custom trains. Since this is a first install of this ride type, I get that this must have been part of the deal with Intamin and overall I can live with it. Its good to see that there will be theming and decals to be added to the trains in the coming months that will at least give some local park flavour and uniqueness to the trains and the ride itself. 

    Yeah as the person who originally asked the question, I was pretty satisfied with Warwick's answer. Limited finance also explains the minimalist stance on theming and bridges for the new rides, which is a shame but hopefully these extras can be added in the future among other bits and bobs. But the park firstly needs to be allowed to reopen and regain much needed revenue, whether it be rides or events. So I would encourage those who can to visit the park so they can prosper well into the future and the recent investment in rides pays off for them.

    BTW Warwick answered this on the Facebook group "History of Luna Park Sydney". I would encourage everyone who's a fan of the park to subscribe. It's admin is the woman who won Hard Quiz two years ago.

    • Like 4
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