rappa

Was up at Scenic World last weekend and checked out construction progress of the new Scenic Skyway. Things are racing along up there and the old cables have already been removed. By the looks of things my guess is they plan to fly the new cable accross by helicopter... Here are a couple shots of the old Skyway Car which is now sitting beside the roadway entrance. BTW I have no idea who the random people sitting in it are :-)

Well here tis, all be it still just over 6mb. If someone wants to extract the Jpegs and shrink it they can but I'm one for high quality. Yes the map is missing and I'm pissed about that :-( however I'm sure I have another one in the bag, only hope I still have the bag somewhere! http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~djrappa/Wond...nd_Brochure.pdf

Well here you go guys. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the old Bag so far so I'll put this up for now. Like I said its an original park 'Fun Guide.' It is however missing the central fold out map which I know you're all keen to see as it shows the park in its original form. The pdf is all the pages of the map and then an extra last page to show the image from the front and back cover together...however it is 12mb in size so I'm going to have to work out where to upload it too. In the meantime here is a quick tease. Hope you enjoy.

Okay guys I just found what is either the original or 2nd park guide. I am told that Zodiac wasn't in the lineup when the park opened so that would mean this must be the 2nd map. I however never wen't to the park without Zodiac so I wouldn't know. This is probably from '86 but its missing the map. I'm gonna have a search and see if I can find another, if not I'll scan the whole thing and post it as a pdf later on.

Oh I'm sure your'e right Rich in regards to what the parks do. I was just putting them into those categories to make it easy to make my point...

I kind of agree and don't agree with you Disney... I would class an Atendant as a member of the ride crew putting people in cars, checking restraints, etc. I would call an Op. the person at the control panel pressing buttons. The people playing a 'part' like you say Richard with Batman or BT I would call cast. I agree that Atendants should be on higher pay than Cast as they have the responsibility of safety to riders, however ultimately the responsibility lies with the person at the controls so they should be on top in the pay stakes. I am also of the opinion though that you should be paid based on your qualification not the job your doing on any one day. If you're Op. trained you should be paid as one no matter what your'e doing on any given day. That's only fair after all. All this however means nothing at Wonderland where everyone of those roles were performed by the one person :-p

LOL I can't remember how many of those bags broke because of the weight of all those brochures... That was back in the days when I of course too was going to open my own theme park :-p

Yes I 100% Agree! I've wanted to see the river caves back on the line up ever since it was proposed when the last incarnation of the park opened. I have no problem with a rides area out the back however the way they have done it now (cheap and nasty) isn't acceptable. Me personaly, I'd like to see all the carnival rides removed and the park returned to more of a 'historical' attraction. Leave rides like the dodgems, wild mouse, rotor, coney island, ferris wheel and build a river caves dark ride. That would give the park a much better standard and atmosphere...not to mention given the bloody residents NOTHING to be able to complain about :-)

I'll have to get up in my roof and see if I can find my old 'Brochure Bag.' I used to have some of the early on maps from the park, like pre wildlife park, beach and transelvania but not sure if I still have them... Hope I can find them, will keep you posted.

First off, yes De La Guarda just has to be seen. The show itself is quite indescribable but I can tell you at 70 bucks I still intend to go see it again. Its high energy, fun, entertaining and very strange all at the same time. The big top itself is hard to get a good feel of due to the nature of De La Guarda but its basically what we refer to in the industry as a big 'Hocker.' Basically like the type of structure you usually see erected for large functions and parties (big white tent) or on a larger scale what we just had at circular quay for fashion week. Its basically a large sqaure venue with four bare walls and a bare roof, all black in colour from what I saw although that may just be the drapes in use on the current show. One interesting thing is it has not supports whatsoever apart from the walls. It looks like a kind of neat venue, it sounds great and I will be interested to see a more 'traditional' show in there. This being said however, it is nothing like a 'big top,' in the traditional sense. I sort of felt the foyer was somewhat basic and could have been a bit more on the 'swanky' side... but it is what it is. The cafe out the front should be great, at the moment it looks like it will be themed to a giant licorice all sort, it will without doubt have one of the best views in Sydney. As for the overall park I was very dissapointed, mainly what I'm talking about is if you go and have a look at the back of some of the signs (the face incuded) in the park you will see most of them are unpainted, have parts missing, or just generaly look like sh!t. Very poor indeed, in my opinion they shouldn't have opened the park in its current state, very unimpresive... We'll see, maybe it will get there, however I feel they shouldn't have added those crappy rides out the back of Coney Island, get rid of them the Ranger included. They just bring the whole standard of the whole park down...

Howdy All Just wanted to quickly let you all know that I was at the park on thursday night to see De La Guarda (which is FANTASTIC) and Wild Mouse was testing. So I would think it shouldn't be too long now before this great old little coaster is open. On a side note it would appear they have done a little bit of work to it, there have been some metal platforms and stuff added around the track in places...

Id say its pretty much a done deal that they are the 4 main support footers with the central pit for the platform in the middle... Therefore its definately the smaller version we're getting. All I can say to that is "POOR FORM Dreamworld." Apart from Cyclone (and who would pass up that oportunity!) Dreamworld haven't added anything that wasn't a 'wowing' attraction in a long time. TOT, GD and Wipout are all pretty major kick arse rides that really made an impact when they were opened. The giant version of the Gryo Swing would have been equaly if not even more impressive, the smaller version will be nothing more than another standard flat as was said earlier. Not much impact than the Reef Diver really. IMO all they have done is clog up the main midway with something that may as well just be tucked out the back somewhere. All I hope is that they are planning a major kick arse re-vamp of the Thunderbolt site pretty darn soon!

My guess would be at the moment no, it doesn't still happen. I have no problem that MW still haven't gotten to fixing it and replacing the theming though. However if they have decided not to bother then I think that is pretty poor because the ride is pretty 'cheap and nasty' up there at the moment.

100% agree with you Bus. I was saying the 6month thing was stupid so glad to hear that apparently that is not what is happening. But yes $14.50 is a joke for that sort of responsibility, there is no way I'd take on that sort of a role for that measly sum. In our industry we pay the riggers who put in the points we fly lighting rigs from in the roofs of venues a very high hourly rate. This is because should all those tons of metal happen to fall out of the roof the responsibility lies with them. They may be somewhat low skill jobs in many ways but its the responsibility that should be earning these people a decent pay packet. This sort of attitude by management makes me really angry. Just about as much the fact that WL management sacked all of their staff but managed to find nice jobs for themselves over at Luna Park...

Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about the auction? Thought I'd put it out the board seen though Wonderlands management just couldn't be bothered to reply to me anymore. Thanks Stephen, Scott for being such a bunch of rude bastards :-p Gee, would hate to think they read these boards!

I have always (and still am) against stupid rules like you must be with a company for a certain amount of time to earn a particular pay rate. The amount of time you work for someone has no direct bearing on your skill level or the quality of worker you are. Its just a ludicrous as basing pay rates completely on age, if your doing the same job as someone else you should be getting paid the same regardless of how long you may have worked, how old you are, the alignments of the planets, etc. It is also silly to expect Ride Operators to work for the same rate as attendants. Ultimately the Op. carries with them the responsibility for everything pertaining to his/her ride, that added responsibility should earn you a higher rate. Same as someone operating a roller coaster shouldn't be on the same rate as someone operating the kiddie train... Just my 2c on the matter. (btw $14.50/hr is a pretty ****house rate to be on. We pay the guys the load our trucks that!)

Well in the beginning (pre wildlife park) the rainbow was actualy located along a path that went off to the left just after you came through the park gates... The Endevour was also located along here initially too, it was called Sea Deamon at that time...

Yeah that tin shedding and the strobes were put in after the fire it would seem... Looks a bit like a 'patch up' job if you ask me. Nothing against them doing that at all just I think that's exactly what it is, an interum measure. Look forward to seeing the effects fully restored, whenever that may be.

Yes Yes of course it is a Gryo Swing... Flea and I were just talking on WL's last day and I thought I'd stir you all a bit, hardly any worse than some of the far out crap that gets posted on here anyway :-p

LMAO! Nice one Richard...still picking myself up off the floor! (off topic, got you some shots of the now defunct Scenic Skyway car today, will pass along shortly)

Just drove into Sydney via the M4...very sad to see WL sitting there all dark, signs removed and much factory construction going on around it all.

Couldn't agree with you more Daniel. THE PARK WAS THERE FIRST, THE AIRPORT WAS THERE FIRST, THE PUB NEXT DOOR WAS THERE FIRST!! I'm so over all of these people who want to buy a property and then complain about what's around it, I wish people would just get over themselves...

I don't think Huss is disputing the fact that oversize vehicles can be moved on the roads. I think its more a case of whether its economically feasible for the carnival operators to do so. I think we all know its not just a case of ringing the rta and saying "hey I have a big truck, can I have a police escort?" There is also a considerable cost involved and that may outweigh any increased revenue they would receive from such a ride. Sad but true...

Yeah must have just been a type on the calculator there Huss. Its more like 86 grand give or take a few hundred. Well no it doesn't need petrol Liam but most of the rides are operating of generator sets that run off diesel so He's pretty much correct there. You're also going through a fair bit of grease with each setup I'd imagine and the rides would probably work their way through a bit of Hydralic fluid too would be my guess.

Yes well it would only be on Intamin as they are the only ones using this style of restraint aren't they? They do leave more room for error but they also deliver a much more superior riding experience so I guess its a tricky balance...