Ranger Dude

I went over the bridge on the train this afternoon on my way home from uni and took a look down at LPS. It seems construction is in full swing as there is now a giant white tower beside the Wild Mouse - looks about 10 to 15 metres higher than the top of the Ferris Wheel... And it looks great coming over the bridge!! Can't wait to get down there for a ride. Will snap a pic on my way to uni tomorrow morning and post!

Sorry all, I still haven't made it down to LPS to get any photos. Intamin aside, what other good quality park model towers are there around the 35-50 metre range? I might try and get down there for a look this week, possibly tomorrow.

I didn't end up getting down there on Sunday due to the weather. A drop ride would be awesome in that location, I agree. Let you know when I get down there for a look.

I live near LPS, I'm going to try and get down there today for a bit of a look. By the look of that ZacSpin, I think it's too big to fit in that spot without completely encroaching on the midway.

I agree, it's a poor showing. Who knows, it's not open yet, maybe they're going to miraculously transform it from a mediocre carny portable they've had before to something special?

I've got a feeling we might see some action from LPS pretty soon on the rides front... It's well overdue and the management at LPS would know this.

Has anyone been down to LPS for a ride on the Disk'o yet? I'm probably going to head down this week for a look. I heard Tracey Spicer on the radio talking about LPS and how she'd taken her kids and how impressed she was with the park, the entertainment and the staff.... will be interesting to see what they've got on offer.

Apparently the Ranger is due to be reopened next Friday 20th. Here's another pic showing a bit more of the ride from the front, although it's mostly blocked by the fencing (which seems to be giving away a few clues as to the backdrop theming)

Some pics of the new backdrop - can't see much unfortunately...

My contact at Luna emailed me a few pics of the Ranger being reassembled. I'm assuming the pics have been taken in the past day or so. There are a lot of missing pieces - apparently because the backdrop and the other panels are being rethemed. They didn't tell me what the new theme will be, other than "it's a throwback to the original Luna Park at Coney Island in New York". Hmmm I wonder what that means... They won't say when it's reopening though, I suppose it's best to keep an eye on the website and wait for an update. Here's a couple of the pics- I'll see if I can get any pics of the rethemed sections and share...

The Ranger is closed and being dismantled for a major overhaul, not because it is leaving LPS. I have a contact high up in the management team at LPS who said an old ex LPS ride is currently undergoing refurbishment and will be installed beside the Ranger in the next few weeks. This ride will become part of the permanent ride line-up at LPS. They took the Ranger off the website because they don't know how long it'll be down for.

I think you'll find they spent several million dollars in court standing up for themselves...!

You would imagine that even if they had wanted to invest in more rides up until this point, they would not have done so with the pending court case (in light of what happened with the Big Dipper ride which led to the closure of the park) and this would have been compounded with the cost of being in court for the four or so years the case was running (you'd imagine that in itself would have cost millions). So in light of this i'm not sure it's fair to say that they haven't wanted to invest in more rides- I wouldn't have either if I was them... but now it's a different story. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here

Locals lose battle against Luna Park From Sydney Morning Herald website February 6, 2009 - 8:39PM Attempts by a group of Sydney residents to shut down noisy rides at nearby Luna Park have failed in the NSW Supreme Court. The Lavender Bay residents had taken the amusement park operator to court, trying to have rides like the Ranger shut down and moved to another part of the site. They said the rides' noise levels and the screaming thrill-seekers had made life unbearable since the park reopened in 2004. But in a judgment handed down in the NSW Supreme Court today, Justice Paul Brereton dismissed claims the rides contravened a 1998 Plan of Management for the site or, therefore, the Crown Lands Act. He also dismissed claims the park operator, Luna Park Sydney (LPS), and its parent company Metro Edgley had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. The residents said they were led to believe the rides would not be located at the northern extension of the park. "The 2001 DA (development application) and 2002 DA were not misleading or deceptive," Justice Brereton said. LPS managing director Peter Hearne welcomed the court's decision, saying the amusement park was part of Sydney's heritage. "It is unreasonable for people to move next door to a legally operating fun park and expect to change the way it operates," he said. "The fact of the matter is Luna Park makes less noise than previous fun parks on the site and less noise than we ever said we would." Mr Hearne said LPS had spent millions defending the action, and would apply for costs.

I was at Luna Park tonight and noticed in Coney Island a sign saying "Mirror Maze is coming back, opening soon"; and there was some construction going on underneath the slippery dips. The ride op said that they are rebuilding the old mirror maze that used to be inside the old Davy Jones Locker attraction many years ago - based on the plans of the original. It's due to open late November. Should be interesting.....

Who or what is Super Spruiker? Is he a relic left over from a tent show?? Obviously he is not as good as the guy working the other day, his name was Aiden and he made the ride go round and round and round and round. It was soooooooooooooooooooo fun :eek: :eek: