GoGoBoy

I had a walk through Luna Park today and disneyland is right - it is really busy. Every single ride had queues spilling out into the midway. Even the crappy hired Simulator had a large line which is very surprising. This definitely proves that there is a big demand in Sydney for amusement/theme parks, no matter what the spin doctors at Sunway (Wonderland's sad ex-owners) try and make us believe. This also proves that Luna Park should continue to focus on the amusement park aspect of the precinct. There is no way the park would draw this many people if it was only made up of theatres, cinemas and cafes. The place was buzzing

Oh no what on earth could WnW possibly be adding next? Could it be some more spas? Or maybe an exciting new picnic area? Give us a break! So much exependiture going on and yet none of it on thrill (or even just family) rides. Hopefully DW will give MW a run for their money this year with their new addition

I'm pretty sure the songs you are talking about disney are just stock standard background tracks. They would come on a generic CD and are not by any particular artist or group as far as I know. I have actually heard those same techno (and other) tracks on various commercials and TV shows. Not sure where you could get them from though

There is definitley a bigger emphasis on Luna Park's 'entertainment' facilities now rather than just the rides. But I still think the rides play a large part in the parks structure. They do dominate most areas of the park afterall. I can't imagine Luna Park without a large emphasis on rides and the place certainly wouldn't pull crowds with just a small cinema, a cafe and some function venues. In saying that though and taking into account Luna Park's size, I think the cinema and waterfront cafes are both great ideas. They give the park a contemporary feel and give people more reasons to visit the precinct. As you said disneyland, I doubt the park will be making any major contributions to its ride line-up for a while. But hopefully they will change the mix a bit in the not too distant future when the park proves that all components are successful. With the way they have designed the area out the back it would be very easy to change around not only the small rides but also the bigger ones aswell. They were all originally road models so they could be packed up with ease

Thanks for the info Disney. That's great news and it's about time! What is Luna Park without some sort of roller coaster afterall? Are most of the park rides doing ok trade on the weekend? Is it busy overall?

I was referring to the Outback Spectacular which is supposedly being built, not Paradise Country which already exists. Apparantley it is going to be at a huge cost and targeted squarely at the asian tour market (even though they already have Paradise Country). My main point was that I was questioning whether Village Roadshow would be willing to spend money on new rides considering their current financial position. I hope that some of the money they do spend in the near future goes towards new rides for MW rather than just expansions to Paradise Country or another walk-thru exhibit

Oh really rabid? Have they already released details of what is going to be happening in a few years time? I can't imagine that but if you have any goss fill us in please. Well here's hoping it's not going to be a massive animal exhibit, a walk-thru attraction or more Australiana shows for the tourists (we already know they are spending millions on the Outback Craptacular)

It would be great if they could somehow use the already existing Daily Planet building as the main entry for the Superman ride. That would definitely be keeping in with the theme. It's sort of near the area you are talking about joz except I'm thinking the Police Academy show might be in the way. I keep reading all this stuff in the paper re Village Roadshow and their current financial position. They have been having a bit of trouble and have been spending loads of capital buying back shares. Although I don't know, I can imagine they would try and avoid big expenditure on things like new rides. They haven't paid any dividends for 2 years. Hopefully this doesn't affect their theme park plans too much

Gradually getting off topic here but if I create a new thread for this little chat it is likely that no one will keep posting in it I agree with Daniel and would definitely buy a season pass to Movie World. But I also prefer just visiting a park once every year or so (pref. only when a new attraction opens). I am a huge fan of Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster but what is the 'surprise' at the end that everyone keeps talking about? I don't think I noticed it when I was last at MW

I just heard some news that a major new Superman movie is now in production. That got my mind ticking over and instantly I thought of Movie World. What could be better for their next ride than a Superman theme, coinciding with the opening of the movie. I'd imagine a new movie would instantly re-ignite interest in Superman, a character which is owned by Warner Bros. It would be the perfect tie-in with the park. And of course, it couldn't be just another crappy walk-thru attraction. What else could it be other than a massive roller coaster? I'd be thinking either a standard sit down hyper coaster or else a flying coaster. Not only is this just a dream of mine but I truly believe it could be a possiblity in the near future at MW

I love that poster illustration - it looks great. Don't like the fonts they have used though. I like the depiction of the Space Probe with the lasers and the silhouettes of the people standing at the entrance to the tunnel. This style of artwork was used a lot when the probe first opened. I can remember the only time I've ever owned a Wonderpass was when probe was first built (because the park actually was making an effort back then and had promise... why you'd buy a pass in the last few years I don't know). The main image on my Wonderpass was the same style of space probe illustration with the lasers coming down from the dome and sillouhettes in the tunnel. The only difference was that it was at night. Very eery and atmospheric

Funny that you mentioned Kazaa Alex. I have a bit of interesting yet useless info for you on that point. Did you know that the CEO of the now defunct Sega World (indoor theme park at Darling Harbour in Sydney), Nikki Hemming, is now the CEO of Kazaa? And the previous owner of Sega World, Kevin Burmeister, is strongly associated with Kazaa through his company Altnet and its parent company Brilliant Digital. Just a bit of dodgy theme park trivia for you

That is a good point. The NSW government has done very little lately to help the industry. It's actually one of the points that Stephen Galbraith made. Not that you can trust what he says when he's working for Sunway. But it is a real problem with the current NSW government. Maybe this is worthy of a new thread?

I was just reading Scott's post in another thread regarding theme park dreams. It reminded me of a dream I had just a few nights ago about Dreamworld's 'new attraction'. In the dream I went to the park with my mum and sister for the sole purpose of checking out what I had heard would be a gyro swing. I was very interested to see what it looked like and how they had themed it etc. DW looked quite different and a lot bigger in my dream compared to reality. The Gyro Swing had a medieval theme and was called something like 'Sir Arthur's Sword' or something really pathetic like that. It was located in a themed land in the park called 'Sports Zone'. In my mind the theming of the Gyro Swing made total sense and fit in perfectly with the sports theme in 'Sports Zone'. Don't ask me how I made the connection. In addition to the Gyro Swing, DW were also adding Bounty's Revenge from Wonderland (as rappa once jokingly suggested) and giving it the same medieval theme. The 2 rides were placed side by side to operate as sister rides. How crazy is that? I know, I know... I'm a freak

I think the idea of putting a ride on top of the new cafe would have to be ruled out. From what I have seen, the building is fairly narrow and I doubt it would be able to support a ride on its roof. I am fairly sure it has been designed as a stand alone building with the sole purpose of being a contemporary cafe/bar. I believe the premises are actually being leased out rather than run by LPS. On the other hand, the roof on top of the dodgem building is quite a large flat area and currently only houses the Tumble Bug. As I said before, there is a large vacant area right next to the Tumble Bug on this rooftop. They could easily fit another ride in this area such as a portable drop ride like the Mega Drop (Space Fall) or anything else for that matter. I do think the Tumble Bug looks quite good up there (would be better if they put the giant bug back out the front though) but this area certainly could be utilised further in the future. For example, If they wanted to build another coaster (highly doubtful), this rooftop could easily accomodate one with a small footprint. The Tumble Bug would have to be removed for this to happen. Even with the new additions and buildings in the new Luna Park, I really don't think space is such a major limitation anymore. The new area behind Coney Island is massive, especially when taking the 'picnic area' into consideration. It could accomodate just about any ride or attraction. There are also other areas in the main park which have vacant spaces of various sizes so the potential for expansion is definitely there. Let your imagination run wild

And thank goodness for that too as not only is it a fun ride but one of the few remaining pieces of heritage significance in the park. It was originally built around 1960 in the exact spot where it stands today. Does anyone else have any other ideas for new attractions or improvements that could work well at the park?

I've started a new thread for this discussion as I felt it probably wasn't totally relevant in the 'Wild Mouse' discussion. I've been meaning to start this thread for a while now anyway. So some of the ideas and thoughts we have had are as follows - *Emphasising Luna Park's history with one of a kind unique rides, similar to when the park first opened *Fixing up the back area behind Coney Island by getting rid of the clone carnival rides and installing a River Caves attraction. The possibility of having a themed restaurant adjoining this attraction so that part of the River Caves channel meanders through or past the restaurant *Making use of the limited space in LPS by perhaps installing more rides on roofs etc. The new cafe roof was one suggestion *Ensuring each attraction has a good facade and associated artwork to bring back the old atmosphere *Adding some newer flat rides with some modern thrill elements On the last point of adding new flat rides, I personally think the park would benefit immensley by installing a drop ride (as we have discussed before). Even buying a cheaper portable ride like the Mega Drop would be fine, as long as it is made to look more permanent with a good facade. There are a few locations which would be good for this such as right next to the harbour where the portable simulator is now. Or in the huge blank space on the dodgem roof next to the Tumble Bug. This would be an amazing spot and would make the tower even higher. Residents would be a problem but perhaps you could enclose the ride with clear perspex or something to dampen the screams

I agree with Rappa's idea of making Luna more of a historical park. I would like to see some of the current clone carnival rides replaced with unique one of a kind rides, similar to when the park first opened in 1935. The excitement wouldn't be in the rides technological factor but more of a sense of history and old fashioned fun which you can't find anywhere else. Family rides like U-Drive, Flying Saucer, Hey Day, Whip, the original Tumble Bug etc. I liked the fact that in Luna Park's earlier days many of the attractions had great facades and artwork which gave the park more of a fantasy atmosphere. I also have some more ideas for the installation of the River Caves, which as I said, I'd like to see installed at the back area of the park behind Coney Island. In keeping with the parks new focus on functions and entertainment, I think the River Caves could work well if combined with some kind of restaurant (with River Caves themed function rooms ofcourse). The restaurant could be right on the harbourside but with the added attraction of part of the River Caves water channel meandering past or through the dining area. Dining patrons could be entertained by both the harbour view and the passing boats filled with Luna Park guests, floating along the man made channel. The boats would then continue through the remainder of the dark ride portion of the ride. I think I got this idea from one of the Disney parks in the US which have a similar type of attraction. Any thoughts?

Well done Rappa. That brochure is awesome and so 80's! I can't believe the map is missing out of it though... the most important part! It has just made me even more curious now

Absolutely great stuff there Richard. Now I truly, truly hope that Dreamworld management reads that article. It would certainly be in their best interests to at least have a quick look at it as it is essentially free, accurate research for them

How funny. Rather than a brochure bag, I have always kept my stacks of brochures in an area on my bookshelf. This is so that I can still access them if I wanna have a little look through. Does that make me the biggest geek? I have brochures on everything from crappy little 70's tourist attractions to the various eras of all our major theme parks

Yeah I agree with your comments joz. As I said in my post, at the parks I've been involved with, the operators would never just operate the ride for an entire shift. They would always swap around with the person loading and unloading. It is normally a simple rotating system between the staff that are rostered on to that ride for that particular day. The main reason for doing this is to prevent boredom. It breaks up the day if you do a bit of everything. I would be surprised if Luna Park would be hiring some staff soley as operators and others soley as loaders/unloaders. In a small park like Luna it would make sense to have everyone trained on everything which is why a standard pay rate makes sense. I also don't mind the idea of having pay levels rising after a set amount of time as this encourages employee retention and helps to stop envy among staff. In a position like ride operators/attendants I think you'd create issues paying people different rates for doing a similar job. Once a staff member has been at the park for a set amount of time (and again if they become a team leader, staff trainer or supervisor) then their level goes up. It's just a bit fairer I think

At every park I've been involved with both the ride operator and ride attendant (loading and unloading) are usually trained to be able to perform all jobs associated with the ride. They will usually swap around positions throughout a shift. The only exception I have found to this is if a staff member is under 18 and therefore cannot operate the ride. If you are over 18 and work in the 'rides' department you will usually be trained on every aspect of the rides operation. In this case, everyone should be payed the same rate. If a park has a system of putting new staff through a probationary period where they only load/unload, then maybe there should be a lower pay rate during this period

That would be awesome if you ended up finding something rappa... not meaning to put any pressure on you or anything. It would be fascinating to see the layout of the park close to when it first opened

The advantage of the back area you referred to is that it increases the park capacity which is needed for more rides. I agree that the current line-up of rides there are pretty bad and the layout is no good. I think if they re-work the area with better attractions it could definitely add value. In keeping with the history of the park, I'd like to see them build a large River Caves attraction in that area. As it would be an enclosed dark ride, all noise would be contained which would mean no more complaining neighbours