GoGoBoy

Guys you are fairly off topic now but before we steer back let me just say that I love Sydney but also really enjoy a weekend trip to Melb every now and then. It's a great place to spend a bit of leisure time. NOW, regarding this new theme park. I was reading some more about it last night and it actually sounds pretty good. Part of the proposal is a huge water theme park, apparantley with some pretty cutting edge attractions. The only problem I can see with this is that Melb gets sooo cold quite often. Bring it up to Sydney I say! Apart from that, I love the idea of the park and really hope it goes ahead. Here is the latest article which even has a pretty picture - $700m theme park proposal Check it out, it is very interesting. You will notice that it has now been upgraded to a $700m theme park inlcuding the water park. We are talking exciting figures now

Yeah I would have to agree with a lot of screammachine's points. While there may be a fair bit the park still has to fix up, I do think there are a lot of positive aspects to the new development. Let's hope they fix up a few bugs, stay the course and develop it to its full potential

Do you have any more detail on any of these topics? How did you hear about this? I think shareholders mostly just receive annual and quarterly reports

I am a shareholder. Owned shares a few years back which I since sold but recently bought new ones. Haven't received any mail-outs yet unfortunately. Not sure what is happening with that

I went to the easter show the other night and was very impressed with the rides. They would have to be the best we have in NSW at the moment. The spinning wild mouse coaster was lots of fun and you should definitely give it a go if you are visiting the show. One of the best things about it is that it looks quite modern, not old and crappy like the rides used to be. The Mega Drop (Space Fall) is also fantastic. It is surprisingly high for a portable ride and the view from the top is great. The music and sound effects that accompany the ride give it a great atmosphere and the drop itself is sooo fast. Very, very cool. Even the ghost train they have there this year is ultra modern compared to the rides of days gone by. Well done easter show... you have blown any of our existing NSW parks out of the water!

Great pic Rabid, I'm very impressed! It is easy to see now how the Gyro Swing could fit into that area quite well, especially if the theming and colour scheme match (which is funny, 'cause your photoshop'd version matches perfectly). I really like what DW has done with the whole Ocean Parade area and the way the existing rides were re-themed to match it. Thanks for the update too Rabid. DW looks really quiet in some of those pics. Even Wonderland was busier than that in off season days which is crazy. When were they taken?

I totally agree, the more trip reports and opinions the better. However, I would just like to think that people actually read all posts in a topic before adding their own post. Sometimes I feel like that doesn't happen. screammachine - one thing interesting about your report was what you mentioned regarding the 'homage' to the big dipper inside the old entry building. I didn't notice it last time I was there and will have to check it out next time. Features like that are good as it gives you a sense of history of the park which helps in creating atmosphere

screammachine - have you even read the rest of the posts in this topic? You are just repeating a lot of the stuff I have already said and not adding much new info. The 'indian' building you referred to is not actually new. It is the old entrance for the 1995 Big Dipper... just with some bits missing including the tops of the spires. It is terrible to hear that the wild mouse is STILL not open and we are well and truly into the school holidays now. It is one of the parks signature attractions and with it closed it's not going to leave a good impression on all the people currently visiting. Maybe they don't want return visitors?! Perhaps the rumours are true and the park is hoping to eventually get rid of the rides to turn it into a total function venue. I sure hope not. I think Luna Park could be really good, especially considering the demand for leisure in Sydney now that WS has gone. But the owners/management need to lift their game in some areas

Are you sure Wipeout is unique to Australia? Isn't there a Wipeout type of ride at Adventure World in Perth?

Ok I'm not trying to annoy anyone with all these articles but I found another one which you may find interesting. It's from all the way back in 1986 when Wonderland was just a baby. Kinda makes me a bit sad actually... WHY WONDERLAND IS RIDING THE J-CURVE Author: By ROBIN HILL Date: 19/09/1986 Words: 1037 Publication: Sydney Morning Herald Section: News and Features Page: 15 AUSTRALIA'S Wonderland has a sceptical Sydney on its hands. The fun park's second season has begun and like some of its heart-in-mouth rides, this next phase could be a roller coaster ride to near death or relieved survival. Sydney, apart from the 1.5 million people of the western suburbs, is dubious of its merits because it hasn't been able to grasp what Wonderland is all about. At first, many thought the park was made in bits and pieces from America. There still aren't enough Mums, Dads and kids from Balmain going there. One Sydney amusement park manager, who asked not to be identified, claims Wonderland must be in trouble because of its massive overheads. But if so, Wonderland isn't saying. Wonderland's first season was primarily an evaluation period for its administrators. Lessons were learnt. The promoters questioned visitors leaving the park about their likes and dislikes; small random telephone surveys were made to people who had not visited. So, how to get more people in? The park, painfully aware of the problem, had to do some constructive thinking. Entrance prices have been cut to make the park appear better value. An aggressive and expensive marketing campaign - over $2 million has been spent since the park opened - aimed to lure young spenders from the heart of Sydney The problem of long queues needs to be overcome. On one of the park's most popular rides, a three-minute water ride called "Snowy River Rampage", the waiting time is, on average, 40 minutes. The 219-hectare theme park at Minchinbury near Blacktown is now open only on weekends. Park managers, in high spirits because of good attendance figures during May and August, are now gearing for the next onslaught: the summer school holidays. Talk is of installing new high-capacity rides; and there is discussion on how to lift sales during the traditionally worst month of December. Australia's Wonderland is Sydney's first attempt at family entertainment on a large scale; it is potentially the biggest fun park of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It employs 3,000 casual staff and about 300 permanents. The "theme" park, welcomed by the local councils for its employment prospects, has not yet celebrated its first birthday. At this stage, it is arguably nothing more than a huge gamble. The up-front rhetoric is that the plight of the Australian economy isn't getting them down. Historically, amusement parks in Australia have not found the roller-coaster heights. Since 1983, a number of fun parks have faced uncertain times, and some, financial difficulties. Waterworks at Mt Druitt, for instance, went into receivership but was promptly bought by new owners. Some have gone bust. In 1985, for example, two big fun parks in Queensland closed their doors. In NSW, Old Sydney Town at Gosford needed $230,000 from its major backer, the NSW Government, to stay in business. Australia's Wonderland is managed on behalf of its partners by a large and well-respected American amusements firm, Kings Entertainment Company. Much of Australia's Wonderland concept is based on American hand-me-downs. For example, Hanna-Barbera Land, (one of the three areas in the park with a specific theme), is based on popular cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone and Huckleberry Hound. Surprisingly perhaps, Australian children and adults like these rather dated American institutions. The park has met with mixed reaction. Wonderland's first season, from its opening in December 1985 until the middle of August this year, ended on a low. The $65 million theme park's projected attendance figures were wrong. They won't be getting the expected 1.6 million people through their gates in the first year. Now, with 600,000 visitors, they hope to have had one million through by the end of December. There is also no talk of profits yet. The joint investors, the NSW State Superannuation Board, James Hardie Industries, Leighton Holdings, and an American company, Taft Broadcasting, are still waiting to see some returns. Wonderland's managing director, Mr Keith James, sees it as a long-term investment. "I will have to answer any questions on profits rather obliquely. However, I can say that the investors were very happy with the first and second season results. We are right on target with out budgets," he said. The group's largest investor, the NSW State Superannuation Board (it invested$24 million), is cautious in its comments on the park. "The board believes the park is in its development stage and is therefore quite pleased with the performance growth," a spokesman said. Probably its greatest rival is Luna Park. Although it is keen to change its image to attract overseas visitors, Luna Park does not feel threatened by Wonderland. The managing director of the lessee company, Harbourside Amusement Park Pty Ltd (HAP), Mr Harold Drogo, says he feels "lethargic" about Wonderland. But Luna Park, which sees about 650,000 visitors per year, has lost a considerable number from the western suburbs. About 28 per cent came from the west; it is now down to about 12 per cent. Some things are working in favour of Wonderland. Visitors responded favourably to the park's corporate image of friendly service, cleanliness, and safety. According to the park's own daily small-scale surveys, 40 per cent of visitors say they want nothing changed. Ninety-eight per cent say they will recommend the park to friends. Says Ms Sarah Dougherty, Wonderland's public relations manager, "The reason we will survive where others haven't is because we offer a quality product. If you offer people quality and value for their money, they will keep coming back."

Just found an interesting article regarding Wonderland's original sale to Sunway back in 1997. Clears up some of the ownership questions we had... Australia's Wonderland sold for $50m Author: LEONIE WOOD Date: 28/03/1997 Words: 422 Publication: The Age Section: BUSINESS Page: 3 One of Australia's biggest theme parks, Australia's Wonderland in Sydney's western suburbs, has been sold to a Malaysian unit trust for $50.1 million. The sale crystallises losses of around $15 million for the four founding partners that banded together in 1984 - James Hardie Industries, which owned 23.75 per cent, the SAS Trustee Corp (33.75 per cent), Leighton Holdings (18.75 per cent) and the US-based Jacor Broadcasting (23.75 per cent). Australia's Wonderland was touted as the first big attempt to capture the family entertainment dollar, but its early years were troubled and there was public scepticism about the potential success of American-style theme parks in Australia. In recent years, however, Australia's Wonderland appears to have capitalised on the broad resurgence in consumer spending on family entertainment that theme parks such as Dreamworld and Movie World are enjoying. It recently sought applicants for up to 200 jobs, and in recent years expanded its range of thrill rides. It decided also to open every day of the year, in contrast to the weekends-only arrangements of its early years. Australia's Wonderland originally centred on three theme areas including Hanna-Barbera Land, a surprisingly successful entertainment zone based on cartoon characters such as the Flintstones that were created by the US Hanna-Barbera group. More recently, it has invested in exciting thrill rides including the Snowy River Rampage and the Tasmanian Devil. But one of the most popular recent arrivals is the $7 million Space Probe 7, which sees patrons ascend a 23-storey tower in a machine that plunges them towards earth at 120 kmh. While the theme park's profitability is believed to have been erratic in earlier years due to high continuing costs, its recent track record made it a "viable business", in the words of one of the founding shareholders. Hartford Lane, acting as trustee for the Kuala Lumpur-based unit trust, Sunway Australia, bought all the founding shareholders' stakes and the management company, Sydney Theme Park. Sunway Australia is connected with Sunway Lagoon, a leisure division of the Kuala Lumpur-listed Sunway City Sdn Bhd. James Hardie Industries said the sale of its 23.75 per cent generated $11.9 million and represented a loss after tax of about $1.5 million. For James Hardie, the sale is part of its long-running efforts to sell a diverse bag of non-core assets and streamline operations to focus more tightly on the growing fibre-cement businesses and related building activities. SAS Trustee Corp is the trustee for the NSW State Government employees' superannuation funds, which are managed by Axiom Funds Management.

I don't think the cable actually snapped as such but there was a definite injury and I thought it was to do with the cable hitting someone in the face. I didn't say anything about snapping. I think it just came loose and was a bit out of place or something. Never heard about the Space Probe incident. Maybe i'm thinking of 'whiplash' and getting it confused. It's gotta be the same incident you're referring to Richard... surely they haven't had multiple accidents on that ride

I am also really excited about the show this year and it is not something I usually get pumped about. I think the marketing must have been better and more out there this year 'cause something is making me want to go. I'm really looking forward to the rides (ofcourse). Considering the fact that none of our Aussie theme parks have had a new ride in ages, I am craving something new. The show may only have basic travelling rides but it's great that some of them are new to Sydney. The majority of them I've never been on before. It's sad to think that the show probably has some of the newest and best rides in NSW at the moment. That's why it amazes me that anyone would want to go to Saturday Session at Wonderland at the moment. Forget that, go to the show instead. At least they have actually invested time and money into the event and all profits stay in Australia. So anyway, do you guys know how much it costs for the rides? Shifty says $7 per ride. Is there any discount if you buy in bulk? I'm looking at going at night as there's more atmosphere and ofcourse it's cheaper. How have the nights been for the rides? Busy? Are they all open until 10:30pm? Sorry, so many questions. The rides I will hopefully be going on are - Mega Drop, Cliffhanger(?), Splash Canyon, Haunted Mansion (love ghost trains, no matter how crappy) and the assortment of roller coasters. Yay!

djrappa are you being smart? "Most of us never heard about it"? You mean you and Shifty right? Actually Richard has obviously heard about it... as he said Dreamworld installed cages over the top of the gondolas to prevent this type of accident happening again. It happened a few years back now, about a year or so after the drop opened. And no it wasn't kept too quiet, as I said I read about it in the paper

I can assure you that a 'cable in the face' incident causing a degree of injury definitely occured on the Giant Drop at DW. According to you guys it happened on Space Probe aswell. I guess it's not surprising seeing as they are both the same sort of ride. I read about the Giant Drop incident in a Sydney newspaper

I know that some people were injured on the Giant Drop though not too badly I don't think. Not sure if this was the same incident. I heard that one of the cables became loose and whipped someone in the face. Does anyone remember hearing anything about this? It was some time ago now

Oh no, is Splash Canyon not at the easter show this year? I was looking forward to riding it. It's listed on the easter show website though?!

Um, Daniel I'm not talking about Wonderland if that's what you mean. Although I'm sure you know of some good examples there. I'm talking about the marketing manager Sega World brought in about a year or 2 before the park closed. Totally clueless about theme parks... and most other things for that matter

Congratulations to Kenny for getting this one right and letting us know early! This site should be made up of rumours (hopefully fairly accurate ones), not just official news all the time. It gets boring otherwise. It concerns me to read that the new CEO has had no background in theme parks. It is definitely a very specialised industry and it takes time to get a true understanding of it. I have seen cases where an executive manager has been hired with zero theme park experience and the results have been terrible. They think they know how it works but they just don't have that eye for detail. Here's hoping this is not the case with Stephen and that he will be a good thing for Dreamworld. Does anyone know more about the specifics of his background? I suppose if he has been heavily involved in tourism and leisure like the article says then he would definitely have some skills in the area

One thing I won't accept is if they close down the park (or at least close the rides down) and blame it on the whole "Sydney just doesn't seem to like theme parks" thing. The reason why no theme/amusement parks do well in Sydney is because none of them are up to standard. Nowhere near standard in fact... Sega World had good intentions but the attractions just weren't good enough or grand enough. Fox Studios Backlot was simply pathetic by anyones standards. Wonderland hasn't updated their ride mix in 10 years. And now Luna Park has opened with a bunch of rides which were not even remotely new when the park re-opened 10 years ago in 1995. So what does that make them now? What will work well for the park is the stuff that we have already discussed here and the atmosphere and history of the place. But there's no way that the current rides can be much of a drawcard after a while. So, the only excuse that should be used if things go wrong at Luna Park is "well actually we didn't spend enough money on getting really good rides and the stuff we had just wasn't up to scratch for Sydneysiders"

Yeah I noticed that too. It definitely is pushing it a bit. They had the website branded with Scooby Doo (as it is now) when they first opened the ride. Then Matrix opened so the whole thing was re-branded with Matrix. Now that Scooby Doo 2 is showing in cinemas, they have reverted back to the Scooby Doo branding. Talk about an opportunity to cash in on something that doesn't really have that much to do with them. Aussie parks just love these promotional tie-ins don't they!

I went for a walk around Luna Park this morning. I have to say walking through that fantastic face once again was very exciting. Some parts of the new park impressed me whereas others did not. The following are some of my thoughts... The biggest problem is that it is not finished yet. Not at all. There is no way that the park should have opened when it did. That truly is bad management. A large number of rides are still closed and many of the buildings and facades are not even near completion. So with this in mind, it is hard and probably not fair to make a final judgement of the park. I certainly do hope that the parks facades and decorations are not completed yet. A lot of the rides are missing any decent signage. For example, the Tumble Bug just has a little dodgy neon sign out the front. I don't know what has happened to the massive psychadelic bug that used to stand out the front of it. I hope they are planning to put it back up soon. Also, the giant spider that used to tower over the spider ride is nowhere to be seen. The current lack of facades leaves the park looking a little dull in some areas. There is just a bit too much exposed concrete around at the moment. Even the midway is looking way too sparse. It needs things like chairs and shelter, decorations, interactive fountains, flags and other features to liven it up. Hopefully this is all coming. In saying this, a lot of the new buildings do look good and very modern. The car park has also been designed well with a nice lanscaped park right next to it. You wouldn't even know the car park is there so that is quite clever. There is a large area out the back of the park which is now being utilised almost as an over-flow area for some of the rides. It is where the Big Dipper's turn out used to stand, behind Coney Island. Unfortunately, in its current state, the area looks terrible. It is just a massive open asphalt area with no permanent structures and portable rides scattered everywhere. There are a number of typical portable kids rides and a few inflatable jumping castles (come on Luna Park, surely you can do better than this?!). To my surprise, this area is now home to the Ranger and Spider which used to be located inside the main park. The rides look very temporary and quite dodgy in this area. I think more planning should have been done to enable these rides to fit inside the main area of the park to liven it up a bit more in certain areas. If this new area at the back of the park was planned more carefully it could work quite well as there is heaps of space out there and I would say it increases the capacity of the park at least by half. If they are planning to constantly change and update the rides in this area then I can understand why not much has been done, otherwise there is no excuse really. At this point it doesn't look like they are taking it seriously and most people probably wouldn't even realise the area exists as there is no obvious link. Time will tell. On a positive note I think the Big Top venue looks great and has a modern foyer with a nice bar. I do think the park has managed to combine the new facilities with the old quite well. Once everything is up and running the park will have a good atmosphere. I'm really looking forward to seeing a show in the Big Top one night followed by some rides. That place is magical at night. I drove past the other night and the lights are incredible. I have more to say but am getting sick of typing so will add to this topic later. Overall I think the new park will be a great Sydney asset. Once all the rides are operating and everything is planned out a little better it will definitely be better (and certainly look better) than Luna Park Melbourne. You just can't beat the location and I think the developers have created quite a good product. There is definitely more work to be done so we will have to keep a close eye on the park over the next few weeks. At this point we need to support the park and ensure that the amusement/rides aspect of the business stays intact and continues to improve over time. That should always be the essence of Luna Park

It's funny how Wonderland got all these 'hand me down' rides and to make matters worse some of them are still in operation today. Wonderland a world class theme park? Sorry Mr.Galbraith... I don't think so. Check out this map from PKI... now this is a real theme park - http://www.pki.com/i/map_10-1-03.pdf

It seems like Ocean Parade is going to become the land of the flat rides. Do you really think they need another one in that area? And what's going to happen when they build more rides where Thunder Bolt was? Is it going to turn Ocean Parade into one massive themed land with multiple flat rides or do you think they will turn that area into a separate theme?

Wow - this has seriously got to be the most boring addition Dreamworld has received for some time! Even the ad for it on the DW website looks boring. All I can say is we better get that (or any) rumoured ride this year or else I am going to cry. A farmyard nursery? There's nothing original about that. It doesn't even fit in with the 'Australian Wildlife Experience' theme. I guess that's why they have referred to it as 'Gum Tree Gully's Farmyard Nursery', to show that it is not really associated with the AWE. In saying all this I definitely think the Australian Wildlife Experience was a great improvement to DW and any future expansions in this area would be a good thing. Afterall, it does seem to bring in that lucrative asian market by the bus load. But apart from the AWE I really don't think DW needs any more animal attractions