Parkchat is back!

[Ranger]

https://www.parkchat.com.au

[pin142]

Umm, okay?

[Coasterjoe]

Oooh I love me a podcast will check it out! 

[rappa]

Standing by to see how the episode ages once Atlantis opens

[Ogre]

I wondered where those guys went!

[BNErider]

Thanks for noticing! As always, we welcome any feedback on here or in private. 😀 

 

We aren’t here to replace anything or take over the world, just excited to have a few likeminded mates around for a laugh every month or so. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Is my card still valid or do I need to buy a new one?

[Noll_57]

On 28/08/2022 at 9:50 PM, BNErider said:

Thanks for noticing! As always, we welcome any feedback on here or in private. 😀 

 

We aren’t here to replace anything or take over the world, just excited to have a few likeminded mates around for a laugh every month or so. 

So pleased that you guys are back! Just wondering, are you going to do any live stuff on YouTube again? The live interaction was one of my favorite aspects of the show. 

[Noll_57]

So… is the show dead again? They haven’t uploaded a new episode in ages and the interview with Funfields management they promised months ago still hasn’t been released. 

[TBoy]

Just seen the Funfields interview. Most of it is comparing Funfields to Gumbuya and how they are similar and different. They noted how Gumbuya felt closer to a corporate park while Funfields was more of a family park. They also compared it to parks like Adventure Park and Adventure World, as well as noting what Funfields could improve on.

They liked the theming around the park and also loved the waterslides, even calling them some of the best in Australia. They did prefer Gravity Wave over Supernova however due to the height and speed but they thought both were good. Now it is time to get into the juicy stuff.

 

The last 10 minutes are them speaking to Ang, the general manager of the park. He said that the park grew slowly and called him and his family “accidental theme park owners”. Ang does says that they go to other theme parks for inspiration for ride ideas etc. Unlike some of the other parks (Gumbuya with Pico Play etc.) Funfields have to use local engineers, designers companies for design etc. due to them not having the big budget that other parks do. The teams all grew building the park as time went on and apparently the same people who helped with Black-Out/Wipe-Out also did Supernova.

Back to the inspiration from other parks, when he goes to parks overseas etc. he apparently thinks “How could I make this work at Funfields?” and “How could we scale this down to what we can afford to do?” and that is how the park ended up today.

Next up is the ratio of dry/water rides. During the winter months, he and his family (remember the park is family owned) sit down and wonder “How do we get more people here on 18-19 degree days?” and they have not been able to explain it. He says if they had something like DC Rivals they would only have 300-400 more people than currently because “Melbournians do not go out if the weather is crappy”. They decided water is the way to go as that is the only way people will come in their eyes. They also think if the weather is 35 degrees “Would people rather be in a pool or on a coaster?” and they think people would be in a pool.

One of the things Ang does that people do not know of is that he is “the furtherest thing from a normal managing director you would ever see.” When a ProSlide technician came over to do the ride verification, he saw Ang spreading rocks and cleaning up the place under Supernova and asked “Don’t you have people to do this for you?” and Ang says “I can, but I feel like I’ve got to me doing it.” In the mornings while all the ride and maintenance things are being done, Ang is in the gardens making them as neat as possible or fixing up the chairs. 

The next thing is that Ash notes that Funfields and Adventure World Perth are tied with the best Google reviews. Ang and the CEO of Adventure World are good mates and he is someone Ang regularly goes to with weekly phone calls, and Andrew (the CEO) visits Ang once a year and they talk. He thinks the reason they are at the top is that they are a family business, with him and the others nuts about detail. They treat it like their own home and Ang won’t leave unless the customer will get the best experience possible. On all days 5/6 of the family are at the park, if not all 6. Ang is there everyday and says “I wish I could, but I can’t switch off.”

Some of the things Ang looks at when looking for a supplier is relationships. The family hit it off with ProSlide in 2013 when Typhoon was built. According to him ProSlide are not pushy and thinks of them as one of the best slide manufacturers in the world, and had a great relationship with a man named Phil who sold Funfields the Typhoon. ProSlide also understands family businesses and big ones who ask them for slides.

When asked about how Funfields choose a theme for their rides, Ang says that a company called Biscuit helps them with it and Ang also asks the younger people there “What do you think?” and takes away what he thinks will work in the end. He doesn’t want to take any credit for ideas or concepts.

Finally, Ang is very happy the park is starting to be recognised as a theme park. He apparently often gets onto Parkz and listens to the comments. The interview was great, and thanks to Ang and Ash for the interview. 
 

The link to the interview is here: https://www.parkchat.com.au/episode/live-from-funfields-an-interview-with-the-general-manager

Edited April 29, 2023 by TBoy

[REGIE]

Love that!  He sounds like a genuinely good bloke. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit fun fields but this definitely makes me want to go more.  Interesting what he says about coasters.  I can see why sort of he doesn’t want to go with a big coaster yet. As he doesn’t want to become a super slick park if that’s the right term?  A high end millions of dollars coaster might lose some of the family owned/in house built charm the park has?  
 

i am interested in what he thinks would do better then a DCR though. What water attraction is appealing in cold weather? I think just having heated water wouldn’t really make cold people want to get wet even if it’s warm water. 
 

I definitely would ride coasters any temperature but being a coaster enthusiast I get we are the minority compared to GP.

 

btw is there only 7 park chat episodes or is there more somewhere.

Edited April 29, 2023 by REGIE