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Wonderland


bren79
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Zordy, I agree with you but i think goulburn is a bit tooooooo far. Possible Theme Park sites within the Sydney basin could include: DuralCastle Hill Areas   the Hawkesbury The Cumberland Plains Mulgoa, Campbelltown, Holsworthy, Blacktown, ...
All good sites, but all waaaay too expensive now. Might be some possibilities on the other side of the river in the Hawksbury, thats about it. Ironically one of the best sites still in Sydney would be across the road from where Wonderland was.. in the Govt's green belt park (down near the Western Sydney Regional Park, or adjacent to Eastern Creek Raceway or the Speedway). But only if they want it there - nobody could afford to pay full commercial rates for the land. ZordMaker
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do you mean menai? ...I believe its all national park and/or army land, or expensive housing blocks. Its a pain in the butt area for public transport as well. I have a friend that lives in menai, it's also expensive to build because of all the hardcore rock..it just cant be cleared away with a bobcat and shovels, you need some serious equipment.

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I lived in Lucas Heights, then the name was changed to Barden Ridge (Suburban Area), and yeah. Well someone mentioned Holsworthy, and 95% of it is Army land, and the other 5% is un suitable land. What about Camdem? Or Orangville? Or some of those places when you head into Sydney from the M5. There is alot of land there. What about somewhere near where Al Cabalo Blanco was? You can't always think about building parks in the city, or in real tight Suburban Areas like Baulkum Hills, or Castle Hill. There is no room there for a decent park like Wonderland. Maybe 20 odd years ago maybe, but not now.

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Where do I start? So many points I want to cover.

What i would like to encourage your members to do is to lobby for a new NSW Super Theme Park. Governments and Opposition parties will offer support for this idea and I believe you would find many allies in this cause as it will bring new job and new development to you state.   So let's get behind a lobby project to all the major theme park operators in Australia and around the world. Why not the likes of Disney for example? is there a plausable reason that they wouldnt build a Disney Oz?
Do you think that a handful of people lobbying any government or theme park operator are going to make a difference? The only reason Disney or Six Flags or the like would build in Australia, let alone Sydney is if they wanted to. They would require a massive backing by the state government, and anyone living is Sydney, at the moment knows that the current government is a joke and wouldn't know a good proposal if it hit them square in the face, which is what a lot of Sydneysiders would love to do.
Instead of all the ""excuses"" Wonderland made for closure, like the Asian Flu Virus and 911 etc..did anyone care to think that just maybe the management was just too stale and out of touch with the youth and possibly needed the boot out the door? Of course, the management is never ever to blame right?
Do you seriously think that management in Australia had anything to do with Wonderland's closure? All that would have happened is that Stephen Galibraith would have received a phone call or had a meeting in Malaysia with the board, and been told it was closing. He then would have been offered a new position in Malaysia, which he took, at told this is what to tell the staff and public about the closure.
I never said you hated western sydney, but as you've said there, you think its a bad tourist destination
I have to agree that Western Sydney is not a good tourist destination. Besides Featherdale what has it got to offer? When I talk about Western Sydney, I’m talking west of Parramatta to the base of the Blue Mountains. If you get more than 10k's either side of the railway line there is very little infrastructure and any park in that area would require people to drive there, which I personally think was one of Wonderland's major faults.
People visit Kings Cross too, but i don't think its a suitable place for a thriving tourism metropolis.
It may not be suitable but it’s extremely popular. Just think where all the cashed up American sailors go when they come to Sydney.
When Mr. J Howard does, I will.
Seriously what has John Howard got to do with this? You are obviously a typical life long Labor supporter who fails to see what a bad state NSW is in due entirely to the Carr government.
gee... now i see why Bussy loves riling people up so much... hehehe.
I'm glad that you have seen how much fun it is, keep it up.
They could always build like a small park on Bondi Beach, like LPS, but better. More like Santa Cruz Board Walk, or something like that.
Do you remember how much of a ****fight there was over a temporary volleyball stadium? Could you imagine what it would be like if they proposed a permanent structure?
Are we forgetting about Homebush Bay? It's the perfect location for a major theme park, very close to Sydney and is accessible by public transport in almost every way imaginable. I remember hearing about the government tried to push the development of a major theme park at Homebush but wasn't successful, does anyone have any more information on this?
I agree with you fully, it is the perfect place. It is basically the centre geographic centre of Sydney, it has existing infrastructure, it has existing tourist attractions, it has a hotel, and it has heaps of car park space and much more going for it. The only problem with that location is that if there is an event on, say the Easter Show, it makes it very difficult to cater for both places at the same time. I’m talking parking and infrastructure use mainly.
What about the Northern Beaches? Somewhere on the northern beaches but still not too far away from the city
That comment is going to get the treatment it deserves. There have been very valid arguments made by both sides in this discussion but one thing is for sure, unless something changes about the geographical structure of Sydney it will be very difficult for a park to get off the ground, no matter where it is built. "The Bus is now leaving for Argument Camp Bore, Northern Territory"
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I have to agree that Western Sydney is not a good tourist destination.  Besides Featherdale what has it got to offer?  When I talk about Western Sydney, I’m talking west of Parramatta to the base of the Blue Mountains.  If you get more than 10k's either side of the railway line there is very little infrastructure and any park in that area would require people to drive there, which I personally think was one of Wonderland's major faults.
Thing is bus, it never used to be like that. So - parramatta to the base of the blue mountains - heres a list of current or previous attractions within that region. In compiling this list, I didnt actually touch parramatta, which also has a number of fine tourist attractions as well.... Mt Druitt Waterworks - Mt Druitt {Closed} Formula 1 Street Racing Track - Mt Druitt (it was there... look it up){Closed} Cables Waterski Park - Penrith {Closed} Wonderland Sydney - Eastern Creek {Closed} Featherdale Wildlife Park - Doonside Parklea Markets - Parklea Penrith Whitewater - Penrith Olympic Rowing and Regatta Centre - Penrith Olympic Sites (multiple) - Blacktown City Warragamba Dam - Warragamba Many, Many, MANY Historical Sites, such as Mulgoa Homestead, Pugh's Lagoon, Countless sites within the RichmondWindsor (Macquarie Towns) District. Vicary's Winery - Mulgoa Area Vicary's Woolshed - Mulgoa Area Mean Fiddler and Woolshed - Kellyville Nepean Gorge - bushwalks and hikes - Nepean Valley Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre - Penrith Panthers (hey many tourists come to stay and play there) - Penrith And ok - so I my results are a little more biased towards penrith but thats because i live there... i came up with this list in 3 minutes, and im sure theres plenty more out there that would bring the tourists in. i've said it before and i'll say it again, IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME
Seriously what has John Howard got to do with this?  You are obviously a typical life long Labor supporter who fails to see what a bad state NSW is in due entirely to the Carr government.
No, im not really a staunch labor supporter, and I believe John Howard has done his bit for our country, albeit sucking on the USA's teat. My comment was simply directed at the staunch Liberal supporter, who seemed to be campaigning for PM in 2006...
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Do you seriously think that management in Australia had anything to do with Wonderland's closure?  All that would have happened is that Stephen Galibraith would have received a phone call or had a meeting in Malaysia with the board, and been told it was closing.  He then would have been offered a new position in Malaysia, which he took, at told this is what to tell the staff and public about the closure.
Bussie, What I was trying to say is how come the management did not get the ball rolling correctly with advertising, decent promotional stuff etc...before, when they had the chance, maybe then if Wonderland improved the figures via the gate it would of not come to this. You have to admit the later wonderland branding and advertising was pure rubbish, like they ran some "win a free wonderpass" competition at a local tafe for advertising students. .
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So Sean, you say if they build it, people will come? Just like Wonderland? Sure it worked for a few years, but seriously who wanted to drive to the middle of no where, especially a dry bush type environment in Western Sydney for the sake of a theme park that was lacking in any major amusements (well in the last few years) I think maybe you are too bias towards Western Sydney and should actually consider alternatives. As for your comments about John Howard, well where do i start? Firstly, there isnt going to be an election in 2006 for PM, secondly if there was, my friend and yours, Mr Peter Costello would be contesting it, not me. Lets face it boys, labor sux, they dont know how to run a state let alone the country. The sooner the labor party shrivels up and dies the better. I know we could take over NZ demolish everything, make the entire country a theme park, have cheap flights for $99 there and in 20 yrs when its ****, we will just get our american friends to create an underwater earth quake that destroys the place by a tsunami and then sell the land to an industrial giant. Now that idea, would be a Bob carr approach.

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Sure it worked for a few years, but seriously who wanted to drive to the middle of no where, especially a dry bush type environment in Western Sydney for the sake of a theme park that was lacking in any major amusements (well in the last few years)
You make it sound like the Arizona Desert!..gees its like less than an hour by train from the City and 40mins by car and ive read scientists have actually found some humans beings who are actually living in the area :) Trying tell that to the thousands of people who live in Western Sydney! I know its a bit old but read below "According to the 2001 Census, the population of Western Sydney is among the youngest of any region, where nearly 38% of the population (653,630) is under 25 years of age and 9.2% (159,474) of the population are ages 65 and over. " http://www.premiers.nsw.gov.au/AboutUs/Our...boutwsydney.htm
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Lets face it boys, labor sux, they dont know how to run a state let alone the country. The sooner the labor party shrivels up and dies the better. I know we could take over NZ demolish everything, make the entire country a theme park, have cheap flights for $99 there and in 20 yrs when its ****, we will just get our american friends to create an underwater earth quake that destroys the place by a tsunami and then sell the land to an industrial giant. Now that idea, would be a Bob carr approach.
Yes, because as we all know a left leaning government would take the approach of capitalising on a country, turning it into a theme park then selling the assets once it's done with it... :rolleyes: Thatcher induced economic policies don't fit into the leftwing mindset unfortunately... (not partisan shrill kthx)
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Do you seriously think that management in Australia had anything to do with Wonderland's closure?   "The Bus is now leaving for Argument Camp Bore, Northern Territory"
Wonderland's management under Galbraith are directly responsible for Wonderland's underperformance, which in turn led to it's owners deciding to cut it loose. Had the park been investing in the right places, advertising and operating in the right markets and operating seasonally as it was originally intended to do (aka the US theme parks) then it would have been turning a reasonable profit at least similar to other overseas parks, and the owners would have had no trouble keeping it or investing in further infrastructure, or seeking other buyers who wished to keep the park operational. ZordMaker
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Yeah, there is nothing wrong with the NSW government, just Bob Carr and his Mail Order wife. I reckon this topic should be just paused for a while, until we hear more news of the Downunderland re-location/ expansion/ upgrade. Because when i spoke to them, they said that the land they are currently on (Heritage Village) is leased month by month. And if they do the place up, the same thing that happened to the pub (Got re-furbished, then got closed down) will happen to them, as the leasee wants to re-develop the land into apartments. So they have been heavily advertising the place upto now, when there are no advertisments at all, and a new ferris wheel is half standing on site. I was also told that when they do move, they have a **** load of new rides avaliable, and when they do move, they will move somewhere, and if they can't find suitable land in canberra, they will move over the boarder soon. Also news that the Mad Mouse will be scrapped when they move, and replaced with something more permanent. Anyway, stop bitching, we don't even have a theme park/ amusement park, you have Luna PArk which is a 4 hour, stay over night trip. So stop complaining.

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Lets update that list a little bit shall we:

Mt Druitt Waterworks - Mt Druitt {Closed} Formula 1 Street Racing Track - Mt Druitt (it was there... look it up){Closed} Cables Waterski Park - Penrith {Closed} Wonderland Sydney - Eastern Creek {Closed} Featherdale Wildlife Park - Doonside USELESS Parklea Markets - Parklea NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION Penrith Whitewater - Penrith GOVT OWNED, HUGE LOSS MAKER Olympic Rowing and Regatta Centre - Penrith FAIR ENOUGH Olympic Sites (multiple) - Blacktown City LOST $1.6m LAST YEAR ALONE - MASSIVE WHITE ELEPHANT Warragamba Dam - Warragamba CLOSED SINCE 2002, UNLIKELY EVER TO REOPEN DUE TO TERRORISM FEARS Many, Many, MANY Historical Sites, such as Mulgoa Homestead, Pugh's Lagoon, Countless sites within the RichmondWindsor (Macquarie Towns) District. Vicary's Winery - Mulgoa Area RESTRICTED HOURS Vicary's Woolshed - Mulgoa Area RESTRICTED HOURS Mean Fiddler and Woolshed - Kellyville ITS A PUB NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION Nepean Gorge - bushwalks and hikes - Nepean Valley   Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre - Penrith   Panthers (hey many tourists come to stay and play there) - Penrith And ok - so I my results are a little more biased towards penrith but thats because i live there... i came up with this list in 3 minutes, and im sure theres plenty more out there that would bring the tourists in. i've said it before and i'll say it again, IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME ZordMaker No, im not really a staunch labor supporter, and I believe John Howard has done his bit for our country, albeit sucking on the USA's teat. My comment was simply directed at the staunch Liberal supporter, who seemed to be campaigning for PM in 2006...
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Featherdale Wildlife Park - Doonside USELESS where do you think all the tourists headed for the mountains, that used to stop at wonderland go now? Parklea Markets - Parklea NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION Personally, when i travel overseas, i do a lot of my shopping, and gift buying at the markets in the area, as you get some great bargains. Parklea is as much a tourist attraction as paddys markets in the city. Penrith Whitewater - Penrith GOVT OWNED, HUGE LOSS MAKER i can promise you with the exception of the homebush precinct, Penrith Whitewater MAKES more money than any other venue created for the olympics. Olympic Rowing and Regatta Centre - Penrith FAIR ENOUGH how can you say this is fair enough? it doesnt charge admission except on regatta days. it makes less money than whitewater, and costs loads more to maintain. how is this fair enough, if whitewater is a huge loss maker? Olympic Sites (multiple) - Blacktown City LOST $1.6m LAST YEAR ALONE - MASSIVE WHITE ELEPHANT nobody said that at the olympics. i seem to remember something about best games ever. but besides that Zordy, government owned properties are not meant to make money... thats what taxes are for.l Warragamba Dam - Warragamba CLOSED SINCE 2002, UNLIKELY EVER TO REOPEN DUE TO TERRORISM FEARS i severely doubt that. Warragamba has been undergoing huge construction to put in a new slipway, as well as numerous other improvements in the structure itself. it will reopen when the engineers are happy for it to reopen. Vicary's Winery - Mulgoa Area RESTRICTED HOURS depends on your definition of restricted hours... by my definition, wonderland had restricted hours... Vicary's Woolshed - Mulgoa Area RESTRICTED HOURS Ditto Mean Fiddler and Woolshed - Kellyville ITS A PUB NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION the woolshed itself is still a target for tourists to experience a dinner show

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Mean Fiddler and Woolshed - Kellyville ITS A PUB NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION the woolshed itself is still a target for tourists to experience a dinner show
That's just like Draculas, i mean, how many locals are you going to get going there? i mean, who goes for a cabaret dinner every night? Mainly tourists are going to go to these places. And this featherdale wildlife park, i thought that place closed down. When we went to Aussie zoo, they said they took all the Animals from Featherdale since it closed down. They even had Fatso the Wombat from "A Country Practice".
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Featherdale Wildlife Park - Doonside USELESS where do you think all the tourists headed for the mountains, that used to stop at wonderland go now?
Yeah that may be true.. but have you actually been there yourself? Ive seen better in my brothers back yard.
Parklea Markets - Parklea NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION Personally, when i travel overseas, i do a lot of my shopping, and gift buying at the markets in the area, as you get some great bargains. Parklea is as much a tourist attraction as paddys markets in the city.
You better just hope that all the ourists arrive on weekends only..
Penrith Whitewater - Penrith GOVT OWNED, HUGE LOSS MAKER i can promise you with the exception of the homebush precinct, Penrith Whitewater MAKES more money than any other venue created for the olympics.
That may be true but its nowhere near enough to turn the red ink into black, unfortunately..
Olympic Rowing and Regatta Centre - Penrith FAIR ENOUGH how can you say this is fair enough? it doesnt charge admission except on regatta days. it makes less money than whitewater, and costs loads more to maintain. how is this fair enough, if whitewater is a huge loss maker?
"Fair enough".. Regatta is a downright white elephant. At least Whitewater is useful.
Olympic Sites (multiple) - Blacktown City LOST $1.6m LAST YEAR ALONE - MASSIVE WHITE ELEPHANT nobody said that at the olympics. i seem to remember something about best games ever. but besides that Zordy, government owned properties are not meant to make money... thats what taxes are for.l
No but they certainly aren't meant to lose $1.6m of ratepayers well earned funds either, especially when spent on a venue that doesnt even serve the people in the area at all let alone generate any employment or income for the surrounding area. 90% of visitors to BOC are bussed in and out daily from other areas. Personally I know of at least two aldermen on BCC who would have much rather had that money thrown into WL than BOC!
Warragamba Dam - Warragamba CLOSED SINCE 2002, UNLIKELY EVER TO REOPEN DUE TO TERRORISM FEARS i severely doubt that. Warragamba has been undergoing huge construction to put in a new slipway, as well as numerous other improvements in the structure itself. it will reopen when the engineers are happy for it to reopen.
Have you been up there? Asked anyone?? The slipway was completed in 2001 (4 years ago). The project to readmit the public to the site has been suspended due to inability of the State Govt to pay for the necessary security upgrades to meet the Fed's requirements for anti terrorism. There is currently a court action in progress between Wollondilly Shire Council and the State Govt because the act that allowed the valley to be flooded in the first place in 1960, specifically demands that public access to the site be retained (which is why it became a popular tourist spot in the first place). The story is regularly featured in local Penrith and Warragamba local rags. Zordmaker
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Zordmaker, Yes I agree with you 110% but, Yes that maybe true, your brothers backyard might be a hell of a lot better :o ...but that's not the point, Asian tourists can't get in the gates quick enough. Lets face it, Featherdale would not be around today if the tourists didn't bother to come..or if the asians had the views of "bren79"...but they don't...agree? Its like the developers in the west that make crappy spec houses and sell them for way overpriced bucket loads of cash, its supply and demand right?.. The asian tourists have no problems it seems to go to all the way out west to see a few old dusty looking kangaroos and some small farm animals..etc

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I like the homebush site for the reasons stated above, but with parking when more than one even its on, then maybe a simple multideck carpark could be put in, or maybe the park could offer a $2 discount to those who use public transport. Is the land there owned by the government? I think if it is then the governement should put out a tender for a company to build a theme park, it would be better than another apartment development or something else that only rich people can enjoy. Bren76, maybe put this idea foward. As for that Spyland think for Sydney, its too much of a Niche market and not close enough to the standart theme park format for it to do well, i would visit it, but would anyone else? Maybe someone could build a waterpark in Sydney, its warm enough there for 365 day operation, and it would not require as much land or cash to build it, but it caould still get high visitation rates.

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