LuNA PaRK! >Now Open<

[xtreme]

Thats right, sydney's luna park is now open!! ive visited the park and its looking great! had a good time and my favourite ride is already the spider. has anyone else visited (previews) or is anyone planning to go this school holidays?

[Flea]

I was thinking about going today, but the weather is dreadful! I think I might visit next weekend

[HussRainbow]

im going tuesday, will take pix, of lp and the show

[Nightshifter]

im going friday the 16th at night, but thats the only day, im spending another day at wonderland and 2 days at the show, so its a packed holiday for me

[screammachine]

I will probably be checkin out the park this weekend. Most likely be Saturday night. Going to the show tomorow. I'l be taking my digital camera with so i will be taking heaps of photo's. Screammachine

[Schwarz_freak]

Luna park only got a few people on the first day and if it keeps up like this by the end of the year they would of close and if it dose survive how long till they change it again.

[Richard]

You can't really predict the success of the park based on the first day - that's just stupid. Get back to us after the Easter break has finished and then maybe you'll be able to make a valid judgement on the future of the park, but even then you've not given it a fair chance. There's a lot more to Luna Park now than the rides. I personally think that once the Big Top has established itself as a venue in Sydney the park will be able to survive on almost it alone. Throw in the other function halls and the lucrative amusement park and I see no reason for failure. The previous Luna Park failed because of noise complains and the one before that because of the fires. Never has Luna Park really faced dwindling attendance, and with this incarnation easily the most diverse of all of them, I see little reason for it to fail.

[joz]

Luna Park is also in a tough market for a week or three while Wonderland is lying on its deathbed.

[Daniel]

Don't forget we had 18 mm of rain in one half an hour period at one stage yesterday. It poured for the majority of the day... Who in their right mind would go out in that? Luna Park is more function based. I have no doubt it will do very well.

[Schwarz_freak]

You can't really predict the success of the park based on the first day - that's just stupid. Get back to us after the Easter break has finished and then maybe you'll be able to make a valid judgement on the future of the park, but even then you've not given it a fair chance.

I'm predicting this on its history, just look and I think its a good park but thats my opinon.

[Daniel]

Schwarz, Its history of failure, I think you're getting at, is irrelavent old son. The park has changed its focus. It is now a lot more focussed on functions than it was last time. As far as I'm concerned the functions were something on the side for the park. Now the roles have reversed. That's just my opinion anyway. I think you'll find I'm right, because I generally am. Does this have to be said again?

[GoGoBoy]

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

[Daniel]

I read somewhere that a lot of the kids rides are there for the holidays only. I'm pretty sure it was the paper come to think of it. It's unfortunate they were rushed to get it open for the holidays, but give it a couple more months I predict it will look pretty top notch. Also don't forget the builders walked off the job for a couple of weeks at one stage, throwing plans into chaos.

[Nightshifter]

i think they opened at the wrong time, they should have waited till wonderland has officially closed and when the easter show ends like next thursday and when its school holidays, these 3 factors are big, the easter show attracting over 20 000 - 40 000 people a day and wonderland averaging over 13 000 people every weekend (im no to sure about the weekdays) but these factors to lead to shortage of people, i see luna park as a sydney attraction, i would probably have lunch at the centrepoint tower, go to the aquarium then go to luna park at night. Thats the good thing about luna park, its right in the city so its good to spend a day int he city and then check out luna park at night. Thats why wonderland went bad, becasue its too remote, too far and deserted, there is nothing around wonderland.

[Daniel]

Ahhhh that explains your crowds of 10,000-15,000 Shifty? That's for the whole weekend? Gotchya Wonderland isn't exactly in the sticks Shift. It's only an hour or so to the city. 15 mins from Penriff... A stone's throw from the raceway. It's right on the Motorway Shift. Access isn't a problem. Really, it's pretty central to the majority of Sydney either by rail or car. Four really big town centres within a bees doodle of Wonderland. The Gold Coast parks aren't exactly within walking distance of the Gold Coast or Brisbane either digger... Don't turn this topic aswell into Wonderland. Steer clear.

[Bussy]

I agree that Luna Park opened at the wrong time, they should have completed the whole park before opening. I haven't been there yet, but have heard from several people that a few of the rides are not even close to being ready yet, as for the buildings and facades I’m not sure about that but if they are not finished that is disgraceful. As for Luna Park being a success this time, I’m sitting on the fence, if the lead up to the opening and the state of the park at the moment are anything to go by it may have a short future. However, as Daniel says, they have a greater focus on functions and shows, some of which sound fantastic (love the Shaolin Monks), so it could go well. Finally Shifty McShift explains his Wonderland weekend attendance figures, thankyou. "The Bus is now leaving for Crowdy Head Lighthouse, NSW"

[GoGoBoy]

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"

[Psycho]

Last time I heard (may have changed since), there was still another stage of the Luna Park renovations yet to be approved.... These included the high rise construction, cinemas, and a few other outlets. So I guess that explains some of the open areas which make the park look a little sparse at the moment. There's probably a few touch-ups yet to do, but let's not forget that the 1995 opening was rushed ahead by several months as well. When it opened back then there were a LOT of things that weren't finished. (Ie: Luna Park's restaurant wasn't open, the Big Dipper was meant to have been involved in further noise reduction work, queue lines weren't finished, and a lot of signage and buildings weren't painted or fully constructed). The opening weekend was very, very wet. Some very severe rainstorms hit the northern suburbs. So I wouldn't talk about it closing down just yet....

[Schwarz_freak]

I might be going to the park in the second week of the holiday and I want to know If the good rides are open.

[screammachine]

Hey All I went to Lunapark on Saturday (day & night) My opinion on the new Lunapark Sydney..? Its one big joke!! Its not organised at all!! There is no prices on anything! The rides are all scattered over the park. It looks to open.Compared to the old Luna Park the new one isnt good at all. As you enter the park through Luna's Face, to your right is the original Rotor. As you keep on walking you see the Huge Bigtop tent on your right. To your left is the Ferris Wheel. The dodgems have been moved next to the bigtop tent and next to the Tango Train. And sort of infront of them is the Merry Go Round. The Wild Mouse seems to be undergoin some Maintenance. And the UFO is still at its original place it seems. For those who can remember (or Know) There is some sort of Indian looking building where the old big Dippers Entrance was. Well as you enter it there is some sort of memorial for the ride with paintings of the Big Dipper on the wall. And walking up the stairs you reach the Tumble big. Sadly the huge red fly thingy that stood at the entrance is gone! When you reach Cony Island you walk underneith the left part of it. You then come out on the back area (where the big dippers Helix Diveloop & Loop was) Now occupies the Ranger and the Spider. The spider doesnt have the big black spider it used to have standing over the ride. Well apart from the big changes and no pricing! The Park was packed out all day and night! At night time there was more young people than families. The only big grouped families that stayed looked like Tourists. I think the park will stay around for a while longer. As long as they start putting prices on their items, food and games! Screammachine

[GoGoBoy]

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

[screammachine]

Goboi-

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.

My Quote...

There is some sort of Indian looking building where the old big Dippers Entrance was

Well I knew that building was old. I was just pointing out the 'memorial' paintings of the Big Dipper it had in it.... And i'm so sorry If i took the limelight of your long "walkthrough" post of Luna Park! Just thought i'd give my opinion. Well I think the park lost its character. The ferry floss stands, The smell of Pluto Pops etc.... Screammachine

[Richard]

No need to jump on people. A few more trip reports doesn't go astray at all. It's good to know now that nothing seems to have changed since the beginning and they are actually getting some decent attendance. I'll be down that way in early July. Hopefully by then at least they've got everything in proper order. From how you guys are describing it, it certainly doesn't sound like the place is at all living up to its potential one bit which is a real shame.

[screammachine]

I think by June/July the park would 'hopefully' be finished with all construction and be up and running at full pace! I would say they'd have a really busy Holiday Season (December) This year. Its got a great location and its free entry! The best ride there by far is the Ski Slope Slide!!! Its sooo hectic. It like you almost drop 90'. But its not 90" before people jump on me... Its just a very steep drop your feet hang down just before you plummet a few meters! Good fun though a must go! Screammachine

[Schwarz_freak]

Dose any one have any pictures of the park (new) and when I go I will be taking my video cam and when I get an A.V card I post it.