Have you been to Wonderland? Well, apparently they are planning somthing big. I read on screamscape.com that they were looking at getting a Vekoma mega looper so they could set some sort of record, but heard about one going in the UK. So they are now supposed to be looking at an Intamin hyper? Anyone know anything else?
Big things are happening and the park is looking better than ever
Hey did anyone know that Space Probe was the first freefall ride of its type?
This only shows that Wonderland will be a big player and it wont disappoint when a new ride is announced.
What rides do you work on? Do you get to work on the Space Probe 7 or the big wooden coaster ride??? That would be awesome....
Would it be worth getting a job there?
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how long did u need to be on the rides before they [put you on space probe 7? i bet they would put you on those kids rides first eh?
is there anything new on the board for wonderland?
Allright, back onto topic;
As I'm sure everyone heard, Wonderland was due to get an Intima looper last year. If that's true then you'd think the new ride is also going to be Intamin. One thing worth considering is that Intima make all the products that Wonderland is rumoured to get. They make rides like Wild West at Movieworld, they make inverts, and they make hypers.
Still, all those rides are expensive, and a park like Wonderland (which has no competition) could probably maintain attendence with cheaper attractions. Think about it, the nearest quality park is about a 14 hour drive away, so Wonderland don't need to add new rides all the time (or ever as it seems).
All Wonderland really need to do to maintain attendance is to add a new show every year or two. When they last added a new ride (Space Probe) it was Wonderland's answer to Big Dipper at Luna Park which had recently opened. Still, now that Luna Park is being redeveloped, hopefully that'll mean some new things at Wonderland....
They are moving the rides to better locations across the park, but if they wanted cartoon theming, then I seriously doubt they'd have let their Hanna-Barbera contract go.
Contrary to popular belief, this contract wasn't taken by Movie World, or anyone for that matter. They simply let it expire. They could have very easily renewed it - it would have proven cheaper and easier, than removing the theming, then six months later getting new theming which serves the same purpose.
Similarly, a decision like this would never be made overnight, like you've made it out to. They wouldn't in the space of a few months, change their plans from moving all the former Little Wonder's Land rides into the park, to closing the park.
At Australia's most popular park, Australia's largest park, they wouldn't just decide to close shop. I doubt highly that ends aren't meeting, especially with the numbers of people that visit the park on a yearly basis. If such a decision were made, it'd be made YEARS in advance, if this is happening, then it would happen in 2005 or 2006, but I doubt that highly. Mr Galbraith is an intelligent man, who is seasoned in the theme park industry, under his leadership, the park has only further strengthened itself, not the contrary, which is what you're asking us to believe.
There is no call for what's going on at the moment, and if there is a genuine rumour out there (which is quite unlikely - putting it very politely), post it, and watch what you type, this is after all a family website.
I don't know what everyone thinks, but this board IS moderated, so stop the bull right here ok?
From my visit, it was a terribly cold day that I visited. It was windy, cloudy and no more than about 15^ all day.
Now, having said that, I don't see what you mean by the park being deserted. The crowds on that day were in line with the Gold Coast parks at a similar time of year - and that's without the warm weather to draw people.
What you say about Wonderland flogging off their season passes and discounted tickets and whatnot, is not at all out of line with what the parks up here are doing. This has been Movie World's way of operating for a number of years. Dreamworld have their classic $10 return tickets, and so on.
Hey - you say that your rides are getting few riders per hour. Dreamworld, midweek has no one there. Giant Drop, Cyclone, Thunderbolt and so forth are walkons.
Most of the flat rides at Dreamworld rarely have a queue - even in peak season.
You can't say that the major rides aren't getting the attention. Beastie had a hefty queue all day when I was at WLS. Deamon, I didn't see a single dispatch with more than about 4 seats empty.
Someone above said I was a park manager trying to 'counteract the facts'. Anyone in a management position knows not to say anything about any rumours. Similarly, they know that nothing is a fact until a press release has been sent out.
It was also said (by the same person), that Wonderland is flogging off yearly passes. Straight up, that is a breach of contract. The last thing a park, that know's its going down the sink within six months, is start selling of mass season passes.
Wonderland Sydney, admittedly had a rather down 2000 season. However, their 2001 season was quite strong, up 20% on 2000, and the park's best season in 5 years. Considering the various mishaps in the general tourism industry last year, the park is clearly doing something right.
They've been exceeding forecasts for attendance and expendidure per capita. I don't know of any business that would set forcasts to such a level where they aren't making a profit.
http://www.sunway.com.my/group/invest/fr.asp?cmdc=anlcty
To find the relevant stuff, click "Chairman's Report" and you'll get a .PDF file. When you do, go to about the 12th page, and there is a few paragraphs there relating to Wonderland.
That info is from the beginning of 2001, and does indeed sound quite grim. Reading that (and only that) the pessimism appears quite justified.
However what that page doesn't tell you is that attendance at all the Australian parks was 'soft' in 2000, and that attendance at Wonderland was up 20% last year, and that's in the new press releases which Richard has a copy of.
Can I also make it clear that neither myself or Richard ever make things up, it all comes direct from various press releases and official sources.
Also, just quicky in defense of Stephen Gaibrath, he used to work as an park manager at Seaworld, and from that time, I can tell you, he knows what he's on about. True, staff morale isn't his thing, but park operations is. He also took Micheal Croaker and Andrew Cole with him when he went to Wonderland, and they are some of the nicest guys (well managers) I've known. Micheal Croaker (Wonderland's entertainment boss) was once a contestent on 'Man O Man', and won.
While I'm here, Wonderland Operator, while I'm not saying your wrong, I know I, and I'm sure every other reader here, would appreciate a website where these facts are stated. If you can back up what your saying, then I think you'll get more support for your cause. Am I asking to much to back up your claims?
Also, if Stephen Gailbraith ever does announce anything to staff, he won't do it through a public website, so hounding him here isn't going to help.
I too entered 'land' into Sunland's search thing and Wonderland came up. But then I entered "Wonder" into products, and Wonderland came up again, so the land could just be park of the name of the company, especially considering it doesn't list 'Land' under products in the info page that comes up.
Still, you are correct in at least one sense, it has been confirmed that Wonderland (or International Theme Parks) are selling off/building an office park (can't remember which) on part of the excess land which they own. Its debatable how that'll effect the park, and remember, Movieworld and Seaworld have both used excess land for other enterprises (Movieworld uses some land for Movie studios and Seaworld uses excess land for Seaworld Nara Resort), and Dreamworld wants to build a town center on its excess land (that info is somewhere on www.asx.com.au. Can't be bothered looking for it just now. Try searching past amouncements by MLE).
Also to prove that I'm not a hypocrite about the link thing, the info about Movieworld's land can be found here www.villageroadshow.com.au Hold your mouse over 'Company Profile' and click theme parks. :-)
I used to work for Sega World in Sydney. I remember just before the park
closed down they tried everything possible to boost attendances. In the
last couple of months before the park suddenly closed they injected quite
a few million dollars worth of capital to upgrade rides and add new
features. So it is always possible for any business to close without
warning, even if they have just spent loads of money on it.
I was told by Wonderland that they were planning on expanding the water
park and adding a large wave pool when Sungeiway first purchased the park
a few years ago (similar to the sunway lagoon water park). They were also
planning on building a hotel and golf course. For some reason this did not
go ahead. It is a shame as the water park desperately needs to be
expanded/upgraded.
More recently (about a year or maybe 2 ago) Wonderland had posted signs in
their staff areas advising of a new attraction that was being built (sort
of like a massive bungee sling shot). Again, this didn't happen.
Wonderland management apparantley decided that they had enough rides and
could focus on more 'entertainment based' attractions ie. shows instead of
rides which are basically 100 times cheaper.
I was always sad that Wonderland didn't add any new rides after space
probe. It must be a money issue. The Gold Coast theme parks are reaching
such new standards with new multi million dollar attractions each year and
then there's poor old Wonderland which hasnt added anything worthwhile for
over 7 years.
I also find it very interesting about the Sky Hawk closure and the removal
of Little Wonders Land. What is the purpose behind that? What will happen
to the Beastie?
The park's closing was not due to poor attendence, however. It was due to the passing of a new agreement between the locals and city management that no entertainment complex could be operational within the city. Locals claimed the park drew to the area a bad element (drugs and youth violence). Since I had started working there from the time I left high school, I had planned to retire there. The park had been in operation since 1917 and was showing record attendance when I started my first summer.
The area was re-zoned for condominiums, but ended up going from Paragon Park, to paragon parking lot :/
So, I can tell you from first hand: MANAGEMENT WILL NOT INFORM ATTRACTION OPERATORS OF A PARK CLOSING.
*Little Wondersland (Ex Hanna Barberra) is now closed.
In the last 2 years many attractions have been closed
- Silly Stix
- Shyhawk
- Wizards Fury
- Skyrider
- Beastie
- Balloon Race (will relocate)
- Carousel (may relocate)
Unfortunately most of these were most suited to a younger demographic and so there is a general lack of children rides (compared to before) at the moment.
However there still is a number of other existing rides that younger children can still ride, many shows, and the Wildlife Park.
*The park have been providing guests with value added attractions on the weekends, such as "Extreme Activities", and IWA pro wrestling. These change regulary. This was an essential move by Wonderland due to the recent closure of Little Wonderland. It also promotes repeat visits by wonderpass holders
*Baby Bumpers should be ready for operation after it's relocation from Little Wondersland this weekend.
*The beach will finally open on the 28th of September after being delayed from the original opening date.
*Wonderland has been trialing extened trading on Saturday nights until 9pm with $16.50 after 5 Entry.
*These School Holidays value adding will occur with the Powderpuff Girls appearing in their own show. This is in addition to the already comprehensive live entertainment line up, including the return of Spellbinding Sorcery after a break.
*It seems this Halloween Weekend will see the reintroduction of Frightfeast with extended trading.
---------------------------
Lets hope the park is able to bounce back after the recent drastic changes.
The park has yet to make a new major character agreement after ending with Hanna Barberra.
Character appearances still occur by Shrek, Action Man, Spirit and Blinky Bill etc. However guests in most cases are not able to take photos with there own camera!
I dislike when characters appear at the front gate they stand as close as possible to the side gate as possible, so a quick escape can be made at the earliest time possible.
This means if guests do take photos they get the lovely Bounty Burgers eating area in the background.
The retro show is quite good but hasn't been changed for a very very long time. The "atmosphere" entertainment in general needs an overhaul (ie the street theatre)
Whilst the shows in general are of a high standard far exceeding Dreamworld’s current offerings (particularly Spellbinding Magic) they have been running for almost 3 years now and I believe have been seen by a majority of visitors.
The park has not yet been able to introduce the new uniform, I have noticed some staff wearing. At the moment there is an array of different uniform colours and styles within some departments.
*Little Wondersland (Ex Hanna Barberra) is now closed.
In the last 2 years many attractions have been closed
- Silly Stix
- Shyhawk
- Wizards Fury
- Skyrider
- Beastie
- Balloon Race (will relocate)
- Carousel (may relocate)
Unfortunately most of these were most suited to a younger demographic and so there is a general lack of children rides (compared to before) at the moment.
However there still is a number of other existing rides that younger children can still ride, many shows, and the Wildlife Park.
*The park have been providing guests with value added attractions on the weekends, such as "Extreme Activities", and IWA pro wrestling. These change regulary. This was an essential move by Wonderland due to the recent closure of Little Wonderland. It also promotes repeat visits by wonderpass holders
*Baby Bumpers should be ready for operation after it's relocation from Little Wondersland this weekend.
*The beach will finally open on the 28th of September after being delayed from the original opening date.
*Wonderland has been trialing extened trading on Saturday nights until 9pm with $16.50 after 5 Entry.
*These School Holidays value adding will occur with the Powderpuff Girls appearing in their own show. This is in addition to the already comprehensive live entertainment line up, including the return of Spellbinding Sorcery after a break.
*It seems this Halloween Weekend will see the reintroduction of Frightfeast with extended trading.
---------------------------
Lets hope the park is able to bounce back after the recent drastic changes.
The park has yet to make a new major character agreement after ending with Hanna Barberra.
Character appearances still occur by Shrek, Action Man, Spirit and Blinky Bill etc. However guests in most cases are not able to take photos with there own camera!
I dislike when characters appear at the front gate they stand as close as possible to the side gate as possible, so a quick escape can be made at the earliest time possible.
This means if guests do take photos they get the lovely Bounty Burgers eating area in the background.
The retro show is quite good but hasn't been changed for a very very long time. The "atmosphere" entertainment in general needs an overhaul (ie the street theatre)
Whilst the shows in general are of a high standard far exceeding Dreamworld’s current offerings (particularly Spellbinding Magic) they have been running for almost 3 years now and I believe have been seen by a majority of visitors.
The park has not yet been able to introduce the new uniform, I have noticed some staff wearing. At the moment there is an array of different uniform colours and styles within some departments.
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Trouble is the number referred to is currently 2 rides with the third tipped for the weekend .
Younger Kids Dont want to watch Spellbinding Sorcery and are growing tired of the long unchanged Action man lives , Repeatedly kids of all ages are telling us that the animals are boring so it seems that the management line isn't working.
By the way i have been to the other forum that Wonder? Critic is shamefully advertising ( your ip address gives you away ) and there isn't any wonderland posts yet but don't worry i will soon .
Wonderland only has 3 rides for kids? Which age group are we talking about here?
What about HMS Endeavour, Tas. Devil, Zodiac, Wonderland Express, the Great Race, Dragon's flight, Blinky Bill, Baby Bumpers and the kiddie rides in Translvania?
Correct me if I'm wrong but they have always stuck me as kiddie rides (with the possible exception of Tas. Devil), and with the reopening of the beach, I'd be thinking Wonderland is still pretty well stocked in the kiddie ride department.
Welcome to Theme Park Insider Wonder? Critic. Perhaps you could tell me what kind of effect has the extended trading hours and extra weekend activities had on attendance on those days? The only Gold Coast park that does anything like that is Wet 'n' Wild, and that is really good for them. It sounds like something that the rest of the Gold Coast parks should be doing, and its good too seeing Wonderland trialing something like that too keep the 'peeps coming
Then they lost their Hanna Babera contract, and decided not to renew, so the HB land was rebranded, and the issue of a needlessly large kiddies area was tackled this year. Many of the rides have been relocated. Beastie is aparently down indefinitely. This could in reality mean anything from routine or non-routine maintenance, relocation into the park to finish tieing the knot, or maybe even a grim future.
I still stand by my claim that Wonderland Sydney will not be closing down anytime in the near future. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that the past few years (pre-2001) haven't been terribly good, despite still attracting a profitable amount of guests. However, the future is simply far too bright for that.
Recent press releases have made links back to one of their Halloween events that attracted 23,000 people in a single day - the most at a park in Australia. It seems that Mr Galbraith saw that something like this would work well.
As others have said, they've extended hours to late at night - perhaps one of the most brilliant moves in general park managing over the past decade. This has a lot more value to parkgoers than a $10 return pass a la Dreamworld. The atmosphere at most parks at night compared to day is amazing.
They're responding to customer demands - as shown by the introduction of a Powerpuff Girls show.
You might say that this is like a last resort, giving one last struggle before giving in, but I think it is exactly the oposite. They are consolodating their already strong attendance. I don't know how you feel, but I always feel that the best atmosphere at a park is created by the people there - lots of them. A crowded park (within reason) gives a happier and more fulfilling feeling at the end of the day. You'll be more likely to purchase a piece of merchandise etc if you had to wait an hour for the ride. If you just walked on, and did so 10 times in the day, you'll feel there is nothing to remember. And as their motto says - "You'll Always Remember".
