witchfinder
Giga Poster
My wife and I took a three week trip to Australia and New Zealand in September and October this year. This was our third time in that part of the world and was intended to be a kind of “mop up” of the areas in NZ that we hadn’t visited before, along with spending some time in Sydney and Brisbane. This resulted in using flights to skip over certain areas and over the duration of the holiday we took a total of 8 flights, rented 4 different cars, drove over 2200 miles, stayed in 11 different accommodations, saw the southern-most point of NZ’s South Island and the most northerly point on the North Island, ate loads of incredible food and saw many amazing sights. None of which you necessarily care about, so I’ll move on to the part you probably are interested in.
This was never meant to predominantly be a cred-focussed trip but both countries do have some coasters, so it would have been silly not to ride them while I was there. As the title of this report suggests, there was quite a bit of spite, some of which was expected and some of which definitely wasn’t!
Luna Park, Sydney
Our trip began by flying to Sydney via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. Hands-down the best long haul economy flight I have ever had, so they are highly recommended if you’re travelling to Asia or beyond from Europe.
After 26 hours of travelling we arrived in the evening of Saturday 21st September and went straight to bed. I was initially hoping to visit Luna Park on the Monday but they were only opening the major rides at the weekend, so that meant Sunday was my only option. With the fear of jetlag kicking in, we decided to head there early and get it over with before we got too exhausted.
Side note: we actually suffered no jetlag at all – evening arrivals FTW!
By sheer good fortune, the weekend we were in Sydney they were giving free public transport on trains, metro and buses, so we decided to approach Luna Park by train, which meant travelling over the iconic harbour bridge. The alternative option is to go by public ferry, which is not expensive and we did use that later on when we left, as it departs from right outside the park.
The park is free to enter but you must buy a wristband to ride anything. There is currently no pay-per-ride.
Hot tip: Luna Park increases their wristband price the closer it gets to the data you wish to visit, so book online and book early for the best deal.
Anna was sitting this one out, so upon arrival I grabbed my wristband, walked through the park and headed for the main attraction – Big Dipper, the prototype Intamin Hot Racer.
The queue was short, just a couple of trains wait, and I managed to get the back row on the seven seat, single file train.
This is billed as the world’s first double launch single rail coaster, or words to that effect. Technically it’s not really a single rail, actually two rails joined by a solid steel plate, and the first launch serves little purpose as it just sends you into a bend before you hit the second one.
Anyway, it was a pretty fun ride – a bit bouncy through the tyre-driven launches and rattly in places, but not unpleasant, and there’s a good variety of banked curves, inversions and some nice airtime pops. Nothing spectacular but this model is a decent choice for a small park – the capacity would be diabolical for a larger one though!
Quite a view from those apartments!
Across the midway from Big Dipper was my first spite of the trip, the classic wooden Wild Mouse. This was fully expected as the park has been refurbishing the ride for over a year and Vlogs from earlier this year showed it was completely dismantled. It looks to be almost rebuilt now, with most of the track installed, and had been advertised as reopening late 2024. I was hoping it may have been ready as I was a huge fan of Blackpool’s wooden mouse and I’d have loved to ride this version, but sadly it was not to be.
On to creds that were open though, and next up was Boomerang, which is - shockingly - a junior boomerang. Not a Vekoma one though, this one instead being manufactured by Gerstlauer.
Just in case you weren't sure, no dogs allowed!
This had a much longer queue than Big Dipper, probably about 20 minutes, as it was evident that the majority of visitors to the park were families with small kids. I got back row again but there’s not much to say about this – it’s similar to the Vekoma ones other than the unusual lift hill that flattens out for the riders at the back of the train. It was a decent enough family ride, but one and done.
The third and final cred was Little Nipper, a shark-themed kiddie cred whose name is a clever twist on the Hot Racer’s. This again had a 20 minute queue and when it came to my turn, I was bizarrely batched to the front row even though I was the last person to board. Always a bit awkward riding these things alone, and even more so when you’re at the front with a bunch of families behind you.
Shame completed, it was time to check out the rest of the park. The other big attraction here is Coney island, which is reminiscent of Blackpool’s old Fun House, which I spent a lot of time in as a kid. It had a long queue to get into and I didn’t really fancy being spun around on various contraptions though, so I gave it a miss.
I also wasn’t interested in the majority of flat rides, so I grabbed a second ride on Big Dipper. Once again I got the back row and with the weather rapidly heating up, this ride felt wilder and more forceful than the earlier one, and consequently a bit more rough. Still perfectly bearable though, unless you’re a big wimp
Making my way back towards the front of the park, my final ride of this quick visit was Hair Raiser, the 50m tall Larson drop tower. I really love these – they may be my favourite type of drop tower as they drop you forcefully as soon as you reach the top, giving loads of airtime. I also lucked out with a great seat that gave me a view of the midway and the harbour bridge as I travelled to the top.
That did it for my first park visit in the Southern hemisphere. It was never going to be a long stay with loads of re-rides, as we had plenty of other stuff to do in Sydney. I’m happy to have spent an hour or so in this iconic seaside park, which has a lot in common with Blackpool Pleasure Beach, despite its much smaller size. The rides I rode were fun and the operations weren’t too bad, the park was clean and well presented, so no real complaints.
It was a shame to miss out on the Wild Mouse, but cool to ride the original Hot Racer model, which I understand has been improved on significantly with the recent installation at Walibi Rhone-Alps. Overall, a good start to the trip that was just about worth the money I paid.
As previously mentioned, we used the public ferry to move elsewhere in Sydney after my visit, which allowed for some nice views of the harbour bridge and the park as it went past. We also passed the park again on another ferry trip the following evening, which allowed us to see it all lit up, even though it had closed at 4pm that day
Not at all creepy!
This was never meant to predominantly be a cred-focussed trip but both countries do have some coasters, so it would have been silly not to ride them while I was there. As the title of this report suggests, there was quite a bit of spite, some of which was expected and some of which definitely wasn’t!
Luna Park, Sydney
Our trip began by flying to Sydney via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. Hands-down the best long haul economy flight I have ever had, so they are highly recommended if you’re travelling to Asia or beyond from Europe.
After 26 hours of travelling we arrived in the evening of Saturday 21st September and went straight to bed. I was initially hoping to visit Luna Park on the Monday but they were only opening the major rides at the weekend, so that meant Sunday was my only option. With the fear of jetlag kicking in, we decided to head there early and get it over with before we got too exhausted.
Side note: we actually suffered no jetlag at all – evening arrivals FTW!
By sheer good fortune, the weekend we were in Sydney they were giving free public transport on trains, metro and buses, so we decided to approach Luna Park by train, which meant travelling over the iconic harbour bridge. The alternative option is to go by public ferry, which is not expensive and we did use that later on when we left, as it departs from right outside the park.
The park is free to enter but you must buy a wristband to ride anything. There is currently no pay-per-ride.
Hot tip: Luna Park increases their wristband price the closer it gets to the data you wish to visit, so book online and book early for the best deal.
Anna was sitting this one out, so upon arrival I grabbed my wristband, walked through the park and headed for the main attraction – Big Dipper, the prototype Intamin Hot Racer.
The queue was short, just a couple of trains wait, and I managed to get the back row on the seven seat, single file train.
This is billed as the world’s first double launch single rail coaster, or words to that effect. Technically it’s not really a single rail, actually two rails joined by a solid steel plate, and the first launch serves little purpose as it just sends you into a bend before you hit the second one.
Anyway, it was a pretty fun ride – a bit bouncy through the tyre-driven launches and rattly in places, but not unpleasant, and there’s a good variety of banked curves, inversions and some nice airtime pops. Nothing spectacular but this model is a decent choice for a small park – the capacity would be diabolical for a larger one though!
Quite a view from those apartments!
Across the midway from Big Dipper was my first spite of the trip, the classic wooden Wild Mouse. This was fully expected as the park has been refurbishing the ride for over a year and Vlogs from earlier this year showed it was completely dismantled. It looks to be almost rebuilt now, with most of the track installed, and had been advertised as reopening late 2024. I was hoping it may have been ready as I was a huge fan of Blackpool’s wooden mouse and I’d have loved to ride this version, but sadly it was not to be.
On to creds that were open though, and next up was Boomerang, which is - shockingly - a junior boomerang. Not a Vekoma one though, this one instead being manufactured by Gerstlauer.
Just in case you weren't sure, no dogs allowed!
This had a much longer queue than Big Dipper, probably about 20 minutes, as it was evident that the majority of visitors to the park were families with small kids. I got back row again but there’s not much to say about this – it’s similar to the Vekoma ones other than the unusual lift hill that flattens out for the riders at the back of the train. It was a decent enough family ride, but one and done.
The third and final cred was Little Nipper, a shark-themed kiddie cred whose name is a clever twist on the Hot Racer’s. This again had a 20 minute queue and when it came to my turn, I was bizarrely batched to the front row even though I was the last person to board. Always a bit awkward riding these things alone, and even more so when you’re at the front with a bunch of families behind you.
Shame completed, it was time to check out the rest of the park. The other big attraction here is Coney island, which is reminiscent of Blackpool’s old Fun House, which I spent a lot of time in as a kid. It had a long queue to get into and I didn’t really fancy being spun around on various contraptions though, so I gave it a miss.
I also wasn’t interested in the majority of flat rides, so I grabbed a second ride on Big Dipper. Once again I got the back row and with the weather rapidly heating up, this ride felt wilder and more forceful than the earlier one, and consequently a bit more rough. Still perfectly bearable though, unless you’re a big wimp
Making my way back towards the front of the park, my final ride of this quick visit was Hair Raiser, the 50m tall Larson drop tower. I really love these – they may be my favourite type of drop tower as they drop you forcefully as soon as you reach the top, giving loads of airtime. I also lucked out with a great seat that gave me a view of the midway and the harbour bridge as I travelled to the top.
That did it for my first park visit in the Southern hemisphere. It was never going to be a long stay with loads of re-rides, as we had plenty of other stuff to do in Sydney. I’m happy to have spent an hour or so in this iconic seaside park, which has a lot in common with Blackpool Pleasure Beach, despite its much smaller size. The rides I rode were fun and the operations weren’t too bad, the park was clean and well presented, so no real complaints.
It was a shame to miss out on the Wild Mouse, but cool to ride the original Hot Racer model, which I understand has been improved on significantly with the recent installation at Walibi Rhone-Alps. Overall, a good start to the trip that was just about worth the money I paid.
As previously mentioned, we used the public ferry to move elsewhere in Sydney after my visit, which allowed for some nice views of the harbour bridge and the park as it went past. We also passed the park again on another ferry trip the following evening, which allowed us to see it all lit up, even though it had closed at 4pm that day
Not at all creepy!
