International Theme Park Pty. The park only operated for two years, with the reason given for its closure the loss in international tourism caused by 9/11. With China's rise and democracy's decline, what will the global order look like in 2050? Overseas attendees provide a better yield once they pass through the gates, with Japanese visitors the best spenders. Wonderland Sydney was a theme park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Marvel characters - Never produced Wonderpass and staff ID cards. Other proposals just never progressed beyond the drawing board, including the $485million Studio City proposal for Melbourne's Docklands and the canning of Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede planned for Surfers Paradise. 3.8 . He found these particularly fascinating, and has even applied some of the technological principles to his own tech business. Register, Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout. Some amusementparks have managed topersist for decades, but most have sadly shut their doors. Political turmoil, uneven ride quality, and a lack of attendance caused the massive park to. In 2016, Sydney electrician Dave Naylor made a similar visit to the site with friends, describing the area as a boneyard of fond childhood memories. Visitors were told that the rides were being relocated to the remaining section, so that they would be closer (as the rides were spaced apart). It had several attractions including the popular Gee-Wizz ride, flying boats, merry-go-rounds, shooting and archery galleries. 2002-03: 170,000 Wonderland's chief executive Stephen Galbraith said the park would close its gates because of a number of challenges faced by the tourism and leisure industry in recent years. He said some of the rides will stem from the now defunct Wonderland Sydney, such as the Bush Beast, but will harness cutting edge technology as well as setting new boundaries. Your Rating. A large inverting, 'Fred Flintstone's Splashdown' opened 1994. Mr Eddy said he believed development pressures, rather than hard times, had prompted Wonderland's closure. Okay, so the official reason given by the park was that it was a combination of a downturn in air-travel post 9/11, SARS, Bird-Flu, HIH Insurance collapse, (stuff outside it's control). The only ride installed after the Sunway Group acquisition of the park, the Skyway was the old cable car from the old Sydney Showgrounds stretching from Goldrush to Hanna-Barbera Land. Quite an interesting couple of articles, on many fronts and confrims what many of us have been saying about the theme park industry being overall, quite strong. It really was gone, he said. However, media lambasted the company for using those as, 'Celebration of unity': Thousands create history during WorldPride march, Reports indicating Stalin was murdered hidden for decades, WorldPride grand finale: Incredible show of unity for history-making march. 'Funnel Web' opened in 1985, and removed in 1990. Australia's Wonderland expanded, and rebranded as Wonderland Sydney it featured an all-new water park known as 'The Beach', which first opened in 1988. The park had three separate themed areas, including Hanna-Barbera Land, which featured rides and attractions based on characters such as Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. Wonderland Sydney, then known as Australia's Wonderland opened amid much media attention and publicity on 7 December 1985 with financial backing from the New South Wales State Superannuation Board, James Hardie, Leighton Holdings and Taft Broadcasting (through Kings Entertainment Company)[3] at Eastern Creek on the junction of Wallgrove Road and the M4 Motorway. An electric track used to propel scaled-down, 'Bounty's Revenge' opened 1985. "Overall the theme park industry is in great shape," he says. Publication: Illawarra Mercury Wonderland's demise follows the closure of Old Sydney Town on the Central Coast and the Kinkuna Country Fun and Fauna Park at Lakes Entrance, Victoria. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. The park opened December 7 1985 with just three themed areas - Hanna Babera Land, Medieval Fair and Goldrush. Sonfina demolitions is contracted in and they start in Gold Rush near where HMS was and work they way down towards the Bush Beast.August 25, 2005The overgrown ground around the Space Probe and the Zodiac was cleared and a cyclone fence was put up around them.The back road was opened up at the end of the new wonderland drive and a path cleared to allow direct access from Probe & Zodiac to the back paddock. June 16 2004The yellow Bush Beast train was sitting at the top of the lift hill.Dragons Flight, Merry-Go-Round and Baby Bumpers were put in shipping containers and sent to 'Sunway Lagoon' Malaysia.Dragons Flight in the shipping container. Friday August 26, 2005The Beastie was demolished. Featured as the world's tallest and fastest free-fall ride at the time, Space Probe quickly became a crowd favourite with guests often queueing up for almost an hour to ride the attraction that lasted only 3.8 seconds as it dropped guests at 120km/h. Later that year it was shipped to Sydney and installed in 1992 where it was re-christened The Demon. However, media lambasted the company for using those as scapegoats for poor management. Im really surprised with how much stuff is still there, he said. February 17, 2004Wonderland's chief executive Stephen Galbraith said the park would close its gates because of a number of challenges faced by the tourism and leisure industry in recent years. Wonderland's lack of branding also meant the park could not harness valuable merchandising sales. [26] While Khan does not have a site for the Park he plans that it would occupy a site around 300 acres in and around Eastern Creek or towards Hoxton Park. Sydney's Luna Park has closed and re-opened numerous times. News 4; More attractions at Wonderland Sydney Top rated experiences at Wonderland Sydney. The first thing we saw was the paddleboats and a few old signs to do with ice cream and The Flintstones. Theme park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Mother's Consumer Guide to Australia's Wonderland, New South Wales State Superannuation Board, 'A visit to Wonderland 12/10/2004 after closure', "The lights go out at Wonderland, where millions got their thrills", "Australia's loneliest camel gets a new home", "Wonderland History: Demolition Timeline", "Theme Parks, Australian Theme Parks | Parkz Theme Parks", 'Australia's Wonderland Sydney Space Probe', 'Australia's Wonderland Sydney Blinky Bill Show', "Sydney's Wonderland to be a superpark on par with Gold Coast's theme park strip", "Sydney's Wonderland theme park set to make its home in the west", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wonderland_Sydney&oldid=1137703503, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Greatest Fun You'll Ever Have" (19851986), "Too Much Fun To Have In One Day" (19871988), "Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world was Wonderland (19881995), "No Wonder They Call It Wonderland" (19951998), 'The Beastie' opened 19852002. Started November 23, 2022, By Wonderland Sydney (Closed) Sydney, Australia I've done Wonderland Sydney. WORLDS of Wonder is destined to propel Western Sydney to the nations top theme park destination, knocking off the Gold Coast. The ride was sold in 2005 to Fly Coaster, a small. When it shut its doors to the public in April 2004, he wasn't quite ready to let go of his childhood. Balnaves started working on feasibility studies for Wonderland in the early 1970s and opened the park in December 1984. A new 'veloway' is welcome news for Melbourne's cyclists. But other operators and analysts place the blame closer to home. Well-known circus family, the Bullens, also had other lion parks in NSW, Queensland and South Australia. The park was the largest theme park in the Southern Hemisphere. Its headline feature was a jungle boat cruise which allowed visitors to pass large concrete dinosaurs, with speakers set into the grass. Obsessed with travel? There was also signage from an old food stand, listing ice cream for sale. 12 February 2004ING Industrial Fund teamed up with The PacLib Group to buy wonderland.Hartford Lane Pty Ltd entered into a Put and Call Option Deed with Paclib Industrial Pty Ltd to dispose off Wonderland Sydney, the land measuring 58.87 hectares (Lot 11, Plan 1025320) and buildings, structures and theme park rides thereon for a total of $52.5 million AUD, excluding Goods and Services Tax, paying $10 million at exchange and the balance payable on settlement in January 2005.Hartford Lane Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastern Glory Enterprises Ltd.Hartford being the Trustee of Sunway Australia Unit Trust , the registered owner of the Property. After being installed at the Malaysian theme park in 2005 it was rebranded the Pirate's Revenge and remains one of the park's most popular attractions. Owners say the threat of terrorism, coupled with skyrocketing insurance premiums, SARS and the Asian bird flu have all taken their toll . Five-centuries-old saffron and ginger found preserved in shipwreck off Sweden, Chinese migrants walked a gruelling 500km to Victoria's goldfields in the 19th century. A look back at Australias forgotten theme parks. Join the conversation, you are commenting as. The site itself has since been turned into Interchange Park, an industrial estate, where remnants of the park remain in the surrounding bushland. Please try again. One of the streets through the site retains the name "Wonderland Drive". We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing. An "extravagant" project. [27] A former employee made a list of what happened to some of the rides. The country's remaining theme parks of Dreamworld, Movie World and Sea World work because of their clustering on the Gold Coast. Another attraction named 'The Outback Woolshed' was added in 1995, along with an -la-carte-style restaurant. While few probably still play this game or even heard of it, it was one of the few turn based MMORPGs out there. 03/12/05 - Bush Beast's resting place revealed. The 100ha site in western Sydney was worth about $100million, and its owners could make more money from subdividing the site than they could from a theme park, he said. But finally, in 2004, persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions saw the theme park shut its doors for the last time. Speaking to Nine News at the time, Mr Naylor said visiting the site brought back memories he had as a child. Lots of money, Jewellery and Mobile phones.Most of the rides still on site where removed. On several occasions in the period between the park's closure and its demolition, he jumped its fence and roamed the abandoned acreage. Successive inconveniences and high costs caused Wonderland Eurasia to . US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. When the Wonderland closed down in 2004, the Space Probe remained on site for more than year and acted as a nostalgic beacon for anybody that drove past. Sega World Sydney (1997-2000) Tomteland, Williamtown; White City, Rushcutters Bay; Wonderland City (1906-1911) Wonderland Sydney, Eastern Creek (1985-2004) Queensland. Granted, it's the first time it's been published (what are the sources of the articles, by the way? Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Since then, we have lifted the overall performance of the park, completely rebuilt its image and brand awareness but this had not been enough. Control Switches - other than operator's console, New entrance to carpark - Concept Art - 2003, Proposed Colour Design - Retail Outlet - 2003, The Batty Chicken Proposed Colour Design - 2003, Australia's Wonderland 1985 Limited Edition Souvenir Book, Australia's Wonderland Facts Sheet - 1997, ATTENTION ALL STAFF - Feb 4. The park, aimed primarily at younger children, featured a static Bell helicopter plus a chopper-themed Whirliebird monorail, golf course, trampolines and several food and drink kiosks. Your link has been automatically embedded. Wonderland Sydney / Via Twitter: @Wonderland_Syd Your parents wouldn't leave the park without one. The developers sought to provide an alternative to the troubled Luna Park Sydney, which had opened and closed multiple times in its recent history. [4] Today, the five Paramount Parks continue successful operation, purchased in 2006 by amusement park operator Cedar Fair. Domestic tourism accounted for 96 per cent of the park's business, and 68 per cent of visitors were from Sydney. Symbio Wildlife Gardens owner John Radnidge said international tourism had fallen in the past few years but domestic tourism was up. 1:07pm Feb 2, 2017. But a small handful didn't suffer the same unceremonious fate and were packed up and shipped off to other amusement parks all around the world. This decision was taken in view of persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions. This amusement park in Frankston, opened its doors in 1966 and operated for almost 10 years. Dreamworld did well to counter this with very well times thrill and family attractions. The park haddodgem cars, a roller-coaster, an arcade, mini-golf, bumper boats and gravity-defying ride called The Scat. Serendipity Fun Park in Devonport opened in 1988, but closed only 16 months later, after facing financialproblems. That changed over the years to include Botany . No claim is made as to the accuracy or currency of the content on this site at any time. Started Friday at 03:54 AM, By A 'Parachute Tower' built by Vekoma, the Skyhawk consisted of four cars; two for sitting passengers, two for standing. Subscribe for free to get the latest breaking news and analysis sent to your inbox. OTHER NEWS: IS THIS LAST DRINKS FOR THE 1:30AM LOCKOUT? 14. He was there to witness his childhood favourites being torn to the ground. I think he is spot on. A small lake equipped with paddle boats. 'Tasmanian Devil' opened 1985. Started February 23, By The park appears to have been abandoned since 2015. The hit did come from SARS and whatnot, but only because of the lack of investment to make the difference with domestic guests as was appropriately done on the Gold Coast.