Wonderland Sydney
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| Wonderland Sydney | |
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| Location | Eastern Creek, New South Wales |
| Owner | Sunway Group (1997-closing) |
| Opened | December 7, 1985, closed 25 April, 2004 |
| Operating season | All year round |
| Area | 219 hectares |
| Rides | approx. 24 at peak total
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| Slogan | "Greatest Fun You'll Ever Have" (1985-1986)
"Too Much Fun To Have In One Day" (1987-1988) "Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world was Wonderland" (1988-1995) "No Wonder They Call It Wonderland" (1995-1998) "Get Out Of Everydayland" (1998-2001) "You'll always remember [Wonderland Sydney]" (until closing) |
Wonderland Sydney was a theme park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The park was the largest theme park in the southern hemisphere. It remained open for almost nineteen years and was the premier theme park in New South Wales for much of its life, but was closed in 2004 after becoming unprofitable.
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[edit] History
Originally known as Australia's Wonderland, it opened on 7 December 1985 with financial backing from the New South Wales State Superannuation Board, James Hardies Industries, Leighton Holdings and TAFT Broadcasting on a site now known as Eastern Creek, at the junction of Wallgrove Road and the M4 Motorway. The developers sought to provide an alternative to the troubled Luna Park, which had opened and closed multiple times in its recent history. The site was also part of an extensive residential and commercial development project that would also see the opening of Eastern Creek Raceway as the Sydney metropolitan area expanded to the west.
Wonderland opened with three separate themes within the park: Goldrush, Medieval Faire, and Hanna-Barbera Land which featured rides and attractions based on characters from Hanna-Barbera (today Cartoon Network Studios) shows such as Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. The park was modeled heavily around Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, unsurprising since both parks were constructed by Taft Broadcasting, a company which also owned Hanna-Barbera.
For many years, Wonderland's flagship ride was the Bush Beast which was largest wooden roller coaster in Australia. The Beastie, a smaller version of the Bush Beast which catered to younger riders, was also one of the original rides. The park would later add rides such as the phenomenally popular Demon (1992) and Space Probe 7 (1995; named for the Seven Network who bought naming rights to the ride; after this contract expired, the ride dropped the "7" from its name).
Wonderland also had a water park attached, known as The Beach, which first opened in 1988. Unlike the rest of the park, which remained open year-round, the Beach was a seasonal attraction which closed during the "cold" months (April-September).
In 1990 Wonderland opened the Australian Wildlife Park. The Outback Woolshed was added in 1995, along with an a-la-carte restaurant.
[edit] Closure
As years went by, the popularity of the park began to dwindle. The dramatic increase in public liability insurance costs, increasingly difficult competition from Gold Coast theme parks, plus a worldwide downturn in tourism travel, saw Wonderland's profits begin to turn into losses. The park was sold in 1997 to the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based Sunway Group.
Despite new ownership, a bold expansion plan for the park met with opposition from other local businesses and was deemed unfeasible as the park continued to struggle to turn a profit. With only one ride added since the Sunway Group bought the park (the Skyrider), many believed the park had been left to stagnate and a final decision was made in 2004 to close it down.
The gates shut for the last time on Anzac Day; 25 April 2004, and a complete demolition of the park was undertaken in September 2005. A small number of rides were sold to other amusement parks, while the majority were simply demolished. A former employee did make a list of what happened to some. [1]
[edit] Rides
[edit] Roller coasters
- Bush Beast - Opened 1985. It was 975 metre long wooden roller coaster designed by Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The roller coaster possessed two trains, each capable of carrying 28 people. It was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the southern hemisphere until its demolition.Closed 2004.
- Beastie - Opened 1985. Half the size and height of Bush Beast, the Beastie was a wooden roller coaster designed for younger riders. The ride was 460 metres in length, and ran with two 20-rider trains. Beastie was located in Hanna-Barbera Land, and was originally to be named the Scooby-Doo Coaster.
- Demon - A Vekoma Boomerang steel roller coaster, the Demon was installed in 1992, after having previously operated at Expo '88 (under the name Titan). When Wonderland was closed, Demon was dismantled and sold to Alabama Adventure Theme Park, where it has operated since 2005 as Zoomerang.
[edit] Amusement rides
- Antique Autos - Opened 1985. An electric track used to propel scaled-down Ford Model T cars through themed scenery.
- Bounty's Revenge - Opened 1985. A large inverting pirate ship. Bounty's Revenge could carry 50 riders at a time, in ten rows of five seats. At the time of its opening it was only the second of its kind in the world.
- Dragon's Flight - Opened 1985. A large Wave Swinger (similar to the Chair-O-Planes ride).
- Fred Flintstone's Splashdown - Opened 1994. A log flume ride.
- Galleon's Graveyard - Opened 1987 as "Captain Caveman's Clippers." Given current name after being relocated to Transylvania, following the closure of Hanna-Barbera Land. Similar to a scaled-down Chair-O-Planes, riders were instead seated in two-seater 'flying boats'.
- Great Balloon Race
- HMS Endeavour - Opened 1985. Originally known as Sea Demon, HMS Endeavour received its later name when the ride was moved in 1990 to the old location of the Funnel Web. * Jousting Ring - Opened 1985. A dodgem hall.
- Little Monsters Flying School- Opened in 1985 as Dastardly's Flying Circus.
- Magilla Gorilla's Flotillas - Opened 1985. A small lake equipped with paddle boats. Closed in 1990 to make way for the Australian Wildlife Park.
- Ned Kelly's Getaway - Opened 1985. A steep sled slide, finishing in water. Closed in 1991.
- 'Funnel Web- Opened in 1985, and removed in 1990.
- Scooby's Silly Stix- Opened in 1985. Removed in 2000.
- Skyhawk - Opened 1991. A 'Parachute Tower' built by Vekoma, the Skyhawk consisted of four cars; two for sitting passengers, two for standing. The four cars would be pulled to the top of a 30 metre tower, then released. A parachute would then allow riders to slowly descend to the ground. The ride was sold in 2005 to Fly Coaster, a small Gold Coast park
- Skyway - Opened 1999. 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. The ride closed in 2002, three years after it opened.
- Snowy River Rampage - Opened 1985. A 960-metre River Rapid designed by Intamin AG. Riders would sit in a 6-person raft resembling a large tire and float down a wide winding river with occasional water canons which fired straight up in the air when the raft approached. The frequency of water canon fire could be adjusted at the rider's request before they embarked down the river.
- Space Probe - Originally known as Space Probe 7, due to sponsorship from the Seven Network, the Intamin AG Giant Drop was installed in 1995.
- Tasmanian Devil- Opened 1985. A large wheel-shaped machine which laid on one of its faces, with several rocking rider cars attached around the circumference. During main operation of the ride, the ride spins so fast that the rider cars rise in the air, so the rider is horizontally parallel to the ground.
- Wizard's Fury - Opened 1985. A short roller-coaster style train, propelled around a small circular track. The track passed over a steeply ascending and descending section housed within a themed building. A single ride consisted of twenty to thirty revolutions around the circular track. Removed 2002.
- Zodiac - Opened 1987. A double Ferris wheel designed by Intamin AG, the Zodiac consisted of 24 gondolas mounted on either end of a large hydraulic arm. The Zodiac would be operated so that while one wheel was rotating at 58 metres in height, the 12 cars of the opposing arm would all be on the ground and taking on riders simultaneously. When loaded, the hydraulic arm would be moved, lowering those who had been in the air back to the ground.
There was a miniature golf course called Top Cat's Putt Putt Park; prior to the installation of Fred Flintstone's Splashdown there was a putting course known as Old McScrappy's Golfing Farm.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Wonderland History
- Wonderland History Forum
- Wonderland Videos
- Wonderland Music
- Wonderland in Google Maps
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- Wonderland Sydney is at coordinates Coordinates:
