Australian Amusement Fanatics

Yes it did look great back in the witts days. Still a good lineup but that looked great back then

sh** lineup....

no classics.

no classic thrills.

small cramped dusty space.

CRAP CRAP CRAP

moomba is ruined now. back from like 1995-2002 it was unbelieveable

Yeh huss, even though i was a young tucker back in those days, it would have been fun. That would be me now as a teen with all my favourite classics and then u back when u were a teen with all ur favourites. I know how u feel chris

So Chris, do you feel old now. lol .

i have never been to moomba but to say it was better back then is a bold statement, with the way the industry in Australia has grown over the years festivals such as these have only gotten better with rides like space roller, no limit, speed, power surge and the new sky walker not to mention all the other great rides.

the ride industry in australia i would say has never been better for the public

Yeh it is great PNC with the newer spectacular rides as the ones u mentioned. But as chris is sayin, its sad that all the old favourites a fading away

Regarding the new v's old rides, I feel new does not always mean better in some cases. Don't get me wrong, I like some of the new rides more than others, but when it comes to the old classics, there is not one ride I can think of I don't really enjoy. Now I think that says a lot.

Yeh supaloops, especially if ur older(no offence to anyone out there), when you ride the classics when you were younger or one of your first rides, you seem to remember that ride as one of your favourites. But yes some of the newer rides are great

This is an endless debate - on the one hand, there is more competition which has kept owners 'on their toes' more than when Wittingslow held something of a monopoly. (though in the 1980's I remember Witts rides being overhauled every 12 months with new colour schemes etc.)

The rides of today are flashier, and fanicer in their designs (and some would argue maintained better), but on the other side of the coin:

Rides of the 60's-70's-80's were generally more than one trailer and had a true classic feel in the sense that they were not computer designed or 'body hugging' like newer generation thrill rides are, and it was an era where so many designs lay ahead of time - now just about every axis and spin has been tweaked or copied. But every once in a while comes a truly original creation e.g. Mondial's Topscan / Spaceroller.

Something in ride design that has truly died is the north American creations - a la Chance Mfg, Hubretz etc. they are pretty much done and dusted (Europe has won that competition)

Perhaps in 20 years we will be reminiscing about how much better rides were when they weren't made in China.

dont get me wrong i still enjoy classic rides, but i think we are only moving forwards, one of my favourite rides is a hurricane, is it not considered a classic, and i am always looking at pirate ships because seeing one on the midway again would be great (they are also alot more portale now) i simply like the added spinning when riding the hard rock.

i am also one of those people that would say in general rides are maintained better, the accidents in the past have made the authorities much more strict, i have had a notice on one specific thing that would never cause injury, but because it 'could happen one day' i had to modify what has worked fine for possibly 30 years (cant remember exact manufacter date but it is old), im not saying rides were poorly maintained in the past but simply they are better maintained now

Hahaha i'm only 20, but being in primary school and going to Moomba and the Melbourne Show was a huge highlight. Yeah its good to see new amazing rides like Space Roller and No Limit, but how can you go and not see those old classic, and better built rides. Rainbow and Enterprise, Pirate etc have that amazingly spectacular look to them that make them look like theyve been built to last a lifetime. Some newer rides just look cheap, and look as if in 5 years they could fall apart. I hope one day to walk the midway with the classics still providing the same fun I had all those years ago. Rainbow is like a legacy to the good old Wittingslow days, its great I can still go to the easter show and get on it, like its a new ride.

What an interesting debate this is with many valid points of which i agree. A mix of new and old attractions always does it for me, hence my new interest in regional shows which balance this really nicely. Moomba does sound like an awesome carnival and I sure wish I could go there!

Yes i love the mix of the old and new. You cant beat some of the older classics but some of the newer designs are quite spectacular

Back for another exclusive guys, heres your preview of the Carnival for 2008.

RIDE LIST:

BIRRARUNG MARR:

Ranger
Wave Swinger
Twin Flip
Crazy Coaster
Power Surge
Techno Jump
Verfurth's Sky Wheel

ALEXANDRA GARDENS:

Space Roller
No Limit
Mega Drop
Slingshot

Photos:

RANGER:


SPACE ROLLER & NO LIMIT


MEGA DROP:


SPACE ROLLER:


BIRRARUNG MARR:


WAVE SWINGER:


SKY WHEEL:


POWER SURGE:


TWIN FLIP:


CRAZY COASTER:


Shame to see that Space Roller got moved to Alexandra Gardens. Overall Birrarung Marr isn't a great setup, I think No Limit and Space Roller should have been jammed in somewhere, would rather have gotten Zipper instead of Techno Jump and Twin Flip..

bring on Sydney.


Chris.

No need for me to go now, thanks HUSSR.

Agreed about Spaceroller - dissappointing it is not on the other side, but it may still do very well in this location.

This will be the biggest event Twin Flip has done since Royal Adelaide - I wonder how it will hold up given its 'down-time plagued' past.

I think TF was in Perth last year and I didn't hear about any problems there so hopefully it'll wow everyone at Moomba.

Can't wait for your reviews; it gives me an idea of what I'll be doing in a very few short weeks! The excitement is steadily building.

I'm ok with this years setup, it's good to space it out over the Yarra a bit. I'm kind of sad there are no old classics (well, Waveswinger is there). Still, it's a nice free festival, I'd much prefer this over the RMS. Agree? (key word here is FREE).

I do think people are more inclined to go on some of the rides if they don't have to pay for an expensive ticket to get in, like at the capital shows.

wheres the 200ft of lucky numbers?

Im suprised to see twin flip there. Thanx for the pics chris, they look great. Look forward to anyones and ur reviews chris. SHould be a great weekend

Cheers
Top Gunner14

It should indeed top gunner! I'm very surprised that Twin Flip turned up, as Gary O'Neil said no Twin Flip????? Anyway, looks extiing. Thanks for the pics Huss. Could ya tell us what it's like to ride Power Surge and Twin Flip. CrazyCoaster

Power surge is a prett fun ride. Feels like uve got a jetpack on and ur spinning out of control. But im still hangin out to ride twin flip

I'm glad Twin Flip is there, it's a good ride IMO. Crazycoaster424, it does have very high lateral Gs, which I find makes it a lot of fun. You won't know which way is up and which is down. It's a very unique ride experience.

Ben you are right about Twin Flip at Perth. I had forgotten.

Twin Flip may not look like much, but it is VERY intense. in some ways it reminds me of the turbo but flipping on a smaller circumference and much faster. (complete with the 'body hugging' restraints)

HUSSR I challenge you to ride it (or anyone else that hasn't before)

The only thing I remember about Twin Flip was the sore legs afterwards! The ride is a great experience, You don't know which way is up and which way is down! It was one of the only rides that nearly made me sick (Other than Zipper)

There was a liftout for Moomba in the Herald Sun today if anyone read the papers. Not much is mentioned about the carnival worth noting really. I find it amazing how the media kind of ignore the carnival. I personally only go to Moomba for the rides. I have sat and watched some of the sports from the banks of the Yarra but I get too distracted by the rides around me. I'm sure it's all very interesting though. haha.