Ride of Adelaide's Life
Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 12:56 pm
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 82,00.html
""A $3 MILLION rollercoaster will provide Adelaide thrillseekers with their first taste of a stomach-churning, jaw-dropping loop ride.
The Big Dipper is the centrepiece of a Royal Adelaide Show ride revival, designed to arrest flagging attendance figures amid growing hip-pocket pressure.
The steel-framed 365m track has been built and assembled in Bucharest, Romania, and is about to be loaded into six 12m ship containers for the journey here.
It replaces the 44-year-old crowd favourite, the Mad Mouse, which was demolished last year to make way for the $42 million exhibition complex.
Owner Bob Lawrence, who sold the Mad Mouse to the Newcastle show, expects the new ride to outshine its predecessor. "It's a thrilling ride, you go upside down - something Adelaide hasn't seen before," Mr Lawrence said.
"The rides are a very big drawcard for the Show - we've got a few new rides this year so we're probably offering the best children's rides in Australia." The Big Dipper also will be mobile. It will be dismantled every year to take to interstate shows.
An Australian engineer tested the ride three weeks ago for safety compliance, amid tougher scrutiny following the Spin Dragon accident, in which 37 people were injured at the 2000 show.
"In a safety sense it's actually better than we expected. South Australia is very safety conscious. My rides have had an excellent record with no accidents so we want to maintain that."
As for the price - the 36 passengers who will be strapped into the three trains can expect to pay about $8 a ride.
The Big Dipper is one of seven new rides which will be launched later today for the September show.
Organisers are also unveiling a more upmarket brand and logo, and dumping longtime mascot Banjo the border collie.
A greater emphasis will be placed on free entertainment to counter last year's 6 per cent drop in attendance, to 501,428, as families cope with growing economic pressures.
Ticket prices will also remain on hold at $18 for adults, $11 for children and $47 for families.""
There is also a photo of the completed construction in Romania in todays paper which i'll try and upload today.
Looks like it will be travelling too. Wonder what these other new rides will be? Perhaps No Limit which has never appeared at Adelaide before? Or maybe new kiddies rides?
""A $3 MILLION rollercoaster will provide Adelaide thrillseekers with their first taste of a stomach-churning, jaw-dropping loop ride.
The Big Dipper is the centrepiece of a Royal Adelaide Show ride revival, designed to arrest flagging attendance figures amid growing hip-pocket pressure.
The steel-framed 365m track has been built and assembled in Bucharest, Romania, and is about to be loaded into six 12m ship containers for the journey here.
It replaces the 44-year-old crowd favourite, the Mad Mouse, which was demolished last year to make way for the $42 million exhibition complex.
Owner Bob Lawrence, who sold the Mad Mouse to the Newcastle show, expects the new ride to outshine its predecessor. "It's a thrilling ride, you go upside down - something Adelaide hasn't seen before," Mr Lawrence said.
"The rides are a very big drawcard for the Show - we've got a few new rides this year so we're probably offering the best children's rides in Australia." The Big Dipper also will be mobile. It will be dismantled every year to take to interstate shows.
An Australian engineer tested the ride three weeks ago for safety compliance, amid tougher scrutiny following the Spin Dragon accident, in which 37 people were injured at the 2000 show.
"In a safety sense it's actually better than we expected. South Australia is very safety conscious. My rides have had an excellent record with no accidents so we want to maintain that."
As for the price - the 36 passengers who will be strapped into the three trains can expect to pay about $8 a ride.
The Big Dipper is one of seven new rides which will be launched later today for the September show.
Organisers are also unveiling a more upmarket brand and logo, and dumping longtime mascot Banjo the border collie.
A greater emphasis will be placed on free entertainment to counter last year's 6 per cent drop in attendance, to 501,428, as families cope with growing economic pressures.
Ticket prices will also remain on hold at $18 for adults, $11 for children and $47 for families.""
There is also a photo of the completed construction in Romania in todays paper which i'll try and upload today.
Looks like it will be travelling too. Wonder what these other new rides will be? Perhaps No Limit which has never appeared at Adelaide before? Or maybe new kiddies rides?
Our mistake, dont think we'll see one come over so i think its the 2nd option of getting over to Germany and riding one 
