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![Destroyed - The rise and fall of Australia's Wonderland theme park [AH015]](/img/d.gif)
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Great narration
That Demon roller-coaster is still one of the scariest rides I have been on. Something about having your feet dangling and being swung backwards not seeing where you're going was freaky.
Loved Wonderland. Seems like only yesterday.
Went there as a kid in the late 80's, was too scared to go on the bush beast. Went back in the early 2000's, the place was eerily quiet, my girlfriend (now wife) and I almost had the place to ourselves. Got on the front seat of the bush beast, all by myself, and the ride operator sent me around about 30 times in a row. Sad to see it go, the theme parks on the Gold Coast are too busy and expensive.
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I live in Nashville, TN and we had a theme park called Opryland that was closed in th elate 90s out of greed. They decided to tear it down and build a "mega-shopping mall". We already had too many malls in the city. Karma got them to some extend as the park was closed in 1997 and by the time the mall was opened the internet and online shopping had already began drving the local malls out of business. Opry Mills, the mall they built, is still there but isn't what they had planned for. A lot of crime there and shootings and filled with lots of non-shoppers walking around and causing trouble. Most long time locals in Nashville will still grumble when Opryland is mentioned. It was filled with a lot of memories for a lot of people
They didn't want the park they wanted the land.
It's shocking that the animals were left to perish that way. I'd hope that wouldn't ever happen now. I never wanted to go there despite growing up in Sydney. It was just too far out and like a lot of fun parks, an expensive day of waiting in line.
Thumbs up for Sega World in Darling Harbour
I did many times in fact my Year 10 or 11 reward picnic day was celebrated here 1998 or 99. We took 3-4 coaches buses from Albion park there was always a shit clunker bus in the mix😂 avoided getting on the bus. I remember we had open access to the less busy whole park on a weekday including the water slides if we remembered to bring a change of clothes, i got sick eating a hamburger from near the the Bush beast cause what went in came out after the ride😅😅. But yeah great times we had, the was a rumour why it closed cause Rooty hill Rsl submitted Noise complaints when Sydney wonderland remained open during the evening and the Sydney residential boom move to populate western Sydney made no sense as this place became industrial and LG based their warehouse here. The ironic thing about that plot of land Sydney wonderland sat, and eastern creek raceway and the wildlife park ironically Wet n wild sydney would build not far up the road near Blacktown prospect reservoir and not soon after western sydney zoo. Another excuse was Gold coast theme parks were eating into Sydneys which doesn’t make sense as thery already open in the 1980s . I just say the Malaysian owners were not your usual investors more like an administrator by bean counters they didnt want spend and land was worth selling. Cheers for the memories.
Wonderland was exactly that as a kid so much fun to have in a day. Wonderpass and $5 after 5pm was also awesome. I won’t say how I acquired them but I have the wonderland flag and the full Yogi Bear character suit as souvenirs from there. Have told my son I’m gunna to wear it to pick him up from school one day it will be so funny.
My Uncle Billy worked there. He ate acid daily and has never been the same again.
Doesn't this bring back the memories? I was lucky enough to save so hard & took my son there when he was about five or six. He had the best time. It was THE place to go. Now it's a piece of trash. Nothing fun for the kids to do anymore, such a shame. Sydney is nothing like it now.
I went there once for my 18th birthday . It was a good day . I always wondered what happened to it .
many times.. my dad drove the double decker bus from blacktown to wonderland on weekends....GOOD TIMES.
A wide track undercarriage, a tough airframe, a simple reliable engine and basic systems are what keeps a plane flying from rutted airstrips among the kunai grass. This was a tough tight little design that was ideal for the theatre it fought in.
Hidden Gem in Australia NEW ENGLAND REGION
I never got to go but remember seeing a picture of my brothers there and was like why didn't I get to go (I would've been like 2) and it closed permanently before I ever got to go 😢
this place was my childhood my dad would takes us every year on good friday, cos we basically had the place to ourselves
What about the song 'wouldn't it be wonderful, if the world was wonderland ' ❤ Sad my kids wont have the opportunity to enjoy Wonderland. I was excited at 8, and just as excited as a 20 year old to visit thay joint
The narrator needs to have a drink of water. 🤦♀️
OMG I remember that ad. And yes we went there in 1986. To hell with the Sunway group.
Fuck Sunway
I visited in 1997, I had a ball. Was so sad to hear that it'd closed!
The last time I went was approx February 2004. It was a school day and the park was basically empty. No queues anywhere. The lack of queues was great for us on the day but we definitely were aware that the park was running at a huge loss. Such a stupid idea to have it open every day of the year. Bounty's Revenge, Demon, Bush Beast, Snowy River Rampage & Space Probe were my favourites.
The best of my young year's
I went a couple of times in the mid 90s and it was always pretty empty. Even as a teen at the time I realised with the lack of crowds it wasn't gonna last long and was probably haemorrhaging money. It really needed to have new attractions constantly added to keep it relevant, not boring and attracting new and repeat business. Plus back then it was in the middle of butt fk nowhere with rather poor public transport services. Either way it's demise was inevitable with poor attendance , upgrades and management.
Now they've sold Luna Park. And turning it into units blocks😢
I had at least 6 birthdays at Australia’s Wonderland. Such good fun. You used to be cool Sydney…
Yikes! That's why it closed? Horrible!!
At the very least , some of the beautiful landscaping should have been kept as a public garden , similar to Auburn Botanical Gardens or those at Merrylands West , or possibly incorporated into a business park similar to Eden Park at Macquarie Park/North Ryde , ( if that still exists ) . Instead of relocating the chair lift from the former Sydney Showground to Wonderland , where it was wasted , it should have gone to Olympic Park , possibly over the brick pit , and this would have been an interesting additional attraction to the modern day Easter Show as well . At least the remains of Old Sydney Town were still there when I last looked , however , it was not until my last visit in adulthood that I understood and appreciated what its creators had intended , because I realised that the landmarks there could be superimposed upon the corresponding area in present day Sydney , such as St Philips Church in Wynyard , where there is a plaque stating that this church replaced an earlier structure on the site ( possibly the church represented at Old Sydney Town ) .
Sydney , in the 1960s had so much more to enjoy - plenty of decent theatres , great shopping , especially the large department stores , Luna Park was so much better , and even Manly had an amusement pier and aquariums. The Easter Show was also wonderful , providing fond memories, whereas most memories of more recent Easter Shows are quite mundane by comparison . At least we have Darling Harbour now ! 💥
There was nothing more terrifying than the Bush Beast as a kid. It wasn’t a smooth ride. It would rattle the fillings from an adult’s teeth, and that’s why we loved it sooo much!
thank you so much for foreign investors for destroying another Aussie icon. greedy shites . but then again why are we so stupid to let it happen?
This country both disappoints and infuriates me consistently, it’s like it’s our mission to be the most boring, dull and miserable country in the world, we’re not allowed to have fun.
To the bald guy i spat on when the pirate ship was hanging up side down and going down sorry.
wow thats why new zealand rainbows end is the biggest in southern hem now
We should have kept it in Australia hands
Got to go once when I was 10. Certainly memories I'll have forever
Hollywood Park not magic Kingdom Brought. The old rides from Luna Park I rebuilt them everything was in such disrepair it was an accident waiting to happen we moved what we could for the hass s we moved the dodgems to two sites one in entrance the other at there old restaurant and winter home for travelling circuses I was a young engineer then now 68 The hass family
So glad I got to experience WONDERLAND back in the day, some awesome memories.
Omg yes, I was 8yrs old in 91 or 92 ,from wa and went to Sydney to visit family, iv got awesome memories of Australia's wonderland lol that roller coaster was my first and may I say my last roller coaster iv ever been on lolol I loved my yogi bear head drink bottle that hung around my neck lolol
OneFM (96.1) were giving away wonderpasses when i was in year 7 or 8 (circa 1994) and i was a lucky caller and won one, i couldnt believe it! I remember recording the phone call which aired a couple minutes later and showing my friends. Really good memories growing up in western Sydney in the 80/90s
This was devastating as well as the closing of Old Sydney Town. Gone but never forgotten
Great memories,now gone!
Just remember how you scoffed when Pauline warned you.
I remember them doing the Friday night special for like 20 bucks a few years before they closed.
I loved that place went many times, loved the bush beast, and later the superman roller coaster. No where like this in Sydney now, it’s sad.
I visited Wonderland the year it opened as a 11yo kid and then again many times over the next 18 years. It truly was a magical place from my childhood which I'll never forget, it sad the sydney kids of nowadays have nothing like it now
Its a mix of a Heinkel, a Mitsubishi (A5M) and a Wirraway (The designer was a german jew who worked for Heinkel, Mitsubishi and later for CAC.