PART ONE: PREVIEW
Finally the 2004 Royal Melbourne Show has arrived, and it certainly is a vast improvement of the 2003 lineup. Arriving at the showgrounds this morning was very exciting, and I could see Taipan from the tram. The carnival is very nice and cramped, and it looks as if they have made good decisions as where to place the rides.
Layout: Rough layout of where the rides are:
ALI BABA:
The Ali Baba is located infront of the Horseland shop, and was still packed up when I arrived this morning, after getting a few shots of the ride, the Backdrop was erected and the footing was also placed. The ride is looking a bit dirty, but Verfurth will probably give it a good hosing for Thursday.
Also the new backdrop artwork featuring Aladdin is outstanding!
CHAOS:
The first time i've ever seen Chaos in this state. During this period the cars were beginning to be connected to the main hub. Looking pretty clean as usual, no differences to the ride
CLAW:
Almost complete, all that had to be done was constructing the Backdrop and adding the control booth, which I didnt see around
CLIFFHANGER:
In a nice spot in the carnival, the Cliffhanger was complete when I arrived, and is lookin nice and clean since it's major show debut in Sydney
CRAZY MOUSE:
It was very exciting to see Crazy Mouse during the constructing period. The crew was working non stop the whole time assembling the top part of the track, and then added the sign. A strange thing that I noticed was the sign is now different. In Sydney I saw it as CRAZY MOUSE, but now TPA have CRAZY COASTER. Im not to sure why this happened.
ROLLERGHOSTER:
Facing towards the large milk carton again, the RollerGhoster was almost complete, and it was looking quite nice and clean.
HANGOVER:
Complete with its new paint job that debuted at EKKA, the Hangover is looking better than ever. Nice and clean, and I love the new tarps:
FEAR IS ONLY SOMETHING THATS IN THE MIND
HARD ROCK:
Probably NO.1 on my most anticipated ride list this year, the Hard Rock, manufactured by Technical Park is AWESOME. I got to see the ride in the first stages of construction, and it was great watching the crew assemble various parts of the ride. The paint job is awesome, but I don't think it has a backdrop. Anyways, can't wait to ride this one!
KAMIKAZE:
Looking nice as usual, the ride has seen to lose its lights on the upper arms, I wonder why Watkins have done this. Anyway the ride is looking nice and clean. It's also in a nice spot too
MEGA DROP:
After seeing the Mega Drop in Sydney, I already knew it was amazing, but today seeing the crew assemble the tower was very interesting. The middle and lower tower is joined, and the top of the tower is then joined, as seen in the photos. I was glad I got to see it in this view, a little dirty, but remember, it did operate in Shanghai for a while prior to coming to Australia
MEGA MIX:
This is Mega Mix's first time to the Royal Melbourne Show, and it looked just like it did in Sydney. Hopefully the technical difficulties have been sorted out, and it won't have any down time
SUPA SIZZLER:
Located where Wittingslow's Breakdance was last year, the Sizzler was looking nice, when I arrived I got to see the guys unfolding the arms. Looking nice and clean as usual
TAIPAN:
Located where Wittingslow's WILD MOUSE was last year, the ride was looking great, and the crew was just inspecting parts of the track. I wonder if the break system is working properly, because in Sydney they were having some trouble. None the less, awesome to see the ride here. First time too
TECHNO JUMP:
Didn't get to see much of the Techno Jump, as the crew was placing the footing, the land has been escavated so that the ride is steady. It's right next to Sizzler and Hard Rock. From what I saw the platforms were nice and clean.
WAVE SWINGER |O'NEILL SHOWS|:
O'Neills are back with their Wave Swinger. It was interesting to see the ride without the panelling added for the control booth. Looking a little bit dirty, but otherwise, in good condition. Some of the seats were tangled, but thats no big deal. Also the ride isn't apart of the kiddy section this year.
OTHER RIDES:
Hurricane was lowered, couldn't get a shot because the area was blocked off
Breakdance, was all packed up and the crew was beginning to add lights and unfold the backdrop, also couldn't get a photo because of the area also blocked
Starship 2000, Scorpion and Circus Circus were also up, but the slide for Circus Circus was racked, it's massive!
Anyway that is my 2004 Royal Melbourne Show preview for all you ride fanatics, my second part, show review with photos and video will be up sometime during the period of the show.
Thanks,
Chris 😃