HUSSRAINBOW
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Sunday, September 19, 2004 6:14:52 PM
PART ONE: PREVIEW
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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:
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ALI BABA:
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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:
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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:
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Almost complete, all that had to be done was constructing the Backdrop and adding the control booth, which I didnt see around

CLIFFHANGER:
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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:
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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:
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Facing towards the large milk carton again, the RollerGhoster was almost complete, and it was looking quite nice and clean.

HANGOVER:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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|:
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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 😃
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Skywheelrider
Sunday, September 19, 2004 7:35:45 PM
Wow, that's a lot of photos for one post! Heh, nice photos though, the Ali Baba does look rough, but the other stuff looks fine, although some of the track on the Crazy Mouse looks like in need of some touch up. Interesting, a traditional Kamikaze and the open car version as well. You list the Thunder Bolt on the map, is that a Chance ThunderBolt? Just curious. Nice paint job on the dark ride. Any kiddies at this spot? Again, just curious. Looks like a nice fair. I like the Zyklon (Taipan)too, nice colours.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- Mark Twain
HUSSRAINBOW
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Monday, September 20, 2004 7:33:41 PM
No it isnt a Chance version, not sure what one it is, and yeah there were kiddy rides, but I dont take photos of them [;)]
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HUSSRAINBOW
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Monday, September 20, 2004 8:15:23 PM
Knowledge
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 5:19:55 AM
Looks very nice.

I like the colors from Crazy Coaster.

Where is the Rainbow from Wittlingslow ? And the Enterprise and other HUSS-Things ?

Greets

Knowledge !
HUSSRAINBOW
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 5:29:33 PM
Wittingslow sold their Rainbow to O'Neill shows (they own the Wave Swinger in the photo) but I hear that O'Neills are selling up and the ride will be back on the travelling circuit next year. Also Wittingslow still own the Pirate and Enterprise, but they are still in China, and are having trouble coming back, something about cost for shipping. So hopefully we will get to see these 2 rides, and Rainbow at the 2005 Royal Melbourne Show.
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HUSSRAINBOW
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 5:31:44 PM
Here is part 2 of the review:

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Finally here is Part 2 of my Royal Melbourne Show Review.
Visiting the show (Sept20) was great, the weather was warm, it wasnt too busy and the rides were all working fine.
Here are just some shots of some of the rides. But I did take over 100.

MIDWAY:
Taken from Durkins wheel
8/10
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ALI BABA:
Rode this, but it wasnt much, Rainbow gives a much better ride
3/10
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BREAKDANCE:
Was very popular throughout the afternoon and night, gave very nice long rides, bit slower than it used to run.
9/10
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CLAW:
Probably one of the more less popular rides, Durkin were only using the green seats, having 8 riders per cycle. Friends rode it, but didn't find it anything special. Looked nice as usual
5/10
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HANGOVER:
Didn't get to ride it, but did get given a buy one get one free from a ticket seller. The ride was looking nice, operating nice, but the lights were going a bit spastic.
8/10
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HARD ROCK:
The ride I had been waiting all week to ride, it was absolutely fantasitc, everything about the ride I loved!. Rode it twice, and second time packed much more of a punch, lol even came off feeling a bit dizzy.
10/10
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KAMIKAZE:
Looked quite nice at night, although most of the lights under the cars weren't working. Was fairly popular too
7/10
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MEGA DROP:
Got the courage up to do this, they even kept us up the top for a while, and then we dropped, and watching the ride, the drop is quick, but the cool thing about being on the ride is that it feels like you are falling for much longer. Mega Drop gave a great adrenaline rush! and looked wicked too.
10/10
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OVERALL:
The 2004 Royal Melbourne Show was a great improvement from last years lineup. I also rode alot more too! Favourites included Hard Rock, Mega Drop and Chaos. Even with the absence of Rainbow, it was a good show, but hopefully soon we can see Rainbow back travelling to the major shows.
9/10
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Skywheelrider
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 2:55:18 AM
Nice photos, looks like a nice fair. The Ali Baba does look better than it did in the racked pic. The Hard Rock looks cool.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- Mark Twain
Pinetar
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 4:13:46 AM
This is the best way to present pictures, from your own web space. Nice camera work and good specs on the details. Standing by for your videos. The midway looks slightly North Americanized as opposed to a Euro lot. Shall we call it" Conklinesh".

The Thunderbolt appears to be a Reverchon with homegrown Waltzer style scenery which appeals to me as opposed to the neutered Chance version.
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HUSSRAINBOW
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004 4:16:44 AM
cool mate, ill try to find out tomorrow when I go again, to see who manufactured it. Its a very nice and fast model.
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