Royal Easter Show 2009

[HUSSRAINBOW]

No No, only would have worked on Rainbow... but will be there 4 or 5 times over the time.

[princess]

Okies,

[Top Gunner14]

I'll definately be getting to the show, just still unsure what days. If with the cattle which I should be, will be there from Easter Sunday night-Thursday 16th. Then a day or two just walking around. So princess when did you see the flume?

[princess]

Luna Park.

[Top Gunner14]

Ah alright, it's getting re-themed at the moment, setup at the showground. Will look alot different at the show, the general public if they saw it at LPS, won't recognize it at the show.

[Top Gunner14]

Not long now, 4 sleeps til showday. The new Pirate's Revenge sign went up on the flume yesterday. Most of the decorations are up and is looking awesome apparently. And because of the size of the flume, I've heard a few more rides have been booted off, anyone know what's gone?

[Josh in Rocky]

Anyone down that way been getting any set up pics???

[Top Gunner14]

I'd like too but to far away. Maybe next year.

[HUSSRAINBOW]

Apparently it's not like Melbourne Show, you need to either be working there or have some affiliation, I hear security is tight

[Top Gunner14]

Yeh I've heard that too.

[Paulie123]

Some friends went to Monster (the skatepark on the grounds) and said they saw the rides going up. He mentioned speed was up.

[Top Gunner14]

All the rides are setup already. Inspections will happen this week and the media will probably be in tomorrow reporting on the new rides etc and all the other attractions at the show

[benclare]

Great posts as always!

I’m hugely excited about this year’s RES and even flew back from Solomon Islands so I could go! I’m an addict for sure…

Anyway, I was surprised to read Rainbow had been replaced but it’s good to see Hangover back as it hasn’t done the RES since 2002 I think.

I’m heading out there on Saturday and will do a review as always and may do Tuesday or Wednesday as well. Can’t wait to try the new water ride although it’s probably similar to Splash Canyon.

Good to be back!

[Top Gunner14]

Great to have you back mate. Yeh show opened today

[Top Gunner14]

Why hasn't Space Roller got its new signs yet?

[Space Roller Freak]

I was wondering the same thing top gunner. I thought that Russell would be very keen to get them.

Space Roller Freak

[Top Gunner14]

That's the thing, I heard they would be back up at RES. They must be ready surely taken a while to get them done and Mark Gill had painted them by Melbourne show last year and all they needed were the lights.

[MARK GILL]

That's the thing, I heard they would be back up at RES. They must be ready surely taken a while to get them done and Mark Gill had painted them by Melbourne show last year and all they needed were the lights.

I was at the showground last Tuesday and they were still putting the lights on them!

When I went yesterday 2 were fitted at the front of the ride but one had some of the tops missing from the light caps, presuming they ran out of light fittings and that's why they havn't been completed,

[Top Gunner14]

Ahh alright thanks for the news Mark, hopefully they're back on soon

[benclare]

Just got home from an exhausting but fantastic day at the Royal Easter Show. The exhausting thing was navigating through the incredible numbers of people who decided to come today. I was prepared for large crowds due to Easter and the school holidays but this did shock me! You could hardly move around the showground without running into someone or getting your feet run over by a pram or stroller. You would never know there is an economic downturn happening at the moment. People were spending huge amounts of money on the rides, showbags, food etc and the cash registers will go non-stop until the 22nd I’m sure. It was sort of encouraging to see, assuming people aren’t using their credit cards too much and I think there’s something in what Princess said somewhere on this forum about people going to agricultural shows and carnivals to forget about the bad times. A lot of people were having a fantastic time today, including myself of course!

I went to the RES with Mum and Dad who enjoy the Show almost as much as me and a friend of mine from Solomon Islands who travelled from Honiara with me. It’s his first time in Australia and he was totally overwhelmed and amazed by the RES and I’m sure he really enjoyed it!

Anyway, after a brief look at the pavilions and the junior wood chopping events, we hit my favourite place, the Coca-cola Carnival! I went on quite a few rides, many of them on my own as my Solomon Islands friend couldn’t pluck up the courage to give them a try but Mum went on Bell’s Thunderbolt with me and Dad and I went on March’s Wave Swinger and Lawrie’s Techno Jump.

No Limit

This amazing ride never fails to shock me, both on and offride. It was working flat out all day and the queues for it were enormous but definitely worth the wait. The ride operator was good and gave a very long ride cycle but didn’t do all that much interaction with the passengers except at the start when he told everyone to hold on tight. My friend just couldn’t believe what this ride was doing as these things don’t exist in Solomon Islands and he was totally transfixed and took heaps of photos. He told me there was no way he would ever ride it though!

Wave Swinger

This has had some work done on it I think as it seemd to operate better than last year’s RES and Hawkesbury Show. Despite this, two of the chairs were out of action; I nearly got into one of the broken ones by mistake and it looked as if the bar was jammed somewhere on the chain. The ride cycle was medium length but enjoyable just the same.

Thunderbolt

As usual this one was fantastic; very fast, a good long ride cycle and very loud screaming and the siren was totally deafening!

Ali Baba

This ride is definitely faster than the Rainbow, especially when it first drops from the top but I agree with all of you who say it’s not as good as the Rainbow. I do wonder if and when we’ll see that one again?

Skywalker

This one was very popular and the sound system played its role in attracting people’s attention. The ride cycle was longer than last year and it didn’t seem to be having any issues which caused some problems when it first arrived in Australia. The restraints are definitely made for skinny people. I’ve lost quite a lot of weight since moving overseas and now I’m a skinny person! You didn’t have to wait long between getting loaded on the ride and it starting up; just enough time to get settled before the operator is telling you to get ready, a brief burst of dance music mixing tunes and then you’re off!

Ranger

O’Neil’s Ranger was very popular as it always is and ran at full capacity every time. It didn’t give much hang time but it moving almost constantly kept it thrilling and interesting.

Space Roller

I didn’t ride this one but stood and watched for a bit. Definitely a fun machine which I now regret not doing today. Not sure whether any AAF members were working there but perhaps so?

Techno Jump

This is probably my favourite family ride now! My thanks to Zamperla and Princess for introducing it to me last year! I really enjoyed the experience and the ride cycle was pretty long and the bouncing was great. I also find the seats quite comfortable too.

Hangover

I hadn’t seen this thing since 2002 or so and it was good to see it again. I didn’t ride it due to the queue for it but it seemed to be giving long ride cycles with very long periods of stopping upside down too! The sound of this ride is also interesting, similar to the Fabri Ranger but definitely different and distinctive as well.

Breakdance

This was my last ride for the day and despite feeling a little dizzy at the end, I did enjoy it! The ride movement was quite intense, the sound system was blaring out Shake It by Metro Station and the atmosphere was electric.

I made sure I explored the entire carnival, paying attention to the new rides although I didn’t get to ride them unfortunately. Pirates Revenge was raking in the money for Joyland and the queue for it was more than 100 metres long. This was also true of both Taipan and Crazy Coaster.

The Buried Alive attraction is also proving to be a hit with many people queuing up to ride and heaps of amused onlookers as well! It’s certainly an interesting and unique concept that appears to be a winner.

Haunted Hotel was also popular as most ghost train attractions are and no doubt Lou Osborne is happy with the upgrade of the old Haunted Mansion.

I also took a brief look at the Kids Carnival which was unbelievably crouded as well. The kids were really enjoying the rides and I couldn’t help thinking that the Big Dipper could’ve fitted in there some place if not in the main carnival.

It was strange not seeing Chaos and the Claw there this year; does anyone think they’ll make a return? They probably weren’t missed by the public but I do wonder whether Durkin Amusements regret not getting them in there. The Slingshot did operate several times during my time in the carnival but definitely not as much as all the other attractions.

Well, that’s my first and hopefully not my last trip to the RES for 2009. At this stage I’m planning to return on Tuesday or Wednesday as I’ll be heading back to Solomon Islands on the Thursday.

Another fantastic day that went too quickly but boy I loved it!

Happy Easter everyone!

[jamestkirk]

I was wondering the same thing top gunner. I thought that Russell would be very keen to get them.

Space Roller Freak

he"s too lazy

[Top Gunner14]

Great review thankyou Ben. You covered most of the rides with some extensive info. I was payingclose attention to Joyland's flume and they are going well with the flume and thought it would've had very long queve lines. Going have to get to the flume early to get a heap of photos. Glad you enjoyed the show mate, hopefully a meet up on one of those days

[Space Roller Freak]

I just seen the new Pirates Revenge on Sunrise and I must say it does look alot more impressive than it did a few months ago.

Space Roller Freak

[Top Gunner14]

Here's a few photos I found of the Flume, looks fantastic, love the shark:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dean-barnett/3428157603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dean-barnett/3428162475/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dean-barnett/3428961902/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dean-barnett/3428155629/

[princess]

Ben that was a great review, sounds like you had a fantastic time, I am glad that I was not there, I am reconsidering going on Wednesday, as its the opening of the show on Wednesday, the crowds again might be huge, especially as they are predicting a sunny day.