Australian Amusement Fanatics

I attended Traralgon Show again this year after last year being somewhat of a revelation for me.This was due to the presence of three rides I either had no knowledge of,or had only caught fleeting glimpses of on TV.These were No Limit,Space Roller and Hard Rock,and I had an amazing time watching and riding these beasts.The full line-up for last year was (if memory serves)
No Limit
Space Roller
Hard Rock
Kamikaze
Zipper
Thundebolt
Techno Jump
Spider/Octopus (I'd never seen this one before.It looked like the Luna Park Melb. unit,with a blue/yellow colour scheme)
Cha Cha
Dodgems
various kids rides
A good line-up for a pretty small show.
So, on to 2007.Well naturally my expectations were pretty high,but they were deflated rather quickly once I arrived.I wasn't expecting No limit to show up,since it seems to have gone AWOL on us since Melbourne (I recall someone mentioning staffing shortages?),But I was hoping some of the other newer rides might show up.Hard Rock was in Melbourne,dont know where Space Roller was.Anyway,line-up was:
Kamikaze
Zipper (Davis ex Witts?,blue/yellow)
Hurricane (Pinks)
Music Trip
Super Trooper
Cha Cha
Tilt
Dodgems x2 (the better looking was Pinks)
various kids rides
The weather was bloody hot and humid,and during the afternoon I found myself standing in front of the faster rides to cool off in the breeze they generated!.I waited quite a while until I started riding because the crowds were pretty thin until about 5 pm,and I didnt want to get stuck on a ride waiting for it to fill.This happened on Space Roller last year and my face got burnt.I dicided to give this Tilt another try,it has been in Sale the last few years and it didnt impress me.They can be quite intense at times,but this one has yet to give me a good ride.I kept motioning to the operator to spin me but I got ignored,and as a result I think I only spun two or three times,never riding this one again.I've only ever experienced one Hurricane,and that is Bells'.So I had the chance to compare for the first time.The first thing thats noticeable is the pride Bells take in the appearance of their attractions,Pinks version isnt as striking in its colour scheme in my opinion (a combination of orange/maroon with white cars),and there were alot of missing globes.I dont think i've ever seen Bells' with one blown fluorescent tube or globe.The ride experience was much better than its looks thankfully.It seemed to stay in the beginning of the cycle a little longer than Bells',which I liked,but I dont think the arms came as close to the centre.This ride is still too short in duration though.More comparison with Bells rides were made with both the Cha Cha and Music Trip.I dont know who owns these but both fell short in terms of looks and speed.The Cha Cha was primarily white with some pink here and there,maybe someone knows who owns this?.Next was the Super Trooper.I loved this ride as a kid,I'm not sure if this is the same unit we used to get in Sale (its been around 15 years since I've seen one),but it was looking pretty beat up,the gondolas in particular were in need of a new coat of paint and heaps of the globes were either missing or blown.Again it was the ride experience that won me over,perfect duration,spinning and rising once and then repeating,maybe a bit higher than the first ascent.If the Cliff Hanger is an update of this classic then they really didnt improve on this original design.Its faster and gives a nice little kick at the top of the rotation.Zipper was only filling every second cage,even though there was a rather long line most of the time,balancing the weight I guess?.It gave a brilliantly chaotic ride as always.Still no work done on the sign though.Kamikaze was the last ride for me.Like most people I still hate its restraints,but an Ok ride.One of the arms had alot of missing bulbs unfortunately.I hope I get to ride Hangover soon so I can compare the two.
Although I was disappointed with the line-up I still had fun,and I will be going back next year.

Good review Matt. Sounds like you had a ripper show the year before, but this still sounds like a good number of rides. Very dissappointing to hear about how the Tilt was being run. At Sale Show 06 I remember seeing the operator give every filled car some very serious spinning action.

Do you have any photos you can post on the forum?

Would b great 2 see some pics. Great line up. Suprised 2 see no limit again

Top Gunner... He actually stated that NO LIMIT Didn't show up this year, but it did last year. I REALLY hope that Bell's Get these staffing shortages sorted out ASAP, as No Limit would be making killer profits if it was doing alot of regional shows as well as just the capitals (as it seems to have done this year)

And Matt, Great Review! I havn't rode a good Ol Tilt in ages, or even a Hurricane in that case, it's been almost 12 Months! Hopefully you'll get to experience Marches Hurricane in the near future, it spins so damn fast it's not funny!! Not to mention how close it gets to the center mast before bouncing! It had me holding on for dear life. It's also had a renovation in the past few months so it looks AMAZING!

I am not aware of who owns that Eyerly Spider though, but I have seen it at Redcliffe show before (2006) And with Music Trips, once you have rode Bells amazing unit, nothing will ever compare to it

You're right Hurricane. I can't wait to ride March's Hurricane later this month. Bell's Music Trip is awesome as is Young's unit which does Hawkesbury Show most years.

The best Tilt I've ever ridden was the one that used to run in Grundy's at Surfers Paradise. It was indoors which intensified the atmosphere and it ran bloody fast every time! I wonder whether this unit is still in existance?

Ben that unit is now 'Mozzy Muster' at Aussie World.

And it's a pity that the Mozzie Musta doesn't run anywhere near the speed I wish it did, you don't tilt that much anymore

I meant its good 2 c no limit again since melbourne cause its been in hidin. My fav hurri would be joylands or youngs and they hav a great tilt 2

I rarely take a camera with me anywhere these days,so no pics,sorry guys.One thing I forgot to mention was since Pinks had two rides at this years show,I wonder if they considered bringing Force 10/Extreme Force?.That would have really made my day,I hope I get to ride this beast again soon,its been way too long.I was told this may be the last show for Traralgon due to poor attendance.It didnt seem that bad to me,about the same amount that Sale gets.

I agree with you about Force 10^ It's such a good ride. I miss a lot of the old classics, but I am still keeping an open mind about the new rides like Sky Walker. I wonder if vic will even see the new KMG Tango? I think it would do well at Moomba perhaps even the St Kilda Fest. That reminds me the last time I do remember seeing Force 10 would be back at Moomba quite a few years ago. I'm sure it has done a lot of other regional shows since.