Sensational-Adelaide.com

Melbourne's $220m plan for super park
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

Peter Rolfe, State politics reporter

April 06, 2008 12:00am

A $220 million theme park to rival world-renowned Disneyland and Sea World is planned for Melbourne.

Owners have pencilled in some of the world's biggest and best adventure rides for the park, to be called African Safari World and set in the grounds of Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Australia's first safari-themed adventure park is a bold plan by Village Roadshow. It is being considered by the Brumby Government.

Roller-coasters and thrilling rides would merge with the existing zoo's lions, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and other animals in a revamped safari zone if the park was approved.

The facility would become Victoria's top tourist drawcard -- luring 1.3 million visitors a year and boosting the state's economy by $864 million over 10 years.

Building African Safari World would create 6700 new jobs and the park would employ 500 workers.

It would rival the biggest park on Queensland's Gold Coast and the Irwin family's Australia Zoo.

African Safari World would be modelled on Disney Animal Kingdom in the US and Busch Gardens Africa and seek to cover 40ha with rides, restaurants, live shows and African-themed shops alongside a redeveloped zoo.

It would be marketed as a world where "animal adventure meets thrills and excitement".

Village Roadshow International theme parks chief John Harnden said the park would promote Melbourne and Victoria to the world.

"It's about giving all of those millions of existing tourists even more to do in Victoria, and to stay longer and spend more money," he said.

Village Roadshow has been working on the plan since last year, and hopes to start building the park next year with a view to it opening in late 2010.

Preliminary plans include:

AN African animal tour to be known as the Serengeti Safari;

A RANGE of rides including Australia's "greatest" roller-coaster and water rides;

INCREASED animal numbers and habitat improvements to the existing zoo;

A WILDLIFE education and conservation centre;

AN Australian animal experience;

A FOUR-dimensional theatre; and

MAN-MADE lakes and mountains.

Mr Harnden, the former Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games boss and Australian Grand Prix CEO, estimated the park would attract 430,000 tourists to Victoria from interstate each year and 290,000 from overseas.

The zoo now attracts between 250,000 and 300,000 people each year.

"Theme parks are one of the most popular things people want to do on their holiday, so this is about branding Melbourne and indeed Victoria to the world.

"This is something that is going to be iconic, something that we can be proud of," he said.

Tourism Minister Tim Holding said the plan had instant appeal.

"There is obvious tourism appeal, but government and the community would need to be assured about the on-going proper supervision of the animals under such a proposal," he said.

A $220 million theme park to rival world-renowned Disneyland and Sea World is planned for Melbourne.

monotonehell wrote:

A $220 million theme park to rival world-renowned Disneyland and Sea World is planned for Melbourne.

HOW can you build a theme park for $220 million? The upgrades being added to Disneyland's California Adventure over the next year have a US$1.2 billion budget alone.

Me thinks they are overselling this.

Edgar wrote:Building theme parks to lure tourism is a good idea, and has prove to work in Queensland. If Melbourne does go ahead with this, it is just going to attract more tourist than ever, even inter-state (read: South Aussie).

I can already imagine every long weekends, families would drive up to Melbourne to take their children to theme parks and then drive back.

joshzxzx wrote:Ever thaught that the theme parks in QLD work well as there is sun alsmot all year round with warm tempratures. Who the hell would go to Melbournes park on a 13 degree rainy day? I would prefer to stay home and sleep!

joshzxzx wrote:Ever thaught that the theme parks in QLD work well as there is sun alsmot all year round with warm tempratures. Who the hell would go to Melbournes park on a 13 degree rainy day? I would prefer to stay home and sleep!