LUNA PARK
By Sharyn McCaskey
December 2011
Your excited, you can see the face, that old familiar fella with the big smile and all the teeth, your heart starts to pound, you grab your mates and start to jump up and down, “im so excited” you scream.
The funny thing is you’re 49 year old women who cannot wait to get on the rides. Memories of those childhood days spent a Luna Park all come rushing back. Lining up for the Big Dipper, sharing a laugh with mates, being scared in the ghost train, and spending time with ohhhhh boys who you liked but weren’t sure if they liked you.
My husband who is 52, who I am fairly sure after 32 years together actually does like me, was just as excited as I was. I am sure at one point he skipped, now as a 5ft 11 heavily tattooed and big muscled man who works in the mines of West Australia, seeing him skip with excitement off the ferry to the entrance amused many of those around him.
As soon as you walk in you realise you have stepped back in time, we walked past the stalls, the rides, the giant Ferris wheel all the way through until the entrance of Coney Island, we gasp as we comment “nothing has changed in 25 years”, it is all exactly the same.
We rush over the to giant dip, grab our mats and high tail it upstairs, we turn left to the highest run and as I am about to slid down I think hang on .. This IS scary and I chicken out and move to the other slide and await my turn; onto the landing, feet into the back, await permission to go and then weeeeeeeeeeee ….
I am scared and laughing all at the same time, the only difference between 1975 and 2012 is that my husband is sitting at the bottom of the ride with an Iphone video …. I must admit one does not worry about ones looks when whizzing down a slide.
We rode all the rides in Coney Island and watched the kids on the big circle being “slide off” we recalled stories of our youth and again discussed how much has changed but not changed at all, the safety aspect was either not their in 1975 or simply as adults we actually notice the warnings and the watchful eyes of the staff.
As kids I suppose we just never registered their existence, it is nice to know they are there and keeping the kidlets safe, I do recall other bigger boys would take over the rides and push you off at times, that was certainly not going to happen in today’s Luna Park.
After Coney Island we venture out and up to the Wild Cat, now that ride offers a great view and at the same time, makes your heart stop as you ride the rails, up, down, sideways and inside out it seems.
We spent hours at Luna Park, riding the dodgems, laughing at the mirrors, one took about 10 kilos off me and I thought about picking it up and sending it home to my bedroom, I’m still thinking how do I get it delivered to WA.
We waited for the giant Ferris wheel and our turn in the cage, to take us up so that we could have a wonderful view without the whooshing of the wild cat of Sydney Harbour; some of the best shots of the harbour bridge were taken of our holiday from the top of that ride.
Mac, my husband, took my concern over the height as an invitation to sit on the same side as me and be romantic; I appreciated his efforts but moved quickly to the other side to even out the balance. Whilst it is high and I actually considered not going up, it is fine once your in the cage/ride.
The staff, the actors, the dancers, the stilt walkers and the entertainment which is on constantly has you asking in a rushed voice… “Where do I look, where do I go, and what do I do”.
All of a sudden you start hearing music from the 1920s and then 15 boys and girls come out and perform for 30 minutes dances and songs from that brilliant Andrew Sisters and Jazz era, they danced and sung up and down the park, high grade performances and very entertaining they were.
As a child, Coney island is where Luna Park finished but today there is a whole other section of kids rides behind the island, don’t forget to visit that section, we had our drinks and sat their wishing our son was with us, actually to be honest we didn’t as it was fun on our own…..are we bad.
We did suggest to our son who is 24 that this would be a brilliant venue for a day out with him and his mates and his girlfriend and wished him all the fun of the park, so we felt we had done our part in including him.
The cost we found brilliant, as if you wanted to go on rides all day, you brought a pass and then it scanned you onto the rides, so if you were unsure of the rides but still wanted to reminisce or spend a day watching some great entertainment with views to die for of the Sydney harbour then it would not cost you a cent, that is the true value.
At Luna Park, you pay if you want to ride, for what you eat, which was so nice and not overpriced.
I knew my visit to Luna Park would be a highlight of our NSW holiday, I just did realise how many fantastic memories would come flooding back and how much those feeling and memories had a physical content to the day, I was on cloud 9 for that day and few days after.
Luna Park is not just for the kids, the families and the grandparents, you can now add, those who are middle aged and want to have a great day out.
By Sharyn McCaskey
December 2011
Your excited, you can see the face, that old familiar fella with the big smile and all the teeth, your heart starts to pound, you grab your mates and start to jump up and down, “im so excited” you scream.
The funny thing is you’re 49 year old women who cannot wait to get on the rides. Memories of those childhood days spent a Luna Park all come rushing back. Lining up for the Big Dipper, sharing a laugh with mates, being scared in the ghost train, and spending time with ohhhhh boys who you liked but weren’t sure if they liked you.
My husband who is 52, who I am fairly sure after 32 years together actually does like me, was just as excited as I was. I am sure at one point he skipped, now as a 5ft 11 heavily tattooed and big muscled man who works in the mines of West Australia, seeing him skip with excitement off the ferry to the entrance amused many of those around him.
As soon as you walk in you realise you have stepped back in time, we walked past the stalls, the rides, the giant Ferris wheel all the way through until the entrance of Coney Island, we gasp as we comment “nothing has changed in 25 years”, it is all exactly the same.
We rush over the to giant dip, grab our mats and high tail it upstairs, we turn left to the highest run and as I am about to slid down I think hang on .. This IS scary and I chicken out and move to the other slide and await my turn; onto the landing, feet into the back, await permission to go and then weeeeeeeeeeee ….
I am scared and laughing all at the same time, the only difference between 1975 and 2012 is that my husband is sitting at the bottom of the ride with an Iphone video …. I must admit one does not worry about ones looks when whizzing down a slide.
We rode all the rides in Coney Island and watched the kids on the big circle being “slide off” we recalled stories of our youth and again discussed how much has changed but not changed at all, the safety aspect was either not their in 1975 or simply as adults we actually notice the warnings and the watchful eyes of the staff.
As kids I suppose we just never registered their existence, it is nice to know they are there and keeping the kidlets safe, I do recall other bigger boys would take over the rides and push you off at times, that was certainly not going to happen in today’s Luna Park.
After Coney Island we venture out and up to the Wild Cat, now that ride offers a great view and at the same time, makes your heart stop as you ride the rails, up, down, sideways and inside out it seems.
We spent hours at Luna Park, riding the dodgems, laughing at the mirrors, one took about 10 kilos off me and I thought about picking it up and sending it home to my bedroom, I’m still thinking how do I get it delivered to WA.
We waited for the giant Ferris wheel and our turn in the cage, to take us up so that we could have a wonderful view without the whooshing of the wild cat of Sydney Harbour; some of the best shots of the harbour bridge were taken of our holiday from the top of that ride.
Mac, my husband, took my concern over the height as an invitation to sit on the same side as me and be romantic; I appreciated his efforts but moved quickly to the other side to even out the balance. Whilst it is high and I actually considered not going up, it is fine once your in the cage/ride.
The staff, the actors, the dancers, the stilt walkers and the entertainment which is on constantly has you asking in a rushed voice… “Where do I look, where do I go, and what do I do”.
All of a sudden you start hearing music from the 1920s and then 15 boys and girls come out and perform for 30 minutes dances and songs from that brilliant Andrew Sisters and Jazz era, they danced and sung up and down the park, high grade performances and very entertaining they were.
As a child, Coney island is where Luna Park finished but today there is a whole other section of kids rides behind the island, don’t forget to visit that section, we had our drinks and sat their wishing our son was with us, actually to be honest we didn’t as it was fun on our own…..are we bad.
We did suggest to our son who is 24 that this would be a brilliant venue for a day out with him and his mates and his girlfriend and wished him all the fun of the park, so we felt we had done our part in including him.
The cost we found brilliant, as if you wanted to go on rides all day, you brought a pass and then it scanned you onto the rides, so if you were unsure of the rides but still wanted to reminisce or spend a day watching some great entertainment with views to die for of the Sydney harbour then it would not cost you a cent, that is the true value.
At Luna Park, you pay if you want to ride, for what you eat, which was so nice and not overpriced.
I knew my visit to Luna Park would be a highlight of our NSW holiday, I just did realise how many fantastic memories would come flooding back and how much those feeling and memories had a physical content to the day, I was on cloud 9 for that day and few days after.
Luna Park is not just for the kids, the families and the grandparents, you can now add, those who are middle aged and want to have a great day out.
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