Luna Park Sydney

For the first in many, many posts, I will now share a place with you that is not food related. This adventure will be in Sydney again, a city that I know pretty well. If you live in Sydney or have been to Sydney, chances are you've already visited Circular Quay and seen the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and all that. But, have you ever been so curious to think of what's actually on the other side of the bridge? Fair enough you may assume that it's all residential as you could see the houses and apartments from the city-side, but trust me, there's an extra little something else.

This something else is called Luna Park! Also referred to as Sydney's Luna Park and previously called Luna Park Milsons Point, this is the only spot I could think of off the top of my head for anything related to an amusement park. Many would go on to assume that there should multiple spots for an amusement park or similar in a city like Sydney, but no. However, you won't be too disappointed if you head over to Luna Park, and here are some of the reasons why.

The park has had quite a bit of a mixed fortune through out its history. Luna Park opened its doors almost a hundred years ago in the 1930s. It became famous through the news for all the wrongs reasons in 1979, when an accident occurred. One of their rides, the Ghost Train, caught on fire and destroyed a decent amount of the amusement park. The part though, was that there were deaths, with six being children and one an adult. Not sure why the ride was called Ghost Train in the first place, but the whole thing with the name and the accident really made up for a creepy story that certainly brought me goosebumps. Not to worry, this is no longer there for obvious reasons, so you can feel quite safe. But still, this doesn't stop the spookiness.. let's move on.

On a brighter note, after closing down and opening again, and closing again and then reopening, it opened its doors once again ten years ago in 2004, and has been operating without major issues since. At this point, you may think, I've read all of this, and do I really want to go? My advice is yes, to go there, and whatever you do there in terms of the rides and activities is completely up to you. But just to head back on our initial track of why you should visit it, my answer is, it's another icon and landmark of Sydney that no one really talks about. By this, I see this place as a great spot to take cool photos, and don't to mention its location on the other side of the harbour. This only means one thing: a sick view of the Opera House and the city skyline.

To get here, you could do one of a few things. Like the post I wrote a while back, you could do the Harbour Bridge Walk, and just get across to the Milsons Point side that way. Otherwise, you could go for a less calory-burning option, which would be taking the train to the station Milsons Point, then walk for about five minutes to reach the amusement park. Alternatively, my preferred method of transportation after walking the bridge is the ferry. I mean, what's not to like about taking a ferry and cruising through arguably the most beautiful and iconic harbours in the world? You could catch a ferry from a few different points, namely Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. And lastly, the most, should I say, 'usual' way of getting here, would be to simply take a bus that runs on the North Shore Line.

Please do note down that the park is not open everyday! To better plan out your trip, I would suggest that you follow this link to get the most updated schedule of the park. Alternatively, you could still wander around the park on its day-off, but it's just that you can't go in. I took a walk without going inside once, and as I said, the view across the city is enough of a reason to head over. And the walk across the bridge is also another reason to get here.

And now the fun bits. The park has several main attractions. I would say that the very main attraction, or the face of the amusement park, is its entrance. The famous gate of Luna Park is creatively named The Face. As you could imagine, it's a face, or a clown, that for some reason is some what evil and creepy looking. It's like one of those clowns that have traumatised kids, since it's huge and has a weird expression on its face. But nonetheless, The Face is literally the face and the very icon of Luna Park.

The park has got a few different sections, so to help you navigate through the park, you've got names like Coney Island, Midway, Big Top, Crystal Palace and Maloney's Corner. Each of the sections has its own speciality, but I will just cover some of the cool rides and attractions as a whole:

• Wild Mouse : It's not what it sounds like unlike The Face. This is actually a ride, a roller coaster to be specific. It is said to be the one and only roller coaster left in Sydney, so for all you roller coaster lovers out there, hop on!
• Hair Raiser : The name for this ride is a lot more appropriate than the prior. You get on, take a seat, lock your belt, then elevate ''50 meters above sea level''. So 50 meters would roughly calculate to maybe, 15 stories? Right, then here comes the best part. Being so high up will give you a spectacular view of the city! But then just when you're enjoying the view, you get dropped down at the speed of more than 80 kilometres per hour. Now you see why this is called the Hair Raiser.
• Ferris Wheel : And now we have what is a calm and peaceful option, for people like me. About 40 meters above the ground, you will be able to enjoy the same breathe taking view of Sydney, its harbour and its skyline. Don't worry, you won't be dropped like the Hair Raiser and your hair won't go raising. At this point, you might as well whip out your camera (with care) and snap as many photos as you can!



• Mirror Maze : This is a ride that I saw quite a bit of in London, at the Winter Wonderland held at Hyde Park. I didn't go inside but from the looks of it, you're stuck in maze and are constantly distracted by the different reflexions of the mirrors. It's not a regular maze, but indeed, a maze with a twist.

While some of the rides are only aimed for adults and older kids, there are sure things for everyone. If you're feeling drained by all the fun you're having, they also have places you could stop by and refuel. They offer traditional amusement park foods and snacks, namely fairly floss and of course, ice creams of various flavours. If you would like to take a seat and have something a bit more proper, there are two cafes, Coney Island Cafe and Lighthouse Cafe respectively. You will soon find out that there's a lot going on on Coney Island.

If you are to be dressed for the occasion (dress to impress that is) and want something proper-proper and elegant, with wine, white table cloth and all that, then check out its restaurant, The Deck. I will grab the link to their official website down at the bottom. But just as an introduction, they have a more extensive menu than just meat pies and sausage rolls. They always have something new happening, for example, Wednesdays are Paella Wednesdays with Latin American music for you to enjoy. Thursdays are for cocktails afterwork for $10. 00, an wine by glass at $5. 00, from 5:00pm until 8:00pm. Like I said, check out the website for more information since these events are always updated.

Hopefully I have really sold this place to you by the time you're reading this. If I have been successful in just that, then keep reading because now you'll find out the prices! They have two types of passes, which are the daily ones and the ones for those who goes to the park every other day, which is the annual pass. Technically they also have other versions like the Lunacy Double Pass which gives you unlimited access after 6pm, on Fridays and Saturdays, but only during the period of NSW Public School Terms as well as the summer vacation. Otherwise, they also offer Mini Money Monday Pass which is very similar to the Lunacy one but only for Mondays. All in all, it's safe to say that you better check out their website since there are a lot of deals you could get online that you can't get at the actual ticket booth at the park.

For the daily pass as well as every single version of the passes, you will pay base on your height. Since this is an amusement park and safety is (or should always be) the number one priority, people of certain heights won't be able to participate in certain rides. This mostly goes out to kids who can't really be on the big-boys ride, like the aforementioned Hair Raiser for example. The taller you are, the more you pay, because the more rides you can take part in. So roughly, this is what you're looking at for the Unlimited Ride Passes :

• Yellow = 130cm+ = $45. 95
• Green = 106-129cm = $34. 95

• Red = 85 - 105cm = $24. 95

So most of you guys should be looking around $46. 00 for the pass that will give you unlimited access to the rides. You can easily make payments online, and redeem your ticket at the destination. For more information on how you can go about getting your physical tickets, check out the link down below.

I think that is all you need to know about Luna Park, its attractions and the important details. I would like to throw in something that is not related to the park but something that you could do after your visit. Say that you spend your afternoon at the park and it's now the evening time. This is what I would do: I would take a ferry back to Circular Quay or if I'm not too tired or lazy, walk back on the bridge. I will then benefit from the lovely sunset, or if it's later, an evening view of the whole harbour from the bridge (this means take loads of photos). Once I reach the other side, I will do one of two things. If I am dressed quite nicely, I will head to the Opera House and down to their Opera Bar, for a drink. I will grab a seat just by the water and soak in the excellent ambience. The second option is, if I am not really dressed for the occasion, like with shorts and sandals, I will head over to Pancakes on the Rocks. This is a like a diner-style restaurant, where you can get nice pancakes and delicious, thick milkshakes. I would strongly recommend their milkshakes because they're just everything you would want, in terms of the sweetness from the ice cream, the little chunks of ice cream, the froth at the top that is just super fun to sip and the size, of course.

And that should really do it for me. As always, the links for both Opera Bar and Pancakes on the Rocks will be down at the bottom for you interest explorers. Opera Bar is slightly more expensive that other bars just because of its location under the Opera House and its view. But I mean, if you get a view covering the whole harbour, it's okay to pay a little more right? Pancakes on the Rocks on the other hand is affordable and portion sizes are decent. The service is so-so, so don't expect people to smile for you!

Restaurante The Deck Resataurant

Luna Park Sydney

Ticketing and Information on Different Passes

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