Big Dipper is the larger coaster at Luna Park Sydney.
This is the prototype Intamin hot racer, which is their answer to the RMC raptor. In this video,
I will compare the Intamin single rail coaster to the version RMC has been offering for years.
Single rail coasters have been around for decades. Mack actually made one back in the 1960s,
but this genre gained much more notoriety and popularity when Rocky Mountain Construction
unveiled their raptor model 5-6 years ago. These coasters utilize a thick spine to eliminate ties.
This would allow them to span large distances in between supports, be assembled
more quickly, and ultimately keep costs down. RMC envisioned these coasters for smaller parks,
but even big chains like Cedar Fair and Six Flags were interested in the concept. Their
prototype layout has been revered by enthusiasts for its ejector airtime, breakneck pacing,
and intensity. And they’re continued to offer extended layouts as required for larger parks.
Shortly after RMC opened their first Raptor, Intamin debuted the Hot Racer model.
This would also be a single rail coaster, but this one would be designed with launches in mind.
The first would be sold to Luna Park Sydney. The coaster would be named Big Dipper to honor two
former coasters the park once had. The first was a wood coaster than opened in 1935. And honestly,
this may have been the best Big Dipper of all. It had a series of camelbacks and bunny hills.
But the Ghost Train dark ride caught fire in 1979. While this blaze caused minor damage
to the wood coaster, it caused Luna Park as a whole to close. And just two years later,
the original Big Dipper was demolished. The park operated for much of the 1980s
before closing down. The park had a grand reopening in 1995 with the second Big Dipper
as their headlining attraction. This would be an Arrow looping coaster that opened as Australia’s
tallest and fastest coaster. However, it faced extreme public opposition and noise restrictions.
This led to the park and its shiny new coaster closing after just one year. This park and
coaster would then sit idle for years, but they th park and Big Dipper operated briefly for the
2000 Olympics. The park then closed in early 2001 and Big Dipper was removed. It was purchased by
Dreamworld, who installed it later that year, and it has operated for the past 2 decades,
currently going by the name Gold Coaster. Luna Park has been in stable condition
since 2004, but their only major coaster has been their classic wooden Wild Mouse.
Luna Park knew they needed another big coaster, specifically a Big Dipper.
They finally got it in 2021. The park made a bold $30 million upgrade to improve the park.
This included 9 new rides, including 3 coasters. But the headliner would be the third Big Dipper.
This expansion actually caused the park to close for a few months and it’s not hard to see why.
Big Dipper was truly squeezed in there! The start and end were placed atop a building.
Then the middle section runs between a series of buildings and a cliff.
But this ride adds so much energy to the park. It’s exciting seeing the train whip through the
non-inverting loop and sidewinder. And the bright yellow track and red supports really pop. I find
it pretty ironic Intamin’s first single rail coaster had an identical color scheme to RMC’s
first single rail coaster in Six Flags Fiesta Texas’s Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster.
But the best part of this ride’s appearance is its ornate entry building.
It’s a giant spired building bearing the ride’s name. This was retained from the prior
two Big Dippers and Luna Park kept it vacant awaiting their latest Big Dipper coaster.
I also like how you have one of the old wood coaster cars adjacent to the entrance and some
signage giving the history of the prior ones. Luna Park really is a park that embraces their past.
The queue line is pretty bland, but it is long. You have a metal bridge and some switchbacks.
However, you do get a fantastic view of the ride’s second half at least. It really gets you hyped
for your ride seeing the coaster flying overhead. I was nervous this ride would have a lengthy wait.
Each train seats just 7 riders, all single file. And I heard this coaster has a tendency to run
just one train, which was the case during my visit. Despite this, the coaster was never
more than a 10 minute wait for me. I’ve never heard of this park getting overly slammed,
but if this ride ever had a full queue, I could see it easily taking 1.5-2 hours.
At the end of the queue, exactly seven people are admitted into the station, just enough to
fill the train. Seating is then on a first come basis. I thought the forces were pretty similar
across the train, but the front was noticeably smoother. The train had a rattle the further
back you go. It wasn’t enough to cause me any pain or a headache, but it was quite noticeable.
So definitely shoot for the front if you’re sensitive to a bad rattle.
The line moved at a steady rate thanks to a relatively short cycle time and
very fast dispatches. This may have been the fastest loading coaster I saw in Australia.
And this was even with the ride’s strict loose article policy. Like many coasters in Australia,
all bags, items in your pocket, and even glasses must be stored in cubbies on the load platform.
But these bins are plentiful and close to the train. Then the employees can check
the restraints in no joke 10 seconds. The RMC raptors have received a lot of
criticism for their restraints. You have a rigid lap bar with firm shoulder straps.
A lot of people find this harness uncomfortable, especially with the forces those rides exert.
The biggest advantage of the Intamin model over the RMC one is the restraints. Big Dipper has the
ultra-comfortable overhead lap bar Intamin has used on many of their newer coasters.
This restraint has a slight amount of give to enable airtime and it
keeps your entire upper-body free. I wish more rides had these restraints.
Once dispatched, you turn out of the station and immediately hit launch 1.
I think it engages before the back has even completed the initial turn.
Both launches on Big Dipper are tire driven. The first is quite mild, as it accelerates you to
just 31 mph or 50 kph. It doesn’t have much of a kick, but you’ll feel a bit of speed at the end.
You then bank upwards and to the left. It’s a small hill but it gives some faint lats.
Then you have an s-bend double down. I was optimistic you’d get some airtime here,
but you’re simply going too slow. This first section is a warm-up. A
lot of Intamin’s newer launch coasters have a slow start before kicking things up a notch.
Without any hesitation, you then hit launch 2. This boosts you to 45 mph or 72 kph.
This acceleration is much stronger. You will feel the forces trying to peel you
backwards. It’s similar to the tire-drive launches on their newer motorbike coasters
like Juvelen at Djurs Sommerland and Wave Breaker at SeaWorld San Antonio. It has a
better kick than your average magnetic launch. You then head into the ride’s largest element,
a non-inverting loop. No height was posted, but I’d estimate it to be 7 stories tall.
I was optimistic this would have some wild airtime and/or laterals. Intamin had done this element
once before on Ferrari World’s Flying Aces and it had some fantastic lats. The twist on Big Dipper
is fast, but it doesn’t have any force to it. The view at the top is great though. After you
suddenly snap upright, you get a gorgeous and surprise view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The subsequent valley then hits you with good positive Gs, the strongest on the ride.
These forces are then maintained through the sidewinder.
The Gs are held during the climb, which caused me to start greying out.
Then after the flip, you get another blast of positives in the tight valley that follows.
You then fly over a bunny hill. This is far and away the best airtime moment on the ride.
This hill gives really good floater airtime. I wish the coaster had more hills like it.
You then charge over an s-hill. While fast, it’s too drawn out to offer any negative Gs.
It feels more like high speed trick track as you keep changing directions.
The finale is a high speed series of twists above a building.
This part left me dizzy after each ride. The s-hill is followed by an overbank. The valleys
around it and the element itself have solid Gs. Then you rip through a corkscrew. It’s speedy,
but you hang upside-down long enough to get some nice hangtime.
Then you zoom around one last turn and hit the final brakes. You then return
to the station, ending the experience. Once of the best aspects about this coaster
is its pacing. The second half feels far faster than its posted speed.
The biggest con with this coaster is the lack of airtime and intensity.
These are two things Intamin traditionally excels at. But I think this is deliberate. It ties back
to how they are marketing the hot racer. When you visit Intamin’s website, they list the hot racer
model as a family or thrill coaster. It’s not in the insane category like their mega coasters.
I have no doubt Intamin could make a more extreme single rail coaster like the RMC ones if someone
asks, but they aren’t actively marketing the coaster for that demographic at this time.
The other thing that I hope can be fixed is the rattle in the back rows.
Not sure if that was caused by my specific train- again it had just one in use the day I visited-
or if it’s a ride issue. The trackwork seems great. The train fluidly moves between elements.
But the back rows just kept on rattling. I also will note the Big Dipper name is
pretty ironic for a ride that doesn’t have any large drops. Heck, the largest elements are
inversions. But I respect the park for wanting to honor what came before it.
So what would I rate Big Dipper? I would give Intamin’s first single
rail coaster a 7 out of 10. This is a good coaster. I love the pacing and honestly,
the coaster is pretty dizzying because of how quickly you go from element to element. And
there is a fine mix of elements. The second launch is sweet, there are several spots of nice positive
Gs, and there’s that one good airtime hill. I wish a few of the other hills had similar airtime,
but that wasn’t what this coaster is shooting for. It’s more of a family thrill coaster than
a bonafide extreme scream machine. And it seemed to be a hit with the park’s family demographic.
Just go into the coaster knowing that. I also hope this ride’s long-term future
is stable. But I will always be a bit nervous for this ride in light of what
happened to the Big Dipper that came before it. This ride is darn close to a series of
apartment buildings and I’m sure not all of the residents are coaster enthusiasts.
So those are my thoughts on Big Dipper at Luna Park Sydney. What are your thoughts
on this multi-launch single rail coaster? Do you like the coaster or were you expecting a
more thrilling experience? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!