Wobbies World facts for kids
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| Location | 469 Springvale Road Vermont South, Victoria, Australia |
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| Coordinates | 37°50′45″S 145°10′27″E / 37.845824°S 145.174176°E |
| Opened | Circa 1980 |
| Closed | 1999 |
| Owner | Robin Laurie |
| Operating season | All year round |
| Area | Melbourne, East |
Wobbies World was a popular amusement park located in Vermont South, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It was a fun place for families and operated from about 1980 until the late 1990s.
Contents
What Was Wobbies World?
Wobbies World had many unique rides and attractions. Most of these were designed for younger children and moved at a slower pace.
Exciting Rides and Attractions
The park featured several cool ways to get around:
- A "Whirliebird" helicopter monorail that took you on a circuit.
- Six-wheel ATVs powered by mower engines.
- A real Bell Helicopter that was turned into a ground-mounted flight simulator.
- A "Splashdown" mini log ride for some water fun.
- A mini-golf course where you could test your putting skills.
- Trampolines for bouncing high.
- A ball pit for kids to dive into.
- A miniature train circuit.
- A miniature car circuit.
- Four real Melbourne W2 class trams.
- A large Vickers Viscount propeller plane that was made into a movie simulator.
What Happened to the Rides?
Many of Wobbies World's unique attractions found new homes after the park closed. The big propeller plane, for example, is now at the Australian National Aviation Museum in Moorabbin. The Bell helicopter was taken apart and is now in a paddock on Dandenong–Frankston Road. One of the "Whirliebird" helicopters from the monorail can even be found in someone's front yard!
Why Did Wobbies World Close?
Wobbies World was famous for its television advertisements. However, the park started to decline in the mid to late 1990s and eventually closed by the end of the decade.
One reason for its closure was the high entrance fee. In 1994, it cost $36 for a family of four, which was quite expensive at the time. Also, some attractions cost extra money to use, which visitors did not like.
The Site Today
After Wobbies World closed, a plant nursery and a housing estate were built on the old park site. However, some parts of the original amusement park remained. You could still see the entrance gate, a concrete castle, bridges, a train station, the Birthday Room, and the miniature golf course within the nursery.
In September 2012, the government announced that a new police station would be built there. The plant nursery has since closed down. Today, the site of the former Wobbies World is home to the new Forest Hill Police Station.
Pissweak World: A Funny Take
Wobbies World was so well-known that it was even made fun of on a popular Australian TV show called The Late Show. The show had a recurring sketch called "Pissweak World."
These sketches were fake TV commercials for made-up amusement parks. These parks had really disappointing rides and unhappy visitors. The style of these funny commercials was very similar to the actual Wobbies World TV ads, which were not very fancy.
