Hastings Park Zoo & North Shore Amusement Park

[mr.x]

Certainly wouldn't since NIMBY's would be all over it, and with the lack of vision within our municipal gov'ts.....i've always wanted the Greater Vancouver Zoo to move back to Vancouver, into Hastings Park.

Across the inlet from Hastings Park in the North Shore would be a world-class, Disneyland/Six Flags/Universal Studios-type of amusement park and resort. Why the North Shore? It's still in close proximity to Vancouver.....it's not in Hastings Park because it's too small.

Lets face it, we need attractions in this city....and don't give me the "nature/wilderness/sightseeing" b.s. Fact is, we can have both, though our weather could be a problem for the amusement park especially since it's right at the foot of the mountains (lotza rain).

What do you guys think?


Hastings Park Zoo (about 120 acres)
Hastings Park Racecourse (about 34 acres)
Pacific Coliseum (about 7 acres)
Amusement Park & Resort (450-500 acres)

[Nutterbug]

1. We don't need an animal prison.

2. We're not Los Angeles, Orlando, Tokyo or Paris. A world class name brand amusement park would be wasted sitting idle here in bad weather half the year.

Whatever's going to happen to the port facilities that'll be displaced by the amusement park anyways?

[agrant]

We need attractions for sure, but I think we're more short of industrial land. For attractions, I'm thinking more of a museum type of deal, which I believe we'll get.

I thought the plan for Hastings Park was for it to be transformed into a... well... park.

[vanman]

Whatever's going to happen to the port facilities that'll be displaced by the amusement park anyways?

Exactly what I was thinking. There is no way in hell that a friggin amusement park is going to bring in more cash than the port facilities that exist currently. And as someone else noted already Vancouver needs to retain as much industrial land as possible, regardless of how ugly it might be.

[dreambrother808]

Toronto has Canada's Wonderland, which is a Cedar Fairs, and Montreal has La Ronde, which is a Six Flags. They sit idle for the greater part of the year. Why can't Vancouver have something better than the mediocre Playland??? I think you've presented a good idea here. Maybe the location is wrong, but the notion that Vancouver could use something more on the amusement park front is a very good point. We don't just find amusement parks in Los Angeles, Paris, Orlando, or Tokyo. We don't necessarily have to build something on a Disneyland scale here. Much more land would be required for that. There are great parks on a smaller scale.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Toronto has Canada's Wonderland, which is a Cedar Fairs, and Montreal has La Ronde, which is a Six Flags. They sit idle for the greater part of the year. Why can't Vancouver have something better than the mediocre Playland??? I think you've presented a good idea here. Maybe the location is wrong, but the notion that Vancouver could use something more on the amusement park front is a very good point. We don't just find amusement parks in Los Angeles, Paris, Orlando, or Tokyo. We don't necessarily have to build something on a Disneyland scale here. Much more land would be required for that. There are great parks on a smaller scale.

Agreed. Playland is just meh now... nothing has changed over the years. I would prefer the next Amusement Park (Playland v2?) be somewhere close to a SkyTrain station =)

[mr.x]

The port facilities, and eventually every port facility in Burrard Inlet, would move to a new superport in Tsawwassen.

We already have an "animal prison"....it's called the Greater Vancouver Zoo, currently in the middle of nowhere. If it moved into the city, I'm sure it'll attract quite a few more customers. As well, I believe that many of the zoo's animals are rescued and are not able to be returned to the wild.


We need attractions, and certainly not just museums.


Hastings Park may be a park, but who the hell uses it as a park? It's hardly this so-called "Stanley Park of the east", and it sure was a huge mistake to tear down all of those fair buildings to replace it with a frickin pond. Most of the year, there's barely anyone there.

[vanman]

The port facilities, and eventually every port facility in Burrard Inlet, would move to a new superport in Tsawwassen.

That's not going to happen anytime soon. Not only would that pose vast political
issues but environmental ones as well.

[SFUVancouver]

^We're going to have both. The port is Vancouver in many respects, and forfeiting one of the world's great natural harbours for a mud flat is insane.

[SpongeG]

seattle has 6 flags and it sits closed a big chunk of the year

its only viable in the warm weather

would be a big waste of working land

as for a zoo - kind of politically incorrect these days

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Toronto has Canada's Wonderland, which is a Cedar Fairs, and Montreal has La Ronde, which is a Six Flags. They sit idle for the greater part of the year. Why can't Vancouver have something better than the mediocre Playland??? I think you've presented a good idea here. Maybe the location is wrong, but the notion that Vancouver could use something more on the amusement park front is a very good point. We don't just find amusement parks in Los Angeles, Paris, Orlando, or Tokyo. We don't necessarily have to build something on a Disneyland scale here. Much more land would be required for that. There are great parks on a smaller scale.

Well, i guess i'm thinking more along the lines of Alton Towers in the U.K. An amusement park in a forest, with no ride being taller than the tree line. A lot of its rides run underground and in landscaped ditches. But of course, it would take awhile for our trees to grow...add in a resort hotel to the park.

[Nutterbug]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

The port facilities, and eventually every port facility in Burrard Inlet, would move to a new superport in Tsawwassen.

That's an awful lot of port facilities to cram onto one small man-made island or floating dock.

Originally Posted by mr.x2

We already have an "animal prison"....it's called the Greater Vancouver Zoo, currently in the middle of nowhere. If it moved into the city, I'm sure it'll attract quite a few more customers. As well, I believe that many of the zoo's animals are rescued and are not able to be returned to the wild.

Then it should be out in the valley somewhere, where they can afford the animals lots of land and space to move around.

[agrant]

Originally Posted by deasine

Agreed. Playland is just meh now... nothing has changed over the years. I would prefer the next Amusement Park (Playland v2?) be somewhere close to a SkyTrain station =)

Meh. I haven't been there since I was 10 or so. I hear it gets packed with people. It could easily expand to at least what it once was. Too bad it doesn't run for very long.

[Nutterbug]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

seattle has 6 flags and it sits closed a big chunk of the year

its only viable in the warm weather

would be a big waste of working land

Don't raise kids north of the 40 degree line

OR

Don't raise them to exquisite standards of fun.

[SpongeG]

as it is playland charges really high prices to make up for the short season

watching KTLA you can get seasons passes for like $59.99 to some of the parks down there

[Hourglass]

Winter weather in Paris or Tokyo isn't exactly tropical, so I don't see why Vancouver couldn't have an attraction of that sort. I would question whether Van could support an attraction of this sort, though.

Anyway, Lynnterm, the North Shore port facilities you're showing, isn't going anywhere soon. I understand there have been discussions to add container-handling facilities to expand the port's overall container capacity.

[Nutterbug]

Originally Posted by Hourglass

Winter weather in Paris or Tokyo isn't exactly tropical, so I don't see why Vancouver couldn't have an attraction of that sort.

I guess they make up for it in population.

[SpongeG]

they should pretty playland up and add a water slide park

there aren't many that close to the city - they are all a good distance away

[leftside]

Alton Towers is pretty naff. I'd love a Six Flags near to Vancouver!

[twoNeurons]

Why does it have to be in Vancouver. Most of these parks are built way outside the city limits. Aldergrove would be a good fit.

Even Disneyland is built in Orange County, which at the time was farmland.