Funfields

Funfields is a seasonal amusement and water park in Whittlesea, on Melbourne's northern suburban fringe in Victoria, Australia. The 15.7-hectare park is located about 40 kilometres north of Melbourne and operates principally during the warmer months, generally from November through April. It is regarded as one of Victoria's major theme parks and combines water slides, gravity-based rides, children's attractions, dry rides, food facilities, landscaped picnic areas and private guest amenities. The property opened to the public on 2 February 1985 as the Alpine Toboggan Park. Its original signature attraction was a 650-metre stainless-steel downhill toboggan track, built on a naturally sloping site near the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. The site had been proposed by local builder Bob Mayo and insurance broker Victor Colosimo, with planning approval following community concerns about noise and the effect of the attraction on the surrounding area. The Verga family acquired the park in 1987 and subsequently guided its development from a small toboggan and picnic venue into a broader amusement destination. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Funfields' predecessor added in-ground water slides, mini-golf, a small miniature-car attraction and, later, the Thunderdome Go Karts circuit. The business adopted an all-inclusive admission model in which visitors paid a single, height-based entry price for unlimited access to eligible rides. This helped distinguish the park from pay-per-ride amusement venues and supported its positioning as a full-day family outing. The business faced a major strategic challenge during Australia's public-liability insurance crisis in the early 2000s. Gravity-based attractions such as toboggan tracks were particularly exposed to rising premiums, and park management gave evidence to a 2002 Australian Senate inquiry. The crisis encouraged the operator to diversify beyond its original toboggan focus. In 2005, Alpine Toboggan Park was renamed Funfields, signalling the shift toward a multi-attraction theme park. The operator also used a 'ride rescue' approach, acquiring and refurbishing attractions from other Australian parks. Examples included the Blackbeard's Fury pirate ship from Sea World and the Burnout ride from Dreamworld. Water attractions became central to the brand's identity. The Typhoon slide was installed in 2013, followed by major aquatic investments including the Gravity Wave, Volcano Beach heated wave pool and later-generation family and children's attractions. Funfields has promoted the scale and record-setting characteristics of selected ProSlide installations, using high-speed slides and water experiences as a primary point of differentiation. The park's design makes extensive use of the site's existing slope rather than relying solely on tall steel ride structures, while landscaped lawns, palm trees, picnic shelters and themed areas give it a resort-like character. The park's public profile also grew through a revised marketing strategy associated with marketing consultant John Dwyer. After the initial performance of Typhoon fell short of expectations, the advertising emphasis shifted toward the park's major thrill rides and their world-record claims instead of presenting Funfields mainly as a small local picnic park. This repositioning helped support later expansion, including Gravity Wave and the development of additional wet and dry attraction zones. Funfields has continued to operate as a family-owned business. Its attractions are organised into themed areas such as Thrill Hill, Velocity Valley, Paradise Palms, Origin Springs, Mystic Kingdom and Amazonia Falls. The park offers food and beverage outlets, merchandise, cabana rentals, express-queue upgrades and picnic facilities, including a BYO-food policy. The annual Easter Egg Hunt, held since the 1990s, is one of its recurring community-oriented events. In 2017, a planning-permit discrepancy became a significant local issue. A council audit found that the original permit had capped attendance at 450 patrons even though the park had for many years operated at substantially higher levels, with peak-day attendance exceeding 4,000. Following objections concerning noise, traffic and operating hours, the City of Whittlesea retrospectively adjusted the permitted capacity to 4,600 patrons plus season-pass holders. In 2024, Funfields undertook its largest reported redevelopment, replacing the Thunderdome Go Karts and Treasure Cove Mini Golf sites with the Lava Lagoon lazy river, Cyber Drift bumper cars and expanded picnic space. The park remains focused on family recreation, seasonal tourism and the Melbourne regional market.

Funfields began as the Alpine Toboggan Park, a project planned in the early 1980s by builder Bob Mayo and insurance broker Victor Colosimo. Planning documents were lodged in February 1984, and the project received approval despite local concerns about noise. The park opened on 2 February 1985 with a 650-metre stainless-steel downhill toboggan track. Its location on naturally sloping land allowed the operator to create a gravity-based attraction without relying on the tall ride towers common at many amusement parks. The Verga family acquired the site in 1987. Early development added in-ground water slides, later known as Splashdown, and the park gradually developed a broader picnic-and-attractions format. During the 1990s it operated with a relatively small collection of attractions, including a miniature-car track and Crocodile Creek mini golf. The Thunderdome Go Karts circuit was added in 1997. Admission evolved toward a single-charge, height-based model that gave guests unlimited access to eligible attractions rather than requiring payment for every ride. The public-liability insurance crisis of the early 2000s created a serious challenge for Australian toboggan and gravity-ride operators. Funfields management participated in a 2002 Senate inquiry, describing the pressure created by rapidly rising insurance premiums. The crisis reinforced the need to diversify the park's revenue base and reduce reliance on the original toboggan attraction. The business formally adopted the Funfields name in 2005, presenting itself as a multi-ride amusement park rather than a single-purpose toboggan venue. The operator expanded by acquiring and refurbishing rides from other Australian theme parks. Blackbeard's Fury was obtained from Sea World in 2009, while Burnout was acquired from Dreamworld in 2012. The addition of Typhoon in 2013 marked another major investment, although the attraction initially did not generate the expected visitor response. Management then worked with marketing expert John Dwyer to reposition the park's advertising. The revised approach highlighted the scale and record claims of the park's major thrill rides, helping Funfields build a stronger regional identity and support further capital investment. Water attractions became increasingly important to the park. Funfields promoted ProSlide installations, including Gravity Wave, which was described at opening as the world's biggest, longest and tallest ProSlide Wave. Supanova opened in 2022, and Volcano Beach, a heated outdoor wave pool, opened in December 2018. The Mystic Kingdom children's area was subsequently refreshed and re-themed, including the addition of Dragon's Revenge. The park's broader layout developed into themed zones combining high-speed slides, dry rides, children's entertainment and tropical or resort-inspired landscaping. Funfields experienced a planning and community-relations controversy in 2017. A City of Whittlesea audit found that a permit issued in 1984 still stated a patronage cap of 450, even though the park had long been receiving several thousand visitors on busy days. The discrepancy surfaced while management sought copies of historic permits. Local objections to a revised permit cited noise, traffic and extended operating hours. The council ultimately amended the permitted capacity to 4,600 patrons plus season-pass holders, bringing the formal planning position closer to actual operations. The park continued operating as a family-owned business and a significant seasonal employer in the Whittlesea area. Its recurring Easter Egg Hunt, established in the 1990s, grew into a regional family event. In 2023, management attracted local media attention by offering to pay parking fines incurred by visitors who had parked on a nature strip during an overflow-parking incident. The largest reported redevelopment to date occurred in 2024. Funfields permanently closed Thunderdome Go Karts and Treasure Cove Mini Golf. The former go-kart area was transformed into the Paradise Palms precinct, containing the Lava Lagoon lazy river and an enclosed Cyber Drift bumper-car attraction. Both new attractions opened on 26 December 2024. The former mini-golf site was cleared for expanded grassy picnic areas. This work reflected the park's continuing shift toward water-based experiences, high-capacity family attractions and a resort-style guest environment. In 2025, Lilly Primerano joined the management structure as Attractions Manager, representing continued involvement by the owner's family.

• 2025

  Family management continues

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Lilly Primerano was appointed Attractions Manager, extending the family's involvement in park management.

• 2024

  Paradise Palms redevelopment opens

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Lava Lagoon and Cyber Drift opened on 26 December as part of a major redevelopment that also expanded picnic space.

• 2022

  Supanova opens

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Supanova joined the park's collection of major water slides.

• 2018

  Volcano Beach opens

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  A heated outdoor wave pool opened in December, strengthening the park's year-round aquatic proposition within its seasonal operating period.

• 2017

  Planning permit regularised

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  The City of Whittlesea addressed the discrepancy between the historic 450-person permit cap and the park's actual operating scale.

• 2013

  Typhoon opens

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  The Typhoon water slide was installed as a major expansion of the park's aquatic offering.

• 2005

  Rebrand to Funfields

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Alpine Toboggan Park adopted the Funfields name as the business broadened into a multi-attraction theme park.

• 2002

  Participation in public-liability insurance inquiry

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Management provided evidence to an Australian Senate inquiry concerning the effect of rising insurance premiums on gravity-based rides.

• 1997

  Thunderdome Go Karts added

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  The major Thunderdome Go Karts circuit joined the park's attraction portfolio.

• 1987

  Verga family acquires the park

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  The Verga family acquired the site and became responsible for its subsequent development.

• 1985

  Park opens

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Alpine Toboggan Park opened to the public on 2 February with a 650-metre stainless-steel downhill toboggan track.

• 1984

  Planning approval for Alpine Toboggan Park

  [1]Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org

  Plans for the original toboggan park were lodged and approved after consideration of local concerns about noise.

A family-oriented, seasonal Australian theme and water park offering all-inclusive access to wet and dry attractions in a landscaped, resort-style setting. Its strongest differentiators are gravity-based rides built around the site's natural slope, large ProSlide water attractions, family ownership and a full-day recreational format.

• Gravity ride · 1985

  Alpine Toboggan

  The park's original signature attraction is a stainless-steel downhill toboggan track measuring approximately 650 metres. It uses the site's natural slope and remains a defining part of Funfields' identity and history.

• Water slide

  Gravity Wave

  Gravity Wave is a large ProSlide water attraction built around the park's sloping terrain. At its opening it was promoted as the world's biggest, longest and tallest ProSlide Wave, making it a central element of Funfields' thrill-ride positioning.

• Water slide · 2013

  Typhoon

  Typhoon was a major water-slide investment introduced during Funfields' expansion into larger aquatic attractions. Its early visitor performance prompted the marketing repositioning that later emphasised the park's large-scale and record-oriented thrill rides.

• Wave pool · 2018

  Volcano Beach

  Volcano Beach is a heated outdoor wave pool opened in December 2018. It forms an aquatic centrepiece within the park and is visually associated with the artificial volcano structure used in the broader themed precinct.

• Water slide · 2022

  Supanova

  Supanova is a later-generation water slide that expanded Funfields' collection of ProSlide attractions and reinforced the park's focus on high-energy aquatic experiences.

• Lazy river · 2024

  Lava Lagoon

  Lava Lagoon is a lazy-river attraction built on the former Thunderdome Go Karts site as part of the Paradise Palms redevelopment. It opened alongside Cyber Drift in December 2024 and added a slower-paced family water experience.

• Bumper cars · 2024

  Cyber Drift

  Cyber Drift is an enclosed bumper-car attraction introduced in the 2024 central-precinct redevelopment. It replaced part of the former go-kart area and broadened the park's dry-ride offering for families.

• Children's area

  Mystic Kingdom

  Mystic Kingdom is a medieval-themed area aimed at younger children. It includes family rides, a Fairy Garden and an interactive Talking Tree, and was refreshed with attractions including Dragon's Revenge.

• 2013World-record thrill-ride repositioning

  Victoria, Australia

  Following the weaker-than-expected initial response to Typhoon, Funfields worked with marketing expert John Dwyer to focus advertising on the scale and record claims of its major thrill rides rather than its smaller attractions.

  Outcome. The repositioning was credited with improving the park's commercial performance and supporting later investments such as Gravity Wave.

  Source
• Annual Easter Egg Hunt

  Victoria, Australia

  Funfields has hosted an Easter Saturday egg hunt since the 1990s. The event developed from a small local activity into a regional family event involving thousands of eggs across the park's lawns.

  Outcome. It remains a recurring seasonal and community-oriented attraction.

  Source

• 2024

  Central precinct redevelopmentOther

  Background

  Funfields sought to replace ageing or retired attractions and improve the balance between high-capacity water experiences, family rides and guest amenities.

  Action taken

  The park closed Thunderdome Go Karts and Treasure Cove Mini Golf, constructed Lava Lagoon and Cyber Drift, and expanded grassy picnic areas.

  Aftermath

  The new attractions opened on 26 December 2024 and created the Paradise Palms precinct.

  Redevelopment investment. A$10 million (2024)

  Source

• 2017

  Regularisation of patronage capacityStrategy

  Background

  A council audit identified a historic permit cap of 450 patrons, substantially below the park's established peak-day attendance.

  Action taken

  The City of Whittlesea retrospectively revised the permitted capacity to 4,600 patrons plus season-pass holders.

  Aftermath

  The formal permit was brought closer to the park's actual operating scale, although the change followed objections about traffic, noise and operating hours.

  Source

• 2005

  Rebrand from Alpine Toboggan Park to FunfieldsStrategy

  Background

  The original toboggan-focused identity no longer represented the park's expanding portfolio of water and dry rides.

  Action taken

  Management adopted the Funfields name and repositioned the venue as a multi-attraction family theme park.

  Aftermath

  The rebrand provided a broader platform for subsequent ride acquisitions and aquatic expansion.

  Source

1. 1Funfieldsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Funfields official websitefunfields.com.au