From the moment you step inside Mr Moon’s giant mouth, you are exposed to a world full of
carnival flair, from the rides and attractions that send you sky-high, to historical carousel rides, Melbourne’s
Luna Park has been the face of fun in St Kilda for generations.
Overlooking the famous Port Phillip Bay, this historic park has been a destination for Melbourne families for the past century. With 2012 celebrating 100 years of fun-filled adventures, Luna Park continues to surge forward with a generous mix of heritage listed attractions and brand new thrill rides to satisfy all thrill seekers.
The most famous of the Park’s attractions is its Roller Coaster – The Great Scenic Railway, a large wooden coaster that projects its passengers, at high speed, around the outside of the entire Park. It boasts the title of being the oldest continually operating wooden roller coaster in the world and the only one of its kind with a standing brakeman in control aboard its moving carriages. This world famous roller coaster will not only provide you with heart-stopping dips and turns, but also the most stunning views of Port Phillip Bay St. Kilda has to offer.
Luna Park offers a range of rides and attractions for all ages from our latest additions, the free spinning mini roller coaster Speedy Beetle and relaxing ferris wheel Moon Balloons, to old classics such as Dodgems and nail biting thrill rides like the Pharaoh’s Curse and Power Surge. A day at Luna Park cannot be missed when visiting Melbourne, no matter your age.
Luna Park also offers a range of function rooms to hire, as well as venues for kid’s parties, weddings & engagement events and Christmas party venues. Visit our Events page for more details.
Every $5 helps preserve Luna Park’s heritage attractions including:
The Carousel. Built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1913, it cost nearly $3 million to restore over 1999-2001.
It first operated in Sydney at the White City Amusement Park until it closed in 1918. It found a new and permanent home at Melbourne’s Luna Park, where some 6000 lights were added to give it even more pizazz for its reopening in 1923 after the tumult of World War 1.
The structure that now houses the Carousel wasn’t built until 1937. Over the years it became an unwelcome home for flocks of seagulls and pigeons whose poo, mixed with rainwater and the salty sea air of St Kilda, was a key factor in the decay of the Carousel.
In the late nineties world renowned ‘horse restorer’, Patricia Mullins was handed the arduous task of scraping back 22 layers of paint to return every element of the Carousel to its original glory. Its “War and Peace” theme was meticulously restored with each of the 68 horses and two chariots requiring uniquely painted livery and design. Twenty-six original oil paintings adorning the ride were also restored.
All of the mechanical repair work was carried out in Castlemaine under the oversight of Australia’s foremost amusement device engineer, Dick Baird, who also supervised local works at the Park.
The Carousel is listed on the Victorian and National Heritage Registers. The ongoing preservation of its beauty and magic is a perfect example of how Luna Park aims to conserve heritage in a modern context. Its 1909 Limonaire Freres band organ is the only one of its type in Australia and one of only five remaining in the world.
The Great Scenic Railway: Dating back to the opening of Luna Park in 1912, it is the oldest continuously operating wooden roller coaster in the world. It even kept rolling during World War 1 when the rest of the Park was closed.
Because it is wooden, it is able to be progressively rebuilt. Heritage repairs and maintenance on The Great Scenic Railway rollercoaster cost over $1 million over 2016 and 2017.
Other heritage-listed attractions requiring ongoing preservation include the Ghost Train and Mr Moon’s Face at the entrance. The Ghost Train is one of the four oldest ‘dark rides’ in the world.
Luna Park is 107 years years old, having opened on 13 December 1912 to huge fanfare. Visitors paid sixpence to enter the Park.
Since then, millions of people have taken to heart its motto, “Just for fun”. It is the most recognisable and most photographed ‘face’ in Melbourne.
It is the best-preserved Luna Park in the world. The original Luna Park which opened in 1903 at Coney Island, New York, closed in 1946 and was replaced by a car park.
Luna Park as a whole is listed by the Victorian Heritage Register and Register of National Estate.
Luna Park gets no external funding and revenue from ticket sales does not cover the cost of preserving heritage.
It can’t expand physically and there is a limit to the number of visitors the Park can accommodate at any one time. Unlike other theme parks and attractions on the Gold Coast, Luna Park sits on a very small footprint.
More than $10 million has been spent on heritage preservation over the years 2008-2018 and as Luna Park’s heritage attractions age, maintenance, repair and restoration costs rise.
To preserve Luna Park for future generations – Just for fun for years to come!
Luna Park is very easily accessible by train and tram.
The closest train station to Luna Park is Balaclava station. Luna Park is a short walk from this station.
Two main trams travel to Luna Park, the number 16 and 96 St Kilda. These can be boarded from major city train stations Flinders Street and Southern Cross.
Visit the PT Victoria website to start planning your trip today, from trains to buses and trams! PT Victoria will show you how to visit Luna Park in the easiest and quickest way.
Luna Park does not usually close when it rains, however some rides may need to close. Please call us on the day to see what rides are open.
Yes, we have security lockers available for hire by the hour or for a full day. They are located next to the Twin Dragon and near the Scenic Platform. Smaller lockers are available for $4 for 2 hours or $6 for the whole day and larger lockers are $6 for 2 hours or $8 for the day (excluding special events).
Luna Park is only open weekends, public holidays and school holidays throughout the year.
For full operating hours including school holidays click here.
There are no BBQ facilities at the Park but we do have ample seating and tables for you to eat either Park food or your own food.
We have PayPass and EFTPOS facilities at the Ticket Box that can be used to purchase tickets to enter Luna Park. In addition, we also have PayPass and EFTPOS facilities at most cashiers throughout the Park, as well as an ATM onsite for cash withdrawals. Most credit and EFTPOS cards are accepted (except DINERS).
There’s plenty of council metered parking around Luna Park. All day metered parking currently costs $13.20 for the day (subject to change) as is situated on Shakespeare Grove.
As a long-standing member of St Kilda Tourism & Events, Luna Park would like to encourage its local community to join this membership-based organisation.
Why?
Because St Kilda Tourism & Events works hard to increase visitation to St Kilda and assists local businesses to easily promote themselves to not only Melbourne, but across Victoria state as well as to international visitors.
Benefits include access to industry information, events and branding tools, access to visiting journalists program, promotion on the St Kilda Melbourne website, mobile app and social media platforms plus much more.
Click here to become a member or for more information.
18 Lower Esplanade.
St Kilda VIC 3182
Tel: 03 9525 5033
© 2020 Luna Park Melbourne.
