The Forgotten Failure of Sega World Sydney Theme Park

[@mattwehner]

The aesthetic of that place was unparalleled

[@spongebob03]

3:57 really piqued my interest. I couldn't find much on Google. It reminds me of the Los Angeles Children's Museum. I remember going as a child. It was a little city within the heart of the city. Replicas of city streets you could walk down. There was half a city bus, with drivers seat, that we could sit in. Stores. It was everything, shrunk down, children size. If I was insanely rich, I would love to get the best minds together and come up with a heavily themed, indoor amusement park. A place where, once you step inside, the outside world no longer exist. Your senses are stimulated. There are great thrills, with not a towering structure in site. I love some of the rides at phantasialand. I've never been, but I've seen theme park blogs. That pact in so much, without towering the skyline.

[@Angie2343]

Until Nintendo teamed up with Universal recently.

[@jons9239]

I was lucky enough to go here once. I still have my sweater from the gift shop. Dream come true for me to visit there.

[@maccamachine]

damn lucky i wish i could have gone

[@SlunktheClown]

Can you tell us a little bit about your experience?

[@jons9239]

@@SlunktheClown It was 97 or 98. I went to Australia from Detroit with a group called People to People Youth Ambassadors. Traveled along the whole Coast for a month. This was one of the stops in Sydney. All I can really remember was it being strange that nobody was there. I was also really excited to play Virtua Fighter 3.

[@KimoKimochii]

i went there once too! still have my entry card

[@FimozikAbdurozik]

@@KimoKimochiiso luckyyy

[@Larry]

I had never even heard of the place until the news stories of weird Sonic statues were spotted in a junk yard.

[@braxbro7602]

Hello you!

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

Sometimes I feel Larry Bundy Jr hacked my Google account and is checking out all my subscribed channels.

[@jacobtiedie8414]

@@gfdggdfgdgf honestly he’s popped up in the comments of like 20-30 videos I’ve watched that are completely unrelated haha but love ya Larry

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

I'm convinced the title of one of his future videos will be "here's how I hacked the Google accounts of all my viewers" but honestly it's good to see how active he is on KZbin.

[@ReviewTyme]

It’s a shame the statues have just been left to rot away but the owner of the Junk Yard won’t part with them. A piece of Sega history slowly falling apart hidden in a suburb of Sydney.

[@Some1onearth]

As a regular and member of this relic; the arcade games ended up being FREE for members which only cost a whopping...$68 a year (towards the last few years of its life)! Then during the last few months they raised the price to...$72! OH NOOO... Granted they closed not long after Olympics and was so sad when that happened. I used to go almost every weekend. I played SOO much Time Crisis and X-Men vs Street Fighter/Marvel vs Street Fighter games here.

[@devanhinskey9001]

It’s funny seeing a defunct theme park being talked about by... Not Defunctland.

[@floydstephman]

The fact that there are still more to be talked about is sort of wild.

[@52BLUE]

It was my dream to go there as a kid in the 90s and I had no idea it was open until 2000. My friend went there and brought me back Sonic coins they used at the park. I remember being so moved by the gift since I was such a diehard Sega fan.

[@Mike14264]

Yeah, these things make me wish I were already alive during the 90s, and in either London or Sydney.

[@Andres33AU]

I loved SEGA World, and I remember it was near a Tiny Teddy factory, where you could eat them fresh from the oven! I went there in 1998, and I had a great time. It's a shame that it did not last very long. Great video!

[@maccamachine]

does anyone else love the graphics of theme park games from the 90’s like they look so cheesy but have this nice feeling to them

[@SuperJapanime]

Yeah I agree, do a documentary on the Sega World park that use to reside in London. Great video btw.

[@dariusq8894]

I'd never heard of Sega World before, but I have been to the Tokyo Joypolis which was quite fun. This type of indoor theme park has been tried a couple of times around the world but rarely do they seem to be profitable. Even DisneyQuest couldn't make the numbers needed to stay open.

[@RayDredge]

Great video. I was lucky enough to visit five times during its existence. It is, in fact, the park that got me into theme parks/amusement parks. Another great production.

[@KZ-gv3wq]

OMG what was it like

[@400TX]

Ah the memories! I seem to remember being the "winner" of the Michael Jackson ride when I went on it - most points or something. Not quite sure how, but anyway. Thanks for the video!

[@peytoncabral7149]

Review time, your stuff is pretty high quality! You should have a lot more subs, man. This is great

[@BeckyDraws]

This video reminded me of trudging round Darling Harbour for AGES with a map in 2001 looking for this place (which was on said map) and not being able to find it. This video has now shown me that it closed WHILE I WAS VISITING AUSTRALIA and I missed it by weeks.

[@Mike14264]

Oh, that's awful...

[@ofclshn]

Australia and theme parks just don’t go well together do they

[@cdmsawesome]

I don't see Dreamworld on the gold coast lasting too long either which is sad. Movie World is doing pretty well atm after taking advantage of the downfall of Dreamworld, but unless Movie World puts in some new rides that are more immersive and not just rollercoasters, I don't see it lasting a long time either.

[@LumiCraft]

@@cdmsawesome MovieWorld is now by far the most attractive and thrilling theme park in the country. With the new addition of the DC RIval's HyperCoaster they have increased the park attendance which with the amount of land they have are able to keep adding more and more attractions. Also with TopGolf now right next door, Village Roadshow Parks won't be backing down any time soon.

[@MrRetroGeek]

Neither does the UK *cough *cough SegaWorld London *cough *cough

[@theblakechannelx1455]

Yeah, to many *upside down* rides.

[@tommm.1538]

I think you mean SYDNEY and theme parks don't go well together

[@sshark5007]

I went to Segaworld Sydney in 1998 in the school holidays from NZ and it was amazing. I wanted to return but never got a chance-though I managed to get to Sega Joypolis in Tokyo 10 years later I think it’s sad that Sydney had far more fun things to do 25 years ago than it does today

[@nicksullivan4994]

@8:18, OMG! That Sonic Plush in a SEGA World Mug is So Cute, I Totally want one!😍❤️📺🎶

[@teddym2808]

I was so lucky to visit there multiple times... Aqua Nova is still in my top 5 simulator rides of all time to this day.. with the 3D and the way the seats rotated you really did feel a part of the action. The coaster was crappy but the ghost house was cutting edge. I really liked the place overall and was sad to see it go.

[@Yukosan13]

Kinda reminds me of Disneyquest.. like those bummercart tanks were also at Disneyquest plus some VR video games.. though it would've been cool to see a sega world 😄 in the US too..

[@richarddavis4954]

Again a great review, shame it didn't last long.

[@Mike14264]

As cool as the idea for London's Sega World was, with the Hyper Escalator, and you going down each zone in a linear fashion... the Time Travel theme is such a cool idea! Plus, the fact it gave so much focus on Sally is honestly unparalleled.

[@Thoralmir]

You mean to tell me that you guys had a Sega theme park, and you didn't build a Sonic roller coaster?!

[@DubsBrown]

Sega owned a pinball company but didn’t make a Sonic pinball game, despite Sonic spin ball and Mario getting 2 pinball machines.

[@Cameron.H87]

Been there a few times. Had my birthday party there once with my primary school friends. Really good memories. I remember we had a function room for us and a food menu that had sonic burgers(resembling cheese burgers). There was awsome games like a multiplayer virtual reality game where where we are all competing against each other to shoot down aliens space crafts and the highest scorer had to land our space ship safely. There was a two person bumper car carnival game, where there was a driver and gunner that shoots plastic tennis ball sizes balls (requiring the driver to collect balls by driving over the plastic balls for the gunner to shoot at another bumber cars) whilst trying to achieve the most points. They had heaps of arcade machine games to play, and there's nothing else similar in Sydney or even in Australia! Nowadays, It's all ticket gaining machines for winning crappy prizes. The arcade gaming scene in Sydney is non existent, niche at best at expensive locations.

[@Cooe.]

1:19 NORTH American friends. It was called the "Genesis" in Canada too.

[@joeking3966]

wow, i actually did visit there when i was a kid...this bring back so much memory...i might still have the ticket (like a new york subway ticket but w/ sonic graphic) and it's ticket holder which can expand to the park's map...

[@sircasino614]

I guess the people in charge didn't realize Sega didn't own the character of Sally and she wasn't cannon? XD I think I heard they saw the Archie comic version and just went with it and then made up their own story.

[@KamyAnai03]

6:55 Cute Sonic and Sally statues 💗

[@Doctodatronic]

Still better looking Sonic than the movie.

[@MistyKathrine]

Fast forward to 1 year later and Sonic the movie is a top 5 box office title for 2020...

[@soulripper31]

@@MistyKathrine Because COVID broke out worldwide shortly after it released to theaters. Other movies had no chance.

[@MistyKathrine]

@@soulripper31 It still did a lot better than I expected it to, or really anyone expected, but I don't think it was because of Sonic...

[@NullConflict]

Mum used to tell me about Sega world all the time, but I'm in Brisbane and never got to visit. I was devastated at 8 years-old when she said it was closing down...😭

[@EverettCrowl]

Great video! SEGAWorlds story is so intriguing.

[@SketchBud]

Let's hope Nintendo won't have the same fate Sega did when it comes to theme park attractions.

[@valenzuelasstudios1838]

Nintendo has a bigger fan base and a bigger Budget that won't go overboard so Nintendo will stand strong when their IPs go to Universal studios Hollywood.

[@Angie2343]

I actually would have loved to give Sonic a hug back then! And Sally too.

[@waluigiwah5724]

@@valenzuelasstudios1838 Plus nintendo is doing it with a big theme park brand which has been successful aka universal compared to this

[@valenzuelasstudios1838]

@@waluigiwah5724 mhm, I just hope Nintendo doesn't have a cringy stage show like Sonic did with Sonic Live at Sydney

[@vincenzovieri3743]

it won't, super nintendo land is halfway done at universal studios hollywood. it's being built next to the transformers ride and mario land is already finished in japan, however it is japan so who knows there but lets just be happy that we can go on the mario kart ride with hose cool hololenses that microsoft made. so excited!

[@MadeManG74]

Awesome video, well documented and some cool images and footage found! This brings back a lot of great memories!

[@jasonrichter497]

It is odd that Sega World was unknown to me, thanks for the information.

[@PokewoodTheater]

I’ve been to SEGA joypolis in Tokyo. That is the exact same concept basically. I enjoyed it

[@cdmsawesome]

Can you please do a video on the 'theme park' called Fantasy Glades in Port Macquarie NSW? I went back in 2001 before they shut down permanently, but I was very young at the time so I don't remember a lot. It would bring back a lot of happy memories if I could relive the history of it all.

[@ReviewTyme]

Oh wow hearing that name again brought back memories of my childhood! We will definitely have a look into it and see if there's enough information out there for a video! - Luke

[@cdmsawesome]

@@ReviewTyme Thank you!

[@RubberAckie]

I don't what made me remember this glad it was a real memory going here when came to nsw for christmas as what a fun day that was

[@brianmcdowell6066]

You can still get a similar experience at the joypolis locations in japan or shanghai. This looked like a cool place though- wish I could have gone.

[@andrewyoung3299]

I've got a photo of myself there with Sonic!

[@Angie2343]

Sooooooo jelly!

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Go figure. For 3 brief, glorious years, Sonic got more love in Australia than he did in the whole of 90's America. Why didn't we ever have something that cool here in the States?

[@handymanr4729]

Awesome Stories mate, Hope to see you on a commercial network . Keep it up

[@MartintheMetalhead]

I remember it back in the day. Even though I never went inside. It was strange when Sega World closed and then 4 years later Wonderland Closed down.

[@miguelangelpacheco8673]

Love your videos bro !

[@cherrypizza]

At 8:39 it looks like Mr Spacely from 'The Jetsons' on the TV. Would this be right, and would that have been permitted with Wonderland having the Hanna-Barbera licence at that time?

[@DSBOY33]

Thinking about watching this reminds me of what's going on right now with allegiant Non-Stop arcades they just closed on all their locations a few months ago

[@nicksullivan4994]

SEGA World had a Nickelodeon Play Area?😱🤯That is So Cool!😍❤️📺🎶

[@giuseppesturiale5202]

Great video! Good times sad its gone

[@kultur-vultur]

Past, Present, and Future was probably a tie in to Sonic CD, you could travel in time so each game stage had a Past, Present and Future.

[@muma7406]

Thanks for a great review, Luke! By the way, Is it pronounced "Sayga" or "Seega"? I was just wondering because you changed it a few times hehe

[@MiguelGonzalez-ov3xy]

Neither. Japanese pronunciation is seh-ga

[@Xandariksu]

I've been there 3 times back in the day. Didn't get to try all the rides as they are not always open depending on the time. Not many people were going later on so it's no surprise that it closed down. BUT there might be a new Sega World coming back to Sydney now~!!

[@noahboat580]

This is the kind of video game memorabilia i would want: remains from Sega World.

[@alexgeorge501]

hope we also get a video on the attractions of the London Trocadero!

[@angelaasenova3149]

Dude i would die to get to go there. When i found out there weren't anymore sega worlds my heart dropped

[@SuperRjBrown]

I still remember the fake gulliontine that was near the entrance

[@MatgoStyles]

My mind blew at Seegar World.

[@UltimaSpark50]

I went in the actual park once when I still lived in the inner west, and even after moving further west still used to come here regularly to play on the water gun bikes nearby…kind of sad to see the pond filled in and the fountains nearby removed. Is the playground still there?

[@MiguelGonzalez-ov3xy]

Sydney’s population was about 4 million in 2000, so an annual target of 800,000 visitors was totally unrealistic. That’s the equivalent of 20% of the total population.

[@augustus9113]

Used to go here as a Kid. Was a great place in the 90's

[@MagicalBread]

SEeeeeGA intensifies

[@georgeschannel9411]

Absolutely loved this place. I visited 5 or 6 times.

[@Weird_guy79]

The most memorable things that come to mind from my visit were the way over priced food, several closed rides and lack of customers. I was kinda disappointed.

[@mxzgtcd999]

Holy luminous diamonds! Sally was going to be canon. 😢

[@tdb7992]

Having that Michael Jackson police chase game is just so bizarre. Is MJ running from the cops because of a few certain incidents involving kids? And it's also bizarre that we pronounced it "seega" and that the megadrive was called "genesis" in North America. I remember seeing Sega World on a trip to Sydney when I was young, but I was a teenager by that time and not really interested in theme parks.

[@heredownunder]

I remember going there with my young daughter. I actually don't think we paid to go in was it was so expensive and the rides looked fairly basic. Instead, we had fun in the paddle boats on the lake in front.

[@brycevo]

I wish Sega would partner up like Nintendo to make a park or area

[@Angie2343]

Agreed!

[@Joypyf]

This video is GREAT!!👍🏼👍🏼

[@lisa25000]

That’s my dad! Thank you for the amazing video! So many memories ❤️

[@iris-heart582]

If only Sega World still exists... I would visit everyday.

[@OwlishFun]

I have only great memories of Sega World! The Nickelodeon playground was amazing, I have a winner certificate printouts for the Canon bumper cars, danced on the stage show and won that CD, not sure if I still have it. Very sad if failed.

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

Was Rocko in the Nickelodeon area?

[@sweetpea644]

A massive shame, but it's wild there's still a massive cult following of this park and Sonic's early history.

[@deeza91]

Well lucky I got to go Sega world Haha it was the bomb for 90s babys 🤙🏽

[@MACMETALFACE]

I miss Joypolis here in Osaka 😞

[@SlunktheClown]

It makes me indescribably sad I will never be able to go here. It physically hurts.

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

I needed to go here, but I was 4 when it closed. Sonic the Hedgehog was my life. Rocko in the Nickelodeon area too.

[@balljointedbunny]

I wish I got the opportunity to see Sega World... It had closed by the time I was born.

[@Nesaru]

I almost visited that place as a kid, but parents said no. Now like Magic Mountain in SA, it's gone :(

[@Mithrandir694]

I had no idea I've been working on the burial ground of SEGA world, seems fitting lol

[@kingemerald4622]

There are plans to build new indoor theme parks similar to Saga World, but it's 2023, and there still hasn't been any news on that no update. Nothing, maybe they're in the early stages of planning? and can't reveal anything as of yet. as for Australia, I doubt that they will get another indoor theme park like the one that sagas planning

[@kieranwhippy4137]

I was lucky enough to have gone twice and had a sonic climbing centre point tower pin.

[@vidlink]

While neither Australia or New Zealand may have gotten a Disney Park or a Universal Studios at the time of writing this, you at least got a Sega World which is something I believe not even North America got.

[@LiamP-597]

They didn't get Sega World but they did get a Sega/Dreamworks collaboration arcade chain known as Gameworks which is basically the same thing as SW.

[@aptb944]

Not even a passing mention of Sonic boom being an underage dance party held in the dying days of SeaWorld. Basically the prequel to home night club in Darling harbor, Bro....

[@ThemePark-TV]

Can you do one of these about the theme park at Expo 88 Brisbane?

[@ReviewTyme]

Great idea Chris, we will definetely have a look into it! - Luke

[@tsukune007]

sally was only in the Archie Comics and if memory serves me correctly she was Princess Sally Acorn. only seen also in the Sonic Sat. Cartoons

[@joshuamogle8819]

Her name was also mentioned in the Sonic CD Manual & a cameo in Sonic Pinball

[@SkipSpotter]

Luke, if you still remember your visit, what did you think of the SAGA world? Was there anything that could have done differently to keep it alive, as there didn't seem to be much to do there. Great video and thumbs up!

[@GavMax]

I spent 8 hrs straight at this place!!! It was a blast (I was an adult btw)

[@Martin-iy9iz]

there are plans to reopen a new one in Melbourne

[@bigginsd1]

Okay, where do we start with the mistakes on this but here’s two that come to mind: 1) let’s ride the crest of the wave of popularity that is the Sega Saturn and later Sega Consoles of the late 90s. 2) let’s take out a 99 year lease because Sega is going to be a powerhouse up to and beyond the 22nd Century.

[@SonkAndToils]

This place was in Sydney I really like the build of it and it ended in 2000 but hopefully there will be a Nintendo world in Australia in New Zealand I don’t know anyways great video

[@gpla-ster9032]

7:41 Don't worry, Sally. There is still love in the world. I am sure IDW will eventually bring you and the others back.0

[@Jimmison007]

Its pretty easy to see why it failed, aside from being overly expensive and most parents felt the place was a money pitt / trap the whole area of Darling Harbour is designed to be an outside experience.

[@MiguelGonzalez-ov3xy]

I visited in early August 2000 (before the Olympics) and some of the rides, including the roller coaster, were no longer in operation. I remember it being quite underwhelming so your review might not be 100% accurate as I’m sure the changes started in the lead up to the Olympics and not afterwards.

[@maryluzelias6443]

Why was Knuckles on the disc of Sonic in Sydney if he isn't even a character on it

[@ReviewTyme]

We're not 100% sure as there is no official reason, but most people seem to agree it was just for marketing purposes as he was a popular character at the time and it may have caused more people to see the show or buy the CD even if he wasn't actually in it! - Luke

[@valenzuelasstudios1838]

@@ReviewTyme that show is cheesy. Not the good cheesy like Sonic Heroes, it's the kind of cheesy you find in school plays. Did you listen to the CD yet?

[@YuukiTakemoto1996]

@@ReviewTyme Knuckles was an Australian echidna.

[@valenzuelasstudios1838]

Sonic Live at Sydney is garbage but I would like to see more lost images found and maybe footage of the show to see the size and scope of the sets

[@ReviewTyme]

It's a bizarre show for sure, I would also love to have seen more from it but it sadly doesn't really exist anywhere online. - Luke

[@valenzuelasstudios1838]

@@ReviewTyme have you asked anyone (including Phantomstrider since he's Australian and a satAM fan) if they have more images or even footage of it?

[@jankjason]

Why would anyone be a fan of those awful cartoons?

[@ughcreature]

i wish i would've got to go there. i was either very little or not born the time that it was open.

[@alanrobledo1573]

There's also a Sega World London.

[@scootscoot3874]

Please do a review of Nickelodeon Land, Blackpool. I’ve been multiple times and it’s absolutely dead ahahaha

[@Ham3rs]

It's a pandemic of course it's dead. In terms of the parks general popularity it's not dead at all

[@gjaanderson2965]

is sega world still open in any places

[@teenanguyen217]

I had a coin from Sega world which I treasured so much T___T. Australian gamers, where we all at mans. Stand strong and proud to have been a gamer, is a gamer and all gamers to be, we need to make things like this more of our culture, Japan literally has Super NintendoWorld.

[@tahiyya4926]

Darling harbour looked more fun in the 90s and 2000s colourful and a great place for family and friends to enjoy, now it’s too modern and buildings everywhere I really miss old darling harbour😢

[@Restless_Vibes27]

it was i got to live those days i was 8 years old, now Sydney in 2022 is so depressing

[@DanielSmith-ux5nz]

Says Super Nintendo shows ad of regular Nintendo lol

[@MichalaJohnson-zv5pp]

They should make more Sega Worlds