The iconic world of " Tai Say Kai " or more popularly known as the Great World which existed more than half a century ago will see a small revival tonight when it opens its doors to one and all at 6 pm.
The Great World Amusement Park is an attempt, at least, to recreate some of the allure and attractions of the past. Though it may be limited in scope as it is practically a one-man self funded business project, still it should attract a large pool of visitors with all the interesting rides available, the " Tikam" stalls, food stalls, music and dance halls, beer garden etc..
Unk Ringo, the owner of the project, is well known for staging outdoor carnivals locally.
[Unk Ringo and Unk Dicko at the famous gateway ]
The Amusement Park is located opposite Compass Point and next to
Seng Kang Community Hub.
It is timed in conjunction with the release of the movie with the
same title....on Jan 27 2011.
Entry to the Park is FREE.
Entry to the Park is FREE.
Buy tokens for the games etc..
The Main Performing Stage...still not set up yet fully.
Unk Dicko has been invited to the Opening shortly and will have more to report later.
9 comments:
Nice!
Bravo! Unk Dicko, Uncle Ringgo, MediaCorp and so many people involved in working on the Great World Amusement Park Retro 2011 for almost 2.5 months from boardroom planning to fruition.
Amazing. Though on a smaller scale than the Marina Bay Sands which took nearly 4 years to build.
Great job and splendid efforts of everyone to create from dream to reality. The great grandparents, grand parents and parents bring their young ones experience the funland of the past at Great World.
Many of us who grew up in the 1960s who remember Great World Amusement Park could relive their childhood dreams...another "memory aid" to feed our childish imagination almost 60 years ago. To me, at least.
Pretend, make believe, imagine, play and learn in a real world.
But so is "Harry Potter & Imagination" or Disneyland...No harm done. Dream on and enjoy!
Cheers!
Many of the rides produce the same thrill and excitement as those expensive ones in Universal Studios. But they are cheaper per ride.
My grandkids enjoyed the "Bumper Car rides" which cost $6 each so much they asked for repeats! Even older adults relived their chidhood with these rides!
Judging from last night's response...the place will be a HIT !
Dear Mr Yip, is this the place in the past when matchmakers brought young men and ladies together for a date?
I don't know my worlds very well. We were so poor we never had a chance to go to such worlds.
Those were the days where they had bee-hive hairdos and the men had kari pok bylcream jelled hair,right?
I heard of ghost house and bumper cars but I never got to try them.
I am beginning to enjoy these nostalgic memories even though I cannot claim to have any memory of these worlds.
Yes HH, that was one of the popular places for matchmakers in those days. The setting was perfect for hopefully creating the right 'sparks' between 2 persons meeting up for the 1st time. There was that free flow of lesser inhibitions in the 3 'worlds' coupled with all kinds of heady music from " Mambo-rock " to 'Cha cham -bo' to other oldie genre songs and music..in dialect, Mandarin and English.
You were surrounded by these non-stop sounds,plentiful hawker type foodstalls,restaurants, pasar-malam type knick-knack stalls, entertainment corners featuring joget dancing,nite-clubs, thrills and rides and games of chance (Tikam).
There were cinemas too.
Your description of the fashion of the day is spot on.
Hi Mr Yip!
I am glad to have found your website. My friends and I are part-time students of Murdoch University (Kaplan) and we are currently doing this module called 'Tourism Management'.
We are supposed to select a site and do a revamp and we have chosen Turf City as the site to work on.
W are very interested in using bringing Great World Amusement Park back as we find it to be very rich in historical and cultural values. Hence not only will tourists be attracted to it, I am sure our own local citizens will find it interesting as well.
However, being kids from the 1980s, we are clueless about Great World Amusement Park. Hence we will be greatful if you (or any others who come across this website) can drop us an email with more details of Great World.
I can be contacted at xiuting_chia@hotmail.com
THANK YOU!
Hi ST,
Thank you for dropping by here. Many of my generation have indeed 'first-hand 'knowledge of the 3 "worlds" including Great World. But what we do remember is mainly based on our memory and recollection of our past experience.
I will highlight your request to fellow bloggers of my generation.
Meanwhile...catch the new movie as an introduction of sorts to those exciting days.
Dear Mr Yip,
My friends and I are students at Clementi Woods Secondary School, we are currently involved in a competition organinsed by the NUS History Society and are extremely glad that we have found this site. We hope that you would share some of your memories of Great World Amusement Park with us.
Please contact us at:
yushan_38@hotmail.com
THANK YOU!!! =)
Hi Chappi,
I would like to help if I can in any way though I can think of at least 2 other gentlemen who know Great World more intimately than me.
One is a fellow friend and senior blogger named "Thimbuktu". His name appears in my comment box. Just click on it and it will lead to his page.
His a very helpful uncle. Pl contact him first.
Cheers.
Post a Comment