Disneyland is dead, but could Sonic revive Melbourne’s ghostland Docklands?

Melbourne’s Disneyland dream may have been dashed, but another exciting amusement park could be on the way.

Mickey mouse in Melbourne might be dead and buried, but is Sonic the Hedgehog about to revive the ghost town that is Docklands?

Last week Page 13 killed Bambi by announcing Disneyland, the most magical place on earth, would not be coming to Victoria in spite of years of speculation.

But where Disney’s Mickey and Minnie have joined the dearly departed not so rival Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

Turns out Hong Kong investor Martin Ng, a former employee at Disney with a background working in amusement theme parks, has big plans for Docklands.

Page 13 got its hands on a proposal which has Sonic World Docklands poised to “become the world’s largest indoor theme park.”

Could Sonic revive the Docklands?

The proposal boasts Sonic World as “an ambitious and transformative indoor theme park and hotel set to redefine entertainment in Melbourne’s Docklands.”

“Covering 300,000 square meters, Sonic World will feature more than 50 attractions, including roller coasters, immersive dark rides, and cutting-edge VR/AR experiences,” a release boasted.

That means visual reality and actual reality. Page 13 dived deeper and while Ng was reluctant to mention Sonic World, he did say he was in the midst of creating a Disneyland alternative of the same scale.

The developer met with tourism minister Steve Dimopoulos earlier this year to get the Victorian government on board.

“Imagine a Dreamworld, but with roller-coasters and everything indoors,” Ng said, adding that Sega believed Sonic the Hedgehog was very popular in Australia.

Ng said the Japanese giant has many ideas on how to expand the Docklands precinct owned by VicTrack and the state government, including the trouble plagued Melbourne Observation Wheel.

Melbourne's Disneyland dream is dead but a new amusement park may be coming to Docklands.

He said no comparisons should be made to Sega World in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, which opened to much fanfare in 1997 only to close in 2001 because of poor attendances and financial losses.

“It will be much, much bigger than what they offered in Sega World. We’re going to build it indoor, with 60 metre high ceilings so we can put a real rollercoaster inside and drop towers.”

A Victorian State government spokesperson said any proposals would be considered on merit.

“As Australia’s major events and tourism capital, we welcome new opportunities and events that would be enjoyed by Victorians and bring more interstate and international visitors to our state.”

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series developed for Sega by its Japanese creators to rival Nintendo’s Mario Brothers.

In the series and movie, Sonic the Hedgehog battles mad scientist Dr Eggman.

To steal Sonic’s catchcry: “Nothing starts until you take action. If you have time to worry then run.”

Maybe it’s mad enough to work down at Docklands.