The big pineapple is a local attraction at the Sunny Coast, I remember going as a kid and having to park in the lot across the road because it was so busy, now it's a pretty safe bet you'll land yourself a parking space right outside the front door! In its heyday the Big Pineapple had attractions, a massive gift shop and huge plantations, oh and Princess Diana even came and visited!
From what I know, The Big Pineapple went bankrupt, sat vacant for a while, was bought by peeps (wanting to turn it into a vintage car museum) was declared heritage listed (foiling those plans), and then was bought over by a new bunch who are slowly restoring it. They've already brought back the train ride, given the pineapple a fresh coat of paint and made sure you can get a banana sundae! They also pioneered The Big Pineapple Music Festival this year but from reports by friends, the music quality was bad, the lines was enormous and they ran out of alcohol, oops!
Anyway when J was up we decided to go take him to the Big Pineapple unfortunately we missed the last train by about 5 minutes :( So instead we got a sundae and explored the grounds, in particular, the now-abandoned "Tomorrow's Harvest" an educated boat ride with a crocodile that jumped out and scared you at the end, or so Ben tells me - I had to use my imagination! I'm a big fan of abandoned structures and if they use to be an attraction even better :)
