amusement parks

Amusement park (also called theme park) is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, as an amusement park is meant to cater to adults, teenagers, and small children.

An amusement park may be permanent or temporary, usually periodic, such as a few days or weeks per year. The temporary (often annual) amusement park with mobile rides etc. is called a funfair or carnival.

Theme parks is a more narrowly defined category of an amusement park. Which are permanent facilities that use architecture, signage, landscaping to help convey the feeling that people are in a different place or time. Often a theme park will have various 'lands' (sections) of the park devoted to telling a particular story. Disneyland in California (USA) was the first theme park. Alternatively, an amusement park often has rides with little in terms of theming or additional design elements. For the most part, theme parks are the highest quality form of an amusement park.

Amusement parks evolved in Europe from Pleasure Gardens which used to exist for the recreation of the people, while charging a fee. In the United States, expositions were another influence on the amusement park. Amusement parks were the historical precursors to modern theme parks as well as the more traditional midway arcades and rides at county and state fairs (in the United States). Today, amusement parks have largely been replaced by theme parks, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. The oldest amusement park of the world (opened 1583) is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Another long-standing park is Prater in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1766.

For a remarkable example of a European park, dating from 1843 and still existing, see Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen. Even older is the Oktoberfest which is not only a beer festival but also provides a lot of amusement park features, dating back to 1810, when the first event was held in Munich, Germany.

History of American amusement parks

In 1897, Steeplechase Park, the first of three significant amusement parks opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Often, it is Steeplechase Park that comes to mind when one generically thinks of the heyday of Coney Island. Steeplechase Park was a huge success and by the late 1910s, there were hundreds of amusement parks in operation around the world. The introduction of the world-famous Cyclone roller coaster at Steeplechase Park in 1927 marked the beginning of the roller coaster as one of the most popular attractions for amusement parks as well as the later modern theme parks of today.

During the peak of the "golden age" of amusement parks from roughly the turn of the 20th century through the late 1920s, Coney Island at one point had three distinct amusement parks: Steeplechase Park, Luna Park (opened in 1903), and Dreamland (opened in 1904). However, the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II during the 1940s saw the decline of the amusement park industry. Furthermore, fire was a constant threat in those days, as much of the construction within the amusement parks of the era was wooden. In 1911, Dreamland was the first Coney Island amusement park to completely burn down; in 1944, Luna Park also burned to the ground.

By the 1950s, factors such as urban decay, crime, and even desegregation led to changing patterns in how people chose to spend their free time. Many of the older, traditional amusement parks had closed or burned to the ground. Many would be taken out by the wrecking ball to make way for suburban development. In 1964, Steeplechase Park, once the king of all amusement parks, closed down for the last time.

History of theme parks

The theme park is the modern amusement park, either based on a central theme or, divided into several distinctly themed areas, or "spaces" as is often used. Large resorts, such as Walt Disney World in Florida (United States), actually house several different theme parks within their confines.

In the 1920s, Walter Knott and his family sold berries from a roadside stand. In 1934, Knott's wife Cordelia began serving fried chicken dinners, and within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter built a Ghost Town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as the Calico, California ghost town and Prescott, Arizona. In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott's Berry Farm officially became an amusement park. Because of its long history, Knott's Berry Farm currently claims to be "America's First Theme Park."

Santa Claus Land (now known as Holiday World) opened in 1946 and also claims to be the first theme park in America.

Walt Disney, however, is usually credited with having originated the concept of the themed amusement park. Disneyland was based loosely on Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California, and various World's Fairs. Disney took these influences and melded them with the popular Disney animated characters and his unique vision, and "Disneyland" was born. Disneyland officially opened in Anaheim, California in 1955 and changed the amusement industry forever.

The years in which Disneyland opened were a sort of stopgap period for the amusement park industry, as many of the older, traditional amusement parks had already closed and many were close to closing their doors. Even before Steeplechase Park at Coney Island closed in 1964, a new entry to the theme park world emerged in the first regional theme park, as well as the first Six Flags park, Six Flags over Texas.

Six Flags Over Texas was officially opened in 1961 in Arlington, Texas near Dallas. The first Six Flags theme park was the vision of Angus Wynne, Jr. and helped create the modern, competitive theme park industry. By 1968, the second Six Flags park, Six Flags Over Georgia, opened, and in 1971, Six Flags Over Mid-America (now Six Flags St. Louis) opened near St. Louis, Missouri. Also in 1971 was the opening of the Walt Disney World resort complex in Florida, which is still the largest theme park and resort complex in the world.

During the 1970s, the theme park industry started to mature as a combination of revitalized traditional amusement parks and new ventures funded by larger corporations emerged. Magic Mountain (now a Six Flags park) opened in Valencia, California. Regional parks such as Cedar Point and Kings Island, popular amusement parks in Ohio, moved towards the more modern theme park-concept as well as rotating new roller coasters and modern thrill rides. Also during the mid-1970s, Marriott Corporation built two nearly identical theme parks named "Great America" in northern California and Illinois. The former is now owned by Cedar Fair, L.P., which now also owns Kings Island and Cedar Point; and the latter is now Six Flags Great America. Many theme parks were hit badly by the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and a number of planned theme parks were scrapped during this time.

Perhaps the most indirect evolution of an attraction into a full-fledged theme park is that of Universal Studios Hollywood. Originally just a backlot tram train ride tour of the actual studios in Hollywood, California, the train ride that started in 1964 slowly evolved into a larger attraction with a western stunt show in 1967, "The Parting of the Red Sea" in 1973, a look at props from the movie Jaws in 1975, and the "Conan the Barbarian" show in 1984. By 1985, the modern era of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park began with the "King Kong" ride and, in 1990, Universal Studios Florida in Orlando opened. Universal Studios is now the second-largest theme park company in the world, only rivalled in size by Disney itself.

Since the 1980s, the theme park industry has become larger than ever before, with everything from large, worldwide type theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood to smaller and medium-sized theme parks such as the Six Flags parks and countless smaller ventures in many of the states of the U.S. and in countries around the world. Even simpler theme parks directly aimed at smaller children have emerged, including Legoland in Carlsbad, California (the first Legoland opened in Billund, Denmark). The only limit to future theme park ventures is one's imagination.

Australian shows

Show is the Australian term for a village, county, state or national fair. They range from small fetes to medium-sized attractions like the Luddenham and Camden Shows in New South Wales, to the all-encompassing Sydney Royal Easter Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, which runs for two weeks and combines all the elements of an amusement park with those of an agricultural/livestock show as well as arts and crafts, shopping, restaurants, commercial stands, a national conformation dog show and cat show.

British theme parks

Main article: List of British theme parks Notable British theme parks, which are vastly bigger than the fairground and are not mobile, include; Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers,Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Thorpe Park and Drayton Manor Theme Park.

Noteworthy amusement, theme and water parks

• Alabama Adventure Theme Park, Bessemer, Alabama
• Adventure Island, Tampa, Florida, a waterpark owned by the Busch Gardens chain
• Adventuredome, an indoor park in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Al Hokair Land Theme Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Aladdin's Kingdom, Doha, Qatar
• Alton Towers, Staffordshire, England
• Appu Ghar, New Delhi, India
• Aqua Serena, Espoo, Finland, the biggest indoor water amusement park in Europe
• Athisayam Amusement Park, (www.athisayampark.com )Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Barry Island Pleasure Park, South Wales, UK
• Bellewaerde, Belgium
• Blackpool Pleasure Beach, England
• Bobbejaanland, Belgium
• Bonbonland, Denmark
• Busch Gardens chain in Tampa, Florida ("Tampa Bay") and Williamsburg, Virginia
• Canada's Wonderland, Maple, Ontario Canada
• Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire
• Celebration City, Branson, Missouri
• Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio voted best amusement park in the world, for the 9th year in a row
• Chimelong Paradise, Guangzhou, Guangdong China
• Conneaut Lake Park, Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania
• Cypress Gardens in Cypress Gardens, Florida. Florida's oldest theme park, started in 1936 by Dick and Julie Pope
• Disneyland, Anaheim, California
• Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida the world's best theme park for children according to The Independent on Sunday
  • Magic Kingdom, The
  • Epcot
  • Disney-MGM Studios
  • Disney's Animal Kingdom
  • Disney's Blizzard Beach (water park)
  • Disney's Typhoon Lagoon (water park)
• Disneyland, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
• Disneyland, Marne-la-Vallée, France (near Paris)
• Disneyland, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan (near Tokyo)
• Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
• Dollywood's Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; (water park)
• Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Drayton Manor, Tamworth, Staffordshire near Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Dreamworld, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Largest theme park in Australia
• Dubai Land, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (opening in 2006)
• Efteling, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands
• Enchanted Kingdom, Philippines
• Europapark, Germany
• Expoland, Suita, Osaka, Japan
• Fantazy Land, Alexandria, Egypt
• Flamingo Land, Yorkshire, England
• Frontier City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan
• Fun Spot, Angola, Indiana
• Futuroscope, Poitiers, France
• Galaxyland, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (located inside West Edmonton Mall)
• Gardaland, Peschiera del Garda, Italy
• Geauga Lake, Aurora, Ohio family amusement park owned by Cedar Fair. The property has been owned and operated by more individual amusement park corporations than any other, including Six Flags and SeaWorld.
• Gold Reef City, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
• Heide Park, Soltau, Germany
• Hersheypark, Herhsey, Pennsylvania
• Holiday Park, Hassloch, Germany
• Holiday World, Santa Claus, Indiana; originally Santa Claus Land, started in 1946; claims to be the first theme park
• Indiana Beach, Monticello, Indiana; Indiana's largest amusement park
• Joyland, Wichita, Kansas
• Joypolis, A Japanese arcade and amusement theme park created by Sega
• Kennywood, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Knoebels, Elysburg, Pennsylvania
• Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, which also claims to be the first theme park.
• Lagoon Amusement Park, Utah, a park more than 100 years old
• Lake Compounce, Bristol, Connecticut, oldest amusement park in the United States
• Legoland chain in Denmark, California, Germany and the United Kingdom
• LimmyLand a small park in southwest China. Home to 3 Togo roller coasters
• Linnanmäki, Helsinki, Finland
• Liseberg, Gothenburg, Sweden
• Luna Park, multiple locations in Australia modeled after the original Luna Park at Coney Island; Luna Park, Melbourne is known for its historic scenic railway.
• Marineland, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
• MGM Dizzee World, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Mirabilandia, Ravenna, Italy
• Moomin World, Naantali, Finland, the world's 4th best theme park for children according to The Independent on Sunday
• Movie Park Germany, Bottrop, Germany
• Mystery Park, Interlaken, Switzerland
• Nagashima Spa Land, Mie Prefecture, Japan
• Ocean Park, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
• Oakwood Leisure Park, South Wales, UK.
• Palisades Amusement Park
• Paramount Parks
  • Paramount Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn, Canada
  • Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Paramount's Great America, Santa Clara, California
  • Paramount's Kings Dominion, Doswell, Virginia
  • Paramount's Kings Island, Mason, Ohio
• Parc Astérix in Pailly, France in the department of Oise
• The Park at MOA (formerly known as Camp Snoopy), Bloomington, Minnesota (located inside Mall of America); most successful indoor amusement park in the United States.
• Parque España in Shima-Isobe, Japan
• Playland in Rye, New York; the only government-run amusement park in America
• Phantasialand in Brühl, Germany
• Plopsaland in De Panne, Belgium
• Point Mallard Aquatic Center in Decatur, Alabama; "Home of America's First Wave Pool"
• Port Aventura, Salou, Spain
• Ratanga Junction, Cape Town, South Africa
• Santa's Candy Castle, Santa Claus, Indiana first themed attraction in U.S.
• Santa Claus Park, Rovaniemi, Finland, a Christmas theme park
• Särkänniemi, Tampere, Finland, the most popular amusement park in Finland, the world's most northern dolphinarium
• Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels, Texas, one of the world's most popular waterparks.
• Seabreeze Amusement Park, Irondequoit, New York
• Sea World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
• SeaWorld in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego
• Silesian Amusement Park, Metropolis Katowice, Poland
• Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri
• Six Flags chain, including
  • American Adventures, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Frontier City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, Lake George, New York
  • La Ronde, Montreal, Canada
  • Six Flags America, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
  • Six Flags Astroworld, Houston, Texas, closed at the end of the 2005 season.
  • Six Flags Belgium, Wavre, Belgium, sold and renamed Walibi Belgium
  • Six Flags Darien Lake, Darien, New York
  • Six Flags Elitch Gardens, Denver, Colorado
  • Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas
  • Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey
  • Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
  • Six Flags Holland, Biddinghuizen, Netherlands, sold and renamed Walibi World
  • Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, multiple locations, waterparks usually adjacent to Six Flags theme parks.
  • Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California
  • Six Flags Marine World, Vallejo, California
  • Six Flags Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Six Flags New England, Agawam, Massachusetts
  • Six Flags New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, currently closed due to Hurricane Katrina
  • Six Flags Over Georgia, Austell, Georgia
  • Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas
  • Six Flags St. Louis, Eureka, Missouri
  • Wild Waves and Enchanted Village, Seattle, Washington
  • Wyandot Lake, Columbus, Ohio
• Splish Splash Water Park, Riverhead, Long Island, New York
• Space World, Kitakyushu, Japan
• Thorpe Park, Surrey, England
• Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen
• TusenFryd, Vinterbo, Norway
• Universal Studios Theme Parks including:
  • Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida
  • Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
  • Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan
• Valleyfair!, Shakopee, Minnesota
• Veega Land, Cochin, Kerala, India
• Vulcania, Saint-Ours-les-Roches, France
• Water World
• Warner Bros. Movie World, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Wet 'n' Wild, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (water park)
• Wild Adventures, Valdosta, Georgia
• Willow Grove Park, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. One of the premier parks before Disneyland (closed in 1976).
• Witches' Water, in Austria
• World of Sid and Marty Krofft, Atlanta, Georgia. The world's first indoor amusement park (closed in 1976).
• Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, Kansas City, Missouri
• Wurstelprater, Vienna, Austria

See also

• Category:Theme parks
• Category:Water parks
• Category:Amusement parks

• Novelty architecture
• Funfair
• List of films based on theme-park attractions
• World's Fair
• List of Amusement Parks

External links

• Amusement Park Locator Sorted list of amusement and theme parks with information on the specific parks.
• Amusement Park History Articles on the history of amusement and theme parks.
• Theme and amusement parks in the United States
• Theme Parks - United Kingdom
• Australian Theme Parks
• The Alternative Theme Parks of Japan
• RCT Town Park Reviews - Park Maps
• Amusement Safety Organization amusement park accident reports and safety and traveler information for the public
• [1]-History of Amusement Parks
• BGEscape- a comprehensive guide to Busch Gardens Europe
• ThrillHistory.com- a growing list of the history about Australian Theme and Amusement Parks
• ThrillNetwork.com- ThrillNetwork is an amusement park and theme park resource and information site as well as a community.
• Rideas UK based theme park discussion forum.