Despite the fact that there are hundreds of theme parks operating all over the world, hundreds more have been lost to time.
They were abandoned by their owners and managers for a variety of reasons, including declining attendance, natural disasters, financial difficulties, and simply the fact that they were no longer relevant to parkgoers today.
However, they retain their fascination as haunted locations that draw urban explorers, social media diva types, and people who want to relive their past visits with loved ones or friends.
Places that have succumbed to decay also have a compelling post-apocalyptic quality to them, providing a chilling yet intriguing glimpse at how the entire planet might look if humans ever vanished.
According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association’s Jim Futrell, “we think of amusement parks as vibrant, colorful, noisy, and cheerful places.” However, an abandoned theme park is quite the opposite. It has failed. It is empty. It’s tranquil.
“There is this sense of discovery for the people who seek them out, finding the remnants of the park and attempting to reconstruct what was there in your mind,”
Berliner Spreepark (Germany)
The most astonishing thing about this old German amusement park isn’t the rotting relics of previous rides that you can see today – like the goliath Ferris wheel or the spray painting covered Spreeblitz thrill ride – however the way that it was made by East Germany’s Socialist specialists as a method for the working class to have a great time.
The park was open from 1969 to 2001, and its name comes from the nearby River Spree. Backstagetourism offers guided canoe trips, and the grounds are now a large public park with walking paths that lead to many of the abandoned rides.
The regional government has reported plans to save and “creatively rethink” a portion of the old attractions, particularly the notable Ferris wheel.
Mimaland (Malaysia)
Malaysia In Miniature Land (Mimaland), which operated from 1975 to 1994, was situated on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Considered the primary amusement park in Southeast Asia, it highlighted a counterfeit lake, an immense pool with monster water slides and an Ancient Collective of animals.
Mimaland was forced to close by the government after a dangerous mudslide and other safety concerns.
Thirty years later, the park’s bumper cars, life-size dinosaurs and megafauna, and other attractions have been mysteriously swallowed up by the jungle.
Camelot Theme Park (England)
The Magic Kingdom of Camelot retold the tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table on the site of a former lake that was mentioned in the medieval legend. It was set in the lush countryside of Lancashire, near Manchester and Liverpool.
Sometime in the distant past, the recreation area highlighted knights jousting riding a horse, Merlin’s Enchanted Show, Mythical beast Flyer and Knightmare thrill rides and other middle age themed rides and shows.
Before its current incarnation as Scare City, a walk-through horror experience through the spooky ruins of Camelot, the grounds served as a drive-through zombie attraction after its demise.
Six Flags New Orleans (Louisiana)
This Louisiana theme park was a long-term victim of Hurricane Katrina. It only operated from 2000 to 2005, and the grounds were flooded by six feet of water, which took more than a month to evaporate or drain away.
The park was divided into six themes prior to the storm, including sections devoted to DC Comics superheroes and Looney Tunes characters.
More than two dozen decrepit rides, including the Ozark Splash log flume and Zydeco Scream roller coaster, can still be seen.
In Spring of this current year, the city of New Orleans declared an arrangement with private designers to redo the site into a film studio, sports complex, and family diversion focus.
Nara Dreamland (Japan)
The lesson learned from the now-defunct Nara Dreamland is to never play with the mouse. Situated on the northern edges of the noteworthy Japanese city, the recreation area opened in 1961 as a knockoff of California’s Disneyland.
Even attractions like Sleeping Beauty Castle, Tomorrowland, and Adventure Jungle Cruise were reminiscent of Disney. Fairyland did very well until Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, when participation started to plunge.
Until its demise roughly a decade later, the park was a popular destination for urban explorers. It lasted until 2006.
Only two sports stadiums, built in the 1980s as a complement to Dreamland, and American-style chain restaurants like Coco’s and Il Bene Italian Buffet, which once served theme park visitors, remain.
Jardin de Tivoli (France)
In the latter part of the 18th century, Simon Gabriel Boutin transformed the Tivoli Garden in Paris into a public pleasure park, making it one of the world’s first theme parks. Water features, pantomime performances, a menagerie, and a mineral collection were among its attractions.
During the French Revolution, Boutin was put on the guillotine because he was accused of having excessive wealth. However the recreation area persevered under another proprietor, adding attractions like a Ferris wheel, thrill ride, mazes and gymnastic shows, including one that featured the tightrope strolling Coco the Deer.
As an early victim of urban subdivision, the park closed in 1842. The main remainder of the once lavish nurseries is Square Hector Berlioz, initially called Nouveau Tivoli when it was divulged in 1859.
Pripyat Amusement Park (Ukraine)
Before it was abandoned in 1986 as a result of the meltdown at Chernobyl, which was only five kilometers (three miles) away, virtually no one outside of Ukraine had even heard of this theme park.
Due to the catastrophe, the park’s construction had just finished, and Pripyat never even saw its grand opening.
The park’s eerie Ferris wheel and bumper cars, in addition to the notorious power plant, represent the worst nuclear accident in history.
Yongma Land (South Korea)
Once in a while, completely new functions are added to abandoned theme parks to give them new life.
Like Yongma Land in Seoul, which is presently a famous scene for TV creations, style shoots and wedding photography, the lady of the hour and lucky man presenting on the rotting carousel, crash-mobiles and different rides.
Dynamic from 1980 to 2011, the is one of only a handful of exceptional deserted amusement parks where guests need to pay a little confirmation charge (10,000 won) instead of sneaking inside.
Cypress Gardens (Florida)
Additionally, a vintage theme park occasionally merges with another entity. Cypress Gardens in Florida was an example of this.
Initially a mother and-pop activity opened in 1932 by Dick and Julie Pope, the recreation area attracted steadily expanding groups to see its goliath shrubbery creatures, gymnastic water ski shows, and Southern Beauty greeters.
Cypress Gardens closed in 2009 and was eventually absorbed into LEGOLAND Florida due to increased competition from Orlando’s modern theme parks. The once-famous water ski extravaganza has been replaced by a pirate-themed water stunt show, though some of the old gardens remain, including a massive banyan tree.
Hồ Thủy Tiên (Vietnam)
A lake that was once the centerpiece of the H Th Tiên water park near Hue is still guarded by a massive concrete dragon that once housed an aquarium.
Monetary issues implied the recreation area was just open irregularly somewhere in the range of 2004 and 2011.
The decomposing dragon, water slides, and other features look more like ancient ruins than modern attractions today, making it an unofficial tourist destination.
