An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
Two examples of animal theme parks are Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida (580 acres or 2.3 square kilometres) and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida (335 acres or 1.36 square kilometres). These commercial parks are similar to open-range zoos and safari parks according to size, but different in intention and appearance, containing more entertainment and amusement elements (stage shows, amusement rides, etc.).
The term "animal theme park" can also be used to describe certain marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and more elaborate dolphinariums, such as SeaWorld, which offers amusement rides and additional entertainment attractions, and are also where marine animals such as whales are kept, contained, put on display, and are sometimes trained to perform in shows.
In 2010 the practice of keeping animals as trained show performers in theme parks was heavily criticized when a trainer was killed by an orca whale at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. [1]
Most zoos have a carousel and/or Safari Train, but some zoos have more amusement attractions than that.
Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately 20 miles southeast of Trenton in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Hurricane Harbor. It first opened to the public as simply Great Adventure in 1974 under the direction of restaurateur Warner LeRoy. Six Flags acquired the park in 1977. The park is located right off of Interstate 195 and is along Monmouth Road.
Six Flags America is an amusement park in Woodmore, Maryland, United States, near Upper Marlboro, adjacent to the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Särkänniemi is an amusement park in Tampere, Finland, located in the district by the same name. The park features an aquarium, a planetarium, Doghill Fairytale Farm, an art museum and an observation tower Näsinneula. Särkänniemi is the second most popular amusement park in Finland with Linnanmäki in Helsinki being the most popular one. Särkänniemi has four rollercoasters: the inverted coaster Tornado, the family motorcycle launch coaster MotoGee and Hype, a launched steel Sky Rocket II coaster, and family coaster Vauhtimato. The half-pipe coaster called Half Pipe was recently removed due to multiple reasons. Särkänniemi is owned by the city of Tampere and attracts over 600 000 visitors annually.
Heide Park Resort, commonly known as Heide Park, is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. With an overall area of over 850,000 m2, it is the largest amusement park in Northern Germany and among the largest in the country. It is part of the British-based Merlin Entertainments, which operates 123 attractions in 24 countries.
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously Busch Gardens parks in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California (1964–1979) and Houston, Texas (1971–1973). The "Busch Gardens" name was earlier used to refer to the gardens developed by Adolphus Busch near his home in Pasadena, California, which were open to the public from 1906 to 1937.
ZooTampa at Lowry Park is a 63-acre (25 ha) nonprofit zoo located in Tampa, Florida. In 2009, Lowry Park Zoo was voted the #1 Family Friendly Zoo in the US by Parents Magazine, and is recognized by the State of Florida as the center for Florida wildlife conservation and biodiversity. The zoo is operated by the Lowry Park Zoological Society, an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The zoo also exists as a center for conservation of endangered wildlife both locally and around the globe. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) as well as a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG), the Florida Association of Zoos and Aquariums (FAZA) and the Florida Attractions Association (FAA).
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a 128 acres theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme park aspect was developed by The Tussauds Group, debuting on 7 July 1987 as one of the first combined animal-amusement parks in the UK. The theme park, which features over 40 rides, is now owned by Merlin Entertainments, following its merger with The Tussauds Group in 2007. Under Merlin, Chessington has been increasingly developed into a resort and tourist destination, including two on-site hotels, swimming pools, a campground, spa and fitness facilities.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The park has an annual attendance consistently exceeding 4 million, often ranking second among United Parks & Resorts parks behind SeaWorld Orlando.
Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 1993. It stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and has a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Kumba features a total of seven inversions across the 3-minute ride. It is Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's oldest roller coaster that is still operating, following the closure of Scorpion in 2024.
Everland (Korean: 에버랜드) is South Korea's largest theme park. It is located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. In 2018, it received 5.85 million visitors and was ranked 19th in the world for amusement park attendance. As of 2010, Everland is measured to be approximately 1,200,000 square yards. Along with its main attractions, Everland includes a zoo and water park known as Caribbean Bay. Everland is operated by Samsung C&T Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the Samsung Group.
The Incredible Hulk Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at Universal Islands of Adventure theme park within the Universal Orlando Resort. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the roller coaster is themed after the Hulk comic book superhero and opened to the public on May 28, 1999. It is the first B&M coaster themed to a Marvel Comics superhero character and the first to feature a launch design, which was primarily implemented by Universal Creative and MTS Systems Corporation.
Kraken is a steel roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the second longest floorless coaster in the world on June 1, 2000, with a track length measuring 4,177 feet (1,273 m). It features a total of seven inversions and reaches a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). The coaster was named after a fictional sea monster of the same name. In late 2016, Kraken underwent a refurbishment and reopened as Kraken Unleashed in June 2017. A virtual reality experience was added to the ride, but due to technical difficulties and extensive wait times, the feature was permanently removed the following year.
Legoland Deutschland Resort is a Legoland park located in Günzburg in southern Germany, roughly halfway from Munich to Stuttgart, which opened in 2002. It is 43.5 hectares in area, and it is one of the four most popular theme parks in Germany. The Miniland contains Lego reproductions of various German cities and rural landscapes.
Zierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures ESC and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hexentanz, and Kontiki rides. They have previously manufactured the Tivoli line of coasters, however these have now been discontinued. The company also has partnered with Schwarzkopf to build Lisebergbanan at Liseberg and Knightmare at Camelot Theme Park.
Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg. It is one of the world's oldest amusement industry suppliers, and builds many types of rides, including flat rides, dark rides, log flumes, tow boat rides and roller coasters. The family that owns Mack Rides also owns Europa-Park.
Martin & Vleminckx Ltd. is a thrill ride and roller coaster manufacturing and construction company headquartered in Montreal, Québec, Canada with an affiliated office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a manufacturing facility in Orlando, Florida, United States, and two subsidiaries, including a warehouse in China.
The Big Sheep is an amusement farm park located in Abbotsham, Devon, England.
The Freizeitpark Plohn is a seasonal amusement park in Lengenfeld, Saxony, Germany. It has about 350,000 visitors a year and 79 attractions.