Codona's Amusement Park

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Codona's Amusement Park
Codonas Logo.png
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Location Aberdeen, Scotland
Coordinates 57°9′4″N2°4′39″W / 57.15111°N 2.07750°W / 57.15111; -2.07750
Opened1970
OwnerAlfred Codona
Slogan"It's Scotland's Favourite!"
Attractions
Total11
Roller coasters1
Website http://www.codonas.com/

Codona's Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was established by the Codona family in 1970 and continues under family management.

Contents

The park is situated adjacent to the Aberdeen Beach and Queens Links on the coast of the North Sea. [1]

History

Codona family

Francesco Codoni, a Swiss-Italian national from the Ticino region next to the Northern Italian border, immigrated to Scotland in the 1790s. Codoni's descendants worked in circuses throughout Europe, but the majority remained in Scotland. [2]

Throughout the 19th century, the family toured Scotland with various circus acts. Francesco Codoni's grandson, Henry (Enrique) Codona (Codoni) was the founded the trapeze act "The Flying Codonas". The act was featured in various films, including Varieté (1925). [3] The circus film The Greatest Show on Earth mentions both the Codonas and Costellos as prominent circus families. [4]

Alfredo Codona, the trapeze artist from the family living in the US, made headline news when he killed himself and his ex-wife Vera Bruce after the tragic death of his second wife in 1937. [5]

Once the Industrial Revolution hit the 1860s, the Scotland-based Codonas purchased steam-powered fairground rides and toured as John Codona's Pleasure Fairs, running it until 1960. [2]

Amusement park

Alfred Codona took charge of the Aberdoon beachfront amusement park, which eventually became today's Codona's Amusement Park. By the 1970s, the number of visitors began to decline, but the park remained viable due to a combination of relatively low unemployment in the area, the beach's attraction, local support from the people of Aberdeen, and contributions from UK holidaymakers. [2]

In February 2022 it was reported that the amusement park had suffered a loss of £4.5 million due to the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. [6]

Amusement park

Roller coasters

NameManufacturerOpenedDescription
Family Apple Coaster Pinfari 2003A small, sit-down coaster designed for children. It has 1 train with 6 cars which makes it 24 riders per train. It was opened in 2003 and lasts for 2:50 minutes. This ride is made by Italian manufacturer Pinfari. It has the standard Big Apple figure-eight layout which is used on over 200 roller coasters around the world. The ride was formerly located on the ground level of the park but is now located on the rooftop of the Congo Restaurant where the Looping Star Ride used to be located. The Looping Star has now been moved to Clacton Pier in England.[ citation needed ]

Mascot

In 2006, the park introduced Dodgem the Dog as the mascot for the park. It was the winning creation of a primary school design competition. [7] Later on they added a new mascot called Candyfloss The Dog.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. ↑ "JOHN CODONA'S PLEASURE FAIRS LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Bruce, Frank. "Codona's and the forgotten fun of the fair". Leopardmag.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Codonas". Circopedia. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  4. ↑ The Greatest Show on Earth, 1952
  5. ↑ Staff report (1 August 1937). BULLETS OF CODONA FATAL TO HIS EX-WIFE; Vera Bruce Dies in Morning After Aerialist's Suicide at Long Beach, Calif. The New York Times
  6. ↑ Wilson, Kelly. "Aberdeen's Codona's Amusement Park suffers near-£4.5 million hit due to Covid". Press and Journal. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Codonas". AboutAberdeen.com. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
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