Codona's Amusement Park

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Codona's Amusement Park
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Codona's Amusement Park
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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
Attractions
Total11
Roller coasters1
Website http://www.codonas.com/

Codona's Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Established by the Codona family in 1970, it continues to operate under family management.

Contents

The park is located on Beach Boulevard at Aberdeen Beach, adjacent to the 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), 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, a trapeze artist from the family who lived in the United States, died in 1937 after shooting his former wife, Vera Bruce, and then taking his own life, following the earlier death of his second wife. [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 Aberdeen 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 roller coaster designed primarily for children, featuring a standard Big Apple figure-eight layout.

Mascot

In 2006, the park introduced Dodgem the Dog as its mascot, following a primary school design competition. [7]

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 14 January 2026.
  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 14 January 2026.
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