An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
Knott's Berry Farm is a 57-acre (23 ha) theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. The park features 40 rides including roller coasters, family rides, dark rides, and water rides.
Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, 20 miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion."
Lagoon is a privately owned amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States, located about 18 miles north of Salt Lake City. It has ten roller coasters, five of which are unique; Colossus the Fire Dragon, the last Schwarzkopf Double Looping coaster still in operation in the United States ; Roller Coaster, one of the oldest coasters in the world operating since 1921; Wicked, designed by Lagoon's engineering department and Werner Stengel in cooperation with ride manufacturer Zierer; BomBora, a family coaster designed in-house; and Cannibal, built in-house with one of the world's steepest drops.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly known simply as Fiesta Texas, is a theme park located in Northwest San Antonio. It opened on March 14, 1992, in the La Cantera master-planned development and district as the first business in that development. Spanning 200 acres (81 ha), the park was originally built to become a destination musical show park with its focus on the musical culture of the state of Texas. The park was purchased by Time Warner in 1995, and branded as a Six Flags park for the 1996 season.
Valleyfair is a 125-acre (51 ha) amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Owned by Cedar Fair, the park opened in 1976 and now features over 75 rides and attractions including eight roller coasters. Valleyfair also has a water park called Soak City which is included with the price of admission. Cedar Point and Valleyfair were the first two parks in the Cedar Fair chain and a combination of the park names – "cedar" and "fair" – were used to name the company.
Playland is an amusement park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The amusement park is located at Hastings Park and is operated by the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), who also hosts an annual summer fair and exhibition adjacent to Playland. Playland opened at its current location in 1958, although its predecessor, Happyland, operated at Hastings Park from 1929 to 1957.
Casino Pier is an amusement park situated on a pier, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, United States. The pier opened in 1932 and formerly extended approximately 300 ft (91 m) into the Atlantic Ocean, from the narrow strip of the Barnegat Peninsula in which Seaside Heights is situated.
A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, funhouses are participatory attractions, where visitors enter and move around under their own power. Incorporating aspects of a playful obstacle course, they seek to distort conventional perceptions and startle people with unstable and unpredictable physical circumstances within an atmosphere of wacky whimsicality.
Seabreeze Amusement Park (Seabreeze) is a historic family amusement park located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester, where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario. The cool lake breezes and variety of attractions have made Seabreeze a favorite summertime destination for Western New Yorkers since 1879. Today, Seabreeze features a complete amusement park and water park with something for the whole family. According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), Seabreeze is the fourth-oldest operating amusement park in the United States and the thirteenth-oldest operating amusement park in the world.
The Jester is a steel roller coaster located at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans amusement park in New Orleans. Built and designed by Vekoma, the ride originally opened at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 1996 as The Joker's Revenge. After its closure in 2001, the coaster was sent to Six Flags New Orleans where it became The Jester. The ride opened to the public at Six Flags New Orleans on April 13, 2003. Following the devastation to the amusement park in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, the roller coaster ceased operation following the park's closure but remains standing.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park owned and operated by Cedar Fair and located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features seven roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom.
A traveling carnival, usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair, is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being fitted-up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. In fact, many carnivals have circuses while others have a clown aesthetic in their decor. Unlike traditional carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance.
Aussie World is a privately owned, medium-sized, family theme park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has over 30 rides and attractions.
Delirium is the name of three Frisbee rides located at three Cedar Fair parks – California's Great America, Kings Island, and Kings Dominion. The installation at California’s Great America, the smallest of the three, was designed by Chance Rides and opened in 2002. The installation at Kings Island was designed by HUSS Park Attractions and opened on April 12, 2003, as the largest Frisbee ride of its kind in the world. The record-setting ride is able to swing 50 passengers up to 76 mph (122 km/h) reaching a height of 137 feet (42 m). Mondial manufactured the version of Delirium at Kings Dominion, which opened in 2016. It accommodates up to 40 passengers, reaches a top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), and swings to a maximum height of 115 feet (35 m).
Jolly Roger Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Ocean City, Maryland. The park features two locations in Ocean City: one at the pier on the Ocean City boardwalk and one further uptown at 30th Street. Both locations feature numerous thrill rides, including a looping roller coaster at the pier, bumper cars, a ferris wheel, a carousel, and kiddie rides, among others. The parks also contain typical carnival-like games and eateries. The 30th Street location additionally features two eighteen-hole mini-golf courses, Splash Mountain, a full-service waterpark with many slides and activity pools, and 10 go-kart tracks.
Imagicaa is a 130-acre theme park in Khopoli, India. It is owned by Imagicaaworld Entertainment Ltd. The park has an estimated daily capacity of 15,000 visitors. To date, the park has hosted over 5.2 million visitors. It has theme, water, and snow parks.
