A miniature park is a display of miniature buildings and models, usually as a recreational and tourist attraction open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models.
There is evidence to suggest the existence of private model villages and miniature parks since the 19th century, but it was only in the 1930s to 1950s that the genre became tourist attractions.[ citation needed ] Early examples include Bekonscot and Bourton-on-the-Water [1] in the UK and Madurodam in The Hague.[ citation needed ]
Most model villages and parks are built to a consistent scale; varying from 1:76 as used by the intricately detailed Pendon in England up to the 1:9 scale of Wimborne Model Town.
There has been a move away from the model village concept since the mid- to late 20th century towards a miniature park concept.[ citation needed ] Model villages are typically larger-scale, sit in a cohesive miniature landscape and allow viewing and physical interaction with the exhibits, such as publicly accessed streets and urban areas. Miniature parks however, are primarily concerned with the display of exhibits in their own right, viewed from a distance. Model railways, rivers and roads may provide a continuation between miniature parks exhibits.
Many Danish towns also have extensive miniature towns from historic periods (normally 1900s). Some of the most significant include:
Bekonscot Model Village and Railway is a model village built in the 1920s in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, UK at a scale of one inch to one foot. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s and contains several fictitious villages featuring replicas of notable local buildings. The model railway has almost 10 scale miles of tracks and in 2001, a 7 1/4 in gauge railway was opened to transport visitors. Bekonscot has become both a popular tourist location and a part of English culture. It is commonly referred to as the oldest surviving model village in the UK and by 2020, had received over 14 million visitors. Authors such as Enid Blyton, Mary Norton and Will Self have been inspired by the village.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village centre is a designated Conservation Area.
Billund is a town in Jutland, Denmark. With a population of 7,049, Billund is the second largest town in Billund Municipality, behind the municipal seat of Grindsted. It is located approximately 13 kilometers east of Grindsted and 27 kilometers west of Vejle.
Legoland Windsor Resort, styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, is a theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego brand. The park opened on 17 March 1996 and is currently operated by Merlin Entertainments. The park's attractions consist of a mixture of Lego-themed rides, models, and building workshops targeted at children between three and twelve.
The Lego Group is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
Mini-Europe is a miniature park located in the Bruparck entertainment park, at the foot of the Atomium, in Brussels, Belgium. Mini-Europe has reproductions of monuments in the European Union and other countries within the continent of Europe on display, at a scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented. Mini-Europe receives 350,000 visitors per year and has a turnover of €4 million.
Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the park in 2011, and since the opening more than 50 million guests have visited the park. This makes Legoland the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen. The Legoland parks that have since been built are modelled upon Legoland Billund, most noticeably the Miniland area, which is made up of millions of plastic Lego bricks.
Tucktonia was a late 1970s theme park located on Stour Road, Christchurch, Dorset, England. It was officially opened on 23 May 1976 by Arthur Askey. It originally occupied 4 acres (1.6 ha) of the 21-acre (8.5 ha) Tuckton Park Leisure Complex. The park was closed down in 1986. The site has since been redeveloped for residential use.
Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. As of April 2017 there are 53 Sea Life attractions around the world. The chain is owned by the British company, Merlin Entertainments.
Triangle Region Denmark is a cooperation consisting of seven Danish municipalities on the Danish peninsula of Jutland and the island of Funen: Billund, Fredericia, Haderslev, Kolding, Middelfart, Vejen and Vejle.
Mini Israel is a miniature park located near Latrun, Israel in the Ayalon Valley. Opened in November 2002, the site contains miniature replicas of hundreds of buildings and landmarks in Israel. The tourist attraction consists of about 350 miniaturize models of notable buildings. The scale of 1:25 produces skyscrapers that tower over an adult and historic churches taller than a child.
Legoland California Resort is a theme park, miniature park, and aquarium located in Carlsbad, California, based on the Lego toy brand. Opening on March 20, 1999, it was the first Legoland park to open outside of Europe. The park is currently owned by Merlin Entertainments, which took a controlling interest in 2005. The second park in the United States was in Florida, which opened in 2011. A third park, Legoland New York, opened in May 2021.
Babbacombe Model Village is a miniature village and railway located in Babbacombe in Torquay, Devon.
Lego Technic Test Track, Technic Coaster, Project X - Test Strecke and X-treme Racers are the names of five identical steel wild mouse roller coasters manufactured by Mack Rides at Legoland theme parks around the world.
Bourton-on-the-Water model village is a scale model village in the grounds of the Old New Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England. One of the first model villages in the country, it was started in 1936 and completed in 1940. The model represents the core of Bourton-on-the-Water as it appeared in 1936 in 1:9 scale. The model village contains around 100 buildings. It is open to the public and includes exhibitions of other models on smaller scales.
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