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.
Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.
A carousel or carrousel, merry-go-round (international), Galloper (international) or roundabout is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.
Shoot the chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day shoot-the-chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across.
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.
Six Flags Over Georgia is a 290-acre (1.2 km2) amusement park in Austell, Georgia, United States. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961.
Valleyfair is a 90-acre (36 ha) amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park opened in 1976 and 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 original company.
Pacific Ocean Park was a 28-acre (11-hectare) nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926–1956). After it closed and fell into disrepair, the park and pier anchored the Dogtown area of Santa Monica.
Casino Pier is an amusement park situated on a pier, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. 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, including approximately six blocks within Seaside Heights.
Lake Winnepesaukah, commonly known as Lake Winnie, is an amusement park located in Rossville, Georgia, on the south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Carl and Minette Dixon opened the park to over 5,000 guests on June 1, 1925. They named it after the Native American word Winnepesaukah, meaning "bountiful waters" or "beautiful lake of the highlands". The park originally featured the largest swimming pool in the southeastern United States, which debuted in 1926 and was later removed. Its Boat Chute attraction, designed by Carl Dixon and opened in 1927, is the oldest mill chute water ride of its kind still operating in the United States.
SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park in Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California. It is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, public aquarium, and marine animal rehabilitation center. SeaWorld, the theme park's proprietor, is owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts.
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.
Castle Park, formerly Castle Amusement Park, is a 25-acre amusement park and family amusement center located in Riverside, California. The park utilizes a medieval "castle" theme and includes attractions such as a miniature golf course, arcade, and 21 amusement rides including one roller coaster, Merlin's Revenge, a junior rollercoaster. The main "castle" themed building, houses the arcade. The park was designed, built and operated by Bud Hurlbut, who designed several rides at Knott's Berry Farm. Castle Park is currently owned and operated by Palace Entertainment.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has been part of the Six Flags chain of amusement parks since 1999.
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park to be built in the chain, following SeaWorld San Diego, which opened six years earlier. The park was developed by George Millay, founder of the SeaWorld brand. After being purchased by Six Flags, the park was merged with Six Flags Ohio, an adjacent amusement park, to create Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Later, after the property was purchased by Cedar Fair, it was converted to a water park known as Wildwater Kingdom, which occupied the property until its closure in September 2016.
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.
BonBon Land is a 34-acre Danish amusement park located in Holme-Olstrup in the South of Zealand, approximately 100 km away from Copenhagen.
Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is a 20-hectare (49-acre) amusement park located in the Casa de Campo in Madrid, Spain. Opened in 1969, it is the third-oldest operating amusement park in Spain behind Parc d'Atraccions Tibidabo and Parque de Atracciones Monte Igueldo. It is the flagship park of Parques Reunidos, who operates the park under Madrid municipal government concession until 2039.
Attractie- & Vakantiepark Slagharen is an Amusement park and holiday resort in Slagharen, Netherlands. The park opened in 1963 and was originally named Ponypark Slagharen. The logo contains the English name Slagharen Themepark & Resort.
