Amusement Parks are where the fun never ends. However, for some, there’s a different story altogether. These are the amusement parks where the fun did end. These are abandoned amusement parks.
Herein, we have brought you a roundup of 15 Abandoned Amusement Parks in the World.
Well, it’s hard to imagine amusement parks that have closed the gates for the visitors. However, for some this has become a sad reality.
Here, the fun did end.
There were myriad reasons that took a toll over and forced these amusement parks to shut down forever. For some, nature played the trick. For others, it was pure economic reasons beyond their control.
Still, others had a run of bad luck which forced them to close the gates forever. Now, these magnificent amusement parks are just sitting there.
Those that were a testament to summer vacations have gone eerily silent. The roller coasters are left to rust, and the parking lots are crumbling. These amusement parks now sit deserted and left to rust. However, they have still got a story to tell.
So, if you are a fan of creepy places, you can well be for some real thrill out of visiting these places. Here, we share with you some haunted amusement parks around the world including abandoned theme parks in the USA.
These are the forgotten amusement parks of the yesteryears. So, let’s take you through this list of 15 abandoned amusement parks in the world.
Let’s begin:
Table of Contents
15 Abandoned Amusement Parks
1. Pripyat Amusement Park (Ukraine)
Pripyat Amusement Park has a sad story. It fell victim to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster which was the world’s most devastating nuclear accident.
It was scheduled to open four days after the explosion, but sadly it never welcomed any paying guests. It now throws just creepy scenes.
All the rides are covered with rust, and there’s not even a single soul to be seen in the park. The structures are in ruin and were never enjoyed by the people of Pripyat. You get to see its rusting Ferris wheel which stands motionless in the abandoned city. The place has turned into a ghost town.
2. Six Flags New Orleans (Louisiana, USA)
The once vibrant Six Flags New Orleans fell victim to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It now lies desolate and abandoned.
The park got submerged under seven feet of water for over a month and had been closed ever since for visitors.
Now, there are no screams and laughs to be heard in the park. Absolute silence has gripped the place. There are disused roller coasters, dodgems, and rusting Ferris wheels.
However, the Six Flags has been a filming location for Hollywood blockbusters such as Jurassic World and other movies as well. At present, there are plans for redeveloping the park.
Six Flags still stands as a live example of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
3. Joyland in Wichita (Kansas)
Joyland in Wichita (Kansas) was opened for the public in 1949. It witnessed wonderful days with screams and laughter all around.
However, all came to a standstill in 2004 with the closing down of the park. It witnessed death on one of its rides and was closed down forever.
A man died when he was standing beneath the lowest hill of one of the rides. He was bending over the tracks, and the train came down and hit him.
It is believed that spirits don’t leave their place of death. So, this park became haunted. People started staying away from this place.
Finally, it was closed for the public in 2004. It still stands today with rotting wood and runs down concession stands.
4. Chippewa Lake Park (Ohio)
Chippewa Lake Park ran for a full one hundred years from 1878 to 1978.
Now, it is closed down and abandoned. No deaths were reported at the park. However, it doesn’t lessen its creepiness. Moreover, it is creepy enough on its own.
The trees have fallen, knocking down rides, while there are others that have grown through and around the rides. So, nature helped in the destruction of the park.
Plus, there’s another site that will send shivers through your spine. On the performance stage, you can see a graffiti writing that quotes an old song called the “Death of a Clown” by the Kinks.
It goes like this:
“The old fortune teller lies dead on the floor
Nobody needs fortunes told anymore” – The Kinks
Moreover, the park was used as a set for the horror movie, “Closed for the Season.”
However, no deaths were reported in the park. So, one can wonder about the actual reasons for closing down the park. It’s still regarded as the haunted amusement park.
5. Yongma Land (Seoul, South Korea)
Yongma Land is one of the failed theme parks that stands abandoned.
However, it is one of the few abandoned theme parks where the public is allowed to enter freely.
Well, you need to pay a small fee, and you can explore the dodgems and dilapidated merry-go-rounds at your leisure.
The amusement park was established in 1980. It was later closed down in 2011.
Rather than the natural disasters or the haunted deaths, there were economic reasons for closing the Yongma theme park. It was suffering profits as larger and impressive parks were opened up in the city.
Nevertheless, the Yongma amusement park is still much popular with photographers. It has appeared in many music videos and photo shoots.
Now, it is owned by a local businessman who turns on the lights of the carousel that you can enjoy for a fee.
6. Gulliver’s Kingdom (Japan)
Gulliver’s Kingdom is one of the strangest theme parks to have ever been into existence. It is an amusement park built in the shadow of Mount Fuji in Japan. It has been inspired by the 18th-century satire called Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
The prime highlight of this amusement park was a giant statue of Lemuel Gulliver. It lies down on the ground being tied by tiny Lilliputians, as per the story.
However, sadly though, this is the only highlight of this amusement park. Other reasons put off visitors though.
The park is located next to Japan’s only suicide spot, Aokigahara. The headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo was also located nearby. It’s a religious cult that went on to kill many people in the Tokyo sarin nerve gas attack in 1995.
These were the prime reasons for the closure of this amusement park. It now stands abandoned. It failed to attract visitors.
The park was opened in 1997 but closed down merely four years later in 2001. The Gulliver’s Kingdom was later demolished in 2007.
Now, you can only view its concrete slabs and exposed foundations.
Gulliver’s Kingdom is now an abandoned amusement park in Japan.
7. Dadipark (Belgium)
Belgium’s Dadipark used to be a church playground in the 1950s. It was later transformed into an amusement park in the 1980s.
Dadipark was initially very popular with a million people visiting at its peak.
However, destiny has its strange ways. Disaster loomed on Belgium’s Dadipark. In the year 2000, a child lost his arm on one of the rides.
It was hardly two years later after this incident that the park closed down. Officials gave the reasons that it was for the renovations which though never actually happened.
The park eventually became abandoned.
Now, there are plans to transform Dadipark into a residential area. The rides have been abolished. A grassy recreational area has been planned instead.
8. Disney’s River Country in Bay Lake (Florida)
Disney’s River Country was opened in 1976 and used to be a uniquely built water amusement park in the country. It employed a unique filter system which could filter water up from the lake into its water slides and pools. Disney’s River Country used to be open to the public during the spring and summer seasons. It remained closed during the winters.
It was in the year 2001 when the park closed for winters, but it did not reopen in the following spring of 2002.
Many reasons came out for the closure of the park. However, the main reason was that tourism was at an all-time low due to the attacks of 9/11.
There was yet another very creepy reason.
It was stated that the park had some form of brain eating amoeba. An eleven-year-old boy was affected by the disease. His parents claimed that the boy had been swimming at the Disney water amusement park.
The park finally announced its official closure in 2005.
Now, Disney’s River Country has become one of the creepiest amusement parks in the world. The site is quickly rusting away.
9. Nara Dreamland (Japan)
Nara Dreamland was opened up in the 1960s. It is located in Southern Japan. Nara Dreamland is now a creepily abandoned theme park of Japan.
It was structured in the style of Disneyland and had California-style features. It was a dream project of a Japanese businessman who was inspired during his trip to the USA.
However, the park was eventually closed in 2006 following the dwindling numbers in visitors due to the opening of Universal Studios Japan which quickly became popular with Japan urban explorers.
However, Nara Dreamland remained popular with tourists who take photos and explore the empty rides.
It now witnesses rust, overgrown plants, desolate rides, and decaying structures. The park now stands abandoned. Moreover, the demolition of the park had begun in 2016.
10. Abandoned Frontier Town (Upstate New York)
This theme park is now bust like an old ghost town. It was started in 1952 by Arthur Bensen who was an enterprising phone technician from Staten Island.
It was a theme park built for the kids. The park had many noticeable areas such as the Pioneer Village, Prairie Junction, an Indian Village, a rodeo arena, together with a narrow gauge railroad.
The park continued to draw steady crowds until the mid-1980s when financial troubles led down to its closure. People began to access bigger and grander theme parks instead of Frontier Town.
The park reopened after a couple of years but managed to remain in operation until 1998. Since then the park has remained dormant with almost twenty years of decline and neglect.
11. Joyland Amusement Park (Kansas)
The Joyland Amusement Park (Wichita, Kansas) was opened up in the 1940s. It used to be the largest theme park in Central Kansas. It offered a wooden roller coaster as well as twenty-four other rides.
However, the park witnessed an unfortunate incident in 2004 which eventually led down to its closure. The park witnessed a serious accident in which a teenager was seriously injured when he fell from the Ferris wheel. The park was then closed.
Although it had a brief lease of life in 2006, the efforts did not succeed. There were also some weird incidents with thieves flocking to the deserted space and breaking windows, starting fires, and marking it with graffiti.
The park was finally demolished in 2015.
12. Fantasy World (Philippines)
This theme park was meant to be called the “Disneyland of the Philippines.”
It was beautifully located atop a hill in Lemery, Philippines. It was structured in the form of a castle with colorful walls. It seemed like an image straight from a fairytale.
The theme park rivaled the best international amusement parks. However, the project never got completed. So, the park was never opened to the public.
The businessman who initiated the project ran into financial troubles before the construction was complete. He eventually abandoned the project.
Now, the castle’s exteriors are fading. Paint is starting to peel off from the walls of its unfinished rooms. The rides lay dormant.
Although the park is not officially functional, you can still enter and explore the Fantasy World. So, you can have beautiful views of the local scenery. You can even climb the castle’s towers and survey the beautiful locale all around.
13. Spreepark (Berlin, Germany)
Spreepark used to be one of the most visited amusement parks in Germany. It was immensely popular and was home to over a million and a half visitors each year.
Berlin’s Spreepark was opened in 1969. It ran successfully for decades until it fell into financial despair and was closed down for the public.
It ran into debts in the millions of Euros and was not able to take up renovation efforts. Visitor figures started to dwindle as more exciting theme parks came nearby.
However, despite its closure, the amusement park remains popular with locals. The ghostly site is now home to events, performances, markets, screenings, and festivals.
14. Funtown Mountain (Cave City, Kentucky)
The Funtown Mountain has now turned into an abandoned theme park. It has a strange and tumultuous past.
It was originally called Guntown Mountain. The park was opened in 1969. It used to be a widely popular theme park drawing crowds from the nearby Mammoth Cave.
It operated successfully for many decades before closing down in 2013 after experiencing an exponential decline in popularity.
The park was famous for its cowboy gun shows. It was also known for the “Carnival of Fun Roadshow.” The park did open in a limited capacity in 2015.
However, the efforts didn’t pay off and the park closed down in less than a year.
You can still see its original structures if you happen to visit the place. However, the buildings are visibly weathered; paint is peeling off and adorned with tattered American flags. You can see a pile of the rusting chair lift cars.
The site is currently closed. However, one can access the base of the park.
15. Boblo Island Abandoned Amusement Park (Ontario)
Boblo Island was a Victorian-era amusement park. It stands abandoned and rusting away amidst luxury houses. The park was opened up in 1898.
It was a thoroughly fun-filled and vibrant amusement park with whirling rides, organ music, and brightly glowing lights.
It attracted thousands of visitors to the shores of the little island offering an opportunity to revel in the wholesome fun.
For up to 100 years, the park was only accessible by ferry. Each boat could bring 2500 passengers at a time.
Its dance hall was once the second largest in the world. It could hold as much as 5000 dancers. It also had one of the largest orchestrions in the world with an automated self-playing orchestra machine. It featured 419 pipes and a percussion section.
Other attractions included rides such as the Nightmare, the Wild Mouse, the Screamer, as well as the Ferris wheel, together with a zoo and the popular “Scootaboats.”
However, Boblo Island fell to the more modern attractions such as the Cedar Point and finally closed its gates in 1993.
Now, it has been renovated for luxury homes. However, you could still see the remaining century-old ruins of Boblo Island.
These were some of the most popular abandoned amusement parks in the world. Now, they stand abandoned and only ruin remains of them. They have now become the forgotten amusement parks. Some of these are haunted amusement parks.
Well, we have shared their story with you. They had amazing days and offered fun-filled experience to the visitors. However, they were plagued by one or more reasons and closed down.
It’s sad that only ruins remain of them. It reminds us of their glorious past.
We hope that we have provided you enough information about these abandoned amusement parks in the world. If you like the post, we request you to please share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. We welcome your comments.
