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Creepy Abandoned Amusement Parks That Look Post-Apocalyptic
Amusement parks are some of the entertainment industry’s best attractions, and all around the world, unique themed playgrounds are a hit for all ages. But with steep competition like Disney and Universal Studios, some parks are unable to remain open, and become barren wastelands.
In this gallery, we take a tour around the world to the eeriest and most deteriorated theme parks left to rot. Although these were once thriving zones for fun and laughter, they’re now home to nature’s wrath and a whole lot of wasted space. We can only imagine what goes on there now…
Takakanonuma Greenland, Japan
This park in Hobara, Japan, opened in 1973 but then shut down just two years following due to deaths that were occurring on rides. When the park reopened in ‘86 it still suffered due to parks like Disneyland Tokyo providing some major competition. It held on for 13 years before it shut down for good. Now it’s nothing more than a creepy ghost town.
Pripyat Amusement Park, Ukraine
This amusement park was all set to be a booming business for Pripyat, until the tragic Chernobyl incident occurred. The radioactive disaster in the nearby plant devastated the area around it for many kilometers, including the city of Pripyat and this park. Now it stands as a terrible reminder of what could have been.
Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio
Chippewa managed to stay in business for 100 years but ultimately couldn’t cope with the declining interest (and thus declining sales). Now it’s yet another creepy and rotting amusement park graveyard.
Okpo Land, South Korea
During its heyday, this park was one of the most sought-after amusement parks in all of Asia. When one of its rides tragically killed a person and then a little girl years later when the cart derailed, the park was closed forever.
Disney’s River Country, Florida
Opening in 1976, the now-abandoned water park was Walt Disney World’s first water park. The park was located on a small island on the Seven Seas Lagoon (the lake where the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts are). When Disney closed the park, they left everything there. What remains today are pools filled with green algae and slides covered in 40 years worth of vines.
Land of Oz, North Carolina
No, this isn’t a post-apocalyptic version of Oz, but it is an abandoned theme park that’s been left to decay for over 35 years. The resort in Beech Mountain was made to capitalize on the nostalgia of the classic film and contained many sets and costumed characters from the film. It couldn’t adequately capture the magic, though, as it closed after only 10 years.
Miracle Strip Amusement Park, Florida
Located in Panama City Beach, the Miracle Strip was ideally located right across the street from the beach and thus acquired quite a bit of tourism when it opened in the mid-’60s. Over the years, the park expanded and added new rides as the city around it grew, but at the dawn of the 2000s the family-friendly park just wasn’t ideal for the spring break vibe the city was adopting.
The Rail of Death
A few years before a little girl was killed in South Korea’s Okpo Land, another man had fallen victim to one of the rides. The ride was henceforth called the Rail of Death, an ominous name that looks like it sounds about 25 years later.
Joyland Amusement Park, Kansas
During its 55 years of operation in Wichita, Joyland was the largest operational park in all of Kansas, featuring a hefty 25 rides. When a young girl nearly fell to her death from the ferris wheel in 2004, the park took a couple seasons off. There was an attempt to revitalize it, but those plans ultimately failed. Today it’s the site of much looting.
Lincoln Park, Massachusetts
This park’s history actually goes all the way back to 1894 when The Union Street Railway Company opened it in order to bridge the gap between Fall River and New Bedford. Over the years, it turned into more of an amusement park with rides (including a full-sized wooden roller coaster) and lasted for about 90 years. By the ‘80s, it just couldn’t compete with other larger theme parks.
Encore’s Garden, Taiwan
Ask anyone in Taiwan about Katori’s World at Encore’s Garden and they’ll likely tell you horror stories about people being killed. In actuality, the park suffered from an earthquake and was shut down. Either way, try walking around here without getting creeped out!
Six Flags, New Orleans
Before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the iconic city, Six Flags was a bustling theme park abuzz with eager thrill-seekers. Now, though, it’s nothing more than a desolate wasteland after the hurricane put it underwater. There are even alligators floating around where small ponds have formed.
Spreepark, Germany
Originally called Kulturpark Plänterwald when it opened in ‘69, this park had all the classic amenities: a water park, ferris wheel, roller coasters, and eventually a Wild West-themed stage show. Once rising costs and lowering ticket sales caused it to shut down, it became more scary than an actual Wild West ghost town.
Umoja Children’s Park, Zanzibar
Located in Chake-Chake, this park ultimately suffered from a lack of business, likely due to the fact that African people spend less on recreation than most other countries. Ultimately, the park had to shut its doors, but what still remains looks like the world 20 years after the apocalypse.
Gulliver’s Kingdom, Japan
This park was actually constructed using government stimulus money, but now it’s just proof that sometimes government-paid recreation just doesn’t work. The park barely lasted for 10 years. A park that made you feel tiny just wasn’t appealing to enough people, and today the Gulliver statue sits there as in an ominous graveyard.
Rocky Point Park, Rhode Island
Set amidst the picturesque Narragansett Bay in Warwick, Rocky Point during its heyday was a perfect option for families with lower incomes to partake in some recreational fun. The boardwalk and midway-style setting was quaint, and there was a wide assortment of rides to choose from. From 1847 to 1995 it provided endless summer enjoyment, but it eventually fell on hard times and closed forever.
Camelot, UK
Designed to whisk guests back in time to the age of knights and castles, the Lancashire-based park contained thrill rides and live cosplay alike. By the mid-2000s, attendance declined drastically, and in 2006 when the park received a low health food score attendance only decreased all the more. Now the park is littered with mannequins and looks like the site of some ancient massacre.
Dunaujvaros Vidám Park, Hungary
You’d never expect that a now-desolate place like this was once a bustling park full of thrill-seekers, but this is what’s left of it after the park fell on hard times and closed in 1993.
Nara Dreamland, Japan
When a Japanese businessman named Kunizu Matsuo visited Disneyland when it first opened, he was so impressed by it that it inspired him to make his own version of it in Nara, Japan. It even had a Main Street entrance and a castle at its center. Once the real Disneyland opened in Tokyo, however, people wanted to visit that park instead, and this park slowly declined.
Wonderland, Beijing
Yet another Disneyland knockoff, Wonderland never even opened to receive business despite being projected as the largest amusement park in all of Asia. Now Beijing has its own Disneyland, so this one will forever remain a ghost town.
Okutama Ropeway, Japan
The Ropeway really only featured one ride — a sky ride-type system that took guests over the Okutama Lake. It was once a sought-after weekend recreational destination when it was built in 1961, but it didn’t drum up enough business to stay alive. Now it feels more like a haunted location in the middle of some desolate woods.
Dadipark, Belgium
What started out as a playground for kids during the ‘50s slowly grew into a functional theme park with smaller rides and a full obstacle course. Over the years, however, the rides began to become more and more dilapidated, and the park was forced to shut down after a boy lost his arm in 2000.
Williams Grove Amusement Park, Pennsylvania
This amusement park near Mechanicsburg was your typical quaint theme park, family owned and operated. It lasted from 1850 to 2005 when people began to seek out more upscale theme parks. They did open for a special Halloween night in 2016 as a haunted walkthrough, but that’s about the only thing it’s good for anymore.
Dogpatch USA, Arkansas
This rustic, backwoods amusement park opened in 1968 when rustic and backwoods was considered quaint and desirable. However, during the ‘90s when big-name theme parks like Six Flags were becoming more mainstream, Dogpatch just simply couldn’t compete.
Geauga Lake Amusement Park, Ohio
This defunct theme park near Aurora has been around since 1887 and went through various hands as well as expansions and upgrades over the years. However, lowering interest during the late ‘90s and early 2000s eventually caused them to shut their doors in 2007.
