The most famous amusement parks. Standard amusement park areas

The popular theme park Disneyland (Disneyland) was opened on July 17, 1955 in the town of Anaheim, south of Los Angeles (California, USA).

On this day, the American "king of animation" and successful businessman Walt Disney (Walt Disney) held a grand opening ceremony for a grand amusement park for children (and their parents). This event was broadcast live by the ABC channel, the opening ceremony of the park was led by the future US president, actor Ronald Reagan.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck walk along the streets of Disneyland along with other cartoon characters and accompanied by an orchestra. Monorail, steam locomotives, horse carts or cable cars, from where a beautiful view of the entire territory, can be found everywhere in the park. The park itself is amazingly well maintained and clean.

Since the founding of Disneyland, more than 500 million guests have visited, including members of the royal family, presidents and other heads of state.

The network of Disney parks has expanded and today, in addition to the first Disneyland in Anaheim, there are Disney World in Florida (USA), Euro Disneyland in Paris (France), Tokyo Disneyland (Japan) and Disneyland in Hong Kong (China).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

The fact that it is designed specifically for the entertainment of people, mainly adults, teenagers and children. Sometimes meet theme parks, that is, amusement parks, attractions, environments, the attendants of which are stylized according to a certain theme, for example, the Wild West or Pirate Island.

History of the development of amusement parks

Due to the disasters brought by World War II, the development of the amusement industry stopped for a long time.

The real breakthrough is the construction of a family recreation park, created on the initiative and with the money of Walt Disney. In 1955, he invested $100,000 in it. But business partners consider the idea of ​​Disney a utopia, and the master has to pledge all his shares for the construction of the first Disneyland in Anaheim (California). The 17 million dollars invested in the entertainment industry not only paid off, but also brought in a colossal income. The concept of the park is an exciting journey through the magical land of famous cartoons.

The popularity of the first Disney park inspired the construction of similar parks across America. Six Flags Over Texas Park, dedicated to American history, appears in Arlington. In Nashville, Tennessee, a country-style Opryland is under construction. In New Jersey, Big Adventure and Lionland Safari parks combine rides with an open zoo, where animals are kept in natural settings.

The rest of the civilized world lags far behind in terms of the number of amusement parks being built. In Europe and Asia, large entertainment centers appeared only over the next few decades.

Among the most famous are the Disneyland Paris built in 1992 and the Lote World amusement park in Seoul (Korea). The latter is listed in the Guinness Book as the world's largest indoor park (total area of ​​more than 7560 hectares).

Amusement parks are very popular. According to the Business Journal, 170 million people visit them in the United States alone during the year. At the same time, the total income of such parks exceeds 1 billion dollars a year. In 2006, there were about 700 amusement parks operating in Russia, which generated an income of about 3.5 billion rubles.

Standard amusement park areas

extreme zone

Here are attractions that attract people with an active lifestyle who want to “tickle their nerves”. As a rule, children under the age of 14 are not allowed to ride in the extreme zone. These attractions include:

• Free fall tower - a high tower, on which a torus is strung with seats for passengers who rise to a height of ≈ 30 meters, and then the torus free falls, where rubber shock-absorbing cords begin to work, slowing down movement. The attraction is intended for adults and children. Restrictions: from 120 cm and not more than 100 kg. It is not recommended to use the attraction for pregnant women, visitors suffering from diseases of the heart, spine, nervous system and fear of heights.
• Roller coaster ("Roller coaster")
• Giant swing (with weightless effect)
• bungee-

family zone

Attractions of the family zone are completed with structures designed to entertain both adults and children. Examples of such attractions:

• Hydrodrome (pool with bumper boats)
• Laser (or regular) shooting range

Children's area

This area is intended exclusively for children 6-14 years old. Main types of attractions:

• Chain carousel
• Hydrodrome (pool with bumper boats)
• Pneumatic
• inflatable slides
• Children's play mazes

For children under 6 years old, electro-mechanical rocking chairs are intended.

• Tokyo Disneyland had the highest attendance at the end of the 20th century. In the past decade, 179.11 million people have visited the park. It is noteworthy that this is half the population of Japan and exceeds the performance of any other park in the world.
• In the city of Sandusky (USA) there is an amusement park "Cedar Point", which has the largest number of rides (77). The park has been operating since 1870 and is considered one of the oldest in the world. There are 17 rollercoasters alone, which is also more than in any other park in the world. The tallest slide, the "Top Thrill Dragster", was completed in 2003 and is larger than the Statue of Liberty.
• Every autumn in Munich (Germany), the world's largest temporary amusement park is built especially for the annual Oktoberfest festival. This is a huge complex, on the territory of which there are about 50 different attractions. The attraction of such temporary parks is the incredibly steep Roller Coaster. So, for example, "Olympia Looping Ban", developed by the famous German designer Anton Schwarzkopf, has as many as five sharp turns.
• The first Chinese Disneyland was built in Hong Kong (Xianggang). It was opened on September 12, 2005 and was completely created according to the laws of feng shui. This is the smallest of the Disney parks. Its area is only 126 hectares, and the park is served by 5,000 employees. May 17, 2013 - the opening date of the last attraction "Mystic Manor".

see also

Sources

• "Business Journal", No. 17, 2006.

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An excerpt characterizing the Amusement Park

To be honest, I wasn’t in the mood to walk too much, because after everything that had happened, my condition was, let’s say, very, very “satisfactory ... But I also couldn’t leave Stella alone, therefore, for both to feel good, although If only we were “in the middle”, we decided not to go far, but simply to relax our almost boiling brains a little, and give rest to our pain-wracked hearts, enjoying the peace and quiet of the mental floor...
We slowly floated in a gentle silvery haze, completely relaxing our torn nervous system, and plunging into the stunning, incomparable local peace ... Suddenly, Stella enthusiastically shouted:
- Wow! Just look at what kind of beauty it is there! ..
I looked around and immediately understood what she was talking about...
It really was extraordinarily beautiful!.. As if someone, while playing, created a real sky-blue "crystal" kingdom!.. We were surprised to look at the incredibly huge, openwork ice flowers, powdered with light blue snowflakes; and bindings of sparkling ice trees, flashing with blue highlights at the slightest movement of “crystal” foliage and reaching the height of our three-story house... glittering with tints of unprecedented silvery-blue hues...
What was it?! Who liked this cold color so much? ..
So far, for some reason, no one showed up anywhere, and no one expressed a great desire to meet us ... It was a little strange, since usually the owners of all these wondrous worlds were very hospitable and friendly, with the exception of only those who had just appeared on « floor” (that is, they had just died) and were not yet ready to communicate with the rest, or simply preferred to experience something purely personal and difficult alone.
– Who do you think lives in this strange world? – Stella asked in a whisper for some reason.
- Do you want to see? – unexpectedly for myself, I suggested.
I didn’t understand where all my fatigue had gone, and why I suddenly completely forgot the promise I made to myself a minute ago not to interfere in any, even the most incredible incidents until tomorrow, or at least until I get at least a little rest. But, of course, it again worked my insatiable curiosity, which I have not yet learned to pacify, even when the real need arose ...
Therefore, trying, as far as my tormented heart would allow, to “turn off” and not think about our failed, sad and difficult day, I immediately plunged into the “new and unknown”, anticipating some unusual and exciting adventure ...
We smoothly “slowed down” right at the very entrance to the stunning “ice” world, when suddenly a man appeared from behind a blue tree sparkling with sparks ... It was a very unusual girl - tall and slender, and very beautiful, she would have seemed quite young , almost if it were not for the eyes ... They shone with calm, bright sadness, and were deep, like a well with the purest spring water ... And in these marvelous eyes there was such wisdom that Stella and I had not been able to comprehend for a long time ... Not at all surprised by our appearance, the stranger smiled warmly and quietly asked:
- What do you, little ones?
We were just passing by and wanted to see your beauty. I'm sorry if I disturbed you…” I muttered, slightly embarrassed.
- Well, what are you! Come inside, it will certainly be more interesting there ... - waving her hand into the depths, the stranger smiled again.
We instantly slipped past her into the “palace”, unable to contain the curiosity rushing out, and already anticipating something very, very “interesting” for sure.
Inside it turned out to be so stunning that Stella and I literally froze in a stupor, opening our mouths like starved one-day-old chicks, unable to utter a word ...
There was no, as they say, “floor” in the palace... Everything that was there hovered in the sparkling silvery air, creating the impression of sparkling infinity. Some fantastic "seats", similar to groups of sparkling dense clouds accumulated in heaps, swaying smoothly, hung in the air, then, condensing, then almost disappearing, as if attracting attention and inviting them to sit down ... Silvery "ice" flowers, glittering and shimmering, they decorated everything around, striking with a variety of shapes and patterns of the finest, almost jewelry-like petals. And somewhere very high in the “ceiling”, blinding with sky-blue light, huge ice “icicles” of incredible beauty hung, turning this fabulous “cave” into a fantastic “ice world”, which seemed to have no end ...
- Come on, my guests, grandfather will be incredibly glad to see you! - smoothly sliding past us, the girl said warmly.
And then I finally understood why she seemed unusual to us - as the stranger moved, a sparkling “tail” of some special blue matter stretched behind her all the time, which shone and twisted like tornadoes around her fragile figure, crumbling behind her. her silver dust...

Did you dream of visiting Disneyland as a child? Do you know which amusement parks besides Disneyland are considered the best in the world? But in Russia? At the end of the post you will find out which three amusement parks are considered the best in Russia.

No. 10. Port Aventura - Spain

No. 9. Disneyland - France

No. 8. Amusement Park and Marine Zoo SeaWorld Orlando - USA

No. 7. Historical theme park Le Puy du Fou - France

No. 6. Tivoli Gardens - Denmark

No. 5. World Beto Carrero - Brazil

No. 4. Disneyland - USA

No. 3. Europa-Park - Germany

No. 2. Discovery Cove - USA

No. 1. Islands of Adventure Universal - USA

Amusement parks serve as a wonderful place for recreation for millions of people around the world. Some are attracted by the opportunity to relax in a comfortable, festive atmosphere, others are attracted exclusively by entertainment, numerous attractions, and others choose them as a place for family vacations. It is the opportunity to have fun that attracts many visitors. Modern amusement parks are entertainment venues with an abundance of attractions designed for different age categories: from children and teenagers to adults and the elderly. We invite you to know history of amusement parks what preceded their appearance, and what periods they went through in the process of their development.

The history of amusement parks: how it all began

Fairs in medieval Europe (for example, Bartholomew's, founded in 1543 in London) were one of the origins of modern amusement parks. Since the Elizabethan era, fairs have become centers of fun for people with entertainment, food, games. They have become a natural birthplace for various forms of fun entertainment. Since 1810, Oktoberfest in Germany has become not only a beer festival, but also a place for folk festivals. In the United States, county and state fairs have also played a role in the history of the amusement park industry. They became annual (held for a week or two) festivities to mark the end of the harvest, accompanied by exhibitions and culinary competitions.

Amusement parks also draw their origins from the so-called pleasure gardens, which became especially popular at the beginning of the industrial revolution, in which people took a break from the daily bustle of the city. The world's oldest (and still operating) amusement park Bakken near Copenhagen was opened in 1583. Vauxhall Gardens, the most famous of London's parks, was founded in 1661. The Prater park in Vienna opened in 1766. Founded in 1843, the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen are another example of a leisure park that has been successfully operating to this day. These parks housed retail outlets, entertainment, demonstration fireworks, and some "rides to ride," something like a modern roller coaster. The parks evolved according to the expectations of their visitors, making full use of the mechanical marvels of the industrialization of the time.

World Exhibitions have played a huge role in the history of amusement parks. The first such exhibition was held in 1851 at the Crystal Palace in London, specially built for this purpose. Exhibitions have become a symbol of industrialization, a platform for demonstrating the industrial achievements of the peoples of the world (Great Britain was an impeccable leader at that time). They combined a demonstration of the achievements of science and technology along with recreational activities.

One of the largest in history was the World Exhibition in Chicago (1893). It is considered as the forerunner of modern amusement parks. To make the exhibition profitable, the developers allocated a separate area for entertainment called Midway Plaisance, which included various attractions, arcade and gambling, show programs. The attractions of the World's Fair in Chicago caught the imagination and began to be copied in amusement parks around the world, in particular the Ferris wheel, an invariable attribute of amusement parks. The amusement rides of the World's Fairs were the forerunner of modern amusement parks.

Ferris wheel

For the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, Gustave Eiffel built the famous tower. The Chicago World's Fair was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. Its organizers wanted to create something extraordinary that could compete with the Eiffel Tower. Finding the right design for the structure was no easy task. The architect Daniel Burnham, in charge of selecting the project, complained at a banquet in 1891 that he had not found anything that would "meet the expectations of the people." Among the invited guests was George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., who immediately, during dinner, drew the design of the Ferris Wheel on a napkin.

Four years later, the Ferris Wheel became the highlight of the Chicago Exposition and was considered an engineering marvel of the time: two 42m high steel supports supported the structure of the wheel, connected by a nearly 14m long axle - the largest piece of forged steel at the time. 36 wooden booths were designed to receive 2160 people. The cost of the ride was 50 cents, and during the Expo, the observation wheel earned $726,805.50. Having built his first wheel, Ferris had no idea what direction his creation would lay in the amusement park industry. Since that time, the Ferris wheel has become an important attribute of amusement parks.

Roller coaster (roller coaster)

Who would have thought that descents from artificially created ice slides would become the prototype of today's numerous roller coaster (Russian) coasters, giving joy to millions of people around the world?
Who invented the first roller coaster? Historians unanimously agree that the creative imagination and skill of the Russian ice slide engineers contributed to the invention of the roller coaster, without which it is impossible to imagine any modern amusement park. Taking advantage of the long Russian winter and the nature of the Russian people, entrepreneurs erected high wooden structures (roller coasters) in the central squares of cities and sold tickets for breathtaking slopes to everyone.

Russian hills were artificially created hills of ice. A wooden inclined device for descent on a sled usually did not exceed a height of 24 m. The steep inclined plane was covered with a layer of ice 5 cm thick or more. Going down a slippery steep hill with an angle of inclination of 50 °, the sled picked up great speed. To complicate the descent, some slides were built with small bumps at the end of the icy descent.

Sledges were made from thick ice blocks. The riders sat on crudely made seats carved into a block of ice. Straw thrown over the seat was the only source of comfort for the rider in the cold, wet sled. The riders restrained themselves by holding on to a rope threaded through a drilled hole in the ice sled. A safe descent required skill and skill, so visitors were taught the rules of safe driving, for which an additional fee was charged.

There were especially many ice slides in the area of ​​St. Petersburg. They gained great popularity among the upper strata of society in Tsarist Russia. Catherine II was also considered a big fan of these slides. The term "roller coaster" for a railroad ride with jumps and slides is used in many languages ​​such as Spanish (la montaña rusa), Italian (montagne russe), French (les montagnes russes) and Portuguese (montanha-russa).

During the Napoleonic Wars, French entrepreneurs learned about the Russians' passion for ice slides and built a similar structure in their homeland, using a cart on wheels instead of a sled, a prototype of the future attraction of amusement parks.

The first roller coaster is believed to have been built by L.A. Thompson on the peninsula of Coney Island, New York in June 1884. The new popular attraction brought the inventor hundreds of dollars a day. Over the next four years, he built about 50 more similar structures throughout America and Europe. The invention of the “father of rollercoasters” was a resounding success and forever changed the face of amusement parks.

The History of Amusement Parks: The Golden Age (1870-1929)

During the period of the so-called "Gilded Age" in US history (1870-1898), labor productivity increased, many Americans began to work less and earn more. Thanks to the improved financial situation and the opportunity to spend more time on leisure, Americans began to look for new opportunities for recreation. Amusement parks, established outside the major cities and in rural areas, were designed to meet the emerging new economic opportunities. By the early 1900s, hundreds of amusement parks were operating across the United States and Canada. The American "Gilded Age" was, in fact, the "golden age" of amusement parks, which reigned until the late 1920s.

Amusement parks on the Coney Island peninsula in New York have gained great popularity. It became a testing ground for many new attractions and was considered the Mecca of American amusement parks. At the time, Coney Island was the most famous entertainment destination in the United States. In 1876 it was visited by two million vacationers. Hotels were built to meet the needs of visitors. The first carousel was installed in the 1870s, the first roller coaster in 1884. Opened in 1895, the Sea Lion Amusement Park was one of the first to charge an entrance fee, in addition to selling ride tickets. Coney Island became an exemplary example of American amusement parks of the time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a new type of entertainment gained popularity - tram parks. They were created, as a rule, by the owners of tram companies, or with their direct participation. The benefit in this case was mutually beneficial: the parks received additional customers, and the tram companies received passengers. Streetcars at the time were the main form of public transport in America, but on weekends the number of passengers was significantly reduced, and consequently profits. The companies created tram recreation parks and gave the city residents and their families the opportunity to get on the tram, go out of town and have fun. Whalom Park is the most striking example of this type of recreation. Created by the owner of the tram line to generate additional income, it is still successfully functioning.

The development of the automotive industry created more opportunities to meet people's needs for recreation. Various sources report the existence of between 1,500 and 2,000 amusement parks in the United States in 1919. The 1920s, known as the "Golden Age" of roller coasters, was a decade of rampant roller coaster construction.

Depression and decline after World War II

The Great Depression that began in 1929 and World War II took a toll on the young entertainment industry. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of amusement parks in 1930 fluctuated between 1800 and 2000, dropped to 303 in 1935, and reached its lowest level (245) in 1939.
During the war, a significant number of urban residents moved to the suburbs, television became a source of new entertainment, and people went to relax in amusement parks less and less.
By the early 1950s, factors such as the crisis of cities, the rise in crime, and even the abolition of segregation led to a change in the structure of spending free time. Many of the old, traditional amusement parks have been closed, while others have made way for urban development. In 1964, Steeplechase Park, once the most established and famous amusement park, was closed for good. Other notable amusement parks, such as Kennywood in Pennsylvania and Cedar Point in Ohio, have managed to get through hard times despite a number of problems.

During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many parks had a "no back door" policy and did not cater to the black minority, even when threatened with closure due to low attendance. A number of US amusement parks could survive if they welcomed everyone.

Theme parks and Disneyland

A recreational area in which all the attractions, buildings, landscape of the territory, etc. based on or related to one specific “theme” fall under the category of theme parks. Theme parks create an ideal world for their visitors, allowing them to forget about the daily routine. The parks are kept immaculately clean and new rides are added all the time to keep people coming back. A theme park is either based on a single central theme or is divided into several theme areas, lands or "spaces". Major entertainment centers such as Walt Disney World in Florida (USA) have several different theme parks within their borders.

Blackgang Chine, founded in 1843 by entrepreneur Alexander Dabell on the Isle of Wight in the UK, is considered the oldest existing theme park in the world.
Knott Berry Farm has evolved from a traditional amusement park into a theme park. In the 1920s, Walter Knott and his family were selling berries from an ordinary stall along the road. A successful business allowed a cafe to be built on the site of the kiosk. For several years, people have been queuing for lunch, sometimes for hours. In order to somehow entertain people in line, in 1940 Walter Knott built a ghost town by moving buildings from the abandoned cities of California and Arizona. In 1968, Knott fenced off the farm and began charging entry fees for the first time. Knott Berry Farm is considered America's first theme park.

Walt Disney is often credited with the idea of ​​theme parks. In fact, he was familiar with Berry Knott Farm and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Walt blurred the principles of the aforementioned parks with popular animated characters and his own vision, and so Disneyland was born. Disneyland officially opened in Anaheim, California in 1955 and revolutionized the amusement park industry. A leading key to the success of Disney Parks was the use of production designers from their own film studio.

Disneyland opened at a time when the amusement park industry was going through a difficult period of its development. Many of the old, traditional amusement parks have ceased operations, others were close to closing. Some traditional parks have used the experience of Disneyland and managed to avoid bankruptcy.

In 1971, the entertainment complex Walt Disney World in Orlando (Walt Disney World Resort) was opened, which is still the largest theme park in the world, including the Magic Kingdom (1971), Epcot (1982), Disney Studios in Hollywood (1989 ) and Disney's Animal World (1998). Central Florida, and most notably Orlando, has the largest number of theme parks of any place in the world.

Many theme parks experienced huge hardships due to the Arab oil embargo in 1973. A number of projects to build new theme parks have been shelved due to the oil crisis.
The most striking example of the evolution of a conventional film studio into a full-scale theme park is Universal Studios Hollywood. Since its inception, Universal Studios has attracted visitors with guided tours of its premises to learn about film production. With the advent of the sound film era, they were discontinued. In 1964, the company again offered its visitors traditional tours of the Studio. Later, they added stunt shows (1967), the attraction "Parting with the Red Sea" (1973), an exhibition of exhibits from the film "Jaws" (1975), the show Conan the Barbarian (1984), the attraction "King Kong" (1985). In 1990, Universal Studios Florida was opened in Orlando. Universal Studios is currently the third largest theme park company in the world after Disney and Merlin. Tours still provide an opportunity to get to know the Studio's set, but stunt showcases and other high-tech attractions are nowhere near as popular as the traditional Studio Introductory Tour, which was once the main draw to visit Universal Studios Hollywood.

modern amusement parks

Since the 1980s, the amusement park industry has grown even bigger, with a huge selection of everything from large theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios to small to medium sized theme parks like Six Flags Park and countless other small businesses in other states. USA and around the world. Simple theme parks aimed at young children emerged, including Legoland in Carlsbad, California (1999).

Amusement parks in large shopping centers began to equip in the 1990s. Familiar amusement parks with traditional roller coasters, water parks, carousels are combined with hotels, cinemas and shopping facilities.

Modern amusement parks are trying to meet the needs of their aging regular customers. Kennywood created in 1995 an area called "Lost Kennywood" with classic rides popular during the early 20th century. In 2001, Disney opened a new Disney California Adventure theme park with Paradise Pier, a re-creation of the traditional amusement park of yesteryear.

Over the past few years, new types of theme parks have sprung up that replace roller coasters with shows, such as Médinat Alzahra in Tunisia or Puy du Fou in France (the latter being the second most visited park after Disneyland in Paris).

An aging population in the US and a prolonged recession in the economy are forcing Disney and its other competitors to seek their fortune in emerging travel markets such as the Middle East or China. The Walt Disney Company accounts for about half of the profits of the entire amusement park industry in the United States.