9 Amazing Amusement Parks Around the World

When you need the exciting thrill of an adrenaline rush, or to scream the loudest scream you can possibly muster, you should spend some time at an amusement park. You will find a huge assortment of rides from Ferris wheels to spinning-twirling-upside-down-sideways contraptions. If that’s not enough for you, entertain your imagination with theatre, magic acts and puppet shows.
The first amusement park opened in Denmark in 1583, evolving from the traveling fairs that used to traverse the European countryside. It must have been a hit because many more have followed. One thing is certain, if you are a kid or a big kid at heart, you will find something to enjoy at one of these parks.

1 – Gardaland in Italy

This 148-acre park is located in northern Italy on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. It’s open seasonally from April through September, and on holidays in October, December and early January.
With over 56 rides, including six roller coasters, there is something for every age. Visit the different sections of the park including the Fantasy area, which appeals to the younger visitor with train rides, a tree house, an animal farm, kiddie rides, a merry-go-round and video games. The Adventure area has activities like Jungle Rapids, Time Voyagers and Tunga (a safari in an African forest.) In Adrenaline, you will get your rush from one of the many wild thrill rides.
Gardaland also offers dance and cinema events like the Hollywood Dream show, music concerts, acrobatic basketball players and Dolphin shows. If you have the little ones with you, don’t miss the fun games and music geared to their age, the magic show at Merlin’s Castle and the puppet shows.

2 – Alton Towers in the United Kingdom

This seasonal theme park is located in the middle of England in the Staffordshire Peak District. Not only will you find an incredible theme park, there is also a water park and resort hotel on site.
Alton Towers has plenty of mind-blowing thrill rides. There are also rides that will make you laugh hysterically, or some that will scare you and make your heart pound in your chest. For the little ones, you’ll find cute rides like the Green Beastie and Wobble World.
If you need to take a break from rides (to settle your stomach?) visit Old McDonald’s Farm, the Gardens (yes, amazing beautiful gardens), or play a round of wacky Extraordinary Golf. There is really something for everyone here.

3 – Walibi World in the Netherlands

This park is located in the province of Flevoland, east of Amsterdam and open from mid-April through October. It has over 40 fun attractions for all ages to enjoy.
Take a ride on Europe’s first hyper coaster – the Goliath, get wet on Splash Battle, El Rio Grande or Crazy River, or take a spin on the Ferris wheel. You will find many different rides to thrill you, and there are plenty of smaller rides for the kids to enjoy. Shows are also offered throughout the season.
If you are going to be in the area for a few days you can reserve one of the 142 bungalows. When you are tired of the Walibi World, head back to your accommodations and enjoy the heated pool or relax with a game of tennis or miniature golf.

4 – Tivoli Gardens in Denmark

This fun park in the center of Copenhagen is open from early April through late September. Tivoli Gardens offers an incredible selection of rides and other entertainment, and the city itself is right there waiting for you to explore.
You can purchase a multi-ride ticket that allows you access to rides all day long. Don’t miss the newest one that opens this summer. It’s the wildest and fastest interactive ride in northern Europe, where you pilot your own plane achieving speeds of up to 62 mph and navigate through 360 degree turns. You’ll also find Ferris wheels, bumper cars and roller coasters, wild rides, fun rides and rides for small children.
If you grow weary of the rides take a break to enjoy the Aquarium, watch and listen to the music of the Tivoli Boys Guard, or take in a rock or classical concert at the Concert Hall.

5 – Knott’s Berry Farm in the United States

This was America’s first theme park and I remember visiting it as a kid and having a blast. It is located in Buena Park, California about 10 minutes from Disneyland.
For rides, Knott’s has several different sections. On the Boardwalk, you will find rides like the Boomerang, Supreme Scream, and the Perilous Plunge (you will get nice and wet on that one.) In Fiesta Village, you can ride Montezooma’s Revenge and some milder family rides. The Ghost Town has GhostRider, the Calico Railroad, the Timber Mountain Log ride and more. Cool off by riding Bigfoot Rapids in Wild Water Wilderness and of course, there is beloved Camp Snoopy.
But, this amusement park isn’t just about rides. There are dozens of other fun things to do including the Charles M. Schultz Theatre where you can see Snoopy ice-skating and Broadway-style shows. As you wander around you will hear Mariachi bands and Native American music and storytellers. Stop and watch Native American and country line dancing. You may stumble across blacksmiths at work, stunt shows, staged cowboy gunfights, and a place where you can pan for real gold. Take a moment to learn from a naturist at the Ranger Station, and more.

6 – La Ronde in Canada

This Six Flags theme park is located in Montreal and is the biggest park in eastern Canada. It’s open from the end of May until early September, and when you visit during those summer months you’re sure to have a great time.
La Ronde park offers over 40 rides and attractions. Some are thrilling like Vertigo, Boomerang, Cobra and Goliath which is one of North America’s highest and fastest roller coasters. Others are moderate like Condor and Pitoune, and some are completely mild like the Grand Carrousel. The nice thing is you can check them all out and see their thrill rating on the parks web site.
When you need a break from the rides, step over to Ribambelle’s Stage for some live entertainment. This summer the park is also offering a brand new diving show, which will feature acrobatic dives, evening fireworks and music hosted by a DJ.

7 – Dreamworld in Australia

Located between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Dreamworld is open 364 days a year, only closed on Christmas (although it does open a little late on Anzac Day.)
This is Australia’s largest theme park, and it has rides for all ages – thrill rides including Australia’s first motorbike rollercoaster; family rides including several where you will get wet; and kid rides like SpongeBob Flypants.
When you tire of rides, take in a show at the IMAX theatre, take the kids to see the Wiggles in Wiggle World, laugh with SpongeBob SquarePants, be awed by the incredible Bengal and Sumatran Tiger Show, watch a sheep shearing demonstration, or visit the wildlife portion of the park.

8 – Hopi Hari in Brazil

This park is located about 45 miles outside of Sao Paulo, and is open during the warm summer months. Hopi Hari is a newer park, built in 1999, and has several different sections for you to enjoy and explore.
The Mistieri section features Mayan and Aztec replicas of pyramids and temples, and one of the most fun rides in the park, a wooden roller coaster called Montezum. There is also a European and an Old West area.
If you like to collect souvenirs, there are plenty of small shops scattered through the park to satisfy your shopping needs. When hunger strikes, you can grab a burger or sandwich, but it may be more fun to visit one of the small country-theme restaurants.

9 – Phantasialand in Germany

This seasonal park is located near Cologne and has six different themed areas that will appeal to everyone: Deep in Africa, Mexico, Mystery, Fantasy, China Town and Alt Berlin. As you wander through the different sections, you will have the opportunity to experience different parts of the world. For instance, in Africa, you will walk past earth colored buildings with reed roofs and see the Miji African Dancers, exotic aromas will fill the air, and you will hear the beat of drums and stories of the deserts and plains of the continent. In China Town, you might see the Chinese acrobats.
Each themed area in Phantasialand has its own assortment of rides for you to have fun on as well. Take a ride on the Black Mamba inverted roller coaster in Africa; get wet as you spin round and round on the Talocan in Mexico; get shaken about as you ride Feng Ju Palace; and ride the two newest rides, Bolles Flugschulle and Bolles Riesenrad in Alt Berlin.

The Top Three Roller Coasters to Ride Before You Die

Roller coasters are the backbone of any amusement park and continue to draw huge crowds of adrenaline junkies to its mind-blowing twists, turns and break-neck speeds. Not to mention, the enormous hills and dizzying loops that makes its riders want to hurl up their lunch.

Amusement parks around the world are pulling out all of the stops when it comes to extreme roller coaster design and engineering. The vintage wooden roller coasters are nearly a thing of the past as sleek, new steel roller coasters can deliver an experience near to flying. Wooden coasters does not compare to the steel coasters’ speed, height, cork screw, loop-to-loop track engineering, but one thing that steel coasters cannot deliver as well as wood roller coaster are able to, and that is, it does not make riders feel as if the coaster could collapse at anytime.

There are hundreds of roller coasters located in amusement parks around the world, but only the top three roller coasters to ride before you die are listed on this list. If you have your own suggestions or simply disagree with the roller coasters on this list, then feel free to make your voice known in the comments down below.

Behemoth


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The Behemoth located at Canada’s Wonderland theme-park looks like something straight out of a video game. This awesome thrill ride takes its riders on a breathtaking three minutes and ten second heart-pounding adrenaline rush ride of a lifetime. This ride features a 230-foot ascent with 8 terrifying drops, 2 corkscrews loops and reaches 0 to 125km in 3.9 seconds.
Kingda Ka


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Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, NJ has something to boast about with its own strata-coaster that towers over its competition at a height of 456 feet tall. The 0-128 mph will cause the feeling of temporary weightlessness as the coaster speeds straight downward at a 270-degree spiral from its 456-foot tower. From this point, the ride takes aim at a 90-degree quarter-turn that shoots the coaster straight down another 270-degree spiral, and then blasts over a 129 foot camel hump that will leave the riders breathless until the end of the ride.

Top Thrill Dragster


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At Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio awaits the fastest, highest, and tallest roller coaster in the world (in 2003) called “Top Thrill Dragster”. This amazing steel monster is the first continuous-circuit roller coaster to top 400 feet and at truly break-neck speeds up to 120 mph. This roller coaster will send enough adrenaline coursing through you veins that you just might feel super strong or super sick depending if you have the stomach to handle all of the power that this coaster has packing.

Worlds Tallest Water Ride

This has just opened in an originally named Holiday Park in the improbably named town of Santa Claus, Indiana. The vital stats are that the Pilgrims Plunge takes riders to the top of 135-foot tower and then drops them down again at 45 degree angle - into a huge splash pool. Riders are in a 10-passenger boats which take 2 minutes 40 seconds to traverse the entire ride. Well I guess its the tallest but I'm not that impressed. Well you aren't actually in the water - you are strapped into a boat - you have no control over the ride at all - so I don't see it as that much fun - and I hate heights too!
As well the world's tallest water ride Holiday World also boasts The Voyage - the world's best wooden roller-coaster - according to them anyway!

“Universal's Studios Islands of Adventure theme park” Universal Studios Orlando

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park is a good park with a fair amount of rides/attractions. The best are Hulk, Spider Man, Jurassic Park, Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges and Dueling Dragons. They need more rides though and need to add more large attractions. When the new Harry Potter 'island' opens, hopefully it will alleviate some of the construction that restricts access to the current 'islands' and will add more rides.

The main complaint I have about Universal is their 'class' system. You can pay extra to have line jumping privileges. Basically you can pay more to cut in line. That means those that paid full price (more than $75) are relegated to the back of each line. I felt like the passengers on the Titanic - those that paid the most get a lifeboat, everyone else has to wait and hope there is room for them. It gets very frustrating to sit in line and watch one hundred people bypass you while you do not even move.

To make matters worse, their wait time system is just completely incorrect. The wait time system is the amount of time they project you to wait before getting on a ride and it is shown around the park and at the entrance to each ride. We repeatedly got in line with their sign saying '10 minutes' only to watch all the first class citizens pass us and the actual wait being 30 minutes. Here are some samples:
Hulk - stated wait time 45 minutes, actual wait time 61 minutes.
Dr. Dooms Fearfall - stated wait time 30 minutes, actual wait time 49 minutes.
Dueling Dragons - stated wait time 10 minutes, actual wait time 33 minutes.
Jurassic Park - stated wait time 20 minutes, actual wait time 31 minutes.

There is nothing worse than setting an expectation for a customer that you do not keep. All day the actual wait time was longer than the stated wait time. When I asked an employee at the entrance to a ride about it, I was told "I don't know how they come up with those times."

As an added benefit, the class system extends to the parking lot. You can pay extra to have premier parking or pay regular full price and be the furthest possible distance from the entrance. We paid regular full price and we were parked in the furthest possible location within their parking garages from the entrance. We got there before the parks opened and passed empty lot after empty lot on our way to the entrance.

My recommendation is to go to a park that appreciates their customers more - any Disney Park or SeaWorld. If you must go to Universal and only get a limited number of vacation days per year, pay the extra money to be a first class citizen and to get the most efficient use of time for your trip.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Celebrities face rollercoaster ride in new TV gameshow

Thorpe Park's Nemesis ride will be one of the rides to feature in Scream if You Know the Answer! Photograph: UKTV

Katie Price and Heather Mills will be strapped into rollercoasters and other extreme theme park rides for a new TV gameshow.
The pair will join other famous faces such as Phil Tufnell and Matt Wills for new series Scream if You Know the Answer!, to be presented by Blue singer Duncan James, which will see celebrities team up with members of the public to take part in games and compete for a £5,000 prize pot.
The teams, who will wear special cameras, will take part on theme park rides at Thorpe Park including Stealth, one of Europe's fastest rollercoasters; Samurai and Slammer, which spin through 360 degrees; Detonator, a 115-foot drop at 45mph; and Tidal Wave, which plunges 85 feet, creating a huge wall of water.
The 10-part series, which is being made by production company Lion Television, is due to air on UKTV's Watch channel next year. Filming will begin this week.
UKTV's director of entertainment commissioning, Lisa Perrin, said: "The thing I really love about Scream is that our celebrities get to ride too, so we can watch them and the contestants being pushed and pulled here, there and everywhere by huge G forces."
Watch's channel head, Paul Moreton, added: "In theory, the tasks we're getting our contributors to do are simple – but trying to complete them whilst upside down at 55mph and experiencing 4.7Gs is another thing."
The show was commissioned by Perrin, Watch's channel head Paul Moreton and UKTV's director of entertainment, Christian Drobnyk. It is executive produced by Perrin, Tess Cuming and Simon Welton with Andy Scott as series producer and Tony Gregory as director.
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Chimelong Paradise Amusement Park

Chimelong Paradise opened in 2006 is one of China’s largest theme parks.  The park features over 70 rides, many of which highlight the latest ride technologies.  A few of the top rides include: the 10-looped Roller Coaster which holds the Guinness Book of Records title for the most number of loops, the Giant Frisbee which is the largest swinging ride of its design in the world, and the Motorbike Launch Coaster which is the only ride of its kind in Asia.  Also featured at the Park is Asia’s largest indoor Children’s Amusement Centre and Asia’s largest 4D theatre, showcasing the movie “Dinoraider”.

In addition to rides, Chimelong Paradise also stages a number of spectacular live shows including the world’s largest water stunt show “Danger Island” featuring an international cast of top stunt men and women.  The “Danger Island” stunt show is full of big explosions, fireworks, gun battles and water crafts.  Another live show is the “Lumberjack Show” with an international cast of top lumberjack’s demonstrating the skill of wood chopping, axe throwing, tree climbing and log rolling.

For people looking for some fun and excitement and somewhere to take the kids (big or small) this is a day’s activity which will you have you returning time and time again.

Chimelong Paradise is located in Panyu District, Guangzhou, 35mins from the heart of Guangzhou City.  It is situated on Metro Line 3, at Hanxi-Changlong Station, and is also reachable by bus, taxi or private vehicle.  For more information see their website:  www.chimelongparadise.com

Admission*:  Weekdays: Adults 160RMB, Children (1.1 - 1.4m) 80RMB
                        Weekends: Adults 170RMB, Children (1.1 – 1.4m) 85RMB
(* Multi-pass tickets are available at the entrance for discounted tickets into Chimelong Paradise and any of the other Chimelong Tourism Companies.)

Hours of operation: 10am – 7pm daily (extended trading hours during national holidays)
  
(By courtesy of Michelle Mcgeorge)

‘Kieputin’ Top Spin. Linnanmaki Amusement Park, Finland.

Friday Five: Top Five Scary Rides

I admit I tend to be a bit of wimp sometimes with scary rides at theme parks.  Recently I have travelled overseas in the USA which is full of crazy rides, so I made sure I forced myself to go on just about everything! I admit it, although I screamed and closed my eyes for parts of the ride I had a  lot of fun.
So here is my list of my favourite scary rides…
1.  Rock and Roll Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios Disney World
This roller coaster was so much fun – yes I did scream, but it was fast, in the dark and to the tunes of Aeorsmith!  Definately recommend going on this one if you ever get to go to Disneyworld!

2.  Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom Disney World
 I was devastated when on my recent visit to Disney World that Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment! I went on this ride when I was 15 years old and it was so scary and also in the dark (seems to be a recurring theme here for my favourties…roller coasters in the dark!).  Must do if you visit Disneyworld/Disneyland!

3.  Scooby Doo Roller Coaster at Movieworld
I thought I should also put some of my favourite Australian rollercoasters so you could try them out as well.  I only just went on the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster at Movieworld the other day and I was pleasantly surprised at how scary this one was, after being tricked into thinking it was a bit of a ‘kiddy’ ride! Make sure you check it out next visit to Movieworld!

 4.   Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster at Dreamworld
Ok, I confess I haven’t actually ridden on this one, but I have it on good authority that it is fast and fun.  And of course boys (and girls) love it! Come on, who wouldn’t love a motorcycle roller coaster!

5. Roller Coast on top of the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas USA
Yes, you heard right there is a roller coaster on top of a tower in a hotel in Vegas.  There is no way that I was going to go on it.  My father-in-law who was travelling with us did (he is a scary roller coaster fan!) and he was scared!!! This roller coaster shoots you up into the sky over the side of the building! So definately not for the faint hearted!
 
There you have it. My top five favourite scary roller coasters!! Have you tried any of these ones? What are your favourites?

Mexican Zone: These next Port Aventura Theme Park Rides are in the Mexican zone.

Hurakan Condor is one of the main attractions at Port Aventura. You can see it from miles away when you are approaching – it appears like a slim tower and reaches up to 328 feet high. It has a vertical track and the people who want to experience the ride have to sit in a car that climbs all the way up to the top of the track. After a few moments pause, the car plummets 282 feet in a free fall. You reach 70 mph. I didn’t see one person do it without screaming at the top of their lungs!

China Zone

Dragon Khan is the only roller coaster in the world with 8 loops. It is immense in size and extremely fast. You’ll reach a speed of 60 mph while being thrown upside down and it’s so fast I noticed that only 2 or 3 people manages to wave their hands in the air. The rest were clinging on and screaming – even the men!

Roller coasters in Japan

Dodonpa would be my favorite roller coaster if it lasted longer. It was the fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened in 2001. It has since lost that record but still retains the world record for the highest accelleration at launch. It slightly worried me that I wasn't strapped in at the shoulders as this ride has a vertical drop. However as the ride is so fast the G-force pushes you right back into the seat. The speed of this roller coaster is amazing!

Eejanaika is the current world record holding roller coaster for most number of inverts (14). I believe it will very shortly loose this record to a roller coaster in the U.S. if it has not already done so.

On this roller coaster you are strapped in and your feet dangle free. At the start of the ride the floor slowly drops away leaving you hanging there and you are slowly taken backwards up the slope. Then things become a blurr! At the top of the first slope you are spun 90 degrees, from a sitting position looking back the way you came, so that you are looking straight down the first vertical drop and the ride is ON! After that I can't really remember what happened. It was definitely fun. Being longer would certainly make this coaster even better!

Roller coasters in Japan

Not far from Mt. Fuji is theme park that has the best roller coasters in Japan which are also international standard roller coasters! There are three main attractions which have or do hold roller coater world records. The rides are thrilling and to be quite honest I was somewhat scared when things were about to kick off.

Fujiyama is the tallest roller coaster. When it opened in 1996 it was the tallest roller coaster in the world! What I like most about this ride is that it lasts for a relatively long time. The first drop of 230 feet is a total rush. What I also liked about this ride when I went was that it had the fastest moving line out of the main three roller coasters.

Roller coasters in Japan

What makes it such an amazing theme park is that from most of the rides you can see a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji not far away. Since moving to Japan I have only visited this park twice. I look forward to future missions to ride the best roller coasters in Japan.

wanna go for a ride?