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Amusement park is the more generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, as an amusement park is meant to cater to adults, teenagers, and small children.
An amusement park may be permanent or temporary, usually periodic, such as a few days or weeks per year. The temporary (often annual) amusement park with mobile rides etc. is called a funfair or carnival.
Amusement parks evolved in Europe from Pleasure Gardens which used to exist for the recreation of the people, while charging a fee. In the United States, expositions were another influence on the amusement park. Amusement parks were the historical precursors to modern theme parks as well as the more traditional midway arcades and rides at county and state fairs (in the United States). Today, amusement parks have largely been replaced by theme parks, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. The oldest amusement park of the world (opened 1583) is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Another long-standing park is Prater in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1766.
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Theme Park Insider
2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Lights! Motors! Action! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:36:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Lights! Motors! Action! enters the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament as the 16th seed in the Best Live Show bracket. This "Extreme Stunt Show" is Disney's second stunt-centered performance at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Walt Disney World, after the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Like Indy, Lights! Motors! Action! mixes thrills with "behind-the-scenes" segments designed to show what goes into creating stunts for action films.Featuring an armada of stunt-modified Opel cars, the show takes place within a 6.5-acre area, including a Mediterranean-themed set, vehicle garage and 5,000-seat stadium. Stunt coordinators put the cars, motorcycles and even Jet Skis through a series of chases and vehicle choreography, leading up to a montage of the performed stunts being played on the outdoor theater's video screen.The show was the first import from Paris' Walt Disney Studios theme park, where the "Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular" debuted with that park in 2002. The Florida version debuted March 14, 2005 and remains popular with crowds today.But will it prove popular enough to pull what would be a huge first-round upset against this brackets top seed? We will find out when voting begins in March for the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction in America tournament, here on Theme Park Insider.
Disneyland's Mr. Lincoln debuts Disney's next generation of animatronic storytelling
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:05:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln returns tomorrow to Disneyland's Main Street Opera House, as Disney replaces the world's first audio-animatronic human character with the first of its next generation of animatronic figures.This new Mr. Lincoln is based not upon the hydraulic technology that powered all animatronic figures from the original Mr. Lincoln through today's characters. Instead, it's based on a new electronic model, one that allows Disney's Imagineers to construct more realistic human forms from the skeletal level, explained Disney Imagineering Executive Vice President Scott Trowbridge.Image courtesy DisneyI asked Trowbridge and Imagineering Senior VP Tony Baxter to explain what this new technology will allow Disney to do with theme park storytelling. (Your new buzzword is "autonomatronics." And don't miss Baxter's wish to see a new generation Indy in the Indiana Jones Adventure ride, either.)As for Mr. Lincoln himself, the newly designed show jettisons the binaural gimmickry of the 2001 version, which was replaced in 2005 by the "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" film, with Steve Martin. We're back to a modified version of the pre-2001 Mr. Lincoln show, with narration by Paul Frees and Lincoln's voice again performed by Royal Dano.In doing research for the show, Imagineers found forgotten studio recordings of Dano's vocal performance, allowing them to replace the previous audio track with a much cleaner version, Baxter said. Indeed, the audio in the show sounds crisper than I've ever heard it. A new digital projection system also displays the filmed prologue to Mr. Lincoln's appearance in vivid color and sharp contrast.Imagineers have better captured the asymmetry of Lincoln's face and body in this newest figure. Lincoln furrows his brow, wrinkling the skin above his nose. His eyes twitch and eyelids droop. As Baxter and Trowbridge promised, this new Lincoln offers a greater range of facial expression than ever accomplished before with an animatronic figure.Not yet realized, though, is convincingly lifelike oral articulation. No, a deaf person could not read Lincoln's lips. The lip and tongue movement that would allow that level of detail appear to remain a step beyond current technology. Yet Lincoln remains the strongest step yet toward the ideal of a full articulated human replica. And let's not forget to celebrate the return of this poignant take on Lincoln's life and the American Civil War. Buddy Baker's score, incorporating music from both previous versions of the show and Epcot's American Adventure, musically sets the stage for Lincoln's appearance, animating the still photos and paintings that precede him.Epcot's Circle of Life definitely would not have made the Best Theme Park Attraction nominees this year had Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln debuted in time to make the field. Here's looking forward to another long run for Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.
Cedar Fair sale in works, for $700m - plus $1.6b in debt
Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:33:00 -0000
By Mike K: The Wall Street Journal and Sandusky Register are reporting the potential sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo Management LP for $700 million. The sale would also have Apollo Management take responsibility for the $1.6 billion in debt Cedar Fair current holds. The owner of Cedar Point, Kings Island, Knott's Berry Farm and other regional amusement parks, Cedar Fair has increasingly struggled to management its debt load over the past year. An official announcement is expected within the next couple of days.So far, this is the only public article on the net is at sanduskyregister.com. Update from Robert: Deal's done. Add the cash and the debt and you get about $2.3 billion. Does that number sound familiar? It should. That's the amount that Blackstone paid InBev to obtain the Busch Entertainment Corp. theme parks, now rebranded as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. (InBev's got an option on an additional $400 million in SeaWorld revenue, so the final price could go as high as $2.7 billion.)Given that the latest TEA/ERA report has the former BEC parks attracting 23 million in 2008 attendance, and Cedar Fair doing 22.7 million, it wouldn't be surprising that the two chains would fetch very similar prices. I wonder if Apollo didn't look at the BEC sale price, subtract the Cedar Fair debt and say, "hmm, $700 million sounds about right." (FWIW, I think that SeaWorld Parks should be worth more than Cedar Fair, given the value of the company's stronger brand names and better park locations.)
2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Epcot's Circle of Life
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:25:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable enters the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament as the 16th seed in the Best Movie or Animated Show bracket.Image courtesy DisneyPlaying in Epcot's Land pavilion at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Circle of Life opened in the Harvest Theater on January 21, 1995, as the Walt Disney Co. looked to capitalize on the recent overwhelming success of its animated movie musical, The Lion King. The film replaced Symbiosis, a film about human damage to the environment that provided some footage that was recycled in Circle of Life. Recycling - how environmentally friendly! ;-)Circle of Life follows The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa, as the two dam local rivers to create a lake for their planned Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba points out that their actions are robbing other animals downstream of the water they need to survive. Then he really rubs it in by telling Timon and Pumbaa that they're acting like a bunch of human beings.Timon and Pumbaa learn the lesson and remove the dam, restoring the environment for all the downstream animals. And the audience learns a lesson.You know who also learned a lesson from Circle of Life? The writers of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," who used the same device (a dam in Africa threatening downstream life) as a major plot point in that Dreamworks animated film.As a 16-seed, Circle of Life faces the toughest road to the title in this bracket. We will find out how this film performs when voting begins in March.
Roy Disney's death, today at 79, silences passionate advocate for animation arts
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:59:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Roy E. Disney really did help save Disney. At a crucial moment in the history of the Walt Disney Company, Walt's nephew stepped forward to demand a change in leadership, one that ultimately led to a new management team and promising new creative initiatives.Roy Disney died today in Newport Beach, at the age 79, after a battle with stomach cancer.A passionate friend of Disney's animation division, Roy served the company as a director and internal advocate. He left active work within the company in the mid-1970s, to be brought back into the fold when Michael Eisner arrived as CEO in the early 1980s. Focusing on the animation division, his push for resources paid off as the company turned out a string of hits in the late 80s and early 1990s.Eventually, his relationship with Eisner soured, and after Disney management didn't list him for renomination to the company's board, Roy in 2003 joined the PR war against the Eisner administration.In the early years of this decade, online fans and critics were railing against the Eisner administration, following cutbacks in show quality, attraction development and staffing at the Disney theme parks. Two fatal accidents at Disneyland, the first to be the fault of the company, also brought severe criticism.Still, many Disney fans continued to lap up whatever the company served, and a bubble-inflated economy fattened Disney's bottom-line. But with Walt's nephew now joining the critics, some institutional investors began to question the company's leadership. Eventually, Eisner left the company, handing leadership to Robert Iger, Eisner's designated successor.Roy fought the Iger appointment, but later returned to the company. Despite Roy's initial opposition to the Iger appointment, I think Roy deserves credit for helping force the series of events that led to it. Eisner's departure cleared much of the internal acrimony that was sapping the company's progress. And under Iger's leadership, the Walt Disney Company repaired its fractured relationship with Pixar and brought Pixar's John Lasseter into Disney's leadership, which revived Roy's beloved animation division. Roy also advocated Disney's recent return to nature films, and served as a long-time supporter of Walt's beloved Cal Arts. Without Roy's actions in 2003-5, I believe that the Eisner administration would have held on longer, with more damage to the company's reputation, internal talent development and long-term creative direction, as a result.On a selfish note, though I never had the pleasure of meeting Roy individually, he was a good friend to Theme Park Insider, including it among the nine websites linked from the original "Save Disney" website. That helped raise TPI's profile among theme park critics at the time, connecting us with several friends are as passionate about promoting high quality and great value in the industry as we are.
2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Cedar Point's Raptor
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:44:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: The 16th seed in the Best Roller Coaster bracket of the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament, Cedar Point's Raptor, opened on May 7, 1994. This Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Coaster features a top speed of 57 miles per hour, a 119-foot drop... and six inversions, including a vertical loop, zero-G-roll, cobra roll and two corkscrews.Photo submitted by TPI reader Tom FaraciOther top B & M Inverteds include Busch Gardens Tampa's Montu, Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Alpengeist, Knott's Berry Farm's Silver Bullet, Six Flags' Batman The Ride and Dueling Dragons at Universal's Islands of Adventure (soon to become the Dragon Challenge in the park's Wizarding World of Harry Potter).Let's hop aboard for the ride...As you can see, the view from the front is... intense. But some fans (okay, like me) knock inverted coasters for obstructed views on all other rows of the train. (I called my trip on Alpengeist last summer "like riding in a blender." Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.) Will enough fans of the B & M Inverted turn out to help Raptor to what would be a huge first-round upset? We'll find out when voting begins in March.Please use the comments to share your thoughts about Cedar Point's Raptor.
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2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Lights! Motors! Action! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:36:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Lights! Motors! Action! enters the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament as the 16th seed in the Best Live Show bracket. This "Extreme Stunt Show" is Disney's second stunt-centered performance at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Walt Disney World, after the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Like Indy, Lights! Motors! Action! mixes thrills with "behind-the-scenes" segments designed to show what goes into creating stunts for action films.Featuring an armada of stunt-modified Opel cars, the show takes place within a 6.5-acre area, including a Mediterranean-themed set, vehicle garage and 5,000-seat stadium. Stunt coordinators put the cars, motorcycles and even Jet Skis through a series of chases and vehicle choreography, leading up to a montage of the performed stunts being played on the outdoor theater's video screen.The show was the first import from Paris' Walt Disney Studios theme park, where the "Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular" debuted with that park in 2002. The Florida version debuted March 14, 2005 and remains popular with crowds today.But will it prove popular enough to pull what would be a huge first-round upset against this brackets top seed? We will find out when voting begins in March for the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction in America tournament, here on Theme Park Insider.
Disneyland's Mr. Lincoln debuts Disney's next generation of animatronic storytelling
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:05:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln returns tomorrow to Disneyland's Main Street Opera House, as Disney replaces the world's first audio-animatronic human character with the first of its next generation of animatronic figures.This new Mr. Lincoln is based not upon the hydraulic technology that powered all animatronic figures from the original Mr. Lincoln through today's characters. Instead, it's based on a new electronic model, one that allows Disney's Imagineers to construct more realistic human forms from the skeletal level, explained Disney Imagineering Executive Vice President Scott Trowbridge.Image courtesy DisneyI asked Trowbridge and Imagineering Senior VP Tony Baxter to explain what this new technology will allow Disney to do with theme park storytelling. (Your new buzzword is "autonomatronics." And don't miss Baxter's wish to see a new generation Indy in the Indiana Jones Adventure ride, either.)As for Mr. Lincoln himself, the newly designed show jettisons the binaural gimmickry of the 2001 version, which was replaced in 2005 by the "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" film, with Steve Martin. We're back to a modified version of the pre-2001 Mr. Lincoln show, with narration by Paul Frees and Lincoln's voice again performed by Royal Dano.In doing research for the show, Imagineers found forgotten studio recordings of Dano's vocal performance, allowing them to replace the previous audio track with a much cleaner version, Baxter said. Indeed, the audio in the show sounds crisper than I've ever heard it. A new digital projection system also displays the filmed prologue to Mr. Lincoln's appearance in vivid color and sharp contrast.Imagineers have better captured the asymmetry of Lincoln's face and body in this newest figure. Lincoln furrows his brow, wrinkling the skin above his nose. His eyes twitch and eyelids droop. As Baxter and Trowbridge promised, this new Lincoln offers a greater range of facial expression than ever accomplished before with an animatronic figure.Not yet realized, though, is convincingly lifelike oral articulation. No, a deaf person could not read Lincoln's lips. The lip and tongue movement that would allow that level of detail appear to remain a step beyond current technology. Yet Lincoln remains the strongest step yet toward the ideal of a full articulated human replica. And let's not forget to celebrate the return of this poignant take on Lincoln's life and the American Civil War. Buddy Baker's score, incorporating music from both previous versions of the show and Epcot's American Adventure, musically sets the stage for Lincoln's appearance, animating the still photos and paintings that precede him.Epcot's Circle of Life definitely would not have made the Best Theme Park Attraction nominees this year had Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln debuted in time to make the field. Here's looking forward to another long run for Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.
Cedar Fair sale in works, for $700m - plus $1.6b in debt
Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:33:00 -0000
By Mike K: The Wall Street Journal and Sandusky Register are reporting the potential sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo Management LP for $700 million. The sale would also have Apollo Management take responsibility for the $1.6 billion in debt Cedar Fair current holds. The owner of Cedar Point, Kings Island, Knott's Berry Farm and other regional amusement parks, Cedar Fair has increasingly struggled to management its debt load over the past year. An official announcement is expected within the next couple of days.So far, this is the only public article on the net is at sanduskyregister.com. Update from Robert: Deal's done. Add the cash and the debt and you get about $2.3 billion. Does that number sound familiar? It should. That's the amount that Blackstone paid InBev to obtain the Busch Entertainment Corp. theme parks, now rebranded as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. (InBev's got an option on an additional $400 million in SeaWorld revenue, so the final price could go as high as $2.7 billion.)Given that the latest TEA/ERA report has the former BEC parks attracting 23 million in 2008 attendance, and Cedar Fair doing 22.7 million, it wouldn't be surprising that the two chains would fetch very similar prices. I wonder if Apollo didn't look at the BEC sale price, subtract the Cedar Fair debt and say, "hmm, $700 million sounds about right." (FWIW, I think that SeaWorld Parks should be worth more than Cedar Fair, given the value of the company's stronger brand names and better park locations.)
2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Epcot's Circle of Life
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:25:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable enters the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament as the 16th seed in the Best Movie or Animated Show bracket.Image courtesy DisneyPlaying in Epcot's Land pavilion at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Circle of Life opened in the Harvest Theater on January 21, 1995, as the Walt Disney Co. looked to capitalize on the recent overwhelming success of its animated movie musical, The Lion King. The film replaced Symbiosis, a film about human damage to the environment that provided some footage that was recycled in Circle of Life. Recycling - how environmentally friendly! ;-)Circle of Life follows The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa, as the two dam local rivers to create a lake for their planned Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba points out that their actions are robbing other animals downstream of the water they need to survive. Then he really rubs it in by telling Timon and Pumbaa that they're acting like a bunch of human beings.Timon and Pumbaa learn the lesson and remove the dam, restoring the environment for all the downstream animals. And the audience learns a lesson.You know who also learned a lesson from Circle of Life? The writers of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," who used the same device (a dam in Africa threatening downstream life) as a major plot point in that Dreamworks animated film.As a 16-seed, Circle of Life faces the toughest road to the title in this bracket. We will find out how this film performs when voting begins in March.
Roy Disney's death, today at 79, silences passionate advocate for animation arts
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:59:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: Roy E. Disney really did help save Disney. At a crucial moment in the history of the Walt Disney Company, Walt's nephew stepped forward to demand a change in leadership, one that ultimately led to a new management team and promising new creative initiatives.Roy Disney died today in Newport Beach, at the age 79, after a battle with stomach cancer.A passionate friend of Disney's animation division, Roy served the company as a director and internal advocate. He left active work within the company in the mid-1970s, to be brought back into the fold when Michael Eisner arrived as CEO in the early 1980s. Focusing on the animation division, his push for resources paid off as the company turned out a string of hits in the late 80s and early 1990s.Eventually, his relationship with Eisner soured, and after Disney management didn't list him for renomination to the company's board, Roy in 2003 joined the PR war against the Eisner administration.In the early years of this decade, online fans and critics were railing against the Eisner administration, following cutbacks in show quality, attraction development and staffing at the Disney theme parks. Two fatal accidents at Disneyland, the first to be the fault of the company, also brought severe criticism.Still, many Disney fans continued to lap up whatever the company served, and a bubble-inflated economy fattened Disney's bottom-line. But with Walt's nephew now joining the critics, some institutional investors began to question the company's leadership. Eventually, Eisner left the company, handing leadership to Robert Iger, Eisner's designated successor.Roy fought the Iger appointment, but later returned to the company. Despite Roy's initial opposition to the Iger appointment, I think Roy deserves credit for helping force the series of events that led to it. Eisner's departure cleared much of the internal acrimony that was sapping the company's progress. And under Iger's leadership, the Walt Disney Company repaired its fractured relationship with Pixar and brought Pixar's John Lasseter into Disney's leadership, which revived Roy's beloved animation division. Roy also advocated Disney's recent return to nature films, and served as a long-time supporter of Walt's beloved Cal Arts. Without Roy's actions in 2003-5, I believe that the Eisner administration would have held on longer, with more damage to the company's reputation, internal talent development and long-term creative direction, as a result.On a selfish note, though I never had the pleasure of meeting Roy individually, he was a good friend to Theme Park Insider, including it among the nine websites linked from the original "Save Disney" website. That helped raise TPI's profile among theme park critics at the time, connecting us with several friends are as passionate about promoting high quality and great value in the industry as we are.
2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Cedar Point's Raptor
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:44:00 -0000
By Robert Niles: The 16th seed in the Best Roller Coaster bracket of the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament, Cedar Point's Raptor, opened on May 7, 1994. This Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Coaster features a top speed of 57 miles per hour, a 119-foot drop... and six inversions, including a vertical loop, zero-G-roll, cobra roll and two corkscrews.Photo submitted by TPI reader Tom FaraciOther top B & M Inverteds include Busch Gardens Tampa's Montu, Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Alpengeist, Knott's Berry Farm's Silver Bullet, Six Flags' Batman The Ride and Dueling Dragons at Universal's Islands of Adventure (soon to become the Dragon Challenge in the park's Wizarding World of Harry Potter).Let's hop aboard for the ride...As you can see, the view from the front is... intense. But some fans (okay, like me) knock inverted coasters for obstructed views on all other rows of the train. (I called my trip on Alpengeist last summer "like riding in a blender." Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.) Will enough fans of the B & M Inverted turn out to help Raptor to what would be a huge first-round upset? We'll find out when voting begins in March.Please use the comments to share your thoughts about Cedar Point's Raptor.
Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks - Operator of parks such as Sea World, Busch Gardens, and Adventure Island. Provides links to owned facilities and online ticket ordering.
Boomers - Operates a number of amusement and water parks throughout the United States. Offers news, employment opportunities section, and information on the Fun Club.
Cool Works - Seasonal career positions in amusement and theme parks.
Meta Description: [ Summer jobs at Amusement Parks, Theme Parks, and Water Parks in Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Minnesota ]
Ripley's Believe It or Not! - Offers museums and attractions in multiple countries focusing on odd and amazing things. Provides videos, details about exhibits, and their history.
Theme Park Adventure Magazine - Includes current and back issues, ordering information, and park news.
Theme Parks Online - Enthusiast e-zine. News and events, discussion boards, glossary, history, park records, hotel and attraction reviews.
Universal Studios Themeparks - Guide to Universal's Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Spain themeparks, including information about tickets and vacation packages.
Meta Description: [ Guide to Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Spain. Find information on park rides, attractions, entertainment, location and directions, hotels, childcare facilities, group sales, tickets, deals, promotions and vacation packages. ]
Thrill Netwok - News on California Parks.
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