America's most haunting abandoned theme parks

Forgotten adventure parks in the USA

The USA is famed for its larger-than-life theme parks – but not all of them have had staying power and, like America’s Gold Rush-era ghost towns, these abandoned attractions have an intrigue all of their own. From a forgotten Six Flags to a slew of fated water parks, we peek inside some of America’s deserted adventure playgrounds.

Boomers! Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The Hurricane, a 100-foot-tall (30m) wooden roller coaster, was the main attraction at Boomers! Park in Dania Beach. It was the longest wooden roller coaster in Florida when it first opened in 2000 and, although it was part of the Boomers! Park, it was owned and operated independently. It was shut down by its operators in 2011 with the owners citing “business reasons”. It’s thought the humid climate in Florida made maintaining the roller coaster unviable.

Boomers! Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The rest of the park stayed open, attracting visitors to its colorful mini-golf course and arcades until April 2015, when the park was closed. It was reported that new developers would invest in a $250 million-project called The Landings. The development would have retail stores, restaurants, at least one hotel, plenty of apartments and possibly even offices.

Boomers! Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The park had laid dormant for long enough to let the vegetation take over a little. Although several plans to demolish the roller coaster and the buildings on site had been made over the years, it wasn’t until recently that new development started taking shape. Now called Dania Pointe, it’s a 102-acre space with offices, luxury apartments, retail stores and restaurants.

Joyland Amusement Park, Wichita, Kansas

The fun was destined to stop though. Steep costs and dwindling visitor numbers forced the Nelsons to close the park in 2006. Various attractions have now been donated or sold to preservation societies or museums, but the site is still dotted with some ruinous rides and peeling ticket boxes, which stir nostalgia in long-time Wichita residents. However, the abandoned park could be given new life as plans to redevelop the site with carnival rides and a paintball range are now afloat.

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, Mercer County, West Virginia

More than a century later – and ignorant of the site’s past – entrepreneur Conley Snidow bought the land with the intention of establishing a theme park here. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park opened in the 1920s, finished with a giant Ferris wheel, a swing carousel, a vast swimming pool and other kitsch attractions. But the bloodshed was to continue. Over the years, numerous patrons died on the purportedly “cursed” site.

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, West Virginia

The fated park finally closed in 1966. Yet in the 1980s, the by-then rusting site was snapped up once more by businessman Gaylord White. He intended to return the park to its former glory but, when construction began, White’s workers found human remains and indigenous artifacts, and the project was promptly abandoned. Long left to waste and molder, the park now attracts a different kind of thrill seeker: tours usually run here, regaling the site’s spine-chilling tale.

Holy Land, Waterbury, Connecticut

Today, little remains of the hallowed site, bar a few towering metal crosses, crumpled stonework and eroding vestiges of original holy monuments. However, a local group now hopes to revive and reopen the park, so its future remains to be seen. Now discover haunting photos of the world’s abandoned sacred places.

Lincoln Park, Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Four years later, one of the coaster’s cars derailed and several people sustained injuries – faith in the park’s safety steadily began to wane. In 1986, owners invested thousands into safety checking and revamping all the rides, but a year later the Comet malfunctioned again, and was finally shut down. Without its top attraction, the park was unable to survive and closed entirely. Rides were sold off but the Comet was left behind, swallowed by trees and battered by rain. The coaster was finally demolished in 2012, purportedly to make space for new developments.

Rose Island, Charlestown, Indiana

However, it was Mother Nature that would sound this park’s death knell. In 1937, the fierce Ohio River flood wrecked the park, leaving it swamped in some 10 feet (3m) of water. The site was beyond repair and it was left to perish. Now a handful of traces remain, including a dried-out swimming pool and the remnants of a stone fountain. Although the original bridge collapsed, a new one was built to allow public access to the historic site. Take a look at other amazing ruins where nature ran wild.

Geauga Lake, Aurora, Ohio

Despite axing the marine shows and giving the park a thorough rebranding, Cedar Fair was forced to close the entire park by 2016. Some attractions were auctioned and others were left to corrode. Few relics now remain but wistful visitors can see a plaque commemorating the retired park. While there had been reports that homes, commercial lots and office space could be built on the site, the most recent proposals were rejected in early 2020.

Williams Grove Amusement Park, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

However, by 2005, Hughes wanted to scale things down a notch, and made the decision to close the park, pouring all his energy into the still-running speedway. Various rides were sold off but the Cyclone, among others, still lingers, suffocated by trees and crumbling more by the day. The abandoned site is off limits to the public, although it has occasionally been opened for special events.

Chippewa Lake Amusement Park, Chippewa Lake, Ohio

Chippewa Lake Amusement Park had a good run. It opened in 1878 and its story spans an entire century. It began as a humble resort with a ballroom, steamboat and a roller coaster that relied on manpower to reset it after every ride. But after the turn of the century, Chippewa was acquired by ambitious businessman Mac Beach who catapulted modest Chippewa Lake into the 1900s. Take a look at America’s most historic attractions in their heyday.

Chippewa Lake Amusement Park, Chippewa Lake, Ohio

In 1978, CBE closed Chippewa Lake, leaving it to be another ruin ravaged by nature. Trees broke the backs of roller coasters and fell through derelict ticket booths, and weeds forced their way into every crevice. The historic ballroom and hotel were eventually also destroyed by fire. Though various redevelopment plans surfaced over the years, none of them stuck. However, in June 2020, Medina County Park District purchased the site for $2.1 million, with plans to make it a public park and preserve remnants of the Ferris wheel and other relics still standing.

Six Flags New Orleans, Louisiana

The Six Flags New Orleans theme park still stands as a stark reminder of the power of Mother Nature. Its short life began in 2000 when it opened as Jazzland. The cluster of gravity-defying thrill rides, family favorites and French Quarter-inspired architecture quickly earned favor with locals. By 2003, it had been bought by the Six Flags corporation, who expanded its already impressive portfolio of attractions. Discover these incredible photos of tourist attractions that no longer exist.

Six Flags New Orleans, Louisiana

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The storm ripped through the Six Flags site, wrecking rides, crumbling ticket booths and leaving a devastated park wasting in nearly seven feet (2m) of water. Unsalvageable, the park has stood abandoned ever since, its once-splendid rides peeling and plastered in graffiti. Though closed to the public since the storm, the site remains a magnet for thrill-seeking trespassers who weave their way between the crumbling coasters and peek into the weather-beaten buildings.

Six Flags New Orleans, Louisiana

Today, its future remains uncertain, with talks of the park being demolished. Nickelodeon is just one of the companies that declared plans to revamp the theme park, before eventually pulling out. Another proposal suggested turning the site into an eco-tourism park, dedicated to educating the public on climate change, though no plans have been firmed up. It has also served as a filming location for blockbusters including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World. Now take a look at the world’s most stunning abandoned castles.

Dogpatch, Marble Falls, Arkansas

Built in the late 1960s by eccentric estate agent O.J. Snow, this curious theme park was based on comic strip Li’l Abner, which followed the lives of rural folk in the fictional town of Dogpatch. Eschewing the extravagant coasters and thrill rides of competing parks, Dogpatch was a land of lazy rivers, rickety water slides and quaint candy shops. But it was hapless from the start. Its low-key vibe failed to attract the paying public and the park was passed between owners, fading all the while.

Dogpatch, Marble Falls, Arkansas

Eventually, its time was up and the gates were closed in 1993. Shortly afterwards, the owners attempted to sell the park on eBay, but its decaying slides, creaking shells and character statues garnered no interest. Today the site has a new owner and although it remains in a sorry state for now, the idea of its restoration and reopening has been floated over the years. There’s now even a documentary about the park too.

Lake Dolores Waterpark, Newberry Springs, California

However, tragedy struck in 1999 when an employee took an ill-fated ride down one of the slides. The plunge pool had insufficient water and the staff member was paralyzed. The resulting legal settlement cost the park millions of dollars and it would never recover from this unforeseen outpouring of cash or the blot on its reputation. In 2004, the park was closed once more. However, in March 2020, plans for redevelopment were approved so its gates could swing open again.

Source: Read Full Article