Inside the world's eeriest abandoned amusement parks

What happens when the fun stops?

Boomers! Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

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 to make way for development.

Boomers! Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Dadipark, Belgium

Gulliver’s Kingdom, Japan

Undoubtedly one of the strangest theme parks to ever be dreamed into existence, Gulliver’s Kingdom, built in the shadow of Mount Fuji in Japan, was an amusement park inspired by the 18th-century satire Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Gulliver’s Kingdom, Japan

In prime position in the park was an enormous 147-foot (45m) statue of Lemuel Gulliver, tied to the ground by tiny Lilliputians as per the story. It’s not just this eerie statue that put off visitors though. The location of the park was inauspicious – it sat next to both Aokigahara, a dense forest where an unusually high number of people have taken their own life and also the former headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo, a religious cult that killed 13 people in a nerve gas attack in Tokyo March 1995.

Gulliver’s Kingdom, Japan

Spreepark, Berlin, Germany

Six Flags New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

It’s not always abandoned, though, as the park occasionally sees life as a filming location. Blockbusters such as Jurassic World and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes have been filmed here. There have been talks of redeveloping the park but nothing has ever stuck, and in 2019 the mayor said they were considering demolition. Today, though, it still stands as an example of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.

Discover the eeriest abandoned attraction in every state here

Joyland Amusement Park, Kansas, USA

In 2015, after more drama including severe windstorms, alleged arson attacks and looting, demolition began. Locals, some of whom had visited with three generations of their family, stopped by to take their last photos of the park before the attractions were hauled away.

Discover more of America’s abandoned theme parks

Nara Dreamland, Japan

Until 2016, when demolition of the park began, it had been abandoned for 10 years and resembled a ‘nightmare-land’ rather than a Dreamland, with rust and overgrown foliage engulfing the roller coaster tracks, and the sinister silence of desolate rides.

See amazing pictures of abandoned castles around the world

Yongma Land, Seoul, South Korea

Established in 1980, Yongma was popular with the locals in Seoul. But when Lotte World opened in 1989, featuring indoor and outdoor rides, Yongma lost favor, and the park’s income dwindled. It was closed in 2011 due to suffering profits.

Yongma Land, Seoul, South Korea

Wonderland, China

After 15 years of abandonment, much of the attraction was demolished in 2013, leaving only foundations in place of the empty buildings. Reports have said that a luxury shopping center will be built in its place.

Ho Thuy Tien, Hue, Vietnam

Ghost Town in the Sky, Maggie Valley, North Carolina, USA

Known as Ghost Town in the Sky, this abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park has seen as many ups and downs as its Red Devil roller coaster pictured here. Located on Buck Mountain, a mountaintop site towards the bottom of the Great Smoky Mountains, the park opened in 1961 and closed for good in 2016. Today it lies in ruins. It’s featured here courtesy of Abandoned Southeast, in images taken by photographer Leland Kent.

Ghost Town in the Sky, Maggie Valley, North Carolina, USA

From the early 2000s a series of mechanical failures, expensive repairs and lack of cash meant the park was on a downwards spiral. In early 2009, Ghost Town’s owners failed to secure any further funding and declared bankruptcy. Now the park has been left to Mother Nature.

Find out more about Ghost Town in the Sky here

Camelot, Chorley, UK

Located in the English county of Lancashire, this theme park opened in 1983 and was a popular family attraction. Now however, this incarnation of Camelot has sadly seen better days. It operated for almost 30 years, but visitor numbers and poor food ratings led to the park’s downfall. Its closure was finally announced in 2012, and some of its rides and roller coasters were sold off. You can ride the Whirlwind, for example, at Germany’s Skyline Park.

Camelot, Chorley, UK

Pripyat Amusement Park, Ukraine

Its rusting Ferris wheel has become a symbol of the disaster, standing motionless in the abandoned city, which is much like a ghost town, except for the occasional tour group exploring to understand the catastrophe for themselves.

Abandoned hotels and airports where nobody wants to check-in

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