6 Creepy Abandoned Amusement parks.
6 Creepy Abandoned Amusement Parks
First, there was Wonderland, a Disney World-style theme park that the Chinese government promised would be “the largest amusement park in Asia.” It got built but never opened. Still, adventurous tourists journey from all over the globe to check out the ghostly remains.
1. Okpo Land
Located on South Korea’s tiny Geoje Island, this park has all the makings of a ghostly horror movie. One of the park’s main attractions was a duck-themed roller coaster. It’s known to have caused at least one fatality in the late 1990s, for which no compensation or apology was received, and the ride continued to operate. Then in 1999, a cart derailed and capsized at top speed, and a young girl tragically fell to her death. The park’s owner immediately disappeared and was never heard from again; Okpo Land was closed.
2. Joyland
This family-owned amusement park in Wichita, Kansas was once the largest theme park in central Kansas and featured a wooden roller coaster and other old-timey attractions. It operated for 55 years but closed in 2004 due to financial troubles. (It was temporarily reopened in 2006, but only lasted one season).
Since then, it’s been vandalized numerous times, with buildings covered in graffiti and the vintage sign atop the roller coaster getting stolen. The administration offices have also been destroyed, and in August 2012 a maintenance building was burned down.
3. Jungle Habitat
Long before the Six Flags used Warner Bros. characters at their theme parks, there was Jungle Habitat in West Milford, New Jersey. This Warner Brothers-owned animal park opened in the summer of 1972. Tourists could slowly drive their vehicles along the designated roadways as wild animals freely roamed about. While these animals were kept behind fences so they did not leave the park, they could walk right up to the window of a passing car.
Alas, the park was closed by October 1976 due to numerous problems. Dangerous animals reportedly escaped into West Milford, animals injured visitors on multiple occasions, several of those same animals contracted tuberculosis and were euthanized, and locals hated all the traffic. According to the park’s Wiki page, competition from theme park giant Great Adventure, combined with poor management and the park’s inability to easily expand, may have contributed to the demise as well
4. Six Flags New Orleans
Originally named “Jazzland” when it opened in 2000, the Six Flags company bought the park in 2002 and added popular attractions like Batman: The Ride. A water park was in the works, but then Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and the park was permanently closed. It is currently owned by the city of New Orleans, and while there is talk of transforming it into an outlet mall, it’s still an abandoned site.
5. Heritage USA
This Christian theme park, water park, and residential complex was built in Fort Mill, South Carolina and comprised 2,300 acres. It operated from 1978-1989 and was the brainchild of PTL televangelist Jim Bakker and his then-wife, the late Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.
At its height, this vacation destination earned $126 million per year and was on par with Disneyland and Walt Disney World. But when it was revealed that Bakker had been having an affair with Jessica Hahn, and he also got a federal indictment for fraud, attendance dropped. The IRS revoked the park’s tax exemption status, and then in September 1989 Hurricane Hugo hit and caused lots of damage. It closed after that. Since then, much of the park has been sold and redeveloped.
6. Prypiat Amusement Park
Perhaps the creepiest and most dangerous of them all.
The story goes that this Ukraine park was open one day– April 27, 1986. It was supposed to be opened on May 1, 1986 in time for the May Day celebrations, but the Chernobyl disaster happened. The park was supposedly opened for a couple of hours to keep the residents entertained before being told to evacuate the city.
Though the radiation in parts of the park is supposed to be dangerously high, people still venture there to snap photos. It’s reported that decorations for the May Day opening can still be seen there today.
%201.jpg)
0 Comments