Amusement park is a favorite vacation destination for the old and young alike. A trip to any popular amusement parks around the world is guaranteed to be full of fun, adventure and many thrilling and memorable moments. Hence, to help you plan a travel itinerary for your next vacation here are listed some of the best amusement parks in the world that you will love to travel to.
Amusement Parks Around The World
The concept of Amusement parks is as old as any local funfair. Like fun fairs, there are rides, shops, food stalls, gaming zones and so on in an amusement park. But, unlike your local funfair an amusement/theme park is bigger and is permanent in nature.
Theme parks are another type of amusement parks that feature similar attractions but are based upon a theme like Disney characters, Harry Potter, Marvel comic’s characters and so on.
As far as rides are concerned there is not much difference between a theme park and amusement park. Both these types of parks are part of the entertainment industry like water parks or adventure parks or museums. These days’ people even use both the terms interchangeably.
Every year the non-profit organization Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) releases a ranking list of amusement parks/theme parks based upon the attendance at these places. Here is the list of top 10 amusement parks in the world in 2018 as released by TEA.
10 Top Amusement Parks In The World
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Magic Kingdom, Florida, USA
Magic Kingdom is owned by The Walt Disney Company and has been operating since 1st October 1971. It is a theme park based upon Disney movie characters and has Cinderella castle as its icon.
Magic Kingdom is the most visited amusement park in US as well as the world. The USP of the park is that it has something for everyone. No one will ever get bored here.
It has the following theme lands:
- Main Street, USA
- Adventureland
- Frontierland
The latest addition to the park is a Fast and Furious theme ride.
The park is open all the year round. Ticket prices vary depending upon age, number of days and special offers if any. Currently the rate of ticket for ages 10 and above is $116 per day.
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Disneyland Park, California, USA
Advertised as the “Happiest Place on Earth”, Disneyland Park in California is also the oldest Disney Park which was built entirely under the supervision and guidance of Walt Disney. This family fun park was opened to public in 1955 and has various attractions like Bear county and Mickey’s Toontown. Star Wars: Galaxy’s edge is the latest addition.
The park’s icon is sleeping beauty’s castle. Its theme is based upon fairy tale characters.
The park operates the whole year and currently the ticket is priced at $149 for a day.
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Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Disneyland is the first Disney amusement park in the world to be built outside of United States. The park is owned by The Oriental Land Company. Walt Disney Company has creative control over the park.
It is one of the top theme parks in the world having 7 theme areas.
Some of the popular attractions in Tokyo Disneyland are StarJets rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flights and Cinderella Castle.
The park has different rates for different age groups.
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Tokyo Disneysea, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Disneysea is one of the biggest amusement parks in the world area wise. It is also the fastest park to have achieved a record 10 million visitors in a span of just 307 days. Like Tokyo Disneyland, this park is also owned by The Oriental Land Company.
It is based on naval exploration theme and has the following areas:
- Arabian Coast
- American waterfront
- Lost river Delta
This theme park is also the proud recipient of Thea award for concept and construction of the park.
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Universal Studios, Osaka, Japan
Universal studio located in Osaka; Japan is one of the best roller coaster parks in the world having many coaster as well as non-coaster thrill rides. Some of its rides like Space fantasy and Screamscape have even won awards.
The latest addition to the park, The Wizarding world of Harry Potter, has a 3D ride which is unique and is a class apart.
The park rates are same as the Disney parks in Osaka.
Many parks prohibit the resale of tickets. A resold ticket from auction sites or any agency is not accepted at such parks.
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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Florida, USA
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the largest amusement park in the world covering an area of 580 acres. The park is different from other Disney parks as it is more real than magical.
There are live animals that roam in the park and different type of flora from around the world has been brought in to create a natural habitat for these animals.
The park’s icon is Tree of Life and it has the following areas:
- The world of Avatar
- Rafiki’s planet watch
- Discovery island
Do not forget to take a walk in the night in the Avatar area. The landscape glows during the night because of the bioluminescent plants. It is an unforgettable experience that you must not miss when you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, USA.
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EPCOT Theme Park, Florida, USA
Epcot Theme Park, Florida, USA is one of the biggest amusement parks in the world. In fact, it is the second largest theme park area wise. The theme of the park is a futuristic city, a city that would inspire and motivate Americans to experiment and innovate.
Epcot stands for Experimental prototype community of tomorrow and was an unrealized dream of Walt Disney. Due to financial constraints he could not realize this project in his lifetime.
The theme park was finally developed and opened to public in 1981. Its icon is spaceship Earth and the park has many theme park rides. In fact, one of its rides – the test track ride is the longest and fastest ride in the Walt Disney world.
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Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Disneyland in China is the 6th Disneyland worldwide. It is one of the best theme parks in the world featuring some of the most amazing and cool rides.
The park has 7 theme areas and the 8th one based upon the Zootopia movie will be constructed this year.
Some major amusement park rides are:
- Soaring over the horizon
- Roaring rapids
- Ride Tron
- Peter Pan ride
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Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Florida, USA
Disney’s Hollywood Studio is a show-based American amusement park featuring rides and live shows that have a Hollywood theme.
This Disney amusement park is a family fun park having attractions for all members of the family. There are Broadway shows for senior citizens, live shows for kids and thrilling rides for teenagers.
Some of the well-known rides of this park are tower of terror, star tours and rock and roller coaster.
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Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Hengqin, China
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is one of the best kids’ amusement parks in the world featuring animal shows, rides and an oceanarium. In fact, the oceanarium in this park is the world’s largest and has won the Guinness world record.
The park showcases many rare sea animals, parades, rides and dolphin shows. It has 8 themed areas, 3 roller-coaster rides and 2 water rides.
Wrap Up – Most Visited Amusement Parks In The World
The Themed entertainment industry is dominated by a few major players – Disney, Universal, Seaworld and Six Flags. They have been able to maintain their top positions by continuously innovating and adding new features to their parks.
What is common in all the top amusement parks in the world is the huge number of attractions they offer for all age groups making them a family vacation destination.
So, next time you are thinking of a getaway that has something for each of your family member then just pick up one of these amusement/theme parks. A day or two spent in these parks are sure to give you a lifetime of memories.
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