Portal:Amusement parks

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An amusement park is 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 and caters for all ages.

Amusement parks evolved in Europe from pleasure gardens, which existed 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 Today, amusement parks have largely been replaced by theme parks, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.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 in the world is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, which opened in 1583.

Amusement parks collect much of their revenue from admission fees paid by guests attending the park. Other revenue sources include parking fees, food and beverage sales and souvenirs. Some parks charge an entry fee which allows unlimited access to all attractions, whereas others offer free admission but charge guests for each attraction.

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Walter Elias Disney(December 5, 1901– December 15, 1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Disney is notable as one of the most influential and innovative figures in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion pictureproducers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion.

Walt Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He received twenty-two Academy Awards and forty-eight nominations during his lifetime, holding the record for the individual with the most awards and the most nominations. Disney has also won seven Emmy Awards. Disney and his staff created a number of the world's most famous fictional characters, including the one many consider Disney's alter ego, Mickey Mouse. He is also well-known as the namesake for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, France, Japan and China.

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Credit: United States Patent illustration

Side view diagram of the Back to the Future: The Ride theater showing the ride vehicles in their lowered (bottom) and raised (top) positions as well as in the process of being raised into the the theater (middle).

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Main topics

Amusement parks • Funfairs • Marine mammal parks • Miniature parks • Pleasure gardens • Waterparks Amusement rides • Carousels • Drop towers • Ferris wheels • Log flumes • Observation towers • River rafting rides • Roller coasters • Water slides Adventure Parks Group • Busch Entertainment Corporation • Cedar Fair Entertainment Company • Merlin Entertainments • PARC Management • Six Flags • Themeparks LLC • Universal Studios Theme Parks • Walibi Group • Walt Disney Parks and Resorts edit

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Legoland Windsor is a child-oriented theme park in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the site of what was Windsor Safari Park, as the second Lego Group Legoland (the first was Legoland Billund in Denmark). In common with the other Legolands across the world, the park's attractions consist of a mixture of Lego-themed rides, Lego models, and Lego building workshops. The park was acquired by the Blackstone Group in 2005, with the Lego Group retaining part ownership (30%), and is now operated by Merlin Entertainments. Around 1.5 million people visit the park each year, with the season running from March to November. The facilities are mainly targeted at children between two and twelve, although the park is open to all. ...Archive/Nominations

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Did you know...

...that the Norwegian roller coaster Speed Monster features a unique loop around a pair of escalators?

...that the Matterhorn structure at Disneyland contains a small basketball court?

...that sponsors of Seaworld, Southwest Airlines, promoted the chain by painting three aircraft to resemble killer whales?

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Things you can do

From the Roller Coaster WikiProject:

Collaboration: Arrow Dynamics • Kingda Ka

Cleanup: Arkansas Twister • Cascabel (roller coaster) • Harry Traver • Montaña Infinitum • Olympia Looping • Sarajevo Bobsled • The Bat (Kings Island) • The Jester (roller coaster) • The Space Diver • Ultimate Ride

Expand: Batman: La Fuga • Beastie (roller coaster) • Blue Streak (Cedar Point) • Cascabel (roller coaster) • Cedar Creek Mine Ride • Cobra (La Ronde) • Corkscrew (Michigan's Adventure) • Crystal Wings • Diavlo • Diving Machine G5 • Euro-Mir (de) • Expedition GeForce (de) • Formule X • Gemini (roller coaster) • Goliath (Six Flags Fiesta Texas) • Goliath (Six Flags Holland) • Goliath (Walibi World) • Goudurix (fr) • Insane Speed • Jaguar! (Knott's Berry Farm) • Kentucky Rumbler • Klondike Gold Mine (roller coaster) • MACK Rides (de)(fr) • Mad Mouse (Valleyfair) • Mantis (roller coaster) • Mine Train roller coaster (de)(fr) • Led Zeppelin - The Ride • Lightning (roller coaster) • Olympia Looping • Phaethon (roller coaster) • Premier Rides • Pyrenees (roller coaster) • Racecoaster • Roar (Six Flags America) • Shivering Timbers (roller coaster) • Steel Hawg • Steel Venom (Valleyfair) • Superman: La Atracción de Acero • Tonnerre de Zeus • Villain (roller coaster) • WildCat (Cedar Point) • Winjas (de) • Woodstock Express • Vertical Coaster

Merge/Split: Rugrats Runaway Reptar

Requests: Alpenexpress Enzian • Big Loop • Booster Bike • Eurosat • Kumali(now redirected to Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo) • Tornado (Parque de Atracciones de Madrid)