Closing the Doors on Fun
Theme parks are places where joy and excitement come alive, drawing crowds from around the world.
But time has a way of stealing even the brightest magic. When funds fade or the thrill disappears, these once-vibrant playgrounds fall silent—transforming into eerie, abandoned ruins that hold a haunting allure all their own.
Join us on a journey through some of the world’s most captivating forgotten theme parks, where mystery and nostalgia linger in the shadows.
Western Village
Western Village, in Nikko, Japan was once a western-themed amusement park known as an unusual sight, even in its glory days. Featuring small-town shops, a Mount Rushmore replica, and a number of robots, it certainly was a theme park like no other.
Western Village: Closure
Wester Village opened in 1973 and operated for over three decades before its closure in 2007, after competition drove visitors way down. Many of the structures and robots still stand where they were left.
Western Village: Today
Since its closure, the park has become famous with photographers and explorers looking to get lost in time in the eerie ruins of this once magnificent abandoned theme park.
Cascade Park
Cascade Park in New Castle, Pennsylvania, was once famed for housing the state’s largest dancing pavilion. It also featured an outdoor theater, a roller-skating rink, an indoor roller coaster, and a host of other captivating attractions that drew crowds eager for entertainment.
Pianotech, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cascade Park: An Accident
The park opened in 1897, and it successful ran for 30 years before a tragic accident occurred where two people lost their lives riding the rollercoaster.
pennsyloco, CC BY 3.0 ,Wikimedia Commons
Cascade Park: Closure
The park remained open for several more years, but with deteriorating attractions and low-maintenance. After several ride closures, and theft and vandalism becoming a problem, the owners officially walked away from it in 1981.
Pianotech, CC BY-SA 3.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Cascade Park: Today
Today, Cascade Park stands still, with many things left in their place, becoming rusted and overgrown with nature. Remnants of rollercoasters and support beams, various pieces of attractions, and random concrete slabs decorate the grounds.
Pianotech, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Trinity Loop
Trinity Loop in Charleston, Newfoundland and Labrador, began as a crucial transportation route before transforming into a cherished amusement park. Its grounds once buzzed with train rides, pony rides, a railcar restaurant, live shows, mini golf, and a petting zoo—offering simple joys that made it a local favorite.
Trinity Loop: Closure
Opening in 1988, Trinity Loop operated for only 16 years before people’s interest slowly declined and the owners shut the doors in 2004—leaving many attractions abandoned to the elements.
Product of Newfoundland, Flickr
Trinity Loop: Today
Today, the once bustling theme park is a maze of decrepit train tracks, graffiti-filled ruins, and ghostly murals. Vandals have made their marks on train cars and outbuildings, and flooding from Hurricane Igor washed away much of the railway.
People visit the site to swim, fish, and film horror movies.
Castle d'Oultremont
Castle d'Oultremont in Nieuwkuijk, Netherlands was a medieval theme park in a fairytale land that’s main attraction was a massive pink castle.
Peter van der Wielen, CC BY-SA 3.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Castle d'Oultremont: Theme
The entire park felt like a living theater, where visitors, characters, and whimsical props all played their parts in a unfolding fairytale. Everywhere you looked, colorful décor and enchanting sculptures brought the magical landscape to life.
A.P.M. Ruiters, CC BY-SA 3.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Castle d'Oultremont: Closure
Created in 1989, the enchanted park made it for 18 years before it went bankrupt and closed in 2007. Most of the attractions were removed, though the castle still stood, in its bubblegum-pink glory until 2019 when the building was painted.
A.P.M. Ruiters, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Castle d'Oultremont: Today
Today, the theme park is now a public park called Poort van Heusden owned by the municipality. The castle remains built and is under renovation for a new purpose.
Nickge4, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Bongoland
Bongoland, was a quirky, short lived theme park in Orange, Florida. It was filled with life-sized beasts crafted out of chicken wire and concrete that towered over visitors. The park also had a recreated Seminole village, a historic sugar mill, live animals, and a mini train shuttle.
Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bongoland: Closure
Despite its unusual mix of attractions, Bongoland struggled to capture enough visitors, and just five years after opening, it quietly closed its doors in 1952.
Bongoland: Today
Today, the concrete dinosaurs still stand, embedded in what is now a quiet, lush garden with several stunning plant collections, including magnolias, succulents, and ferns in a small grotto.
Yongma Land
Yongma Land in Seoul, South Korea was a family-oriented amusement park filled with ‘80s pop icon themed décor and rides like bumper cars, an octopus, a Viking ship, a rollercoaster, and a carousel.
Christian Bolz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Yongma Land: Closure
Yongma Land was built in 1980 and made it three decades before tastes changed and visitors started to dwindle. In 2011, it shut its doors. Everything was left as it was, to rot and ruin and become one with nature.
Christian Bolz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Yongma Land: Today
Yongma Land found new life when a local businessman purchased it—not to revive its former glory, but to celebrate the haunting beauty of its slow decay and nostalgic charm.
Christian Bolz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Yongma Land: Reopened
Visitors pay a small fee to enter, but are free to roam the grounds getting photos with the old rides. He even turns on the lights of the merry-go-round at dark for a ghostly effect. The faded carney magic is a photographer’s dream.
Taman Festival
The Taman Festival in Denpasar, Indonesia was theme park that never saw a paying visitor, as it closed before it even opened. The grounds boasted an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a cinema, a wedding chapel, and many restaurants.
Taman Festival: Closure
The park closed before it opened, and no one really knows why. Many speculate the owners anticipated a struggle following the 2002 Bali attack, others say things were damaged in a storm and it was too costly to rebuild.
Taman Festival: Today
Today, the park is slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. Twisted vines snake across the cracked pathways, while bats, spiders, and other creatures lurk in shadowed corners. A family of crocodiles silently prowls the grounds, using the murky pond as their hidden domain, adding to the park’s haunting, wild aura.
Taman Festival: Visitors Today
Although abandoned, the park still gets visitors—though most are there for a haunted hike, to graffiti the ruins, or to take photographs.
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark in Newberry Springs, California was known as the “Fun Spot of the Desert,” though now as haunting ruin, it is a reminder that the desert is no place for a waterpark.
Dzealand, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark: An Oasis
The waterpark opened in the 1960’s and featured a collection of pools and waterslides, a manmade lake, rides and attractions, and a campground—providing a carnival oasis in the middle of the desert.
Dzealand, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark: Closure & Revival
The park thrived for several decades before attendance began to fade, leading to its official closure in 1990. In 1998, it was reborn as a modern waterpark, complete with new attractions like a lazy river, and initially enjoyed a fresh wave of success.
But that all changed when a tragic accident struck—altering its fate forever.
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark: The Accident
Only a year after it’s revival, one of the park’s employees took a late-night ride down a waterslide into a partially-filled pool. The disastrous landing turned the employee into a paraplegic, and the settlement cost the owners millions of dollars.
The park shut down again in 2004.
Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark: Today
Today, the attractions sit in place, rusting and faded, and damaged by vandals and graffiti artists. It has become another photographer paradise and entertains those looking for a haunting experience.
Jeff Kern, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pripyat Amusement Park
Pripyat Amusement Park in Pripyat, Ukraine was only open for one day before its abandonment. It was filled with various carnival rides, games with stuffed animal prizes, a Ferris wheel, bumper-cars, and much more.
Kirill578, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pripyat Amusement Park: Closure
The park opened for just a single day—April 27, 1986—offering a brief moment of escape and entertainment for those preparing to evacuate the Ukrainian city in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster the day before.
Alexander Blecher, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pripyat Amusement Park: Today
The park remains exactly how it was left, with festive decorations still lingering near rusting old rides. Its Ferris wheel became an unsettling icon of the nuclear disaster, and visitors often use it as a memorial site.
Rose Island
Rose Island was a rustic theme park in Charlestown, Indiana. It was a popular attraction for summer vacationers and included a hotel, a swimming pool, a wooden roller coaster, and a small zoo.
Rose Island: Closure
Rose Island opened in 1923 and was a success from the start. Powering through the Great Depression, and drawing in more visitors by the year.
Until a massive flood swept through the Ohio River in 1937, taking Rose Island with it.
Rose Island: Today
Today, only the weathered stone struts of the old footbridge remain, alongside the empty swimming pool and the crumbling ruins of a once-grand stone fountain. Though the original footbridge collapsed over time, it has since been rebuilt, granting visitors passage to explore the haunting remains.
Gmiller123456, Wikimedia Commons
Ankapark
Turkey’s Ankapark was once hailed as Europe’s biggest theme park, with 26 large theme park rides and 2,117 smaller attractions all housed in 13 massive tent structures. Large dinosaur structures filled
Ankapark: Closure
Ankapark closed less than a year after it’s 2019 opening due to problems with construction, lawsuits, and unpaid wages. The park had cost $801 million to build, and it wasn’t even finished when it closed down.
Ankapark: Today
Today, broken rides litter the overgrown landscape offering a haunting experience to visitors. Many pieces of the rides have been looted, and artists have made their mark on every concrete structure. Though since closer was only recently, many of the 17 massive roller coasters remain intact.
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