Press Releases

European Amusement Parks and Attractions Trivia

 

• A European invention: So-called amusement and theme parks are often regarded as typical American – however, amusement parks were first created in the “old world”.

• The first built park still in operation is 'Bakken' at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen. It was founded in 1583.

• The oldest operating amusement park is more than 420 years old. Apart from ‘Bakken’ the top three oldest operating amusement parks (operating in the same location for consecutive years) are: The Prater, Vienna, Austria open in 1766; Blackgang Chine Cliff Top Theme Park, Ventnor, UK open in 1842; and, Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark open in 1843.

• The Oktoberfest in Munich which is not only a beer festival but also provides a lot of amusement park features, has also been in existence for almost two centuries, dating back to 1810, when the first event was held in Munich, Germany.

• The Forbes magazine, the worldwide renowned business magazine elected the world’s top fifty theme parks in 2005. Amongst the top ten are six European parks, namely: Alton Towers (Staffordshire, England – No. 1), Europa-Park (Rust, Germany – No. 4), Gardaland (Castelnuovo, Italy – No. 5), Liseberg (Gothenburg, Sweden – No. 6), Port Aventura (Salou, Spain – No. 8), Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark – No. 10).

• Europe's biggest theme park, the world's 2nd best theme park for children according to The Independent on Sunday is the Europa-Park Rust in Germany.

• Disneyland ( Anaheim, California) was based loosely on Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, an icon of Disneyland and the entrance to Fantasyland was reputedly replicated from Schloss Neuschwanstein, a castle in the southern state of Bavaria in Germany and built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria in 1869.

• Two of the top five world’s oldest operating roller coasters (in operation at the same location since opening) are located in Europe. Ranking numbers three and four respectively, they are the Rutschbanen at Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark, open in 1914 and the Scenic Railway at  Dreamland, Margate, UK, open in 1920.

• The first carousel-like rides were used in the 1600s to train European princes for horse competitions.

• The oldest operating Ferris wheel is located in Europe at The Prater, Vienna, Austria.  It was built in 1897.

• Between 1976 and 2005 the German Dorothea Spohler-Claußen visited amusement parks all over the world 1108 times which consequently earned her a place in the Guiness Book of World Records. Her favorite park is the Hansa Park in Sierksdorf/Germany which she visited 200 times.

• Rides like the Classic Swing and FunHouse used to be found at almost every amusement park.  Now, these rides are housed at a few parks around the world and are considered classics.  Classic rides located in Europe include: 
- Circle Swing: A circular ride in which passengers sit in large gondola vehicles suspended by cables from an overhead structure at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool UK.

-  Fun House: A walk through attraction featuring slides, revolving barrels and other obstacles at Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth, UK and Pleasureland, Southport, UK.

- Noah's Arc: A walk thru attraction resembling the famous boat. The boat rocks back and forth presenting an extra challenge for patrons at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, UK

- Old Mills: Also called the Tunnel of Love, riders travel down dark passageways in boats at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, UK, and Pleasureland, Southport, UK.

• The Colossus Roller Coaster located in Thorpe Park, Chertsey, Surrey, UK, as ranked as the coaster with the most inversions at a total of ten inversions. 

• Favorite amusement park foods: Cotton Candy was invented in the late 1800s and made its international debuts at the 1900 Paris Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.  There are six different types of corn, but only one type (called “popcorn”) can be used to make popcorn.

• The popular amusement park game Whac-A-Mole has been around for more than 25 years and Hasbro even sells home versions!

• The popular amusement park ride, the Tilt-A-Whirl, can accommodate 500 people every hour.

• Theme park goes automobile industry: After Volkswagen opened its Autostadt (“car city”), a customer-centric automotive theme park in 2000, BMW is also looking to create its own. The parks are not only an innovative marketing tool but combine customers services and brand heritage with leisure and tourism facilities.

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