The Oldest Amusement Parks Still In Operation Today

An amusement park (also known as a theme park or a fun fair) is a group of entertainment attractions and other events found in one location designed for large crowds of visitors. Amusement parks have a particular location as compared to traveling carnivals or fun fairs, are more sophisticated than simple playgrounds or city parks and usually aim towards catering to all ages

The Oldest Amusement Parks in the World

Dyrehavsbakken

Dyrehavsbakken, translated from Danish to The Deer Park's Hill, is an amusement park located in Lyngby-Tamarack Kommune, Denmark. The park was opened in 1583 is considered to be the world's oldest amusement park that is still operation. Dyrehavsbakken receives between 2.5 and 2.7 million visitors annually and is the second most popular attraction site in Denmark second after the Tivoli Gardens amusement parks.

Prater

The Prater is a large public park located in Vienna, Austria. The park was established on April 7, 1766 when Emperor Joseph II declared that the Prater was to be free for the public to enjoy. Some of the Prater's other attractions include the Prater Museum, a narrow gauge railway, a spherical micronation, and a planetarium.

Lake Compounce

Situated in Bristol and Southington, Connecticut, it is the oldest operating amusement park in the US since it was opened in 1846. Gad Norton in 1846 performed a failed explosive experiment which had attracted a multitude of people thereby giving him an idea of opening a picnic park, with coverage of 134.4 hectares of land. It is home to forty-four rides, five roller coasts one of them being the world’s fourteenth oldest wooden roller coaster. The Boulder Dash which holds an award of the best wooden roller coaster in the world, a beach and Connecticut’s biggest water park known as the Crocodile Grove whose amenities are a wave pool, water slides among others are found in the park. The park is operational from May through to December.

Tivoli Gardens

The Tivoli gardens or Tivoli is the third oldest amusement park in the world and a famous amusement park and pleasure garden located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Tivoli Gardens were opened on August 15, 1843. The park is the world's second most popular seasonal theme park, and the fourth most visited park in Europe behind Efteling, Disneyland Paris, and Europa-Park Rust. In 2015, the park had 4.733 million visitors making it the most visited theme park in Scandinavia.

Blackgang Chine Amusement Park

The Blackgang Chine amusement park is the oldest amusement in the United Kingdom, as well as the oldest one in operation. The park was named after a recently destroyed coastal ravine and is located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. The park is owned by the Dabell has a sister park known as Robin Hill. Blackgang Chine was opened in May 1843 is home to Fairy Villages and Castles, the Cowboy Town, Pirate Ships and Dodo Valleys. Due to the instability of the land on which the park is based, frequent landslides occur resulting in the continuous relocation of attractions to safer grounds.

Amusement Parks and Tourism

Amusement parks have had a great impact on tourism and have had a profound influence on upcoming new trends in tourism. Amusement parks receive huge numbers of visitors each year and seldom experience low or off-peak seasons. Most amusement parks account for a big percentage of local and international tourism.