Amusement park Totally Explained

Everything about Theme Park totally explained

Amusement park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, usually providing attractions meant to cater to adults, teenagers, and small children. A theme park is a type of amusement park which has been built around one or more themes, such as an American West theme, or Atlantis. Today, the terms amusement parks and theme parks are often used interchangeably.
   Amusement parks evolved in Europe from fairs and pleasure gardens which were created for people’s recreation. The oldest amusement park of the world (opened 1583) is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. In the United States, world's fairs and expositions were another influence on development of the amusement park industry.
   Most amusement parks have a fixed location, as compared to travelling funfairs and carnivals. These temporary types of amusement parks, are usually present for a few days or weeks per year, such as funfairs in the United Kingdom, and carnivals (temporarily set up in a vacant lot or parking lots) and fairs (temporarily operated in a fair ground) in the United States. The temporary nature of these fairs helps to convey the feeling that people are in a different place or time.
   Often a theme park will have various 'lands' (sections) of the park devoted to telling a particular story. Non-theme amusement parks rides will usually have little in terms of theming or additional design elements while in a theme park all the rides go all with the theme of the park, for example Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

History of amusement parks

Fairs and pleasure gardens

Periodic fairs, such as the Bartholomew Fair which began in England in 1133, are a parent for the modern amusement park. Beginning in the Elizabethan period the fair had evolved into a center of amusement with entertainment, food, games, and carnival-like freak-show attractions. Amusement parks also grew out of the pleasure gardens that became especially popular at the beginning of the Industrial revolution as an area where one could escape from the grim urban environment . The most well known of the parks in London, was Vauxhall Gardens founded in 1661. America cities and business saw the world’s fair as a way of demonstrating economic and industrial success.
Another such location was Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York where a horse drawn street car line brought pleasure seekers to the beach beginning in 1829. In 1875, a million passengers rode the Coney Island Railroad, and in 1876 two million reached Coney Island. Hotels and amusements were built to accommodate both the upper-classes and the working-class. The first carousel was installed in the 1870s, the first "Switchback Railway" in 1881. It wasn't till 1895, that the first permanent amusement park in North America opened: Sea Lion Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. This park was one of the first to charge admission to get into the park in addition to sell tickets for rides within the park. Although the development of the automobile provided people with more options for satisfying their entertainment needs, the amusement parks after the war continued to be successful, while urban amusement parks saw declining attendance.in non-theme park venues. While theme restaurants, casinos, and other themed spaces lack the rides and other features of theme parks, they owe much to the legacy of the theme lands and spatial organization that became popular in theme parks.

Admission prices and admission policies

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.
Practically all amusement parks operate using one of two admission principles:

Pay-as-you-go

In this format, a guest enters the park at little or no charge. The guest must then purchase rides individually, either at the attraction's entrance or by purchasing ride tickets (or a similar exchange method, like a token). The cost of the attraction is often based on its complexity or popularity. For example, a guest might pay one ticket to ride a carousel, but would pay four tickets to ride a roller coaster. Often, guests may purchase unlimited admissions to all attractions within the park. A wristband or pass is then shown at the attraction entrance to gain admission. Disneyland opened in 1955 using the pay-as-you-go format. Initially, guests paid the ride admission fees at the attractions. Within a short time, the problems of handling such large amounts of coins led to the development of a ticket system that, while now out of use, is still part of the amusement-park lexicon. In this new format, guests purchased ticket books that contained a number of tickets, labeled "A," "B" and "C." Rides and attractions using an "A-ticket" were generally simple, with "B-tickets" and "C-tickets" used for the larger, more popular rides. Later, the "D-ticket" was added, then finally the now-famous "E-ticket," which was used on the biggest and most elaborate rides, like Space Mountain. Smaller tickets could be traded up for use on larger rides (for example, two or three A-tickets would equal a single B-ticket).
The advantages of pay-as-you-go include:

guests pay for only what they choose to experience
attraction costs can be changed easily to encourage use or capitalize on popularity

The disadvantages of pay-as-you-go include:

guests may get tired of spending money almost continuously

guests may not spend as much on food or souvenirs

Pay-one-price

An amusement park using the pay-one-price format will charge guests a single, large admission fee. The guest is then entitled to use almost all of the attractions in the park as often as they wish during their visit. The park might have some attractions that are not included in the admission charge; these are called "up-charge attractions" and can include bungee jumping or go-kart tracks or games of skill. However, the vast majority of the park's attractions are included in the admission cost.
The “pay-one-price” ticket was first used by George Tilyou at Steeplechase Park, Coney Island in 1897. The entrance fee was 25 cents for entrance to the 15 acre park and visitors could enjoy all of the attractions as much as they wanted. When Angus Wynne, founder of Six Flags Over Texas, first visited Disneyland in 1959, he noted that park's pay-as-you-go format as a reason to make his park pay-one-price. He felt that a family would be more likely to visit his park if they knew, up front, how much it would cost to attend.
The advantages of pay-one-price include:

guests can more easily budget their visit

guests may be more likely to experience an attraction they've already paid for

guests may be willing to spend more on food and souvenirs The disadvantages of pay-one-price include:

guests may not visit a park if they don't believe they'll get their money's worth

Rides and attractions

Mechanized thrill machines are what makes an amusement park out of a pastoral, relaxing picnic grove or retreat. Earliest rides include the carousel which was originally developed as a way of practicing and then showing-off expertise at tournament skills such as riding and spearing the ring. By the 19th century, carousels were common in parks around the world. Another such ride which shaped the future of the amusement park was the roller coaster. Beginning as a winter sport in 17th century Russia, these gravity driven railroads were the beginning of the search for even more thrilling amusement park rides.The Columbian Exposition of 1893 was a particular fertile testing ground for amusement rides. The ‘’Ferris Wheel’’ is the most recognized product of the fair.
A park contains a mixture of attractions which can be divided into several categories.

Thrill rides

There is a core set of thrill rides which most amusement parks have, including the enterprise, tilt-a-whirl, the gravitron, chairswing, swinging inverter ship, twister, and the top spin. However, there's constant innovation, with new variations on ways to spin and throw passengers around appearing in an effort to keep attracting customers.

Roller coasters

Since the late 19th century, amusement parks have featured roller coasters. Roller coasters feature steep drops, sharp curves, and inversions. Roller coasters may be the most attractive aspect of a park, but many people come for other reasons. Amusement parks generally have anywhere from two to seven coasters, depending on space and budget.

Junior/Gentle rides

Parks are seen as family entertainment, and most include a significant number of children's and gentle rides designed for children from 2 – 8 years old. Many of these are smaller, slower versions of the adult rides, such as merry-go-rounds, teacup rides and ferris wheels. Such rides are usually referred to as "kiddie rides". Others are simple train rides, slides, scramblers and mirror mazes. Some parks also feature a kiddie coaster.

Water rides

Amusement parks with water resources generally feature a few water rides, such as the log flume, bumper boats, and rowing boats. Such rides are usually gentler and shorter than roller coasters and many are suitable for all ages. Water rides are especially popular on hot days.

Transport rides

Transport rides are used to take large amount of guests from one area in the park to another. They usually cost extra, even in parks where rides are free. They are generally popular as they offer an alternative to walking. Transport rides include chairlifts, monorails, and trains.

Cuisine

Food is routinely sold through food booths and indoor restaurants and the offerings range from common fast food items, to restaurant selections, to indigenous street food, and may include specialty items or delicacies depending on the nature of the park and availability of ingredients.
However, amusement park menus generally include:

Pizza

Hot dogs

Hamburgers

Popcorn

SandwichesFurther Information

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