Sure, you're sad that Astroland at Coney Island has closed for good. But buck up, l'il Astro-nut! You can buy the rides and build your own! (Astroland's website is still active for now.)
posted by Fuzzy Skinner on Sep 9, 2008 - 23 comments

Don't want to hassle with going to an amusement park? Build your own rollercoaster!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner on Jul 4, 2008 - 30 comments

Very Weird Amusement Parks. And More Very Weird Amusement Parks.
posted by amyms on Jun 6, 2007 - 26 comments

Virtual Space Mountain! Wheeeee! (Click on the second video where you sit in front. What are you, a wuss?) Real video just can't do Space Mountain justice, but it does a pretty good job of capturing some other rides. Feel like revisiting some original Magic Kingdom rides without leaving home? Well here you go... Pirates, Mr. Toad, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room, Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Cruise, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit, the late Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and a bunch of people covered in lightbulbs dancing to the world's most excruciatingly annoying synthesized music. During your virtual day at the park, please just remember to watch out for Goofy. That dude is nothing but a messed up troublemaker. And don't forget... the parking trams do not go to aisles B as in Bambi & C as in Cinderella.
posted by miss lynnster on Mar 26, 2007 - 23 comments

Eejanaika the world's tallest, fastest [video] and longest 4th Dimension roller coaster. Google video. Stats.
posted by nickyskye on Jan 13, 2007 - 39 comments

DisneyWorld's death toll since 1989
posted by rinkjustice on Jun 30, 2006 - 62 comments

So long, and thanks for all the thrills. This weekend, Astroworld (I refuse to prepend "Six Flags") will close its doors. Envisioned in 1968 by Judge Roy Hofheinz (who also brought us Houstonians a major league baseball team, and a stadium in which they could play), the amusement park was where I spent a lot of my childhood in the 70s. Grass roots movements to save the park have failed, and thus it's time to say goodbye to the place that played host to one of the best rollercoasters in the world, a ride that scared the crap out of me, a double ferris wheel with a twist, as well as the Boogie Fog Disco, where I learned how to do The Hustle. All's not lost, as at least I can download the Texas Cyclone, but I still feel a little misty-eyed for the boy who spent most of his weekends in this magical and wondrous place. Farewell.
posted by WolfDaddy on Oct 24, 2005 - 58 comments

Tsuga Recreational Area: abandoned Japanese amusement park photos (translation here).
posted by moonbird on Apr 30, 2005 - 30 comments

Good Time Mix Machine. Artist Rosemarie Fiore has turned a classic Scrambler amusement park ride into the world's biggest Spirograph.
posted by gottabefunky on Sep 8, 2004 - 3 comments

Defunct amusement parks. It has postcards and historical photos. It also has relatively current photos of parks in various states of disrepair. A great site for fans of entropy, like myself. (via Linkfilter)
posted by jester69 on Jun 16, 2004 - 27 comments

Danny's Land: a blog of amusement park, ride theory and oddball transportation links.
posted by turbodog on Mar 5, 2004 - 1 comment

Freedomland was an entertainment park, the largest anywhere in the world. It was New York's answer to Disneyland. Built in the shape of the United States, this 205-acre park's main theme was American history. It was divided into seven sections of our country, each with its own special exhibit or disaster. You could travel from the East Coast to the West Coast, all in one day. It only lasted frm 1960 till 1964 and considered one of the greatest failures in amusement park history.
posted by atom128 on Sep 30, 2002 - 10 comments

Do you like roller coasters? I have a favorite myself.
Would you be confident enough to build your own roller coaster? (mirrors 1 ,2)
(via /.)
posted by patrickje on Mar 14, 2002 - 16 comments