Five years ago, I flew to England to see the grand opening of something improbable: an attraction called Dickens World. It promised to be an “authentic” re-creation of the London of Charles Dickens’s novels, complete with soot, pickpockets, cobblestones, gas lamps, animatronic Dickens characters and strategically placed chemical “smell pots” that would, when heated, emit odors of offal and rotting cabbage. ... Today Dickens World survives largely as a landlord, collecting rent from the Odeon movie theater next door and the restaurants (Pizza Hut, Subway, Chimichanga) that surround it. (previously)
posted by Trurl on Feb 10, 2012 - 41 comments

As you leave Beijing traveling north on the road to visit the Great Wall of China you pass by this (map). It's unguarded, and various people have explored it, reporting back. There are two theories of its demise, local farmers, or Disney.
posted by stbalbach on Dec 13, 2011 - 12 comments

An unauthorized Angry Birds theme park has opened in China. There is also a Blizzard-themed park called Joyland.
posted by finite on Sep 16, 2011 - 40 comments

Kamikuishiki was a village in the Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan that gained unwanted international attention in 1995 as a key location for Aum Shinrikyo, the religious cult behind a number of acts of violence, including the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. To change the nature of attention given to the picturesque village, a new attraction was built on the former site of the cult complex: Gulliver's Kingdom, a mixed up theme park with a Scandinavian town, a petting zoo, a French puppet theater to tell the story of Gulliver, and a 45 meter version of Gulliver himself, pinned to the ground. The park was opened in 1997, but Niigata Chuo Bank was facing serious problems two years later, collapsing "under the weight of nonperforming loans." The theme park's owners were the largest borrowers from the bank, and the park closed in 2001. The park was finally purchased in 2002 in the 3rd auction attempt. In 2006, Kamikuishiki disappeared, divided and the parts merged into neighboring municipalities. The next year, Gulliver's Kingdom was demolished, leaving behind photos (new and old), and memories.
posted by filthy light thief on Jun 6, 2011 - 4 comments

"The Waiting Is the Hardest Part: Delayed Gratification in the Happiest Place on Earth" is a photo essay by graphic designer Arin Fishkin, depicting bored kids waiting in line at Disneyland. Want to avoid the "Cattle Yard?" Here are some tips.
posted by bayani on Feb 25, 2011 - 26 comments

Lebanon has one tourist attraction that's making money, the Hezbollah financed "Landmark of the Resistance", a theme park commemorating multiple wars with Israel.
posted by mikoroshi on Oct 2, 2010 - 38 comments

In an attempt (flash) to provide Muslim and Arab youth with homegrown heroes, The 99 puts out comics and builds theme parks with a twist. [more inside]
posted by gman on Feb 16, 2009 - 12 comments

Not literate analysis. Not a fresh insight into a perennial problem ransacking the world. Not an obituary. But ... well ... Chewbacca dancing with a Jawa to "Footloose", Leia singing to Padme that "mommy dear, girls just want to have fun" (with a Gamorrean Guard with a red-haired fright wig), and were I to tell you the third ... [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Jul 9, 2008 - 16 comments

The Green Dragon, a roller coaster at Greenwood Forest Park, a family 'attraction' in Wales, generates more power than it uses. How is this possible? It's all those stairs ... [more inside]
posted by woodblock100 on Jul 2, 2008 - 19 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

Minimundus is an Austrian theme park with seemingly all the major architectural wonders of the world rendered in miniature; while their primary site is woefully low on imagery, here's three pages worth of photos of their better exhibits.
posted by jonson on Jan 23, 2007 - 20 comments

Fantazy Land Alexandria, Egypt. [coral] The worst theme park in the world?
posted by tellurian on May 19, 2006 - 32 comments

Holy Land. Unlike Orlando's, this one's courtesy of Waterbury, Connecticut. Take a tour, read the debate. A few more pics here and here. Also documented in a short video by Albuquerque resident Brian Konefsky and is on tour via the The Itinerant Cinemascape traveling film show. See if it's coming to your town.
posted by protocool on May 23, 2004 - 7 comments

The Eden Project celebrates its first birthday today. Happy birthday.
posted by homunculus on Mar 18, 2002 - 3 comments

Jesus gets his own Theme Park This strikes me as bit too odd to appeal to many, but maybe I just don't appreciate the idea of laser shows combined with Hebrew prayers or chomping a hot dog at the site of crucifixion.
posted by tdstone on Jan 22, 2001 - 18 comments