Editing Amusement park (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Dreamland Chutes.jpg|thumb|The shoot-the-chute ride at [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland]], in [[Coney Island]], {{circa|lk=no|1905}}]]
During the [[Gilded Age]], many Americans began working fewer hours<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6645/ |title=Eight hours for what we will! |publisher=Historymatters.gmu.edu |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> and had more disposable income. With new-found money and time to spend on leisure activities, Americans sought new venues for entertainment. Amusement parks, set up outside major cities and in rural areas, emerged to meet this new economic opportunity. These parks served as a source of fantasy and escape from real life.<ref name="Adams"/> By the early 1900s, hundreds of amusement parks were operating in the United States and Canada. Trolley parks stood outside many cities. Parks like Atlanta's Ponce de Leon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://southernspaces.org/2008/vale-amusements-modernity-technology-and-atlantas-ponce-de-leon-park-1870-1920 |title=Vale of Amusements: Modernity Technology, and Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Park, 1870–1920 |publisher=Southernspaces.org |date=15 January 2008 |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717085827/http://southernspaces.org/2008/vale-amusements-modernity-technology-and-atlantas-ponce-de-leon-park-1870-1920 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Idora Park,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/OH/Idora/idora.htm |title=Idora Park - Youngstown, OH |publisher=Defunctparks.com |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810033921/http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/OH/Idora/idora.htm |archive-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> near Youngstown, OH, took passengers to traditionally popular picnic grounds, which by the late 1890s also often included rides like the Giant Swing, [[Carousel]], and [[Shoot-the-Chutes]]. These amusement parks were often based on nationally known parks or [[List of world's fairs|world's fairs]]: they had names like [[Coney Island]], [[White City (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts)|White City]], [[Luna Park, Coney Island (1903)|Luna Park]], or [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland]]. The American Gilded Age was, in fact, amusement parks' Golden Age that reigned until the late 1920s.

The Golden Age of amusement parks also included the advent of the kiddie park. Founded in 1925, the original Kiddie Park is located in [[San Antonio, Texas]], and is still in operation {{As of|2022|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=amusement parks |url=http://www.kiddiepark.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713145720/http://www.kiddiepark.com/ |archive-date=13 July 2011 |access-date=10 August 2011 |publisher=Kiddiepark.com}}</ref> The kiddie parks became popular all over America after World War II.

This era saw the development of new innovations in [[roller coaster]]s that included extreme drops and speeds to thrill the riders. By the end of [[World War I]], people seemed to want an even more exciting entertainment, a need met by roller coasters.<ref name="Rutherford">{{cite book | last =Rutherford | first =Scott | title =The American Roller Coaster | publisher =[[MBI Publishing Company]] | year =2000 | location =Osceola, WI | isbn =0-7603-0689-3 | url =https://archive.org/details/americanrollerco00scot }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Adams"/> The 1920s is more properly known as the Golden Age of roller coasters, being the decade of frenetic building for these rides.<ref name="Rutherford"/>

[[File:Scenic Railway 2.tif|thumb|Scenic Railway at Margate in [[Kent]], United Kingdom, in the 1930s]]
In England, [[Dreamland Margate]] opened in 1880 with Frederick Savage's [[carousel]] the first amusement ride installed. In 1920 the [[Scenic Railway (roller coaster)|Scenic Railway]] [[rollercoaster]] opened to the public with great success, carrying half a million passengers in its first year.<ref name=million>{{cite news|newspaper=independent.co.uk|title=The Things I've Seen: Margate Scenic Railway|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/the-things-ive-seen-margate-scenic-railway-1423452.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106211913/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/the-things-ive-seen-margate-scenic-railway-1423452.html |archive-date=2012-11-06 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|date=18 June 1994 | location=London | first=Magnus | last=Mills | access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref> The park also installed other rides common to the time including a smaller roller coaster, the Joy Wheel, Miniature Railway, The Whip and the River Caves. A ballroom was constructed on the site of the Skating Rink in 1920 and in 1923 a Variety Cinema was built on the site. Between 1920 and 1935 over £500,000 was invested in the site, constantly adding new rides and facilities and culminating in the construction of the Dreamland Cinema complex in 1934 which stands to this day.<ref>The Prince's Regeneration Trust: Dreamland, Margate Conservation Statement</ref>

Until 2011, the [[Blackpool Pleasure Beach]] ranked among the top free of charge attractions in Britain.<ref>{{cite book | editor1 =John K. Walton | editor2 =Peter Borsay | title =Resorts and Ports: European Seaside Towns Since 1700 | publisher =Channel View Publications | year =2011 | isbn =9781845412005 | page =209 }}</ref> Blackpool Pleasure beach was developed continuously, requiring frequent large-scale investments. The construction of many new rides could be counted on. Rides included the Virginia Reel, Whip, Noah's Ark, [[Big Dipper (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)|Big Dipper]] and Dodgems. In the 1920s the "Casino Building" was built, which remains to this day. In 1923, land was reclaimed from the sea front. It was at this period that the park moved to its {{convert|44|acre|adj=on}} current location above what became Watson Road, which was built under the Pleasure Beach in 1932. During this time Joseph Emberton, an architect famous for his work in the amusement trade was brought in to redesign the architectural style of the Pleasure Beach rides, working on the "Grand National" roller coaster, "Noah's Ark" and the Casino building to name a few.

[[File:Dorney-park-night-1950.jpg|thumb|The main entrance to [[Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], the fifth-oldest continuous operating amusement park in the United States, in 1950]]
The [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s and [[World War II]] during the 1940s saw the decline of the amusement park industry. War caused the affluent urban population to move to the suburbs, television became a source of entertainment, and families went to amusement parks less often.<ref name="Adams"/>

By the 1950s, factors such as [[urban decay]], [[crime]], and even [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] in the ghettos led to changing patterns in how people chose to spend their free time.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} Many of the older, traditional amusement parks closed or burned to the ground. Many would be taken out by the wrecking ball to make way for [[suburb]] and housing and [[Urban development|development]]. In 1964, [[Steeplechase Park]], once the king of all amusement parks, closed down for good. The traditional amusement parks which survived, for example, [[Kennywood]], in [[West Mifflin, Pennsylvania]], and [[Cedar Point]], in [[Sandusky, Ohio]], did so in spite of the odds.<ref name="Adams"/>

[[File:Efteling Entrance.jpg|thumb|The entrance to the [[Efteling]] theme park, which opened in 1952 in the [[Netherlands]]]]
Inspired by the layout of [[Tivoli Gardens]] theme park in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1951, [[Walt Disney]] came up with the idea of having an amusement park next to the studios in Burbank.<ref>Walt Disney: The Man Behind the Myth (Television production). The Walt Disney Family Foundation. January 17, 2015. Event occurs at 1:10:00–1:13:00.</ref> The park would have been called [[Mickey Mouse Park]], built across the street with a western area featuring a steam driven paddleboat, a turn of the century town, and a midway. It was rejected by the Burbank city council in fear of a carnival atmosphere. In 1952, he created [[Walt Disney Imagineering|WED Enterprises]] to design the park, which was now to be built in Anaheim, and in 1953, was able to convince the bankers on funding the park with the help of a studio artist, Herb Ryman, by making an aerial drawing of Disneyland. By July 1954, construction had started with a deadline of one year. [[Disneyland]] opened on July 17, 1955, and two months after the park opened, it welcomed its one millionth guest. Because of the financial success of Disneyland, the amusement industry was reinvigorated. What became [[Busch Gardens Tampa Bay|Busch Gardens Tampa]] opened in 1959 as a garden and bird sanctuary. [[Six Flags Over Texas]] opened in 1961, themed to the six different countries that ruled over Texas. In 1964, [[Universal Studios Hollywood]] opened to the public with a studio tour of their backlot that had multiple adventure scenes and became a proper theme park. That same year, [[SeaWorld San Diego]] opened and displayed many varieties of aquatic and marine life.<ref>Nichols, Chris. ''Walt Disney's Disneyland''. Taschen GmbH, 2020.</ref><ref name="Iwerks">Iwerks, Leslie, director. ''The Imagineering Story''. Walt Disney Studios, 2019.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Company History {{!}} SeaWorld Entertainment |url=https://seaworldentertainment.com/about-us/history/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=seaworldentertainment.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Company History |url=https://investors.sixflags.com/investor-overview/company-history |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=investors.sixflags.com |language=en}}</ref>

Initially meant to house Walt Disney's dream idea, [[EPCOT (concept)|EPCOT]] (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow), Disney executives decided to settle on building the park first in [[Walt Disney World]] and the city later. After six years of construction, Walt Disney World opened to the public on October 1, 1971. Meant to be a larger east coast version of Disneyland, it had copies of most of the attractions from Disneyland (except for [[Liberty Square (Magic Kingdom)|Liberty Square]] and the [[The Hall of Presidents|Hall of Presidents]]), yet it was financially the most ambitious project Walt Disney Productions had ever undertaken, and succeeded once the holiday crowds came in during Thanksgiving.<ref name="Iwerks" /> In 1982, Walt Disney Productions opened the second Walt Disney World park, EPCOT Center, based on Walt Disney's futurist ideals and World Fairs. Like a World's Fair, the park would display the latest technologies in an area called Future World, and the cultural pavilions in World Showcase.<ref name="Iwerks" />

[[File:Entrance to Legoland Windsor.jpg|thumb|Opened in 1996, [[Legoland Windsor Resort|Legoland Windsor]] in England regularly draws more attendees than the original [[Legoland Billund Resort]] in Denmark; in 2020 it was the third most-visited theme park in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amusement and theme park attendance in UK 2020 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/632696/attendance-at-theme-and-amusement-parks-in-united-kingdom-uk/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Statista |language=en |url-access=subscription}}</ref>]]
In 1987, Disney announced that it would open its third Disney World park, Disney-MGM Studios in 1989, which would have a working backlot. However, Universal knew that its Californian [[Studio Tour|backlot tour]] would not work as a standalone attraction next to Disney World (especially now as Disney built one in Disney-MGM). So it divided up the segments of its California tour into individual attractions, such as [[Jaws (ride)|Jaws]], [[Disaster!]], and [[Kongfrontation]]. Disney-MGM Studios opened it on May 1, 1989, with two major attractions: The Backlot Tour and The Great Movie Ride. The concept for the park started out as an EPCOT pavilion, but was turned into a park as a "half day" attraction—a complement to the rest of the resort. The rest of the park was themed to 1930s Hollywood and featured lost parts of Hollywood like the Brown Derby. [[Universal Studios Florida]] opened on June 7, 1990 (delayed by one year) to great fanfare, but the primary attractions were experiencing severe technical difficulties. All three of the park's major attractions (Jaws, Disaster!, and Kongfrontation) were not working and suffered major technical difficulties. Disaster! and Kongfrontation were fixed by the end of June, but Jaws had to be rebuilt and reopened three years later. However, Universal learned from opening day and started conducting exit surveys and special ticket deals.<ref name="Iwerks" /><ref>{{cite web| title=Complete Guide & History to Universal Studios Florida |website=Orlando Informer |date=13 July 2021 |url=https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/universal-studios-florida/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Disney-MGM Studios becomes Disney's Hollywood Studios |website= History. |date= Nov 13, 2009 |url= https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/disney-mgm-studios-becomes-disneys-hollywood-studios}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Krosnick |first1=Brian |title=The Backstage Studio Tour: Behind the Screens of the Death of the Disney-MGM Studios |website=Park Lore |date=1 May 2021 |url=https://parklore.com/main/declassified-disaster/backstage-studio-tour/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Krosnick |first1=Brian |title=Back to the Future: The Ride – How a Trip to the Past Propelled Universal into the Future... - Page 2 of 4 |website=Park Lore |date= Feb 12, 2023 |url= https://parklore.com/main/back-to-the-future/2/}}</ref>

In 1992, Disney opened its first European park, [[Disneyland Park (Paris)|Euro Disneyland]], outside of Paris, France, designed to be like the [[Magic Kingdom]] in Florida, yet it caters to the European tastes through changes, including removing [[Tomorrowland (Disney Parks)|Tomorrowland]] and replacing it with [[Tomorrowland (Disney Parks)|Discoveryland]], themed to the great futuristic thinkers of European culture such as [[H. G. Wells]] and [[Jules Verne]]. A recession in the French economy and the immense public backlash against the park led to financial hardship, putting the park into debt. However, this did not stop Disney from expanding Disney-MGM Studios with [[The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror]], in 1994, and building their fourth Walt Disney World park, [[Disney's Animal Kingdom]].<ref name="Iwerks" />