Editing Amusement park (section)

==Other types of amusement park==

===Educational theme parks===
[[File:Ledrakkar.jpg|thumb|The historical theme park [[Puy du Fou]] in France won the 2014 [[Applause Award]] from the [[International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions|IAAPA]]]]
Some parks use rides and attractions for educational purposes. There are also [[Holy Land USA]]<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last=Frances|first=Chamberlain|title=The View From/Waterbury; A Hilltop Landmark Undergoes a Revival|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E3D71230F937A35752C1A9679C8B63 |access-date=4 August 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 November 2001}}</ref> and the [[Holy Land Experience]],<ref name="Rosenthals">{{cite news|url=http://www.southflorida.com/travel/sfl-holyland,0,7964224.story|title=Holyland theme park|last=Davis|first=James D.|year=2007|work=Sun Sentinel|publisher=Tribune Company|access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref> which are theme parks built to inspire Christian piety. [[Dinosaur World (theme parks)|Dinosaur World]] entertains families with [[dinosaur]]s in natural settings, while the [[SeaWorld]] and [[Busch Gardens]] parks also offer educational experiences, with each of the parks housing several thousand animals, fish and other sea life in dozens of attractions and exhibits focusing on animal education.<ref name="Sea World Parks">{{cite news|url=http://www.seaworldparks.com|title=Sea World Parks|access-date=20 June 2011}}</ref>

Created in 1977, the [[Puy du Fou]] is a much-celebrated theme park in [[Vendée]], France. It is centered around European, French and local history. It received several international prizes.

===Family-owned theme parks===
[[File:Calico train.JPG|thumb|Narrow-gauge mining train going through [[Calico Ghost Town]]]]
Some theme parks did evolve from more traditional amusement park enterprises, such as [[Knott's Berry Farm]]. In the 1920s, [[Walter Knott]] and his family sold berries from a roadside stand, which grew to include a restaurant serving fried chicken dinners. Within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter Knott built a Ghost Town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as the [[Calico, California]], ghost town and [[Prescott, Arizona]]. In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott's Berry Farm officially became a theme park.<ref name="Adams"/> Because of its long history, [[Knott's Berry Farm]] currently claims to be "America's First Theme Park." Knott's Berry Farm is now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. [[Lake Compounce]] in Bristol, Connecticut, may be the true oldest continuously operating amusement park in the United States, open since 1846. Santa Claus Town, which opened in [[Santa Claus, Indiana]], in 1935 and included [[Santa's Candy Castle]] and other Santa Claus-themed attractions is considered the first themed attraction in the United States: a precursor to the modern day theme park. Santa Claus Land (renamed [[Holiday World & Splashin' Safari|Holiday World]] in 1984) opened in 1946 in [[Santa Claus, Indiana]], and many people will argue that it was the first true Theme Park despite Knott's history.<ref name="Samuelson"/> In the 1950s the Herschend family took over operation of the tourist attraction, [[Marvel Cave]] near [[Branson, Missouri]]. Over the next decade they modernized the cave, which led to large numbers of people waiting to take the tour. The Herschend family opened a recreation of the old mining town that once existed atop Marvel Cave. The small village eventually became the theme park, [[Silver Dollar City]]. The park is still owned and operated by the Herschends and the family has several other parks including [[Dollywood]], [[Kentucky Kingdom]] and [[Wild Adventures]].

===Regional parks===
[[File:Muumitalo 2.jpg|thumb|[[Moomin World]] theme park in [[Naantali]], Finland]]
The first regional amusement park, as well as the first [[Six Flags]] park, [[Six Flags Over Texas]] was officially opened in 1961 in [[Arlington, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sixflagsmagicmountainguide.com/sixflags.html |title=Sixflags &#124; Six Flags Unofficial Guide |publisher=Sixflagsmagicmountainguide.com |date=16 April 2011 |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716080155/http://sixflagsmagicmountainguide.com/sixflags.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first Six Flags amusement park was the vision of Angus Wynne Jr. and helped create the modern, competitive amusement park industry. In the late 1950s, Wynne visited [[Disneyland]] and was inspired to create an affordable, closer, and larger amusement park that would be filled with fantasy. He followed in the steps of Disney and had subdivisions within the park that reflected different lands. The subdivisions included the Old South and other sections that referenced Wynne's background.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lukas|first1=Scott|title=Theme Park|url=https://archive.org/details/themeparkreaktio00luka|url-access=limited|date=2008|publisher=Reaktion Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-86189-394-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/themeparkreaktio00luka/page/n81 80]–81}}</ref> By 1968, the second [[Six Flags]] park, [[Six Flags Over Georgia]], opened, and in 1971, Six Flags Over Mid-America (now [[Six Flags St. Louis]]) opened near [[St. Louis]], Missouri. Also in 1971 was the opening of the [[Walt Disney World]] resort complex in [[Florida]]. In 1985, a theme park called [[Santa Claus Village]] was opened in [[Rovaniemi|Rovaniemi, Finland]] near the [[Arctic Circle]], which led the city to trademark itself as the "official hometown of [[Santa Claus]]" in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/world/asia/santa-finland-rovaniemi.html|title=Santa Lives in Rovaniemi, Finland. Some of His Neighbors Are Not Thrilled.|first=Jeffrey|last=Gettleman|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=15 April 2025|access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref> In 1991 [[Warner Bros.]] in partnership with Village Roadshow, opened their own [[Warner Bros. Movie World]]. It is the only Movie-Related theme park in Australia. Warner Bros. continued their theme park ventures and opened [[Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi]] in UAE and [[Parque Warner Madrid]] in Spain.