You know the happiest place on earth, but what about the creepiest place on earth? Even though Disney parks are known for bringing magic and good cheer to everyone that enters, they have their fair share of unsettling, creepy, and downright scary features. From ventriloquist dummies to human remains on rides (that’s right, plural) these are some creepy things you’ll only find in Disney parks.

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10 Caesar the Ventriloquist Dummy

This prop you’ll find in the queue of Tower of Terror in Disney World’s Hollywood Studios may be even scarier than the ride itself. Caesar comes from an episode of The Twilight Zone titled “Caesar and Me” where he manipulates his owner into making questionable decisions. While Caesar isn’t a part of the ride itself, you’ll find him waiting for you at the exit of the ride. Cast Members at The Tower of Terror claim they must say hello and good night to Caesar every day or he will cause mischief around the attraction. Tower of Terror has plenty of nods to the original Twilight Zone series, but Caesar is by far the creepiest.^[1]

9 Visiting Hell in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Disneyland is…a lot. It’s dark, loud, dizzying, and intense, and to top off the bizarre storyline, Mr. Toad (and you as the rider) end up in Hell. Yes, Disney Imagineers actually put Hell in a children’s ride. The temperature heats up to set the scene and riders are greeted with a demon, devils, and a giant dragon that breathes fire. It’s a bizarre moment and feels pretty unsettling compared to the rest of the park. Given the ride’s consistently long lines and nauseating effects, it’s probably only worth a single experience.^[2]

8 Human Ashes at Haunted Mansion

Disney parks attract people celebrating many occasions including weddings, birthdays, and…funerals? Apparently so. Disney has been forced to officially ban the spreading of ashes in their parks because it happens so often (FYI, you’ll be kicked out of the park if you’re caught). Guests have scattered ashes on rides from Pirates of the Caribbean to It’s a Small World, but the Haunted Mansion seems to be a fan favorite. “The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it that it’s not even funny,” one Disneyland custodian told the Wall Street Journal. While the idea of spreading your loved one’s ashes in a place that meant a lot to them is sweet, maybe don’t do it at such a public place. It actually has its own violation code (HEPA cleanup) and requires a special vacuum to be used.^[3]

7 Boardwalk Inn Nanny Chairs

Disney World’s Boardwalk Inn is a Deluxe Resort themed for places like turn-of-the-century Atlantic City and Coney Island. In the late 1800s when boardwalk attractions like carousels were becoming popular, the chariot-style benches for parents to sit on while their children rode the wooden horses didn’t exist. Instead, parents sat on Nanny Chairs. These chairs weren’t required to be creepy, but the replicas at the Boardwalk Inn decided their Nanny Chairs needed arms, legs, and faces. You really need to see them in person to get the full “why would anyone do that” effect. They’re almost a weird as the giant clown statue in the pool area that holds an uncanny resemblance to Pennywise. Can we all agree that most stuff from the 1800s was weird and doesn’t have a place in modern society?^[4]

6 Real Skeletons in Pirates of the Caribbean

When Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride first opened in 1967, the Imagineers decided it needed a more realistic feel. Apparently the fake skeletons at the time seemed too fake and unrealistic. Their solution? Procure real skeletal remains from the UCLA Medical Center and add them to the set. While this certainly gave the chilling effect Disney was looking for, the technology to create realistic skeletons eventually improved and the real bones were sent back to their countries of origin to have a proper burial. However, there are plenty of rumors out there that insist some real human remains still sit inside the ride. Try to imagine that the next time you’re floating down the bayou and it will add an entirely new feel to the attraction.^[5]

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5 The Stretching Room in the Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion ride (found at Disneyland and Disney World) understandably gets several spots on this list. While the ride itself has its fair share of creepy moments, the pre-show in the Stretching Room is undoubtedly the most frightening. Guests cram into an octagonal room where they are welcomed by a Ghost Host and greeted with four paintings that hang above on the walls. Each painting seems relatively normal (a bearded gentleman holding a piece of paper, a young woman holding a parasol, an old woman holding a rose, and a man in a bowler hat) until the room seemingly stretches upward and reveals grisly hidden context to the rest of the paintings. The bearded gentleman is revealed to be standing on a lit pile of dynamite, the young woman is balanced on a tightrope above a snapping alligator, the old woman is sitting on the tombstone of a man killed with an ax, and the man in the bowler hat is on the shoulders of two other men sinking into a pit of quicksand. To top it off, the Ghost Host laughs and tells the crowd they can always escape the mansion “his way” before a loud clap of thunder is heard and a man hanging from a noose is revealed in the rafters above. A portrait of that man is seen later in the ride where he is shown holding an ax with the noose still around his neck, implying that he cut himself down after he died. Pretty creepy stuff for a children’s ride.^[6]

4 Abandoned Parks

Anything that’s been abandoned is a little creepy to begin with, but abandoned Disney parks have a particularly eerie quality to them since they contradict to starkly with the colorful, crowded, cheerful parks currently open. Disney actually has two abandoned parks to its name: Discovery Island and River Country. Discovery Island, which sits in Bay Lake on Disney World property, was initially opened in 1974 under the name Treasure Island as a premier tourist destination/bird sanctuary only reachable by boat. It was renamed Discovery Island in 1978 and served its purpose until 1999 when it was closed for various reasons, including bacteria found in the water and roaming alligators. The animals in the sanctuary were moved to Animal Kingdom Park and the island has been banned to tourists ever since. River Country, opened in 1976, was Disney World’s first water park and was instantly a popular tourist attraction. Unfortunately, the park had its part in several deadly incidents that ultimately led to its closure. In 1980 a young boy died from an amoeba he contracted after visiting River Country, but there was no enough evidence to prove Disney was at fault as he could have contracted it somewhere else. Two years later a child drowned coming off a waterslide, and seven years after that another boy drowned in the park. The park continued to operate until 2001 when it closed for maintenance and never reopened. Disney official announced the park’s closure in 2005, and it continues to be waterlogged and moss-covered to this day.^[7]

3 Pirate George

Another one for Pirates of the Caribbean, but this time we’re focusing on the ride in Disney World. According to popular Disney legend, while being built in the 1970s, a welder named George who was working on the ride died in a tragic accident. His cause of death is a legend in itself since no one seems to know exactly how it happened, but those who believe it happened say George’s ghost haunts the ride to this day. Throughout the years Cast Members working on the ride claim to seen everything from ghostly apparitions on security footage to props being moved with no explanation. According to tradition, Cast Members must say “good morning” and “good night” to George every day to ensure things will run smoothly and George won’t wreak too much havoc. Luckily he isn’t a malicious ghost and most of his spooky actions are pretty harmless, albeit creepy.^[8]

2 Snow White’s Scary Adventures

Remember the one scene in Snow White where she runs through the woods and feels like monsters are closing in on her? Picture the feelings you had during that scene made into a ride, and you get Snow White’s Scary Adventures. This Disneyland attraction is legitimately one of the creepiest few minutes you’ll spend in the park, without the happy ending Disney is known for. The ride starts out relatively pleasant but quickly becomes dark and cold with an ominous soundtrack playing in the background. You’ll also see the queen turn into the old hag right in front of your face, which is a guaranteed “jump out of your seat” moment. Top it off with some dungeon skeletons and simulated lightning before the ride comes to an abrupt end. Luckily, it’s currently closed for refurbishment to give it a more upbeat feel.^[9]

1 Haunted Mansion Cast Members

The Haunted Mansion is easily the creepiest attraction in the Disney parks, which is why it gets three spots on this list. The last honor goes out to the Cast Members’ amazing ability to get in character when they’re working this ride. While many Cast Members in the Disney parks are known for being over-the-top friendly and cheerful, Haunted Mansion’s staff give a more appropriate feel of somberness and gloom. If you ever feel eyes on you while waiting in line for the ride, you might turn around and see a Cast Member staring at the back of your head. Don’t worry—if you have a question or problem, they’ll be glad to help! Just don’t expect any jokes or smiles from their end.^[10]

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About The Author: Anne Taylor is a freelance writer and theme park blogger. She loves to talk about all things Disney and Universal Studios, and her helpful articles can be found on tayloredtripsblog.com. You can also find her on Instagram at @tayloredtripsblog.

Amusement parks are built to be place of thrills and entertainment, wonder and awe. They should give fond memories and bring smiles to faces. But, some parks are shrouded in mystery and misfortune, causing fear and shivers instead. In this list, we will discuss ten parks that have a past dark enough to ruin any fun.

10 Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

The rusted and overgrown rides of Lake Shawnee Amusement Park serve as a reminder of the failed West Virginia attraction, but its eerie past lives on in folklore for the area.

To start, the park was built over a Native American burial ground, with an archeological dig uncovering thirteen bodies, mostly children.^[1]

But that’s not the darkest history of the land.

In 1783, Mitchell Clay was the first European settler to make a home in the area, which was heavily inhabited by the Shawnee Native American tribe.

While Clay was gone to town one day, the Shawnees surrounded three of the Clay children, who were working in the fields. Bartley was shot first. Tabitha, hearing the gunshot, ran to her brother, where she was attacked and cut by a knife, her body dismembered. Both of their scalps were taken by the Shawnee group. Their brother Ezekiel was captured and burnt at the stake.

A historical marker on the road leading to the park commemorates their memories.

One could wonder if the tragic history of the grounds is the reason for the six deaths that occurred at the park, eventually leading to it being closed down in 1966, and many locals, including the park’s new owner Gaylord White, claim the park to still be haunted.

9 Holy Land, USA

With a Hollywood-style sign and a cross marking its entrance, Holy Land in Waterbury, Connecticut is hard to miss as you drive along Interstate 84.

Originally opened in 1960, the theme park contained replicas of famous biblical scenes, including the Last Supper, Garden of Eden, and an inn featuring a “no vacancy” sign. The park saw more than 50,000 visitors each year while it was open until owner John Baptist Greco closed the park in 1984 in order to expand it. Before he could reopen the park, however, Greco died, and the park was bequeathed to a group of nuns who maintained the grounds but never reopened it.

People still found a way in, though, and vandalism and trespassing occurred, destroying many of the parks statues and attractions.

In 2010, Chloe Ottman and her friend Francisco Cruz decided to explore the park. The two had been friends for a couple years, and Chloe clearly thought they were just in for a night of creepy fun and underage drinking at the old park. Cruz, however, had different motives, and after Chloe refused to have sex with him, he raped and killed her, stabbing her in the neck, under the giant cross before throwing her body and belongings in the woods.^[2]

Though he initially helped with the search to find Chloe, Cruz confessed to her death and led police to her body.

He was charged with capital felony, murder, and sexual assault and sentenced to fifty-five years in prison for his brutal act, leaving the park with a more sinister reputation.

8 Gulliver’s Kingdom

Japan is known for having some interesting ideas when it comes to parks and architecture, and one of their most interesting, and largest failures, was Gulliver’s Kingdom, located at the base of Mount Fuji.

The theme park, based on the Jonathan Swift book, cost $350 million to build and featured a forty-five meter long statue of Gulliver himself, with the main attraction being a bobsled ride, making it not exactly your typical amusement park.

The location of the park, however, makes it even stranger.

Right next to the park is Aokigahara Forest, better known as “suicide forest,” which is considered the second most popular suicide location after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, the group behind the Sarin gas attacks^[3] on the Tokyo subway, also had their headquarters and nerve gas production facility in the nearby village of Kamikuishiki. Residents and park goers claimed they could smell the chemicals when they were on the park grounds.

The park was thoroughly demolished in 2007, leaving nothing behind except for the strange memories and photographs and the questions as to why anyone thought it would be a popular attraction.

7 Rocky Point Amusement Park

Rocky Point Amusement Park in Warwick, Rhode Island was one of the most popular attractions in the state, drawing crowds to its over twenty-five attractions and the famous Shore Dinner Hall and Palladium Ballroom. Most Rhode Islanders have a fond memory of visiting the park while it was open.

Through all the happiness and memories, there is a dark mark on the park’s past.

In August of 1893, Maggie Sheffield, a five-year-old girl, was killed by her father Frank while they attended the park. Frank had suffered a head injury shortly before Maggie was born, making him incredibly mentally unstable. Though it is not known exactly what made him flip on that late-summer day, after a meal at the Shore Dinner Hall, he took his daughter to the shoreline, where he smashed her head in with a rock, killing her.

Frank was found not guilty of his daughter’s murder due to reason of insanity.^[4] Maggie’s death is the only murder in the park’s long history.

The thrills of the park left Maggie’s murder quickly forgotten, and Rocky Point carried on for over one hundred years.

Unfortunately, due to financial issues, the park was forced into foreclosure and closed in 1995, ending over 150 years of family fun in Rhode Island.

6 Joyland Amusement Park

When it opened in 1942, Joyland was considered the biggest amusement park in the southwest, featuring a train, Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, Tilt-a-Whirl, and a roller coaster, it’s main and most infamous attraction.

The park would eventually grow to include a log flume ride, a haunted attraction ride, swings, bumper cars, and many other carnival-type attractions, as well as host concerts and outdoor festivals.

Though the park experienced a handful of ride-related deaths, the murder of a park employee would throw some shadows over the park in 1982. Michael King, an employee, would get into an altercation with four men, aged 17 to 21, after the men snuck into the park after hours. King was stabbed to death, and police arrested the men responsible, letting the two underage boys go, and brought charges up against Dwight Sayles and Victor C. Walker.

Sayles would plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and given five to twenty years in prison, with the eligibility of parole in eight years.^[5]

After the murder, the park would continue to operate and grow in size, adding another rollercoaster, but tragedy would continue to plague it. A park maintenance employee would be killed after getting hit by a rollercoaster and, in 2004, a thirteen-year-old girl would be injured after a thirty-foot fall from the Ferris wheel, which would lead to a series of financial issues and disputes that would eventually bring the park to close.

The 57-acres of Joyland were purchased in 2018 by Gregory and Tina Dunnegan, tent company owners who plan to bring new joy to the abandoned park by making it into an outdoor event venue for weddings, concerts, and traveling carnivals.

5 Kejonuma Leisure Land

Kejonuma Leisure Land was once a thriving amusement park in Tohoku, Japan, boasting the typical park rides such as a train, Ferris wheel, and carousel, as well as a driving range, and a campsite. Today, however, nature has taken over the structures, leaving the park to look like a ghost town, and ghosts are what it is more infamously known for.

The legend of the park begins with a beautiful woman who lived near the lake that sits on the site of Kejonuma Leisure Land, which was well-known for housing an abundance of snakes. The woman became pregnant, and when she gave birth, the baby was a serpent who escaped into the water. Every night, the woman could hear her serpent-baby cry, driving her mad, and she eventually committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake. It is said her and the baby’s cries can be heard at night.

The translation for “Kejonuma” is literally “ghost woman,”

With how superstitious the Asian culture can be at times, it is no surprise the story of Kejonuma Leisure Land is mentioned in every article about the park, but it did not stop nearly 200,000 people visiting the site each year while it was open, leaving many to question the validity of the curse.

The park officially closed in 2000, citing a drop-off in visitors due to Japan’s declining birthrate and economic crisis, but the notoriety of the curse keeps the legend of the park alive, and those interested can buy the park,^[6] as it is currently up for sale.

4 Dreamland Park

Dreamland Park began with a dark past that would continue to get darker. Built in the 1930s, the park would be open for less than two decades before it was shut down for rampant gambling and ties to the mafia.

Then, in 1969, Dreamland Park would make headlines again when two decomposing bodies would be found in the woods on the grounds of the park.

Due to the wooded and secluded area surrounding it, the park was a popular destination for couples to have a romantic drive and a little private time. On the night of August 12, 1969, Marilyn Sheckler, 18, and Glenn Eckert, 20, would set out for a drive to the park and never be seen alive again.

Their decomposing remains would be discovered feet from each other, in shallow graves, nearly two months later by state police. Autopsies would conclude that Marilyn had been raped repeatedly, and beaten, her head severely fractured, while Glenn had been shot in the forehead and side of the head and had also been beaten.

Investigators immediately suspected members of the Pagan motorcycle gang, as they had arrested ten members of the gang for beating and stabbing three men in the parking lot of Dreamland Park on the same night Marilyn and Glenn were last seen. Robert Martinolich, 22, and Leroy Stoltzfus, 24, would ultimately be arrested for the murders of the couple.

Martinolich and Stoltzfus would both be found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Each wold maintain their innocence and appeal their cases until they each died while incarcerated.^[7]

3 Magic Harbor

Just four miles south of Myrtle Beach, Magic Harbor Amusement Park had all the makings of a fun attraction — a roller coaster, bumper cars, Tilt-a-Whirl, arcade, hedge maze, Ferris wheel, and other all-ages rides, but it never really succeeded. Financial issues, changes in ownership, and deaths attributed to the park’s failure.

After the park closed on Labor Day, 1976, Franklin Loftis shot and killed the park’s owner Harry Koch and his sixteen-year-old stepson Carl Derk outside their trailer on the grounds of the park. Koch’s wife Carol survived the attack by hiding under the trailer. For years, the case went unsolved, making it the oldest cold case in Horry’s County history, until Loftis was charged. It was determined Loftis shot Koch over a wage and workman’s compensation dispute after Loftis, a carpenter for the park, was injured on the job.

Loftis was given two life sentences for the murders and was denied parole multiple times. Koch’s surviving wife had no desire to keep up Koch’s plan of expanding Magic Harbor, and the park went into foreclosure, was bought back by the bank, and then changed hands multiple times until it was sold to Geoffrey Thompson, president of the largest amusement park operation in Europe.

It seemed like the park’s luck was about to turn around with Thompson managing, but in 1984, tragedy would strike the park again.

Thirteen-year-old Sherri Lynn Depew was launched out of the park’s Black Witch rollercoaster. She died from her injuries, and her father sued Magic Harbor for $12 million, claiming negligence by the park for failing to supervise the ride properly.^[8]. Thompson tried to claim the girl had failed to stay seated and follow safety guidelines for the ride, but the bad publicity alone was enough to hurt the park’s reputation once again.

In the mid-1990s, the park was closed and the land was bought by the neighboring campground, resulting in all of the buildings and rides to be completely demolished.

2 Brandywine Springs

Brandywine Springs Amusement Parks was a Wilmington, Delaware attraction from 1886 to 1923, and a solid example of early twentieth century fun.

There was a castle house, train, wooden rollercoaster, restaurants, pavilion, and a magnificent archway leading into the park.

In 1916, tragedy would strike the park when Catherine Bouidecki was shot and killed and Areti Nichols was shot by Samuel Gongas, who then set fire to the park’s restaurant, railway, and photography gallery, as well as some concession stands. Gongas was infatuated with Bouidecki, who was a waitress at the restaurant, and was apparently upset she turned down his advances, prompting him to snap and kill her.^[9]

The park would close in 1923 when automobiles made it easier for people to travel and the park admission declined. Concrete slabs and muddy pools are all that remains of the amusement park today, but local historians are working on excavating and marking sites of where the major attractions stood, putting up signs and photographs to educate those who walk through the site.

1 Pripyat Amusement Park

Maybe the most horrific history behind an amusement park is one that never came to be.

Pripyat Amusement Park in Pripyat, Ukraine was supposed to open on May 1, 1986, but five days before its scheduled opening, the Chernobyl disaster occurred nearby, resulting in thirty deaths in the months following the explosion.

The park consisted of attractions, bumper cars, swing boats, a swing-carousel, and a Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel still stands today, unfinished and towering over the scene of destruction and the bumper cars are the strongest area of radiation in the park due to the overgrown vegetation.

It is believed the park was opened early for one day, April 27, to calm people from the disaster before they were forced to pack up their belongings and be bussed out of the city, never to return.

Today, the whole city of Pripyat, including the unfinished amusement park, is a destination for “dark tourism,”^[10] guided tours through the Chernobyl ruins and abandoned towns.

Tracy spends her days writing and designing in a tourist town where she lives with her dog.

Disney attracts hundreds of millions of guests to their world-famous resorts each year, and they rarely close the doors to one of their parks. They are one of the few places around the world that is open 365 days per year to guests, but there have been a handful of events that have sucked the magic right out of the parks. Here are ten rare instances where Disney was forced to close their doors.

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10 September 11th, Disneyland & Disney World, 2001

Every American will always remember the terrible attacks to their nation on September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day, and 25,000 more were injured. A sudden urge of panic swept across the U.S. after the attacks, and nobody could plan for what might happen next. Disney made the quick decision to close their parks in Florida and California in concern that the resorts were on the terrorists’ target list.

Disney employees said they were told about what happened and that the park would be closing. An announcement was made over the public address system at the parks saying, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, the park is now closed.” The restaurants, snack bars, attractions, and shops shut down forcing the guests into the streets. The employees were then guided to lead the guests towards the nearest exits, and they were advised to not tell guests the reasoning unless they asked. The parks opened as normal the next morning.^[1]

9 Hurricane Frances, Disney World, 2004

Less than a month after Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Hurricane Frances caused more destruction for the state. Frances caused damage to Florida’s citrus crop, closed several schools, airports, and businesses, and cancelled college football games. Frances ultimately caused 50 deaths and more than $10 billion in damages.

Disney World resorts in Orlando were forced to close their doors Saturday and Sunday and open back Monday with a limited schedule. Closing for an entire weekend is costly for a place like Disney, and Frances even occurred during Labor Day weekend. This would normally be one of their busiest weekends of the year, but instead the resort missed out on valuable tourism dollars. Disney World fully opened back on Tuesday and only saw minimal damage.^[2]

8 Yippies Protest, Disneyland, 1970

The Youth International Party was a radical counter-culture free speech and anti-war group, which were better known as the Yippies for short. In 1970, the group planned a takeover of Disneyland and handed out leaflets for the event. The Anaheim police prepared for the group by undergoing riot training, and every city in the county sent police to help inside the park that day. Disneyland employees were given certain tasks for the day, and managers periodically walked around telling groups of Yippies to be respectful of other guests in the park.

The day was mostly calm besides a couple of incidents, and Disneyland employees began to relax after realizing they may have overestimated the threat to the park. Around 5 p.m., a couple of groups of Yippies headed towards Tom Sawyer’s Island where they invaded Fort Wilderness. After causing trouble in the park, Disneyland announced to their guests that the park would be closing. The police then began pushing the loud group down main street towards the exit. Heated words were exchanged, an American flag was pulled down, and several Yippies were arrested. Disney experienced some minor property damage, but the outcome was not as crazy as they expected.^[3]

7 Hurricane Matthew, Disney World, 2016

In 2016, Walt Disney World closed it’s four major theme parks, Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom due to Hurricane Matthew battering the Atlantic Coast. Disney also closed Disney Springs, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, miniature golf courses, and their two water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. They all closed Thursday night and did not reopen until Saturday morning.

It is a rare occurrence that Disney closes a park, but Hurricane Matthew had already devastated Haiti and other areas before making landfall in Florida with winds of more than 100 mph. Matthew ripped through the Caribbean killing hundreds of people, mostly in Haiti. Florida saw 12 deaths from the strong hurricane and more than $2 billion in damages.^[4]

6 Hurricane Charley, Disney World, 2004

The arrival of Hurricane Charley on Florida’s coast caused several area theme parks to close their doors early for the day, including Walt Disney World. Disney’s Animal Kingdom never even opened for the day. This marked only the third time that Disney World had closed the park to the public, and they quickly reopened their doors the next day.

Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to strike Florida in 2004. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the United states since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Florida was heavily impacted by the hurricane with nine direct fatalities, 20 indirect fatalities, and several injuries.

Property damage in Florida from Hurricane Charley exceeded $5 billion. Disney World saw minor damage from the hurricane, and crews worked through the night in order to have the park ready for guests to enjoy a magical vacations with their friends and family.^[5]

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5 Earthquake, Tokyo Disney, 2011

In March of 2011, a devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan causing damage to the Northern part of the country. When the earthquake first happened, guests of Tokyo Disney and Tokyo DisneySea were told to shelter in place at the park. All guests were evacuated from buildings and were given shelter in the park’s restaurants.

Tokyo Disney ended up closing for five weeks due to a power shortage that was caused by issues at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. The first day that the theme park opened back up, 10,000 guests were lined up early to be the first in the park. They still closed early at 6 p.m. to conserve power, and DisneySea still remained closed for a short time.^[6]

4 Terrorist Attacks, Disneyland Paris, 2015

Terrorists attacks across Paris took the lives of more than 130 people on November 13, 2015. Suicide bombers struck outside of a football match, several mass shootings took place at restaurants, and shooters carried out an attack at a concert. Ultimately more than 400 people were injured from the terrorist attacks.

Disneyland Paris closed following the attacks. They initially closed due to security concerns and to show some solidarity. Two parks at Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, remained closed from November 14th to November 17th as part of a national three-day mourning period. The theme parks reopened on November 18th with normal business hours.^[7]

3 Pres. John F. Kennedy Assassination, Disneyland, 1963

America lost its 35th President on November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade with his wife Jackie Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and Nellie Connally. Kennedy was shot that day by Lee Harvey Oswald from a nearby building. Disneyland in California closed the park the following day in observance of national mourning. Kennedy is known to have visited Disneyland one time as a Senator in 1959.^[8]

2 Hurricane Irma, Disney World, 2017

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and passed just West of Orlando. Florida saw more than 80 deaths related to the hurricane and billions of dollars in damages. Disney World didn’t take a major hit from the hurricane, but the parks did close for a couple of days.

The park didn’t lose power, but high wind and rain hit the park causing several trees to fall. Some buildings at the resort also reported leaks following the storm, and several transformers exploded near Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The parking areas at Disney World served as a staging area for utility crews working to restore power to the area. All four parks at Disney World and Disney Springs reopened to the public the following Tuesday.^[9]

1 COVID-19, All Parks, 2020

The world was surprised by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, that has now turned into a pandemic. As of June 2020, more than 7 million people have contracted the virus and more than 400,000 people have died worldwide as the numbers continue to rise. Several countries enforced some type of stay-at-home laws causing most of the world to quarantine at home.

Disney was forced to shut the doors to their parks all around the world. Tokyo Disneyland closed at the end of February, Disney World and Disneyland Paris closed on March 15, and Disneyland closed on March 16. Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort closed earlier in the year, but Shanghai Disney has partially reopened and is opening different areas of the park in phases. The other Disney parks are working on plans to reopen the resorts in phases with limited guests and workers.^[10]

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About The Author: “I’m just another bearded guy trying to write my way through life.” www.MDavidScott.com

Animal parks and zoos are supposed to be a source of happiness and entertainment. Ideally, they’re places for people to be educated and enriched, witnessing animal species they normally would not encounter. It doesn’t always work out that way, however.

Lack of funding, opposition by activists, and severity of elements are all reasons that animal parks have closed. The once-thriving locales are left empty, their structures and cages abandoned and overgrown.

10 Warner Brothers Jungle Habitat

One would think an animal park run by Warner Brothers would be an instant success, but animal attacks, escapes, and opposition from locals would eventually lead to the park being shut down within four years of it opening.

Designed in two parts, the Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat contained a zoo which families could walk through, including a petting zoo, reptile house, camel rides, and snack area, as well as a safari area they could drive through. The safari area featured free-roaming elephants, llamas, lions, and tigers, giving guests an up close and personal view of the animals as they frequently stopped next to the cars and sometimes even climbed on top of them.

Shortly after the park opened in 1972, an Isreali tourist was attacked by two lions after he stuck his hand out of the car window and taunted them while driving through the safari attraction of the park. Two wolves escaped their enclosure and wandered into the local town of West Milford, New Jersey. A local television host was scratched by a six-month-old tiger cub while filming a television special. Then, a couple of years later, a woman was bitten by a baby elephant. Finally, a rhino mounted a gray Mercedes-Benz, believing it to be a mate, causing great damage to the car’s rear end.^[1]

Jungle Habitat did not have any rides, and when Warner Brothers tried to expand the park to include a wooden roller coaster, a carousel, and various other rides for adults and kids, they were met with opposition from locals, who did not care for the noise and traffic, and narrowly missed the vote for the expansion. Warner Brothers decided to shut the park down when they were denied the expansion, realizing that without a way to expand, they would not be able to build revenue.

The year after the park closed, all but 400 of the original 1,500 animals in the park had been sold. Unfortunately, nine of the animals contracted tuberculosis and had to be euthanized, leading an investigation into why 19 other dead animals on the property were not buried or disposed of.

The park grounds are now a popular place for people to hike and bike through, with many of the old cages and structures still standing.

9 Catskill Game Farm

Though it opened after World War II as a fun zoo for families to connect with wildlife by petting and feeding the animals, the Catskill Game Farm would quickly get a dark reputation.

Started in 1933 as a private animal farm and first opened to the public in 1945 in Catskill, New York, the Catskill Game Farm was the first privately owned zoo in the United States and was the biggest zoo for some time. It consisted of deer, bison, yaks, llamas, camels, zebras, and antelopes, with an area guests could walk through and hand-feed the animals.

The zoo was a great success when it opened, as the Catskill Mountains were a popular tourist destination, and the zoo’s founder, Roland Lindemann, spent much of his time expanding the zoo to include rare and endangered animals, growing its population to 600 wild animals and 200 tame animal species.

But in the early 1990s, the zoo would receive bad publicity when a news article reported that animals there were being sold to game hunters for “canned hunts,” when an animal is put into an enclosed area, giving the hunter a sure chance of killing it. Inspection records from the Texas Animal Health Commission stated that over 150 animals were shipped to Texas, and no one knows what happened to them after they entered the state. Before the park closed in 2006, protestors swarmed the gates of the zoo to try to get the owners to donate the animals to sanctuaries. When it came time to auction off the animals after the park’s closure, activists tried to buy as many animals as possible, but many still went to the highest-bidding game hunter.^[2]

In 2012, the property was purchased by Ben and Cathy Ballone, with hope to restore the grounds and turn the buildings into an inn and campsite. Recently, they opened the Long Neck Inn in the renovated remains of the old giraffe enclosure, giving the abandoned park a new life and a, hopefully, brighter future.

8 Alligatorland

One would think that in the land of Disney World and Universal Studios, attraction parks in Florida would be of the highest standard, but such was not the case for the Alligatorland Safari Zoo.

Sitting just behind the Gator Motel and a 38-meter-long (126 ft) alligator statue, Alligatorland was home to over 1,600 exotic animals and birds of various species. Guests could walk through the nearly 7 acres of land and view the animals up close.

But the trouble for Alligatorland started in 1982, when Gatorland filed a suit against them for having a very similar entryway to their park. The giant alligator jaws were too similar, Gatorland claimed, to their entry, which had been erected since the 1960s. (Alligatorland opened in the 1970s.)

Then, the whole state of Florida came under scrutiny for the way animals were treated. This led to Alligatorland getting a surprise inspection, during which it was found that enclosures were not up to standards, cages had an abundance of old animal feces, and animals were not being cared for properly. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued Darren Browning, the owner of Alligatorland, a $1,500 fine, which he refused to pay and instead decided to represent himself in court.^[3] During the two-day trial, he questioned the competency of the USDA inspectors and ultimately lost his case. For the next three years, he would continue to lose more court battles against the USDA, and he would eventually sell the property in 1995.

The zoo would reopen shortly afterward under the name of Jungleland Zoo, but after flooding, an escaped lioness, more failed USDA inspections, and the economic turn of the early 2000s, the zoo closed its doors in 2002.

The alligator statue in front of Alligatorland was destroyed in 2014, but the structures and walkways of the park still stand, with hopes to one day be renovated and turned back into an animal attraction.

7 Stanley Park Zoo

How the Stanley Park Zoo in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was founded is quite an interesting story: The superintendent for Stanley Park, Henry Avison, discovered an orphaned black bear cub on the grounds, so he chained the bear, like a dog, to a stump to keep him contained and safe.^[4] Over the coming years, he captured more animals on the grounds that needed help and treatment. By the time the zoo officially opened in the early 1900s, there were over 50 animals, both native and exotic, that Avison had taken in or discovered abandoned, and people kept donating animals to the zoo’s collection, even after Avison’s death.

In 1956, the zoo’s aquarium opened with penguins and otters, and in 1962, polar bears were donated to the zoo and quickly became the main attraction.

In the 1990s, animal activists picketed against the zoo, stating that many of the cages were too small and that Vancouver’s weather was too harsh for many of the animals. To resolve this, the City of Vancouver decided to expand the zoo, but citizens voted against the expansion and called for the zoo to be shut down, so it did in 1996.

Most of the animals were sent to the Greater Vancouver Zoo or relocated to the Stanley Park Children’s Farmyard (which was closed in 2011), but one animal was allowed to stay in the park—Tuk, the 36-year-old polar bear whose health was too poor to be moved. He died in 1997, and the zoo was officially closed.

To this day, the polar bear pit still stands on the grounds and is currently repurposed as a salmon hatchery. Guests can still walk through the overgrown vegetation of where the zoo once was.

6 Belle Isle Zoo

Though Detroit is in the midst of a citywide rehabilitation, there are still many remnants of the years of government corruption and economic depression the city has witnessed.

One such victim to the city’s troubles was the Belle Isle Zoo, closed in 2002 by then-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who cited declining attendance and budget constraints as his reasons for closing the zoo, though locals overwhelmingly objected to the closure.

Belle Isle, located in the Detroit River between Detroit and Canada, was once a prominent attraction for locals and tourists, drawing them to the park’s beaches, nature paths, and stunning views, as well as its main attraction, the zoo.

Opened in 1895 with just a bear den and a deer pack, the zoo would grow to over 150 animals in just 15 years and would include tigers, seals, elephants, and exotic birds. When the Detroit Zoo opened, most of the animals were rehomed there, and the Belle Isle Zoo was turned into a children’s zoo before getting a full renovation in the 1980s and being renamed “Safariland.”

The renovation to the park would include the various hut-like structures, wooden paths and bridges, and metal cages that currently stand abandoned on the island, overgrown and graffitied, with fallen trees blocking the paths and vines growing around the metal. Currently, there are no plans to reopen the zoo,^[5] though the state is working on restoring other areas of Belle Isle.

5 Groote Schuur Zoo

Imagine being given a couple of lions and leopards. What would you do with them? If you were Cecil John Rhodes, you would create a zoo to house them.

In 1897, Rhodes created a private menagerie in Cape Town, South Africa, for his large cats, as well as other animals he received as gifts throughout the years. After his death, the state would inherit Rhodes’s estate and his collection of animals. New enclosures were built, and the site was called the Groote Schuur Zoo. Lions, emus, mountain goats, crocodiles, and other animals were kept in enclosures, and the zoo became a popular attraction.

The lions would always be the focus of the zoo, however, having the prominent spot and best enclosure at the back of the zoo. Zookeeper George Booker would be infamous at the zoo for having a special connection with the lions, being able to go into their cages and hand-feed them and even get them to do tricks for guests.^[6] Ironically, he died when he contracted tetanus after being bitten on the finger by a lion.

Sometime between 1975 and 1985, the zoo would close due to an increase in animal welfare standards and financial issues, but people can still roam the overgrown grounds, see the remnants of the concrete pools, pose with the cement lion statues, and view the infamous lion enclosure.

Interestingly, two tahrs, a breed of Himalayan mountain goat, escaped to Table Mountain and bred a large herd, and there is still a population of the goats on the mountain, though they are considered pests to the area, and measures have been taken to control the population, keeping Rhodes’s legacy alive.

4 Wildlife Wonderland

Rosie the Shark became a viral sensation when YouTuber and urban explorer Luke McPherson discovered her decaying remains in a large tank in 2018. The question many raised, however, was why was Rosie there, and who had forgotten about her?

Rosie was part of the Wildlife Wonderland in Bass, Victoria, Australia, a zoo and animal rehabilitation center for Australia’s native species, such as wombats, kangaroos, koalas, and various birds.

Unlike many of the other zoos and parks on this list, which were shut down for alleged animal cruelty, Wildlife Wonderland was shut down because they violated Wildlife Act 1975 and did not have a license to display native animals, meaning that they could not operate as a zoo, causing the owners to give away the animals and close down the park in 2012.^[7]

As to how Rosie ended up in the abandoned zoo, an artist preserved her body after she was caught in a fishing net and donated her to the museum. In 2019, due to vandals causing damage to Rosie’s tank, the shark was finally moved to another establishment in Victoria called Crystal World.

3 Walt Disney World’s Discovery Island

We discussed a failed park by Warner Brothers, but one might be surprised to find Disney on this list.

Discovery Island was a wildlife and nature attraction in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, that included many native and exotic birds and vegetation, as well as a sandy beach for guests to walk on. It operated from April 1974 to April 1999.

Walt Disney scouted the island while buying the land that would become Disney World and had big plans for its 11.5 acres. First named Blackbeard’s Island, he wanted it to be a pirate-themed attraction, complete with shipwrecks, forts, and an inn, but as construction on the park began, he decided to make it more tropical, introducing exotic birds and plants to the island and renaming it Treasure Island.

As the years went on, the island became more focused on the animal wildlife. An aviary was built on the grounds that would breed exotic birds, and the island was once again renamed to Discovery Island.^[8]

Controversy would hit Discovery Island in 1989, when a two-month investigation by state and federal officials led to charges being filed against Disney and five employees for firing rifles at hawks, beating vultures to death with sticks, and destroying nests and eggs. The state report indicated that many of the employees thought they were acting within Disney World’s permits and were carrying out the illegal activities under the direction of the park’s curator, Charlie Cook. Disney settled out of court.

After the bad publicity and with the opening of Animal Kingdom, Disney decided to close Discovery Island in April 1999, relocating the animals to the Animal Kingdom resort and letting the vegetation grow and take over the island.

In 2009, urban explorer Shane Perez and some friends swam, under the cover of darkness, to the island and took pictures of the abandoned buildings and overgrown greenery. They found leftover office paraphernalia and various specimens in jars. Though they did not press charges against the crew for trespassing, Disney did threaten to ban them from all of their parks.

Currently, there are no plans to rehabilitate Discovery Island, making it one of two abandoned parks at Disney World.

2 Southport Zoo

The official reason the Southport Zoo in Southport, Merseyside, England, was closed was because the city council did not allow the owners, Carol and Douglas Petrie, to renew their lease on the zoo, therefore allowing Pleasureland, a theme park attraction that abutted the zoo, to expand and create more attractions.

The more likely reason the city council didn’t renew the Petries’ lease was because they were tired of dealing with the protestors and picketers who opposed the zoo.

Though it was a smaller zoo, holding only 154 species, most of which were birds and invertebrates, the negative attention the zoo received was monumental, with it being listed as one of Britain’s worst zoos by the Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS). Opposers to the zoo claimed they had recorded comments from hundreds of zoo visitors and former keepers that the animals suffered ill treatment, isolation, and understimulation.^[9] The Petries denied these claims, and investigation of the zoo also found no evidence, bringing more scrutiny of how the government picks inspectors, as most of them have ties to the zoo industry.

At the forefront of the campaign against the zoo were chimpanzees Jackie and Jason, whose faces were plastered on pamphlets and posters to attract attention. It was stated that they lived in cramped, isolated cages with no interaction or enrichment. The animals were offered a home at a primate sanctuary in Dorset, but the Petries would not permit them being relocated, saying it was not in the chimps’ best interest.

The Petries would eventually lose their fight defending their zoo in 2004, and the animals would be rehomed to various zoos across England and Wales. The site was reopened in 2010 as “Battlefield Live Southport,” a venue for outdoor combat gaming using guns that fire infrared beams.

1 Nay Aug Park Zoo

The Nay Aug Park Zoo in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was once a source of pride for the community, with children raising money to purchase elephants for the zoo in 1924 and 1935, but before the century’s close, it would be a source of scrutiny and disgrace.

Though the zoo once saw up to 500 visitors in a day, bad upkeep to the animal houses would cause people to question the establishment’s operations. In 1963, the heating system for the zoo would fail, causing four monkeys to die from exposure. The same year, a faulty door in the lion cages allowed a lioness to enter the cage of two cubs, resulting in their death. Other incidents throughout the years included a monkey escaping and biting a zoo attendant, an elephant choking on a stuffed toy that had been thrown into her cage and having to have it removed, and, at different times, an alligator, a monkey, and two black bears escaping from their cages, resulting in all being shot and killed. Parade magazine would call Nay Aug Park Zoo one of the ten worst zoos in the nation.

Citing financial struggles, the zoo closed in 1988, with Toni the elephant being the last animal to be relocated.^[10] In 2003, the zoo would reopen as the Genesis Wildlife Center, but public outcry over animal abuse and the lack of changes to the structures would force the zoo to close again in 2009.

Though it no longer holds exotic animals, the main building of Nay Aug Zoo has been renovated and reopened by the charity Street Cats as a low-cost spay and neuter clinic for cats and dogs, with many cats living in the building while waiting to be adopted.

Tracy lives with her dog in a tourist town where she writes and creates.

Most people will have at least one happy memory of visiting a theme park, a fairground or a zoo. Even water parks and aquariums can produce wonderful days out for families. But many people will also have some pretty crap days in such places – outdated, boring rides, long lines on hot Summer days and extortionate prices for a fried pickle on a stick (extra $4 for mustard). Some of us will even remember getting ripped off—you shell out $3000 to try and win a state-of-the-art minidisc player (batteries not included… and no longer produced), throwing rubber ducks at a revolving peg to try and hook on 3-in-a-row.

The events listed here go far beyond some dodgy, deep fried foodstuffs or a rigged carnival game. No, these are some of the most shocking, scandalous and tragic events that have happened at leisure parks, theme parks and water parks over the years. Some are relatively well known (especially if you live in the locality of the site), some are obscure. They are all awful.

10 Abandoned Amusement Parks With Horrific Histories [Disturbing]

10 The Luna Park Ghost Train Fire

An historic Australian funfair next to the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, looking out over the waters, would be most young kids’ dream of a fun day out. Hell, most adults too! But back in 1979, Luna Park became the site of a nightmare.

A fire broke out on the park’s ghost train ride, which had been a draw for punters since 1935 when the park first opened, killing seven—John Godson and his sons, Damien and Craig and students Jonathon Billings, Richard Carroll, Michael Johnson and Seamus Rahilly.

An inquest found that the park’s operators were guilty of not implementing a proper safety policy, despite being warned to do so by the local council and the fire department months before the fatal blaze. The park was shut down and, despite backlash from fans and campaigners, remained so until 2004. The cause of the fire has never been conclusively determined.

One of the more worrying rumours to emerge regarding the mysterious fire emerged in 2007. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald claimed that infamous underworld figure Abe Saffron, known as “Mr. Sin” for his links to Sydney’s red-light district, burned down the ride in order to gain control of the seaside park. The story, allegedly divulged by his niece, was quickly denied by the source, despite the paper claiming it was gathered during a taped interview. Saffron’s son Alan, who died in April 2020, also believed his father was responsible, with his widow citing documents in her possession that proved as much.

9 The Poisoned Pool

Getting a mouthful of sea water is gross. A couple of accidental gulps of dirty pool water will make you feel queasy. One thing you do not expect at a water park is a glug of acid down your gullet.

That’s what happened at a park called Splashin’ Safari, found in Holiday World theme park, back in 2009. Guests got a dangerously high level of chlorine too. Officials at the Indiana park quickly fixed the issue, reporting that a water pump malfunction was to blame for the dangerous toxins entering the water, sending 24 people to hospital. Sales of their “I came to Holiday World and all I got was this stupid t-shirt… and a hole in my lungs” remain low.

8 A Series Of Dark Events At A Much-Loved Funfair

Much like Sydney’s Luna Park, the small seaside town of Porthcawl in South Wales has been entertaining tourists with various attractions for decades. There’s mini golf, a dinosaur park, lots of pubs, but the main thing to do in Porthcawl has always been the funfair. First set up to entertain American GIs stationed nearby during the Second World War, Coney Beach is a small fairground located on the eastern promenade—slap bang next to the long, pretty beach below. But the much loved and thoroughly nostalgic seaside resort has been the site of many dark tragedies.

In 1994, after a couple of non-fatal accidents on some of the rides, a 9-year-old boy died when riding the water chute. A gantry fell onto the track due to adverse weather, causing the ride’s carriages to come off the rails. More accidents due to shoddy maintenance and human error, as well as incidents of antisocial behaviour further blotted the park’s reputation over the next decade. One of the worst incidents occurred in 2004 when the park’s operators hired a registered sex offender—2 weeks after the man had received a court order barring him from being around kids.

Tragedy struck again in 2007, this time the park was the setting for a phenomenon that affected the whole county—the ‘Bridgend Suicides’. A spate of suicides in the county between 2007 and 2009, totalling in 26 individuals taking their lives, all save one by hanging, far above the average expected for the period by an order of magnitude. One of the individuals who died was found hanged in one of Coney Beach’s unused warehouses.

7 “Racist” Rides Defended

There is a lot of furore in this age of cultural warfare around the subject of race. Whether or not you believe the term ‘racist’ has been weaponized in order to lambast anyone who simply holds counter-narrative opinions or that the word itself has been devalued and redefined in such a way as to render the accusers racist themselves, it is hard to defend the presence of rides like these ones found in Danish and Dutch fun fairs—they are objectively racist depictions of black and Asian people – surely nobody would miss them if they were scrapped? some people did indeed stand in favour of keeping these rides in operation. Why? For some, it was freedom of speech. For others, it was nostalgia.

The criticism did not go totally unheeded. Despite promises made by the park in Holland to update some of the more dated stereotypes on display, there was no plan to change the ‘Monsieur Cannibale’ ride, where gusts sit in a huge cooking pots, below the figure of a stereotypical ‘African Cannibal’ with a spoon through his nose. Whatever side of this you may fall on, there isn’t much doubt that these sorts of depictions are remnants of a by-gone era, and not an intrinsic part of Dutch or Danish culture.

6 The Death Of Debbie Stone

Many people today scoff at the excesses of ‘health and safety’ culture run amok. It is true that extreme measures are often taken in the name of ‘safety’ (or lawsuit-dodging), hampering fun and even, in some cases, freedom. But there was a time, not all that long ago, that the very notion of health and/or safety being something to consider in the workplace would get you laughed out of the smoke-filled office. Dangerous working environments were common, even at the ‘happiest place on earth’.

In 1978, 18-year-old employee Deborah Gail Stone was crushed to death between the moving parts of a ride called ‘America Sings’. The ride was a rotating ride where guests watched animatronic animals sing about America’s musical tradition. On July 8th, just 9 days after the ride first opened, Stone tried to navigate her way between the moving tableaus. She got trapped between a moving wall and a stationary one as the ride was resetting to begin another rotation, getting crushed to death. Her screams were heard by guests as the robot animals began to sing. By the time workers shut down the ride and got to her, Debbie Stone had died from her injuries.

Stones family managed to settle a wrongful death suit with Disney. The company first installed safety lights in the area Stone died as a safety measure. This clearly wasn’t good enough; Disney installed break-away walls which would allow a means of escape should anyone else fall between the walls some time later.

5 Heinous Unsolved Crime At Legoland

Back in the Summer of 2016, two six-year-old girls were groped by a pervert whilst they played in the tower of a pirate themed play area called ‘Castaway Camp’ in the Berkshire theme park. Two suspects were arrested a few months later but were quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. The perpetrator of this heinous crime remains at large.

The fact that this incident occurred at what is ostensibly England’s foremost child-orientated attraction makes it even more alarming—Legoland should be a kiddie’s paradise. How this perfidious sex-crime committed at a theme park that is always teeming with visitors and peppered with CCTV cameras could remain unsolved years later is truly awful.

4 A Sole Orca

People used to love attractions like SeaWorld. The documentary “Blackfish” changed the image of such parks forever – SeaWorld has made some changes and is certainly moving in the right direction, despite still digging its heels in on certain issues.

Beyond the famed chain of ocean life parks, many smaller parks still operate, and are often worse with regards to the way they treat the animals they hold. Take ‘Lolita’, an orca from the pacific northwest who was been in captivity since her capture in 1970. She currently resides in Seaquarium in Miami, FL, the only orca at the park. Orcas are one of the most emotionally tuned mammals, relying on family interaction. The fact that this animal has remained in isolation, forced to be gawped at for no good reason (what’s better – staring at a sad, imprisoned animal or a rollercoaster?) is nothing more than a remnant of a past that we’re slowly leaving behind. For ‘Lolita’, still stuck and alone, this is no comfort at all.

3 The Dead Man In The Haunted House

We have all heard the urban legend of the corpse in the theme park attraction (which turned out to be true). This story from Hong Kong, however, wasn’t a long-forgotten mummified body in a park attraction – this body was fresh.

Ocean Park opened a Halloween attraction called “Buried Alive” back in 2017 – the haunted house-style attraction was set to give visitors the experience of “being buried alive alone, before fighting their way out of their dark and eerie grave”. One 21-year old man, however, didn’t find his way out. Much like the case of Debbie Stone, the young man found himself in a restricted area. He was struck by a mechanical coffin and was rendered unconscious. The man was confirmed dead when he arrived at the local hospital some time later. The local government immediately closed the attraction.

2 The Pony Guy

State Fairs have been much-loved institutions in the US since the mid 1800s (when the city of Syracuse played host to the first annual New York State Fair in 1849). One thing that you can rely on is crazy, super calorific fried foods like funnel cake, elephant ears or, if the Minnesota State Fair gets back up and running, a Halo Cone—a swirled cotton candy and blue raspberry soft serve ice cream on a cone, all enveloped in a cloud of cotton candy and covered in Fruity Pebbles cereal. Indulgent food is expected. So too are animal-related attractions—pony riding, petting zoos, agricultural shows. What shouldn’t be expected is a serial killer stalking the park, working on one of these attractions. In 2019, this is exactly what happened at the Tennessee State Fair.

Carnival worker James Michael Wright worked with the ponies at various fairs in the South-Eastern US. He not only tended to the animals as he went from fairground to fairground, he also killed young women. He is currently awaiting trial, having confessed to the murder of 2 women – 22-year-old Elizabeth Vanmeter from Carter County, Tennessee and 17-year-old Joycelyn Alsup from Cobb County, Georgia. Wright is also accused of killing 25-year-old Athina Hopson but has not yet admitted to involvement in her disappearance.

1 A Zoo, Gardens And A Museum! What’s Not To Like?

A lot—there is a lot not to like. Mumbai’s Jijamata Udyaan (formerly known as ‘Rani Bagh’) is a gem or both horticulture and architecture. It is not a gem of animal welfare, however.

Local animal rights activists have long criticised the zoo for their awful record – cramped conditions, neglect and the transfer of animals wholly unsuited for the climate to the park (Humboldt Penguins, accustomed to the long coastline of Chile, now living in a small enclosure in an Indian zoo. They live for 20 years!)

But don’t fret too much for these animals and the awful conditions they are subjected to. Once they die, experts at the park will stuff them and put them on display in the taxidermy museum. So, it’s all good, then…

10 Insane Rides From The World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park

About The Author: CJ Phillips is a storyteller, actor and writer living in rural West Wales. He is a little obsessed with lists.

The National Park Service in the United States preserves untouched natural beauty. The Grand Canyon, for example, is considered one of the Modern Natural Wonders of the World. Waterfalls, geysers, rushing rivers, and still lakes, along with the plentiful wildlife and serenity of nature, are just some of the breathtaking attractions of these paths. There is another feature to these parks, however, and that is danger.

The obvious dangers include those rushing rivers and waterfalls leading to drownings, those steep drop-offs leading to injury and loss of life, and those endless trails leaving people lost in remote, confusing, and sometimes dangerous terrain. In the majority of cases, people are found, but unfortunately, in some cases, only the remains are found. In other cases, the only thing found is a mystery. There are currently 24 cold cases of missing persons listed by the National Park Services Investigative Services Branch. These are some of their stories.

Related: 10 Historical Figures Who Disappeared And Have Never Been Found

10 Morgan Heimer

There is an obvious connection between the sometimes rugged and difficult terrain of National Parks and missing persons and deaths that occur there. Many people enter the parks inexperienced or unprepared. However, in the disappearance of Morgan Heimer, this was not the case. In fact, Heiman was an employee of Tour West, a rafting company on the Colorado River.

Heiman was regarded as an outstanding swimmer and experienced trekker. He was a strong and fit 22-year-old. On the sixth day of an eight-day excursion, Heimer was last in line bringing the rafters back from a swim. The lead tour guide recalled walking away from the cliff they were standing on to talk to a member of the excursion group. When he went back to Heimer, he was simply gone.

The guide mentioned that Heimer wanted to take a break, so no one was particularly concerned at the time. Not only that, but they were confident in his skills, and he was wearing a life jacket and familiar with the terrain. When he didn’t come back to the group for dinner, authorities were called. This launched a six-day search. His disappearance occurred on June 2, 2015. No one has seen Morgan Heimer since.^[1]

9 Drake Kramer

Another experienced outdoorsman who enjoyed the Grand Canyon was a 21-year-old college student, David Kramer. His love of nature and exploring areas like the Grand Canyon motivated him to major in Geology at the University of Texas. His decision to visit the canyon wouldn’t be surprising to his family or friends. The circumstances for this trip, however, were slightly more unexpected.

Kramer, without any warning, chose to take off to California and, from there, the Grand Canyon. He arrived at the Bright Angel Lodge in Arizona on February 1st. Although Kramer had been there a few times before, it was unlike him to travel alone. His parents had seen him just before on January 29th and said he was in good spirits; they even attended a movie together. Even more jarring was a message Kramer sent to his mother, seemingly explaining the reason for his trip. He told his mother that he “needed to be back with Mother Earth and set his soul free.”

Because of this message, authorities counted suicide as a high probability after he left his car at the lodge and traveled along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on his own. His family, in great hopefulness, saw the message as David needing to spend time in nature and do a bit of soul searching. The terrain of the South Rim is very mixed, so it can be difficult to traverse, but it is very rare that no sign of him or his remains would be found in that area. Despite this, neither Kramer’s body nor any clues about what happened to him have ever been found.^[2]

8 Ruthanne Ruppert

Ruthanne Ruppert left her home in Florida to vacation in Yosemite National Park in August of 2000. The trip was not an unusual one for Ruppert. She was an extremely experienced climber and often traveled to reach new heights. One of her favorite experiences to share was that she had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and did so with a frozen foot! As other people fretted over Y2K, Ruppert went to the Argentine Peak in Colorado to ring in the new year.

The trip to Yosemite should’ve been a piece of cake for such an experienced climber. Ruppert had planned to be a member of a backpacking group traveling 30 miles across the park. She was devastated when she woke up with an eye infection that caused her to miss the group while receiving medical care. Although she was upset, she still needed to figure out how to spend the rest of her trip. She rented a tent cabin in Curry Village and went shopping. After this, Ruppert seemed to simply vanish.

Her stock of supplies was left behind, not something an experienced hiker would forget. Her family is certain she would not have left them and had no intentions to harm herself. It seems missing that trip was the biggest issue in Ruthanne’s life and certainly wasn’t something she would go to extremes over. After a search and rescue operation, nothing could be found of Ruppert.

Oddly enough, eight years later, Ruppert’s backpack was found in Fireplace Creek, stuck in a drainage area. Fireplace Creek is almost eight miles away from Curry Village. How Ruppert’s backpack ended up there, along with her whereabouts, remains a mystery.^[3]

7 Stacy Ann Arras

Stacy Ann Arras was only 14 years old when she went on a guided tour at Yosemite National Park. The trip was attended by her father and six others, all riding mules. The area has several campsites, all within a mile or two of each other. Stacy’s group was at the furthest set of cabins, Sunrise High Sierra Camp. After settling in, Stacy wanted to go to a nearby lake to take pictures and asked her father to join her. He chose to rest instead, so an elderly gentleman, Gerald Stuart, from the tour group went along with her.

Stuart was 77 and, along the way, decided to stop to rest as well. The group could see Stacy and Stuart along the path as they were downhill from the cabins. They saw Stuart stop and sit on a rock as Stacy continued, and shortly after, he walked back up to the cabins from the place he had sat down. He asked other campers who came from Stacy’s direction if they had seen her, but no one had. When the group realized Stacy was not along the trail, at the lake, or back with them, they began searching for her.

A massive search party began the next day. They went over and beyond any of the searches mentioned so far. They had three helicopters, two dog search and rescue teams, and close to one hundred people searching the park. Despite the immediate and immense response to Stacy’s disappearance, the only trace of her that has ever been located was her camera lens cap. If she was harmed, the perpetrator was incredibly careful as not so much as a drop of blood was found.

It is unlikely that a 14-year-old at the farthest part of a mountain would have simply walked off on her own, never to be seen again. If she was injured along the trail, certainly one of the many people in the area at the time or in the search parties would’ve found her or something of hers. Another vanishing act in Yosemite National Park.^[4]

6 George Penca

As seen with Stacy Ann, there is not always safety in numbers. As an avid churchgoer, when George Penca decided to visit Yosemite National Park, he did so with 80 other followers from his congregation. Penca was not an experienced hiker but was in a well-traveled area with his friends and tour guides. It should have been a good experience for all involved.

However, at some point, Penca was separated from his group. It has been said that he had not felt well and decided to turn back, but others said the group split into two, and somehow during that separation, Penca was lost in the jumble. The last time that anyone recalls seeing Penca was at 2:40 in the afternoon. As the rest of the group expected to meet Penca back at their campsite, he was not reported missing until 9:00 that night.

The Upper Yosemite Falls they were hiking is a strenuous hike, rated difficult by the Park itself as a difficult trail for visitors. It is also rated high on the “crowd factor,” meaning plenty of people use this trail. No one outside of the church group remembers seeing him along the trail. He was carrying a bag with water and a bit of food. Neither the bag nor any of its contents were ever found. None of his clothing, his blood, or any trace of his body was ever found. In a heavily populated area, visible to the town of Yosemite itself, in nice weather, with a trusted group of churchgoers, George Penca disappeared in Yosemite National Park.^[5]

5 Thelma Pauline “Polly” Melton

Polly Melton was not someone you would expect to be an avid hiker. Although out of shape and a heavy smoker, she still loved the mountains, hiked regularly, and made the base of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina her summertime home. She had spent years visiting this location. And she was well known in the mountain town community, even volunteering almost daily at a senior home in town.

Melton went on a trail marked “Easy” in September of 1981. She was with two friends, and it should have been a leisurely walk for the experienced Melton. According to the two women she was hiking with, she sped up ahead of them. It wasn’t a far distance, but she went up over a knoll out of sight. When the two women she had been walking with only moments prior got over the hill, Melton had completely vanished. They heard no strange noises indicating distress, saw no sign of scuffle. They continued to the campsite, and still, no Polly.

Melton didn’t have any belongings with her, not even a change of clothes or her purse. She was also on medications for high blood pressure and nausea, and she didn’t have these with her either. There was just no trace of her until over a year later when a check in her name was cashed in Alabama. Police failed to say without a doubt that it was her signature.

There is a popular theory that Melton had decided to run off that day. Her husband, the third and last presumably, had fallen ill, her mother had recently passed, and her pastor speculated she was having an affair. The day before she went missing, she was volunteering at the senior home like usual; however, she asked to use their phone for the first time in the four years she had worked there.

Did Melton meet her lover in the woods, run off with no personal possessions or identification, and leave the Mountains that she loved so dearly, along with her husband and friends? For a woman that is said to have smoked two packs of Pall Malls a day and described as “too large to be kidnapped,” she must’ve been swift on her feet that day. Even though she would now be in her 90s, with no evidence to say otherwise, the National Park Service keeps her missing person case open year after year.^[6]

4 Michael Ficery

Michael Ficery was “an off-the-grid kind of guy” even when he was young. He spent his youth and into his adulthood surfing, cycling, and especially hiking. His family also said that he had the memory of an elephant. This would be very helpful in navigating the sheer amount of trails that the Yosemite National Park has to offer. Even for incredibly experienced people like Ficery, the National Park Service does not ever recommend hiking alone. Ficery, nonetheless, began a solo hike on the morning of June 15th, 2005.

Not only would he be backpacking alone, but he was also doing so in one of the less-traveled areas of Yosemite, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. His plan was to begin there and head toward Lake Vernon. At some point, his plans changed a bit, and he chose to take the Pacific Crest Trail toward TilTill Mountain. The Pacific Crest Trail here is not steep like the other parts of Yosemite but rather gradually rises and falls. However, the area can be rocky, so there is the danger of getting injured or waylaid.

Getting hurt on tough terrain was something Ficery had been through before, having cracked an ankle at Yellowstone, having to crawl all the way out of the wilderness. So, when the outdoorsman failed to return from his adventure after his permit expired and his family expected him home, they feared the worst. The search for Ficery was so massive the United States Marines were involved. Unlike some others on this list, they did find something that belonged to Ficery: his bag. It contained his map, water, and camera. His friends and family were even more concerned at this point because they believed that Ficery would never willingly leave his bag at any time during a hike.

Unfortunately, in the 16 years that have passed, not another trace of Ficery has been found. Also, unlike others on this list, Ficery had not experienced any recent tragedies or shown signs that he was a danger to himself at all. His sister joined a company called Pack six years later, which puts together essential packs for explorers, and put out a statement regarding her brother. She believed he was unprepared for his trek, dangerously went out alone, and spoke of the dangers of changing your itinerary, as it makes it harder for search and rescue teams to follow the trail. However, if he had sustained an injury or passed, why is there still no other trace of him?^[7]

3 Floyd Roberts III

The first time Floyd Roberts visited the Grand Canyon was in 1992 when a friend of his, Ned Bryant, suggested they make the trip together. Roberts enjoyed it so much he became Bryant’s regular hiking companion. They went several times over the years, and in June of 2016, they went again, bringing along Bryant’s daughter. Both Bryant and Roberts at this time were considered experienced hikers and were well prepared.

On June 17th, the three of them were headed along a trail when they decided to take different paths, the Bryants over the hill before the trailhead and Roberts around it. Roberts did not meet them on the other side. After waiting to see if he simply needed to catch up with them, the father and daughter began to worry and went back the way that Roberts took around the hill. Still no sign of him. They then went back to their camp and put bright-colored sleeping bags on nearby trees to provide a sort of flag to help Roberts find them.

The Bryants had good reason to believe that Roberts would be fine. He was an intelligent man; he even worked for NASA before teaching game design and programming for high school students. He was also well prepared. Robert’s bag had enough food to last him a week, and he carried two gallons of water with him, as well as a map outlined by Bryant with all of their trail plans. Unfortunately, Roberts never returned to camp, and the Bryants had to hike to find cell service to report his friend missing.

A canine team was brought in immediately but provided no answers. After six days and a massive search, the officials were forced to reduce the search power. Kelly Tanks, the area they were exploring, is one of the more remote sections of the park, and the heat that day presented problems, with temperatures reaching around 92 degrees.

Five years and countless hikers in the area have passed through, yet nothing at all can be found of this man. This was a man who had been in the area before, with resources to help him find help and survive, and a good friend with him. Why did he choose to go off alone? What happened on the side of the hill that the other two couldn’t have heard him if he needed help? How, once again, is there not a single footprint, a scrap of fabric, or remains of any sort to be found?^[8]

2 Paul Braxton Fugate

Park Rangers are standard in the National Park Service. They are who you contact when someone is hurt or lost. Paul Braxton Fugate was a Park Ranger at Chiricahua National Monument, a National Park in Arizona. So it was shocking when Fugate disappeared at the park himself. Fugate finished his shift at the visitor center around 2:00 pm and went for a hike. He was still dressed in his uniform as he went out to check a trail. He mentioned to one coworker that they could start closing duties without him if he wasn’t back by 4:30. He was then seen starting down the trailhead.

That was the last any person spoke to him or saw him.

His disappearance was immediately realized when he did not return to close the park. He was the only permanent staff member at the park and would not have left the other seasonal employee to finish that job. Unfortunately, Fugate would’ve been the natural expert in a search and rescue mission at the park. But the Cochise County Sherrif’s Department and the National Park Service had to work without him.

To make things more difficult, Chiricahua has 17 square miles of canyons, treacherous terrain, and wildlands. The search and rescue teams found absolutely nothing related to the Park Ranger. When this effort failed, a reward for information that led to Fugate’s whereabouts—that eventually reached $60,000—was offered to the public. This disappearance took place in January of 1980. It has been 41 years since Fugate disappeared at the age of 41. The NPS had him listed as missing but told his wife that they believed he walked off the job and therefore was terminated.

This left Fugate’s wife, Dody, unable to collect his pension or any survivor’s benefits. They even demanded she repay the $6,000+ that they had paid her over the time he had been missing. Fortunately, in 1986, five years later, the case was reviewed again, and Dody did have access to his benefits after that time. While this means the National Park Service agreed there was no reason to believe Frugate was still living, the search for him is still ongoing.^[9]

1 Teresa “Trenny” Gibson

On October 8, 1976, a sixteen-year-old high school student, Teresa “Trenny” Gibson, left Knoxville with her classmates and teachers to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specifically, they were planning on going to Clingman’s Dome, where a stunning view of the mountains can be seen from a 45-foot tall observation tower. Gibson appeared to be enjoying the trip, walking along with her friends.

Along one of the trails, she walked with two other girls who said they slowed down a bit to rest. Gibson carried on a little ahead of them, but this trail was being used by dozens of groups that day. There were people before and after her on the trail the entire time they were hiking. The general consensus from the group was an expression heard over and over again—one minute she was there, and the next minute she was gone.

The trail that they were on at the time of her disappearance is relatively steep, with some major drop-offs along one side. Gibson’s group alone was 40 students, plus teachers. If she had fallen down one of the drop-offs, she would have had to do so silently for no one around to hear her. Likewise, if someone abducted her, they would have also had to be incredibly quiet and either incredibly quick or invisible for no one to have seen anything.

Even if she had wanted to run away and thought this was a great opportunity, she did so with no identification or the savings she had been collecting. The search for her was made difficult by rain and fog the night that she was reported missing. A slew of volunteers came to the park to help look for Gibson. Several dog units were also brought in to help find any trace of her. Interestingly one of the dogs found a trace that went past the Dome, about a mile and a half further than she was last seen around Newfound Gap. However, the trail went cold then. Gibson, like the rest of the National Park Services’ missing cold cases, simply vanished.^[10]

With roller coasters coming in at prices well into the octuple digits and the need to purchase large swaths of land that are both located in tourist destinations but not too close to people’s homes to warrant a complaint, building an amusement park can be a costly and complicated endeavor. And these two factors are only a couple among the hundreds of roadblocks that prevent theme parks from popping up just about anywhere.

Despite that fact, however, plans for theme parks are regularly written down and announced. At the Disney parks, the “Imagineers,” or people designing the park, have what is referred to as a “Blue Sky” period where they plan without any budget or restraint in mind. More often than not, other parks across the world sometimes find themselves eternally trapped in this Blue Sky stage. This is a list covering ten incredible-sounding theme parks that never saw the light of day.

10 Space City USA

Much like many of the entries on this list, many an entrepreneur had machinations to dethrone Disneyland as the theme park king. Near Huntsville, toward the northern end of Alabama, Space City USA was planned to be one such usurper. Much like Disneyland, the property would involve multiple themed lands, all tied to the general theme of time travel, and would start construction in 1965.

Guests would wander between the Old South, a Mesozoic Lost World, a futuristic Moon Colony, and the Land of Oz, which stretches the time travel motif a bit. However, the five-million-dollar price tag, coupled with a general sense of mismanagement, would prove to be too high a hurdle for Space City USA. By 1967, the project would be scrapped as the land got sold off in an auction. ^[1]

9 Six Flags Indiana

Despite being one of the most successful amusement park companies, regarding the number of parks currently operating within the chain, the Six Flags corporation nevertheless gets a reputation for being the company that budgets a bit more tightly than Disney World. Nevertheless, the story of Six Flags Indiana is poignant for coming far enough along in the development phase to ship six entire roller coasters to the destination before they gave up.

In 1996, the Six Flags corporation purchased the Old Indiana Fun N Water Park after an accident earlier in the decade pressured the park to close. Six Flags would even bring in four roller coasters that they purchased from the defunct Opryland USA theme park. The roller coasters would never be rebuilt, however. This is speculated to be most likely because Six Flags had a habit of overspending throughout the nineties, and the Indiana site was eventually deemed too poor an investment.^[2]

8 Wonderland Amusement Park

The capital of China itself, Beijing, is where this next failed venture met with its foibles, or more specifically, the Chenzhuang village of Beijing’s suburbs. Wonderland Amusement Park started a small amount of construction in 1998 and wanted to rival Disneyland before the corporation tried to build its own park in China. Wonderland even attempted to build its own castle motif as its centerpiece, and eerie photographs show that the structure was even half-built.

The project was halted due to a lack of funding, though even if more money were to come in, Disney would end up sweeping in and planning a park in Hong Kong in 1999, completely eradicating any hope that Wonderland would meet with success. As a result, the 120-acre piece of land would be left to naught but the urban explorers, filled with incomplete structures and imposing, empty faux castle battlements.^[3]

7 KISS World

In 1973, the NYC hair metal superstar band named KISS was conceived, and by 1977, the group had already put out six different highly successful albums. Naturally, the group’s lead singer, Gene Simmons, wanted to pounce on their success and try out a different business pursuit: the theme park industry. Unlike other entries on this list, the band wanted to operate a touring amusement park, much like a traveling fair, instead of using a static location, and the brainstorming began around 1978.

Named KISS World, the project would never come off the drawing board. This is mostly due to the fact that the band’s popularity began to severely diminish in 1979, as showcased by the decline of their concert tour attendance. The management also came to the conclusion that an amusement park would be too steep a price for a single rock band to tackle alone.^[4]

6 Charlie Daniels Western World and Theme Park

Famous country singer Dolly Parton was able to successfully build a thriving theme park in her hometown of Pigeon Forge, TN, in 1961, where it operates to this day. Enter Charlie Daniels, another prolific country star who vied to build his own amusement park down in Florida. He teamed up with stockbroker Michael Vandiver in hopes of building something that was big enough to rival Disney World itself. Much like KISS World, Charlie Daniels Western World and Theme Park would never break ground.

Just north of Tampa, the community of Saddlebrook was where this amusement park would find itself located. Themed off of the “Wild, Wild West,” Daniels’s original plans threw out a traditional theme park ride selection in favor of attractions such as a rodeo, a 36-hole golf course, and dinner theaters, though a wooden roller coaster was in the works. Though the park was planned to open in 1997, the price, coupled with pressure from Saddlebrook residents, caused this theme park to lose its proverbial quick draw against Disney.^[5]

5 Six Flags Florida

With Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and Busch Garden finding great success in the Sunshine State, the Six Flags company also wanted to try its hand in the secure-looking market. Rumors that the underdog theme park chain would open a park in Orlando have circulated since the ’80s. Although outside of a south Florida water park and a wax museum basically in SeaWorld’s backyard, the Six Flags chain never purchased any large-scale property.

Though official statements were never made regarding plans to build a park, the company had hinted at such a project ever since the company built similar parks in Georgia. The company’s modus operandi of purchasing independent parks even made it seem as though they’d purchase the defunct Orlando Boardwalk and Baseball theme park in 2018, though many suspect that the company’s repeated bankruptcies, coupled with a tricky global economic theater, rendered such plans as totally theoretical.^[6]

4 Disney WestCOT

In 2001, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, opened up its second theme park on the property; Disney’s California Adventure. Before planning on theming a location based off of the Golden State, however, the Disney corporation originally drafted plans to co-opt Disney World’s EPCOT over to the west coast. Named WestCOT, the park was going to shy away from the original Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow’s utopian future concept and lean into the celebration of nations found in EPCOT’s World Showcase.

The geodesic dome would be replaced with a larger, golden dome encased in metal, and far more countries would be added to the park’s lineup than its Floridan sibling. High prices were an enormous obstacle, especially after Disney’s other lackluster projects in the ’90s drained the budget, and the enormous park would be a massive thorn in the side of Anaheim city planners. As a compromise, the smaller California Adventure would be built, though it was initially critically panned for appearing very cheap.^[7]

3 Multiple Parks in Dubai

Six Flags attempted to make it big in Dubai. Universal parks tried their luck. Even the Disney corporation itself bandied about the idea. But sadly, these three parks, among others, would never be completed in the UAE’s biggest city. The project that saw the most progress ended up being Universal Studios Dubailand, which ended up purchasing and breaking ground in 2008. Sadly, though, the theme park would endure construction purgatory until it was finally given the sweet release of death in 2016.

The park would feature many of the same attractions as its predecessor in Florida. Also, it would allegedly add enough rides to double the size of the entire Walt Disney World resort, in addition to adding the world’s largest mall. This project, along with the others, was snuffed out by the global recession that started in 2008. Six Flags Dubai didn’t even make it to 2010, though there are talks of the Six Flags chain trying its luck on the Arabian Peninsula once more in Qiddiya.

2 The Battersea

Fans of the British prog rock band Pink Floyd would probably first recognize the massive decommissioned Battersea Power Plant factory complex in West London as the building on the cover of their 1997 album Animals. But music was far from the only form of entertainment planned for the building. In 1987, John Broome, the owner of the Alton Towers amusement park, purchased the building in the hopes of constructing the most ambitious indoor amusement park project of all time.

Plans were in motion for a massive mine train roller coaster, the world’s largest aquarium, and a plethora of flat rides to be built. Despite its many doubters, the Battersea theme park project would actually find itself completely funded. The indoor park would meet with a far different problem, however. The poor structural integrity, asbestos, and other construction problems quelled the more ambitious aspects of the problem. Unlike other entries on this list, however, Battersea would eventually be turned into a more low-key entertainment complex that operates to this day.^[9]

1 Disney America

Disney America is easily the largest blight on Disney’s theme park resume. Those familiar with Disney’s late 20th-century history are already familiar with Michael Eisner, Disney’s CEO at the time, who saw projects such as EuroDisney and the aforementioned California Adventure, go quite catastrophically. First announced in 1993 and located in Haymarket, Virginia, Disney’s America would be the USA’s third Disney destination and perhaps Michael Eisner’s biggest overall failure.

The park’s focus was on American history, as opposed to being themed after the original Disneyland, and would feature lands based on historical periods from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and even a 1940’s state fair. The park’s failure was derived from severe backlash from Virginian residents, especially from Civil War historians who feared that local battlefields would become damaged. Intense anti-Disney lobbying, coupled with the death of important Disney higher-up Frank Wells sealed Disney America’s fate by 1994.^[10]