Amusement Park

Definition: Amusement Park

Amusement Park

Noun

1. A commercially operated park with stalls and shows for amusement.

Synonyms: Amusement Park

Synonyms: funfair (n), pleasure ground (n). (additional references)

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Specialty Definition: Amusement park

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Amusement park is the more generic term for a collection of amusement rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, as an amusement park is meant to cater to adults, teenagers and small children.

An amusement park may be permanent or temporary, usually periodic, such as a few days or weeks per year. The temporary (often annual) amusement park with mobile rides etc. is called a fun fair or carnival.

The original amusement parks were the historical precursors to the modern theme parks as well as the more traditional midway arcades and rides at county and state fairs (in the United States).

History of the American amusement parks

The present article deals with amusement parks in the United States. For a remarkable example of a European park, dating from 1843 and still existing, see Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen.

The first American amusement park, in the modern sense, was at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago, Illinois. The 1893 World's fair was the first to have a Ferris Wheel and an arcade midway, as well as various concessions. This conglomeration of attractions was the template used for amusement parks for the next half-century.

In 1897, Steeplechase Park, the first of three significant amusement parks opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Often, it is Steeplechase Park that comes to mind when one generically thinks of the heyday of Coney Island. Steeplechase Park was a huge success and by the late 1910s, there were hundreds of amusement parks in operation around the world. The introduction of the world-famous Cyclone roller coaster at Steeplechase Park in 1927 marked the beginning of the roller coaster as one of the most popular attractions for amusement parks as well as the later modern theme parks of today.

During the peak of the "golden age" of amusement parks from roughly the turn of the 20th century through the late 1920s, Coney Island at one point had three distinct amusement parks: Steeplechase Park, Luna Park (opened in 1903), and Dreamland (opened in 1904). However, the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II during the 1940s saw the decline of the amusement park industry. Furthermore, fire was a constant threat in those days, as much of the construction within the amusement parks of the era was wooden. In 1911, Dreamland was the first Coney Island amusement park to completely burn down; in 1944, Luna Park also burned to the ground.

By the 1950s, factors such as urban decay, crime, and even desegregation led to changing patterns in how people chose to spend their free time. Many of the older, traditional amusement parks had closed or burned to the ground. Many would be taken out by the wrecking ball to make way for suburban development. In 1964, Steeplechase Park, once the king of all amusement parks, closed down for the last time.

In 1955, Disneyland in Anaheim, California revived the amusement industry with its themed lands and matching attractions instead of using the older formula with traditional rides in one area and a midway, concessions, and sideshow attractions in another. The idea of theme parks caught on and, by the 1980s, became a billion dollar-a-year industry in the United States and around the world.

Other noteworthy amusement parks

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, England
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Dubai Land, Dubai
Efteling, Netherlands
Liseberg, Gothenburg
Paramount Parks, with locations in Ohio, Ontario, Virginia, North Carolina and California.
Six Flags chain, with locations in Texas, Georgia, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, New York, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amusement park."

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Crosswords: Amusement Park

English words defined with "amusement park": Big Dipper ♦ chute-the-chute ♦ Disneyland ♦ Ferris wheel, funfair ♦ pleasure ground ♦ roller coaster ♦ scenic railway ♦ theme park ♦ Walt Disney World. (references)

Specialty definitions using "amusement park": AMUSEMENT PARK WORKER ♦ boat-ride operator ♦ cashier, ticket selling ♦ DIRECTOR, FOOD AND BEVERAGE, dock attendant ♦ GUIDE, SIGHTSEEING ♦ MANAGER, FOOD CONCESSION ♦ PROGRAM COORDINATOR ♦ RIDE ATTENDANT ♦ spieler ♦ TICKET SELLER ♦ WEIGHT GUESSER, WHARF ATTENDANT. (references)

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Modern Usage: Amusement Park

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Television is a goddamned amusement park! (Network; writing credit: Paddy Chayefsky) They said they were going to the amusement park and then to dinner. (The Flintstones; writing credit: R.S. Allen; Sam Bobrick)
Lyrics	The amusement park rises bold and stark ("Born to Run"; performing artist: Bruce Springsteen)
Movie/TV Titles	Bobby Bumps' Amusement Park (1917)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Amusement Park

Domain	Title
Books	Amusement Park Machines (reference) Amusement Park Physics: A Teacher's Guide (reference) An A-Maze-Ing Day Amusement Park Fun (reference) Caillou at the Amusement Park (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	Palisades Amusement Park, A Century of Fond Memories (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Amusement Park

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Photo Album: Amusement Park

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	In the Hudson River, off New York City, 1939. The Palisade Amusement Park is in the center background.Credit: NAVY.		Anchored in the Hudson River, off New York City, 1939. The Palisade Amusement Park is in the left background, beyond Brooklyn's aircraft crane.Credit: NAVY.
	A spring evening at the Beetleburg Amusement Park.Credit: Library of Congress.		Ann Daly (No. 25) screams as she is declared "Miss Color-TV" in beauty contest at Palisades Amusement Park, N.J.; other contestants stand alongside her.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Aerial view of Edgewater, N.J., showing docks on Hudson River, city and amusement park on cliff.Credit: Library of Congress.		Steeplechase Pier amusement park and boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Columbia Gardens Amusement Park, Butte, Mont.Credit: Library of Congress.		Soldiers from Fort Benning at Idle Hour amusement park near Phenix City, Alabama.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Glen Echo, Maryland. A line at the sliding board at the swimming pool in the Glen Echo amusement park.Credit: Library of Congress.		Glen Echo amusement park. Aeroplane through columns of restaurant, Glen Echo.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Sounds Captioned with "Amusement Park".

Play	Caption
	Roller coaster; amusement park; big dipper; space mountain; Disneyland; Disney world.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Amusement Park

Subject	Topic	Quote
Economic History	Syria	The first amusement park, also established by a Saudi group, opened in April 1998. A Kuwaiti backed company opened a hotel in a resort area near Damascus in August 1998. A new hotel is currently under construction/outfitting in Latakia, and will be a welcome addition to the limited accommodations of this Mediterranean city. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Amusement Park

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
amusement park	4,553	indiana amusement park	67
cedar point amusement park	2,149	amusement park silverwood	65
six flag amusement park	658	americana amusement park	65
holiday world amusement park	522	florida amusement park	65
amusement park ohio	307	amusement park virginia	63
king island amusement park	258	michigan adventure amusement park	61
pennsylvania amusement park	175	great adventure amusement park	59
discount amusement park ticket	153	amusement park new jersey	58
bell amusement park	139	great escape amusement park	57
amusement park in ohio	129	valley fair amusement park	56
great america amusement park	126	amusement park accident	54
amusement park california	121	king dominion amusement park	54
amusement park in pa	95	new york amusement park	50
kennywood amusement park	89	cedar point amusement park ohio	50
amusement park ticket	80	texas amusement park	44
amusement park ride	76	amusement park tennessee	43
cliff amusement park	75	amusement park in california	43
carowinds amusement park	72	amusement park water	43
amusement park discount	72	lakeside amusement park	42
amusement park in pennsylvania	71	keansburg amusement park	42
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Amusement Park

Language		Translations for "amusement park"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		park lojërash (fun fair). (various references)

Arabic		‏حديقة الملاهي. (various references)

Bulgarian		увеселителен парк (pleasure ground), луна-парк (fun fair). (various references)

Czech		zábavný park. (various references)

Danish		temapark (theme park), rekreativt grønt område (funfair, leisure park), park (funfair, leisure park, park), forlystelsespark (funfair, leisure park, theme park). (various references)

Dutch		attractiepark (theme park), amusementspark (funfair, leisure park), themapark (theme park), recreatiepark (funfair, leisure park, theme park), pretpark (theme park). (various references)

Finnish		huvipuisto. (various references)

French		parc d'attractions. (various references)

German		Vergnügungspark (funfair, leisure park). (various references)

Greek		λούνα παρκ (funfair, recreation park). (various references)

Hungarian		vurstli (amusement grounds, fun fair), vidám park (amusement grounds). (various references)

Italian		parco tematico (theme park), parco ricreativo (funfair, leisure park), parco di divertimenti (funfair, leisure park, theme park), luna park (funfair). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		遊�'地 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ゆうえ�"ち. (various references)

Pig Latin		amusementay arkpay

Portuguese		parque de diversões (funfair, leisure park). (various references)

Russian		парк с аттракционами. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		zabavni park. (various references)

Spanish		parque de atracciones (fair, fairground, funfair, leisure park, theme park). (various references)

Swedish		tivoli (funfair), nöjesfält (funfair, pleasure ground), folkpark. (various references)

Turkish		lunapark (fair, funfair, pleasure ground). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Anagrams: Amusement Park

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-a-e-e-k-m-m-n-p-r-s-t-u"
	-4 letters: amusement, armaments, mapmakers, numerates, parakeets, paraments, sarmentum, teamakers.
	-5 letters: amateurs, ammeters, amputees, amreetas, armament, arsenate, asperate, emanates, erumpent, manatees, manteaus, mantraps, mapmaker, marksman, marksmen, meerkats, menstrua, metamers, muenster, namesake, nauseate, numerate, parakeet, parament, partaken, partakes, permeant, permutes, prenames, ramentum, sarmenta, sauterne, separate, serenata, spearman, spearmen, superman, supermen, teamaker, temperas, tempuras, unmakers, unmasker.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.