Abandoned Amusement Parks

Takakanonuma Greenland - Fukushima, Japan

This park was long-abandoned before the 2011 nuclear disaster, although its ominous look suggests otherwise.

Photos: Spiral

Okpo Land - Seoul, South Korea

Okpo Land was abandoned after two deaths in the 1990s reportedly caused the owner to abandon the park. 

Photos: Trevor J. Tibbetts

Gulliver's Kingdom - Japan

Kamikuishi, the town nearest to Gulliver's Kingdom, was also home to the cult responsible for the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo Subway. The notoriety of the Aum Shinrikyo likely discouraged tourists from making the trip from the city, resulting in the financial failure of the park.

Photos: Michael John Grist and UER

Pripyat Amusement Park - Ukraine

Yeah - that park - most recently featured in 2012's Chernobyl Diaries (which, based on the 10 minutes of it I watched on an overseas flight, was a special kind of awful). The park was scheduled to open days before the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant melted down. The bumper cars, the roller coasters, the ferris wheel - they all just sit there, never to be used by a single park guest.

Photo: Rebecca Litchfield

Jazzland - Six Flags New Orleans

Even seven years after Hurricane Katrina, Six Flags New Orleans (formerly known as Jazzland) has yet to be rescued from the disaster. Reportedly 80% of the park was corroded beyond repair by the salt water that engulfed the Big Easy.

Photos: Darrell Rhodes Miller

Spreepark - Berlin, Germany

Most of the rides were shipped to South America by the owners in failed attempt to re-launch the park in Lima. Authorities found £14 million worth of cocaine in the masts of the Flying Carpet ride when the owners tried to re-enter the country in 2004.

Photos: Sebastian Niedlich

As a bonus, I have two related videos to share. The first features a very strange ride, which seems to be China's take on Disney's "It's A Small World" ride, although this ride would most likely terrify kids instead of enthralling them. I'm pretty sure if I rode this I would lose my mind. It's scary enough just walking through the queue line, hearing the voices of damned children sing a nursery rhyme they learned in hell. By the time I saw the donkeys with the spinning heads, I would have thrown myself in the water.

And lastly, Mike Petty's excellent "No Joy," a short film shot at the now-defunct Joyland Amusement Park in Wichita, KS. When you're trying to sleep later tonight and you can't get that music out of your head, you'll thank me.

No Joy from Mike Petty on Vimeo.