Amusement Parks

The History of Amusement ParksandExamples of Todays Popular RidesAmusement ParksBartholomew Fair in England

Began in 1543 and was a center of amusement with entertainment, food, games, and attractions for every social class.Oldest Amusement Park

Bakken in Denmark began as a place for healing water in 1583 and developed into an amusement park when people sold food and had games.Bakken in 2010

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark

Walt Disney visited it while he was building Disney world and got some ideas.The first Ferris Wheel at the Columbia Exposition in Chicago in 1893

264 feel high with 36 cars, each holding 60 peopleRound trip ride took 20 minutesCost $300,000 to build--Designed by George FerrisThe Midway at the Columbia Expositionhad rides, food, shooting galleries and penny arcades.

Amusement Parks were built near resorts

Atlantic City, New JerseyConey Island in Brooklyn, New York

The Golden Age of amusement parks was from the 1890s through the late 1920s.

Coney Island Luna Park 1920 Trolley Parks were build at the end of trolley lines.

The first roller coasters in 1884 used gravity and were made out of wood.

People sat sideways to enjoy the view.

Scenic Railway Big Dipper

Several things caused amusement parks to become less popular.Great DepressionWorld War IIPeople moved away from cities to the suburbsTelevision became a popular source of entertainment

Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955 in Anaheim, California.

Early rides at Disneyland

Modern Amusement Parks can be Theme Parks

Roller coasters are driven almost entirely by basic inertia, gravity and centripetal forces.

Millenium Force at Cedar Point in Ohio

Wonderland in Canada

Survivor The Rideat Californias Great America

23Thunderhawk at Michigans Adventure Park

Raptor at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio

Mean Streak, Cedar PointThis is a wooden roller coaster.

50 riders strap in with their feet dangling below as the giant ring they're seated in starts to spin. Then, the ring is set into a pendulum motion, reaching a height of 140 feet! Fly back and forth during this 2-minute, 30-second ride.

Pendulum-type rideTwo giant arms with 20 riders each, swing opposite of each other, reaching a height of 125 feet! Powered with pneumatics, Skyhawk swings smoothly and comfortably at speeds of 60 mph in both directions.Windseeker at Cedar Point

NEW in 2011 - Soar high above the Cedar Point Beach on WindSeeker, a 301-foot-tall, nothing-below-your-chair-but-air thrill ride experience!

Suggested questions about ridesDo you have others?How does a roller coaster stay on its track? How do bumper cars move?What keeps a Ferris wheel from toppling over? Why don't you get flung out of certain rides? How do some rides get you from 0-60 mph in less then two seconds?How safe are rides?http://kathika.com/rollercoasters/