Theme Parks are A Worldwide Family Attraction

When traveling around the world, it is always interesting to see places that reflect the history, culture, and people of a new location. Anyone who expects the most popular attractions in different cities to be the local folk festival or a World Heritage Site may be surprised by what they find. From Tokyo to Paris, or from Shanghai to Dubai, theme parks based on American entertainment and cultural icons are becoming top attractions that both residents and tourists enjoy.

We have included theme parks as stops on a few of our trips to other countries. Some of the more interesting places we have visited include the following attractions.

Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea: Japanese families and children have embraced Disney with the same fervor they show for video games, anime and Pokémon GO. The Disneyland and Disney Sea theme parks opened in 1983 and 2001, respectively, on a waterfront site just north of Tokyo Bay. They attract more than 30 million visitors annually. When we visited the parks, it was startling to see how many of the pre-teen and older children were outfitted as Disney characters, or were carrying stuffed animals of the latest Japanese Disney craze, “Duffy the Bear.”

The Tokyo parks are also outstanding in design. The centerpiece of Disney Sea is a huge man made volcano located in the middle of a lake, which served as the location for rides based on Jules Verne’s’ “20,000 Leagues under the Sea,” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” The Tokyo resort also contains replicas of unique places such as the canals of Venice and even a New England fishing village. Tokyo Disney is one of the world’s best theme parks.

Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens: One of the world’s oldest theme parks, Tivoli Gardens opened as a recreation and entertainment stop for Danes and Scandinavians in 1845. The park’s cleanliness and organization later influenced Walt Disney’s plans for an American theme park when he visited it in the 1950s with Art Linkletter. Still popular today, Tivoli Gardens attracts more than 4 million people annually.

It is notable at Tivoli Gardens how much of the place retains the character of a public park, where nightly music festivals, elaborate gardens and eating halls exist side by side with adventure rides based on various fables. There was an American Big Band performance underway the night we visited there. Meanwhile, our son enjoyed the haunted house and shooting gallery.

Universal Studies Singapore: Singapore has gone all out trying to become a vacation hub for East Asia. Investors recently built a large Universal Studios theme park there as part of the Resorts World casino and entertainment complex on Sentosa Island. Singapore’s version of Universal contains five entertainment zones including a “Jurassic Park Lost World” zone, a “Sci-fi City” zone based on the “Transformers” and “Battlestar Galactica” series, an “Ancient Egypt” zone based on the Mummy movies, a “Far Far Away” zone based on “Shrek,” and a “Madagascar” zone. Each zone has rides and exhibits featuring these concepts with an emphasis on elaborate roller coasters.

To add to the mood, there is a New York zone and a Hollywood zone. It seems unusual to be in the tropics in Singapore watching a Four Seasons tribute band singing “Walk Like a Man” outside of a traditional American diner, while down the street Marilyn Monroe and James Dean lookalikes stroll by. Nevertheless, it works somehow, and the mostly Asian visitors take dozens of selfies of each movie creation.

Theme Parks in the UAE:  Over the past decade, the modern cities of the United Arab Emirates have been working hard to create new attractions to enhance their reputations as entertainment destinations.First, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi opened Ferrari World on Yas Island in 2010 as the centerpiece of the ci entertainment district. A huge complex located mostly indoors, Ferrari World has appealed to adults and children by emphasizing racing-based rides, roller coasters and simulations. New activities include a zip line attraction and a roof walk that allows guests to climb over the large red roof that envelops the park. A virtual tour of a Ferrari factory and plenty of Italian food round out the activities there. Second, Dubai opened an indoor theme park known as IMG’s World of Adventure in 2016. It features many attractions based on Marvel Comics and Cartoon Network characters. Shortly thereafter, Dubai Parks and Resorts opened an attraction offering three theme parks and a waterpark. The most popular attraction there is a motion picture theme park called Motiongate Dubai which brings to life the movie creations of Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Lionsgate using various rides and immersion into the world of film making. Another park called Bollywood Parks Dubai is the only theme park in the world which focuses exclusively on Bollywood movies and themes. For families with young children, the Dubai Park  includes Legoland Dubai which has several dozen rides and shows, models created from millions of Lego bricks, and the Legoland Water Park. 

Other Notable Theme Parks: South America and Africa are not widely known for there theme parks. However, in Europe,  the most popular theme park is Disneyland Paris, located in the nearby countryside which is easily reached by commuter train and attracts almost 10 million visitors each year to its two parks. Although it has many of the same characters and rides found in other Disney parks, this park seems to lack the spriti of its counterparts around the world. The second most popular park in Europe is Europa Park in Rust, Germany near the country’s borders with France and Switzerland which has an indoor war park along with rides and attractions built on themes reflecting the cultures of various nations.