Closed theme parks adventures...

[New display name]

I was trying to improve my Mangrove Jack fishing technics last night by resorting to watching YouTube videos because this year's season of Jack fishing has shattered my confidence with endless donuts.  After the first video, a suggestion popped up, that I should watch a video on an abandon six flags amusement parks.   My ADHD quickly kicked in which made me completely forget why I was watching YouTube in the first place, which led me to a late night watching abandoned park videos.

It got me thinking, how many other people have ventured into old theme parks? 

When I was young whipper snapper after Brisbane’s Expo88 theme park closed down, the site laid dormant for many years.  The park’s rides were removed but many structures remained.  The offices/storage areas which were under the theme park remained too.

I don’t know why I was in South Brisbane with my mates because back in the day, South Brisbane wasn’t a safe place to be in but we were walking past the entrance and realised the roller door that coved the entrance was missing and you could freely trespass inside.  Trespass might be a strong word because as we entered, police rode past on their bikes and said nothing to us.  (to us, that was a green light)

I think we spent a good few hours exploring the old park, it felt like we were back at the park when it was open but only we didn’t go on any rides. (because there was none😵🤦‍♀️) When I look back on the juvenile trespassing experience it was a great & strange experience at the same time.  After exploring the main park area we decided to explore the offices that ran underneath the park.  (For people who don’t know much about the park, Expo 88 Fun Park was an elevated theme park and under the theme park had storage and offices. See Parkz attached photo to see how the park was elevated above the street).   We entered the start of the underneath area which we thought might have been an old office and we came across loads of items that the park left behind when it closed down.  It was like Christmas for a theme park enthusiast, from hats to Expo 88 Fun Park logos printed on cups.   After exploring the first room we moved into the next room filled with anticipation on what we might find next when my friend yelled.  “Get out!” I have never run so fast in my life and I didn’t know what I was running from but from what I heard in his voice, I knew he wasn’t joking.  We ran all the way out of the park and onto the sidewalk.  Once he got his breath back, he informed us people were sleeping on the floor.   I didn’t end up with one souvenir from that trip to Expo88 Fun Park but running through the theme park, back onto the sidewalk, I had never been more scared in a theme park.  I guess the old girl, still had one thrill left in her.

 

 

Expo 88 Theme Park overlooking street. 

 

Video that started my YoutTube marathon.

 

[REGIE]

Abandoned theme parks have always fascinated me even before I fully got theme parks. There’s something so Erie but also Beautiful about abandoned rides and amusement parks. Six flags New Orleans is really interesting, the fact that it’s abandoned and the back of the park is still flooded is just so odd. The vekoma corkscrew coaster just has its lift and loops sticking out of the water

[Guest 239]

Colloquialisms, grammar and personal choices aside - I have! A friend and I were in the area of the Wonderland Boneyard one day and decided to stop by. It was interesting seeing parts of history just strewn across an overgrown field. I still find it bizarre that almost two decades after it closed there is stuff from that park just sitting there rotting away. It's a sad end to that park. 

Also I wouldn't recommend going there unless you've got experience going bush. Others who have ventured out have noted that there are often snakes hanging around. 

[REGIE]

Some people have said there’s still bits a rotten Timber from bush beast around

Edited February 22, 2023 by REGIE

[Guest 239]

7 minutes ago, REGIE said:

Some people have said there’s still bits a rotten Timber from bush beast around

There is a stack of rotting timber, but I don't believe it's from the Bush Beast. I think it's from one of the water attractions that was also supported by wood.

[New display name]

Did you get any photos of Wonderland @Guest 239?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

5 hours ago, REGIE said:

Some people have said there’s still bits a rotten Timber from bush beast around

The southern yellow pine the bushbeast was made from was all chemically treated and the entire structure was buried in a toxic disposal site. 

4 hours ago, Guest 239 said:

There is a stack of rotting timber, but I don't believe it's from the Bush Beast. I think it's from one of the water attractions that was also supported by wood.

The main timbers found in that area are either:

the "water trough" theming throughout goldrush that was hurriedly removed overnight one day after a length of trough fell on a guest. (Goldrush certainly looked different after that!)

Snowy River elements - when the turntable was decommissioned, many of the conveyor \ kicker elements in and around the station were also removed to make way for the steel rails and gates. a lot of the 'tube facing' elements were made of timber, and i've seen some of these in that location also.

[Jessicajealousy]

I am super interested in abandoned theme parks!

I've never visited one myself (if anyone knows of any in Victoria, hit me up) - but my favourites to learn about are Six Flags New Orleans, Nara Dreamland, and River Country.

I especially like if there is no real story as to why it closed, and even more so if it was just left there.

River Country is a great example - Disney said "this park is getting too full, lets build two more bigger ones", and then in the same breath "ah, well no one is coming to River Country anymore, just leave it there" - and they did! I am devastated it's gone now and I'll never get to see it in all its abandoned glory.

Six Flags is wonderful because its closed because of a natural disaster, but Six Flags said "it's too hard" when it came to rebuilding it - and almost 20 years later, it's still there and no one can decide what to do.

Nara Dreamland was such a beautiful looking abandoned park. A Disney park with a touch of home made charm  Also sad it's gone now - it seemed to have been highly respected by urban explorers, and was in relatively good condition all things considered.

[biasesumo]

I don’t know if this counts, but I was a regular visitor of the old Big Brother house after the show closed production in 2014.

I started going in when I was 15 back in 2016 after a friend and I realised how close it was to Coomera station. All my photos have been lost to time as they were taken on an iPod touch I can no longer access, but I’d say we were there upwards of 20 times up until it started getting trashed completely. It was very peaceful to hang out there. 

Security were incredibly relaxed about the whole thing. We would go a lot during the daytime and were never trespassed.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 21/04/2023 at 4:01 PM, Jessicajealousy said:

I am super interested in abandoned theme parks!

I've never visited one myself (if anyone knows of any in Victoria, hit me up) - but my favourites to learn about are Six Flags New Orleans, Nara Dreamland, and River Country.

I especially like if there is no real story as to why it closed, and even more so if it was just left there.

River Country is a great example - Disney said "this park is getting too full, lets build two more bigger ones", and then in the same breath "ah, well no one is coming to River Country anymore, just leave it there" - and they did! I am devastated it's gone now and I'll never get to see it in all its abandoned glory.

Six Flags is wonderful because its closed because of a natural disaster, but Six Flags said "it's too hard" when it came to rebuilding it - and almost 20 years later, it's still there and no one can decide what to do.

Nara Dreamland was such a beautiful looking abandoned park. A Disney park with a touch of home made charm  Also sad it's gone now - it seemed to have been highly respected by urban explorers, and was in relatively good condition all things considered.

I'm sure given your interests that you'll have seen them, but in case you haven't, you should check out the 'Abandoned' series by Bright Sun Films on YouTube. Jake does a lot of coverage, in particular of the three parks you've mentioned (among others)

Jake also produced a feature length documentary on SFNO called 'Closed for Storm' which to this day I still haven't watched due to the ridiculousness of region blocking and exclusivity agreements on streaming services. But i'm not bitter at all. #ImLying

[Jessicajealousy]

40 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I'm sure given your interests that you'll have seen them, but in case you haven't, you should check out the 'Abandoned' series by Bright Sun Films on YouTube. Jake does a lot of coverage, in particular of the three parks you've mentioned (among others)

Jake also produced a feature length documentary on SFNO called 'Closed for Storm' which to this day I still haven't watched due to the ridiculousness of region blocking and exclusivity agreements on streaming services. But i'm not bitter at all. #ImLying

I was just about to comment on this post and let @New display name know to check out BSF!

Jake is amazing - been following him since he started his abandoned series. I love going back to his old videos and listening to how awkward he sounded talking - and how professional he sounds now!

I'm with you there - never seen Closed For Storm, haven't figured out a way to watch it yet! I even looked into *cough-torrents-cough* but to no luck. Which sucks, because I would love to support him by watching and recommending what I am sure is an incredible film, but I can't.

@New display name As well as Bright Sun Films, I would also recommend checking out The Proper People. I also love Adam The Woo - he is mostly a Disney vlogger, but in his past he has visited a whole host of lesser known theme parks
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL047A057E91EFDA70

I would also recommend the below. Quite a few of them focus on abandoned Disney attractions, some focus on international parks as well (especially Expedition Theme Park, who has covered Wonderland, and some old attractions from Movie World).

https://www.youtube.com/@YesterworldEntertainment

https://www.youtube.com/@ParkRideHistory

https://www.youtube.com/@ThemeParkHistory

https://www.youtube.com/@ExpeditionThemePark

 

I would love to chat all things abandoned theme parks, or abandoned/closed attractions, so please feel free to reach out!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Jessicajealousy said:

The Proper People

I enjoy TPP a lot, but a lot of their content is industrial, and out of the way, whereas a lot more of Jake's content is parks and hotels. They do partner up and visit places together though, if you watch carefully in videos you can see the other vlogger in shot.