Forgotten "Wonderland". The secret history of Soviet Disneyland

In the village of Chenzhuang in China, 32 km northwest of Beijing, the ruins of a partially built amusement park lie next to a highway surrounded by houses and corn fields. Construction of the park, which organizers promised would be “the largest in Asia,” stopped around 1998 due to disagreements between local authorities and farmers over property prices. Developers tried to restore construction in 2008, but were unsuccessful. Now this ghost attraction attracts only local children and photographers, who are warned by signs along the way that they proceed further at their own peril and risk. One of these photographers was David Gray, who came to the unfinished amusement park on a cool December morning.

(Total 21 photos)

1. A peasant with a shovel walks towards a field against the backdrop of a castle that was supposed to be part of an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing called Wonderland. (Reuters/David Gray)

2. View of an empty parking lot in front of abandoned buildings that were supposed to become part of an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing. (Reuters/David Gray)

3. Footprints on a snow-covered walkway leading to the entrance to an unfinished amusement park. (Reuters/David Gray)

4. Entrance to the Wonderland amusement park. (Reuters/David Gray)

5. Entrance to the amusement park set building. (Reuters/David Gray)

6. The path leading to the entrance has long been cracked. (Reuters/David Gray)

7. Snow-covered path to abandoned park buildings. (Reuters/David Gray)

8. Entrance overlooking vacant lots. (Reuters/David Gray)

9. Long overgrown paths and abandoned buildings. (Reuters/David Gray)

10. Abandonment and emptiness. (Reuters/David Gray)

11. Dry tree branches frame an abandoned building in an empty amusement park. (Reuters/David Gray)

12. Windows in one of the abandoned buildings. (Reuters/David Gray)

13. Peasants are dismantling a tower in a field, where there are also some unfinished buildings of an amusement park, which is unlikely to ever be built. (Reuters/David Gray)

14. Peasants are digging a well in the field. (Reuters/David Gray)

15. The steel frame of an amusement park building that was never built. (Reuters/David Gray)

16. A sign warning people of the potential danger of toxic soil on a pole of an abandoned building. (Reuters/David Gray)

Amusement parks are perhaps the most fun and desirable place for children, a visit to which will turn any day into a holiday. But modern world such that even such places can remain abandoned and unnecessary to anyone. Today's photo selection is dedicated to abandoned amusement parks.

Park of Culture and Recreation

Pripyat, Ukraine The most famous abandoned park is located in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat. Its opening was supposed to take place on May 1, 1986, but due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the city was evacuated, and the amusement park in Pripyat remained waiting for its visitors.

Six Flags Park

New Orleans, USA
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the United States. The city of New Orleans was also affected by the disaster. The Six Flags amusement park located here was first flooded and then closed.

Wonderland Park

Beijing, China
30 kilometers from Beijing, the Chinese authorities once planned to build the largest amusement park in Asia - “Wonderland”. But due to a conflict between local landowners and the authorities, the construction that had begun was frozen. Now, right in the center of the corn field, rise the ruins of a fairy-tale castle, which was supposed to become one of the decorations of the amusement park.

Yabba-Dabba-Doo Park

State of Arizona, USA
The animated series about the Flintstone family was once very popular in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that at that time a theme park was built along the road to the Grand Canyon. But interest in the cartoon dried up, as did interest in the park itself.

Park "Gulliver's Kingdom"

Kawaguchi, Japan
Continuing the theme of theme parks, we can’t help but talk about Gulliver’s Kingdom, which joined the list of abandoned parks in 2001. It lasted only 4 years. The main reason Its closure was caused not so much by financial problems as by the nearby Suicide Forest.

Spree Park

Berlin, Germany
Spree Park was built in Berlin in 1969. Situated on the banks of the river, it was the most popular amusement park in East Germany. Exactly 30 years later it was closed.

Dadipark

Dadiesel, Belgium
In 1950, one of the cheapest amusement parks, Dadipark, was opened in the Belgian city of Dadiesel. The park was restored several times, and in 2002 its owners announced reconstruction. Since then it has been closed to visitors.

Joyland Park

State of Texas, USA
The abandoned Joyland Park dates back to 1933, when local businessman Lester Ottoway purchased a miniature railway to create a mobile amusement park. After his death, the park passed to Lester's sons, who soon sold the business to the couple. It was resold again in 2003 and closed in 2006. However, this amusement park cannot be called abandoned, since this place was chosen by representatives of various subcultures.

Chippewa Lake Park

Ontario, USA
Chippewa Lake is the oldest abandoned park on our list. It was built back in 1875 and was more of a huge playground than an amusement park. In 1898, its new owners invested a lot of money here and built many attractions. With the development of the entertainment industry, Chippewa Lake could not withstand the competition and closed in 1978.

Okpo Land Park

Okpo-dong, South Korea
Our list ends with the abandoned Okpo Land park in South Korea. The highlight of the park was the duck roller coaster, but in the late 90s he fell off it and died small child. The park management did not even apologize to the relatives of the deceased. As a result, Okpo Land was declared unsafe and closed in 1999.

"Alice. Return to Wonderland" is a modern amusement park in multimedia format. In "Wonderland", thanks to colorful projections, fantasies become reality, and your favorite characters come to life from human touches and actions. Lewis Carroll's fairy tale was not chosen by chance: it contains funny and crazy adventures in which visitors to the park become participants. Moreover, it is magic and miracles that can captivate children of all ages. The large projection space is divided by partitions into thematic zones.

The area of ​​the entertainment space is 500 sq. m. m.

The multimedia performance takes 40 minutes, during which time visitors to the Alice park. Return to Wonderland" become the heroes of a fairy tale. Children and adults can enjoy 10 interactive attractions related to one story: shrinking, sad rain, flower meadow, crazy tea party, chestnut jam, animated drawings, candy grinder, Jabberwocky scales, zoom and photo zone.

The main task is to play and have fun in order to bring back the colors and save the wonders in fairyland. To do this, park visitors must complete the quest mission: go crazy and have fun. In the interactive play areas you need to disperse the rain, smash teapots with hedgehogs, run on scale buttons and bring your drawings to life. There are also creative tasks and outdoor games. During the quest, children will develop coordination of movements, imagination, accuracy, reaction speed and general motor skills.

Participants in the performance will see a variety of projections, walls with sensors, huge pencils for drawing on the walls and other attractions created in the phygital format. This means a combination of the real (physical) and digital (digital). Visitors find themselves inside a cartoon, the plot of which unfolds right on the walls of an amazing space. There are no monitors or glasses in the park; to activate the games you just need to wave your arms, jump and do simple physical actions. Because large interactive screens mounted on walls respond to movements, voices and touches. Amusement park "Alice. Return to Wonderland" is open to everyone over 3 years old and without restrictions.

Prices

The cost of tickets to participate in the multimedia adventure depends on the category of visitors and the day of the week:

• Children— 950 rub. on weekdays and 1,050 rub. on the weekend. Please note that children under 5 years old can only enter accompanied by an adult.
• Adults— 650 rub. on weekdays and 750 rub. on weekends.
• Students— 600 rub. on weekdays and 700 rub. on the weekend.
• Family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children - 3,000 rubles. on weekdays and 3,200 rub. on the weekend.

The right to free admission is granted to disabled children, group I disabled people and WWII veterans. Groups of 10 people or more, pensioners and families with many children receive a 20% discount. When purchasing a ticket on the amusement park website, you can get a 5% discount.

In the multimedia park you can order children's party in honor of the birthday. For a program lasting 1 hour, with the participation of 5-15 children, a quest based on the fairy tale about Alice and souvenirs for all the children, you will need to pay 25,000 rubles. To order, you must leave a request on the website.

Reviews about the park “Alice. Return to Wonderland"

Tourists note that children are accompanied by a leading guide during the quest, who competently regulates the time for completing tasks and gives the necessary tips. Many are amazed how some projectors and screens with modern technologies are able to immerse children in a virtual adventure, using virtually no other aids.

Travelers are advised to leave their outerwear in the cloakroom on the ground floor. Next to the projection space “Alice. Return to Wonderland" has several other children's entertainment.

How to get to the Alice amusement park. Return to Wonderland"

The multimedia children's park is located at the address: Moscow, Meshchansky district, Teatralny proezd, 5, building 1, floor 4, Raketa hall. To get to the Alice amusement park. Return to Wonderland”, you need to go to the Eyebirint gallery of illusions. You can get here by bus:

• No. m3, m5, m8, m9, m10, m27, t25, n1, n2, n3, n6, n11, 38, 101, 122, 144, 158, 904, “Metro Lubyanka” stop;
• No. K, m2, stop “Teatralnaya Ploshchad”;
• No. 38, stop “Kuznetsky Most”.

It is also convenient to get to the multimedia park by metro: the Lubyanka station (Sokolnicheskaya line) is located near the entrance to the Central Children's House.

To get to the Central Children's Store, you can also order a taxi ride: Yandex services operate in Moscow. Taxi, Uber, Gett, Maxim, Taxi Lucky. For travelers by car, there is paid parking in the store building.

Panoramic view of the entrance to the multimedia amusement park “Alice. Return to Wonderland" on the 4th floor of the Central House of Art:

The Six Flags amusement park, located in New Orleans, was abandoned in 2005 due to the infamous Hurricane Katrina, which almost completely destroyed the city.

In 1969, an amusement park called Spree Park with rides, cafes and green lawns was built on the banks of the Spree in the southeast of the city.

After the unification of the two sides of Berlin, the park lost its relevance and was closed due to insufficient funding.

Now Mother Nature has taken her word here: most of the carousels were surrounded by grass and bushes, and this made the park look truly mysterious.

The Japanese theme park Gulliver's Kingdom was opened in the vicinity of Mount Fuji in 1997 with government funds, but lasted only 4 years.

The reason for its collapse was not only financial problems among investors and unpopularity among visitors, but also an initially “bad” place - nearby there is a plant that produced sarin for the notorious Aum Senrikyo sect and the most famous place pilgrimage of all unfortunates - Forest of Suicides. (Clickable, 2000×1333 px):

Dadipark was opened in 1950 under the influence of local pastor Gaston Devere. It was one of the most accessible and cheapest parks.

They tried to restore it several times, but in 2000 an accident occurred. In 2002, the owners of the park announced that it would be reconstructed, but the park has been empty ever since.

Abandoned Takakonuma Green Land amusement park. The first amusement park in Fukushima Prefecture. It was closed in 1999.

The history of this park began in 1949, and it operated for 55 years. Joyland was once the largest theme park in downtown Wichita, Kansas.

However, in 200, the park closed due to financial problems, and since then it has been gradually inhabited by parkour artists, graffiti artists and other representatives of subcultures.

The Nara Dreamland amusement park was opened in 1961, but was closed in the late 90s due to lack of funding.

The grounds include roller coasters, carousels, a castle, water slides, slot machines and many other buildings. Clean, quiet, practically no graffiti, all the furnishings and equipment in the buildings have been preserved.

Chippewa Lake Park was built in 1875 by Edward Andrews and was more of a large playground with several attractions until it was finally purchased in 1898 by the Beach family. The new owners invested a lot of money in the park, set up attractions, created advertising, and it began to make a profit, using very popular in the 1920s. Then, with the development of the amusement park industry and increased competition, public interest in it gradually faded, until the park finally closed in 1978.

About 30 kilometers northwest of Beijing, among corn fields and houses, rise the ruins of a fairytale castle, intended to decorate the largest amusement park in Asia, Wonderland, which was never built.