| By Willy Volk on AmusementParks Recently, I read about Roswell, New Mexico's intention to build the Alien Apex Resort, a UFO-themed amusement park, complete with an indoor roller coaster that'll take passengers on a simulated alien abduction. With a price tag hovering around $800 million and a target completion date of 2010, there are lots of factors that could slow down the construction of this weird amusement park.
Until Alien Apex opens for abductions, er, business, we thought we'd point out some other unusual amusement parks already ready to show you a good time. The Nintendo Amusement Park The Nintendo Amusement Park is a real life obstacle course that a players navigate using a power-assist harness. The park features nothing digital, nothing projected, and nothing virtual: both the power harness and the moving parts of the obstacle course are entirely mechanical, giving a player the feeling of being inside a classic video game. Though it's still largely a prototype, if you're interested in trying it out, they're looking for volunteers in the NYC area to dress as Mario and jump around! Check out this video; it looks like fun! Bon Bon Land Denmark's 4th largest amusement park is Bon Bon Land, an amusement park that's based on a Danish confectinary that makes candy featuring unusual objects and animals. In addition to some pretty racy attractions and numerous vomiting rodents, visitors to Bon Bon Land can enjoy elegantly-named rides, such as The Horse Dropping; The Crazy Turtle (who looks like he's just about to puke!); and -- my favorite -- Hundeprutterutchebane. Also know as " Dog Fart Switchback," Hundeprutterutchebane takes riders on a fun-filled journey around a hound's piles of poop and allows them to listen to the sounds of his farts. Ah, this ride gives new meaning to the phrase "the wind in my face." Dickens World
Moving from farting dogs to sweaty wenches, England's Dickens World is a brand new amusement park designed around everyone's favorite topic: plague-ridden, sewage-filled 19th century London.
Designed to spotlight the life and times of Charles Dickens, Dickens World features one of Europe's largest dark boat rides; the Haunted house of Ebenezer Scrooge; and a Victorian School Room -- which gives parents the chance to show their kids how lucky they really are. Not really. In reality, I imagine it's something of a mash-up between a "real" amusement park; a "living history museum"; Vegas; and the most boring component in the canon of English Literature. Oliver Twist? Puh-lease!
Before you accuse the British of making something fun into something very, very dry, check out Brendan O'Neill's experience inside Dickens World. Either he's being nice, or it's actually fun... in a giant-turkey-leg, chimney sweep, polio-filled sorta way.
Diggerland After you're finished with Dickens World, motor over to Diggerland, an amusement park that gives both kids and adults the chance to "ride in, and drive, different types of construction machinery including Dumper Trucks, Mini Diggers and Giant Diggers (all under strict supervision)." In addition to the heavy-duty machinery, Diggerland also features thrill rides and the Dancing Diggers, a stunt team that performs inside front-end loaders. Seriously, even if you have no intention of visiting Diggerland, you should head to their homepage and listen to their infectious jingle. Suoi Tien Park Shifting gears (ha ha) from large machines to quiet introspection, Vietnam's Suoi Tien Park is a Buddhist-themed amusement park. In addition to a giant splash park and various thrill rides, the "amusement park" features Heaven Palace, the Park's vision of eternal life for people who manage to escape |
