Abandoned Chinese Wonderland. Forgotten Wonderland
In the village of Chenzhuang in China, 32 kilometers northwest of Beijing, next to a highway lined with houses and cornfields lies the ruins of a partially built amusement park. Construction of the park, which the organizers promised would be "the largest in Asia," stopped sometime in 1998 due to disagreements between local authorities and peasants over property prices. The developers tried to restore construction in 2008, but were unsuccessful. Now this ghost ride attracts only local children and photographers, who are warned by signs along the way that they go further at their own peril and risk. One such photographer was David Gray, who came to the unfinished amusement park on a chilly December morning.
(Total 21 photos)
1. A peasant with a shovel goes to the field against the backdrop of the castle, which 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 be part of an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing. (Reuters/David Gray)
3. Footprints on a snow-covered passage leading to the entrance to an unfinished amusement park. (Reuters/David Gray)
4. Entrance to the amusement park "Wonderland". (Reuters/David Gray)
5. Entrance to the building-decoration of the amusement park. (Reuters/David Gray)
6. The path leading to the entrance cracked long ago. (Reuters/David Gray)
7. Snow-covered path to the abandoned buildings of the park. (Reuters/David Gray)
8. Entrance overlooking the wastelands. (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 dig a well in the field. (Reuters/David Gray)
15. The steel frame of the amusement park building, which was not destined to be built. (Reuters/David Gray)
16. A sign warning people of the potential danger of poisonous soil on a pillar of an abandoned building. (Reuters/David Gray)
"Alice. Return to Wonderland is a modern multimedia amusement park. In Wonderland, thanks to colorful projections, fantasies become reality, and beloved characters come to life from the touch and actions of a person. Lewis Carroll's fairy tale was not chosen by chance: it contains funny and crazy adventures, in which park visitors become participants. Moreover, it is magic and miracles that can captivate children of all ages. The large projection space is divided into thematic zones by partitions.
The area of space with entertainment is 500 square meters. m.
The multimedia performance takes 40 minutes, during which time visitors to the Alisa. Return to Wonderland ”become the heroes of a fairy tale. 10 interactive attractions related to the same story await children and adults: shrinking, sad rain, flower meadow, crazy tea drinking, chestnut jam, animated drawings, candy thresher, Jabberwock flakes, magnification and photo zone.
The main task is to play and have fun in order to restore colors and save miracles in a fairy-tale land. To do this, park visitors must complete the mission of the quest: go wild and have fun. In interactive game zones, 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 passage of the quest, the guys will develop coordination of movements, imagination, accuracy, reaction speed and general motor skills.
Participants of the performance will see a variety of projections, walls with sensors, huge pencils for drawing on the walls and other attractions created in phygital format. This means a combination of real (physical) and digital (digital). Visitors get inside the cartoon, the plot of which unfolds right on the walls of an amazing space. There are no monitors and glasses in the park, to activate the games you just need to wave your arms, jump and perform simple physical actions. Because large interactive screens installed on the walls react to movements, voices and touches. Amusement park "Alice. Return to Wonderland" is open to everyone from 3 years old and without restrictions.
Prices
The cost of tickets for participating in a multimedia adventure depends on the category of visitors and the day of the week:
- Children— 950 rub. on weekdays and 1,050 rubles. on the weekend. Please note that children under the age of 5 may only be accompanied by an adult.
- adults- 650 rubles. on weekdays and 750 rubles. on weekends.
- students- 600 rubles. on weekdays and 700 rubles. on the weekend.
- family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children - 3,000 rubles. on weekdays and 3,200 rubles. on the weekend.
The right of free admission is granted to children with disabilities, disabled people of group I and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. A 20% discount is received by groups of 10 people, pensioners and large families. When buying a ticket on the website of the amusement park, you can get a 5% discount.
In the multimedia park, you can order a children's birthday party. For a program lasting 1 hour, with the participation of 5-15 children, a quest for a 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 site.
Reviews about the park "Alisa. Return to Wonderland"
Tourists note that children during the passage of the quest are accompanied by a leading guide, who competently regulates the time for completing tasks and gives the necessary tips. Many are amazed how some projectors and screens with modern technologies able to immerse children in a virtual adventure, with little or no other aids.
Travelers are advised to leave outerwear in the cloakroom on the ground floor. Next to the projection space “Alisa. Return to Wonderland" has several other children's entertainment.
How to get to the amusement park "Alice. Return to Wonderland"
The multimedia children's park is located at the following address: Moscow, Meshchansky district, Teatralny proezd, 5, building 1, floor 4, Rocket hall. To get to the amusement park "Alice. Return to Wonderland”, you need to go to the gallery of illusions Eyebirint. 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, stop "Metro Lubyanka";
- No. K, m2, stop "Teatralnaya Square";
- No. 38, stop "Kuznetsky Most".
It is also convenient to get to the multimedia park by metro: Lubyanka station ( Sokolnicheskaya line) is located near the entrance to the CDM.
To come 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 paid parking in the shop building.
Panoramic view of the entrance to the multimedia amusement park "Alisa. Return to Wonderland" on the 4th floor of the Central Children's House:
Abandoned amusement parks are similar to each other: rusty slides, grassy rides, special energy and frightening silence. I propose to look at some of the darkest amusement parks in the world, in which children's laughter will no longer be heard.
The park in the city of Dadizel was opened in 1950, and closed in 2002 after an accident: a boy lost his arm while riding the Nautic-Jet ride.
This park was very popular but closed in 1999 after several fatalities.
The amusement park dedicated to the film fairy tale "The Wizard of Oz" was opened in 1970. But after a fire in 1975, arranged by former park employees, and even the destruction of valuable themed items (Judy Garland's dress from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz), the park was closed in 1980. There have been attempts to turn the park into a year-round ski resort, but they have not been successful.
The park lasted only 4 years, from 1997 to 2001, largely due to its unfortunate location. The park was built at the foot of Mount Fuji, not far from Aokigahara - the forest of suicides.
The amusement park was supposed to open on May 1, 1986, five days after the accident, but this was not destined to happen.
A park in the hills above the city of Taichung closed after the 1999 921 earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people
The Spree amusement park appeared in East Berlin (former GDR) in 1969. During its heyday, the park received over 1.5 million visitors a year. When the park ceased to generate income, its owner Norbert Witte decided to open a new park, but in Lima, Peru. In 2002, Norbert Witte, his family and several close associates left with six rides in containers for Lima, but customs officials found 167 kg of cocaine in one of the rides, and Witte was convicted of drug smuggling.
The park, located in east New Orleans, was opened in 2000 by Alfa Smartparks under the original name Jazzland. In 2002, it was bought by Six Flags Corporation. Jazzland was inundated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As a result, 80% of the buildings and attractions of the park were destroyed or corroded by sea water - with no hope of recovery.
Ownership of this park changed hands several times before it closed in 2002. The park was listed on eBay for $1 million (£636,000) in 2002, but no buyer was found. In 2005, a teenager, having received permission from the owner, was driving through the park and stumbled upon a wire stretched between two trees, so much so that he almost was beheaded. After a successful lawsuit, Dogpatch Park passed to this teenager, as the owners were unable to pay compensation.
This park was first opened in 1880 and closed in 2003 after a number of rides were sold to other theme parks. There are rumors that the park will reopen.
Built in 1930, this entertainment complex was incredibly popular in the 70s and 80s of the last century. But by 2003, the complex ceased to generate income and only a nightclub remained from it, which after some time was also closed.
The theme of this park was the story of the Knights of the Round Table. The park opened in 1983 on the site of what used to be England's largest lake, known as Sir Lancelot's Lost Lake. The park was closed in 2009 and only ruins remain.
The amusement park in Blackpool closed in 2009 after a decline in attendance. After the demolition of buildings, they were going to build residential buildings here, but no one realized the plan.
About 30 kilometers northwest of Beijing, among corn fields and houses, the ruins of a fairy-tale castle, conceived as the decoration of Asia's largest amusement park - Wonderland, rise, which was never built. In 1998, a conflict arose between developers and farmers who refused to sell their property.
Opened in 1887, the amusement park, along with the water park, hosted visitors until it closed in 2007. Now the park is empty, but the water park continues to work
Wonderland- largest park entertainment in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Neither young nor old will be bored here. Everyone can find an attraction and activity to their liking.
Dubai Wonderland amusement park is located in the north-eastern part of the city, at the intersection of Riyadh and Sheikh Rashid streets. Finding attractions is easy. Nearby attractions include Dubai Dolphinarium, Creek Park and Al Garhoud Bridge.
The Wonderland attraction covers an area of 18 hectares, making it the largest attraction in the world.
Park structure
Wonderland includes 3 zones. Each has its own theme and performs a specific function. For the convenience of visitors, the territory is divided into a leisure zone, attractions and a water park.
The first place you enter when you enter is Main Street. Here is located most of infrastructure Wonderland - cafes, stalls with sweets, snack bars, souvenir shops. Musicians stand and play along the street, mimes and clowns show numbers.
The most popular place on Main Street is the Family Entertainment Centre. You can spend time with your family in it - play video games, enjoy sweets in a pastry shop or take a walk. If you want to be without children for a while, you can entrust them to the teachers of the children's mini-club.
An incredible show awaits visitors at the very end of Main Street. At nightfall, a cloud of mist rises over Mist Lake, creating a mesmerizing scene.
The main part of the rides is concentrated in the Theme park zone. There are roller coasters, go-karts, and children's cars. As well as trampolines, carousels, fear rooms, swings.
The Space-Shot attraction is the most popular in the Theme Park. It looks like a rocket. In seconds, the car accelerates to 100 km / h, rises sharply, and then drops down just as sharply.
What is Wonderland without a water park, especially in such a hot city as Dubai. "Splashland" occupies a significant part of the territory. It concentrates pools designed for all categories of visitors. There are pools for adults and extreme ones for fans thrill, and small paddling pools for the youngest visitors.
On the basis of the water park there are 9 water slides, of different difficulty levels - from the simplest to the extreme. There is also a dedicated area for surfing and boating.
Rating of attractions
The Wonderland amusement park offers visitors attractions of various categories. They are designed to satisfy the needs of everyone, regardless of age and preferences. They can be conditionally divided into:
- adults;
- children's;
- extreme;
- water.
The best entertainment for thrill-seekers
For starters, thrill-seekers are encouraged to warm up and tickle their nerves on the Space-Shot attraction. The "death" tower will give energy and add adrenaline.
If this doesn't seem enough, then it's worth using the horror house - Horror House. The attraction is a dark tunnel, in the depths of which scary characters from cult horror films await visitors.
The best attractions for children
Young visitors can have fun riding the Pirate Ship carousels and playing on the trampolines. There are also Children Slide and Twister for children.
However, traditional machines are the most popular. There is a classic version of the famous attraction, as well as an unusual variation of cars on the water. Kids will be able to ride supercars on their own and in the company of their parents.
The best water activities
Among the water attractions, slides occupy a leading position. Both adults and children like to spend time on them. The park provides slopes of varying difficulty, from the simplest (children's) to real water guns.
In addition to slides, the local water park offers to diversify your leisure time with water sports, presented on the basis of several pools.
Park infrastructure
The amusement park is equipped with everything necessary for a pleasant pastime. On the territory there are 4 restaurants, cafes, points of sale of fast food and sweets, where you can have a bite to eat after a busy holiday and drink soft drinks.
For the convenience of visitors, benches and recreation areas are installed along the Main Street. There are restrooms.
Schedule
At the moment, Wonderland in Dubai is closed for renovation.
The previous work schedule is daily, from 10.00 to 23.00.
Thursday is family day. Wednesday and Sunday - admission is only for women and children.
Park tickets
Entry is by ticket. The cost of an adult ticket is 40 dirhams, for children (2-4 years old) - 10 dirhams. Children under 2 years old enter free of charge.
Attractions are paid separately. The cost of a children's ticket to the water park and thematic area is 60 dirhams. A ticket for an adult will cost 125 dirhams. If you wish, you can purchase combos - tickets that give a pass to both zones at once. The price is 75 and 150 dirhams respectively.
How to get to the amusement park
There are several ways to get to Wonderland in Dubai. It is easier and faster to use taxi services. The cost of the trip will depend on the distance, time of day and traffic. Minimum 15-20 dirhams. Travel time - 10 minutes. from Dubai airport and 15 min. from the center.
If you want to save money, it is better to use public transport. They go to the park bus routes 22 and 42. The fare is from 4 dirhams.