DreamWorks Experience
DreamWorks Experience is a themed land at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. Themed after DreamWorks Animation and its franchises including Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, it replaced the existing children's area at the park, themed to Nickelodeon and themed generically; the DreamWorks Experience opened on 31 March 2012. The area which DreamWorks Experience occupies was known as Village Green when it opened in 1983. In 1998, the area was renamed to Village Oval. In 1999, the northern end of Village Oval was redesigned to become Kennyland. In early 2002, Kennyland was removed and most of Village Oval was fenced off; some of the children's rides were moved to Rivertown to allow for the construction of Nickelodeon Central. During that year the leftover rides were rethemed and relocated to their current positions as part of Nickelodeon Central. Nickelodeon Central opened on 26 December 2002 as the largest children's area in an Australian theme park. In 2008, SpongeBob FlyPants opened to expand Nickelodeon Central's offerings.
Towards the middle of 2011, elements of Nickelodeon theming started to be removed leading to speculation that the contract with the television network was being terminated. By the start of the winter holidays on 25 June 2011, all of the rides were renamed to a generic interim kids theme: Kid's World. In October 2011, the former Nick Pics building and the Remota Boats area were demolished with work beginning on a replacement building on the Nick Pics site. Earlier in 2011, the outgoing CEO of Dreamworld, Noel Dempsey, leaked Dreamworld's plans to team up with DreamWorks Animation on his LinkedIn profile page. On 10 November 2011, Dreamworld announced a three-stage plan to incorporate DreamWorks Animation films and characters into its theme park; the first phase, set to open 19 December 2011, was the DreamWorks Holiday Shrektacular Show which featured 8 DreamWorks Animation characters live on stage. The second phase will include the retheming of Dreamworld's kids area, Kid's World, into a 8,400-square-metre DreamWorks Experience precinct.
This phase is set to open in Easter 2012. The final phase will be the development of an meet-and-greet area called Kung Fu garden; the three phases are expected to cost $10 million to complete. In late 2011, construction of the DreamWorks Experience precinct began with the removal of the photo shop and the adjacent Remota Boats in Main Street. On 1 February 2012 following the peak season, Dreamworld closed most of the rides in Kid's World. Swinger Zinger, Mighty-Go-Round, Sky Rocket, Rainforest Rampage and Kite Flyer were all closed pending their retheme into DreamWorks Animation. During this time, two temporary rides named Mini-Swingers and Choppers operated in Ocean Parade near The Claw and AVPX, respectively. In February 2012, Dreamworld announced that the DreamWorks Experience precinct would consist of two areas with a third area to be added later. Names for the rethemed rides were announced. On 31 March 2012, the DreamWorks Experience opened to the public. On 15 July 2012, the Avalanche was closed to make way for a new attraction at the end of the year.
The replacement attraction will be part of Kung Fu Panda: Land Of Awesomeness and its opening will mark the final stage of the DreamWorks Experience. Escape from Madagascar is a suspended family roller coaster which opened in 2002 with Nickelodeon Central as Rugrats Runaway Reptar; the roller coaster was the third of the first in the Southern Hemisphere. The ride remains to be Dreamworld's only children's roller coaster, it was renamed to Sky Rocket in 2011 before being renamed Escape from Madagascar in 2012. King Julien's Theatre in the Wild is a show stage, it runs the Madagascar Live – Prepare to Party Show. The arena opened in 2002 with Nickelodeon Central where it would show: "Slime Time Live", "SpongeBob SquarePants Stories from Bikini Bottom" or "Blue's Clues Live". During the area's time known as Kid's World it showed "The Kenny Koala Show" and "The Goldie Show". MAD Jungle Jam opened with Nickelodeon Central in 2002 as Wild Thornberry's Rainforest Rampage, it is a ball play area which allows kids to fire foam balls throughout the enclosure at targets and each other.
It was renamed to Rainforest Rampage in 2011 before being renamed MAD Jungle Jam in 2012. The attraction was manufactured by SCS Interactive. Madagascar Cargo Hold is a merchandise shop, it was on the site of the former Nick Pics/Fun Snapz photo shop. Dronkey Flyers is a fixed arm, rotating plane ride themed to Dronkeys; the ride opened as Dream Copters as part of Kennyland in 2000. The ride was moved to be a part of the temporary Kid's Carnival during the construction of Nickelodeon Central. Due to its operation throughout the construction of Nickelodeon Central, the ride did not have a chance to be rethemed to suit the Nickelodeon theme. In 2003, 1 year after Nickelodeon Central opened, the ride was rethemed with new vehicles and renamed to Blue's Skidoo. By the start of the winter holidays on 25 June 2011, Blue's Skidoo was another ride in Nickelodeon Central not to get a retheme but to remain operating. In 2012, it was rethemed to Dronkey Flyers as part of Shrek's Faire Faire Away. Forever After's is a merchandise shop.
It backs onto the Madagascar Cargo Hold and was on the site of the former Nick Pics/Fun Snapz photo shop. Gingy's Glider is a Zamperla Kite Flyer, it opened in June 2008 as SpongeBob FlyPants. It was the only new attraction to be added to
Mick Doohan's Motocoaster
Mick Doohan's Motocoaster is a 605-metre long motorcycle roller coaster at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia. The A$10 million ride, constructed by Intamin and opened to the public in September 2007, is associated with Australian motorcyclist Mick Doohan, it is the first motorcycle coaster in Australia, the first Intamin MotorBike Launch Coaster worldwide, the first to feature life-size replicas of 500 cc racing bikes. In its debut year, the coaster was "narrowly beaten by a 1989 Vekoma ride for the title of world's worst steel roller coaster": the coaster ranked 356th out of the 357 coasters in the Best Steel Roller Coaster Poll; the ride was rated higher in 2008, coming in at number 278 of 392. The coaster was constructed in the Rivertown section of the park, on the site of the Avis Vintage Cars ride, requiring their relocation to the Australian Wildlife Experience section of the park; the ride is the first constructed at Dreamworld in three years. The coaster opened to the public on 30 September 2007.
Margaret Keech, Minister for the Gold Coast, Stacey McMahon, a 125 cc rider and spokesperson for the GMC Australian Grand Prix, were there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mick Doohan did not attend the event due to participation in the Japan Grand Prix, but submitted a pre-recorded video in which he stated: "I am proud to see the end result, I have enjoyed working with Dreamworld, the new attraction celebrates and pays respect to a great Australian sport and its achievements." Marketing for the ride contributed to a decline in Dreamworld's operating margins during the final two quarters of 2007. Through to 26 March 2008, the ride is credited with increasing Dreamworld's revenue by 8.8% to A$50.68 million. Park attendance by local residents spiked following the launch of the coaster, although there was a decline in both interstate and international visitors during the same period; the ride is an Intamin MotorBike Launch Coaster. The track is 605 metres long and features 18 banks and turns. Riders sit on full-scale replica 500 cc racing bikes arranged in eight cars with two riders per car.
This includes 14 motorcycle seats and two sidecar seats in the rear. There are two trains; the sidecars were designed to be in the middle of the trains. Riders are held on the ride through a clamshell restraint system, where the top part of the bike folds over the rider's legs; the ride has two cameras: one on the other halfway through the ride. The ride's queue features informational decorations that teach about the history of motorcycle racing. Riders must be 130 centimetres in height to ride on the main motorcycle cars and 110 centimetres tall to ride in the sidecars; the ride is estimated to handle 746 passengers per hour, has a launch speed of 72 kilometres per hour in two seconds due to its hydraulic system, the second of its kind worldwide. Jet Rescue Mick Doohan's Motocoaster at the Roller Coaster DataBase Media related to Mick Doohan's Motocoaster at Wikimedia Commons
Floorless Coaster
A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them allowing their feet to swing just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996 with Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure opening on April 2, 1999, making it the world's first Floorless Coaster. Floorless Coasters tend to have 3 to 7 inversions incorporated in the layout of the coaster. Bolliger & Mabillard have used floorless trains on their Dive Coasters, such as Griffon and SheiKra. Though they contain floorless trains, the coasters are still not considered Floorless Coasters as B&M classifies them as another model. Maurer Söhne have designed their own version of the Floorless Coaster, a variant of their X-Car called X-Car Floorless, but do not have any installations. According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996. In 1999, the world's first Floorless Coaster opened at Six Flags Great Adventure as Medusa.
In 2009, the coaster was renamed Bizarro and re-themed. After the success of Bolliger & Mabillard's prototype Floorless Coaster, SeaWorld, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, independent parks, Janfusun Fancyworld, Parque Warner Madrid, Tivoli Gardens, Ocean Park Hong Kong have built other coasters of this model at their parks. There are 14 Floorless Coasters in operation with Dominator being the only one relocated to another park; the design of a Floorless Coaster has one main difference from traditional steel roller coasters around the world: it has no floors between the seats. While a train is in the station, a floor is used only for unloading purposes; because the front row has nothing in front of it to stop riders from walking over the edge of the station, a gate is placed in front of the train to prevent this from happening. Once all the over-the-shoulder restraints are locked, the floor separates into several pieces and moves underneath the station; the gate opens, allowing the train to move forward.
When the train returns to the station, the floor is brought back up and the gate is closed as the next riders board the roller coaster. Aside from the station, a Floorless Coaster has several inversions similar to B&M's Sitting Coasters. Bolliger & Mabillard has built thirteen Floorless Coasters with three additional roller coasters converted from stand-up roller coasters; the roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates. Note: Although some Dive Coasters feature floorless trains, they are not considered Floorless Coasters. Maurer Söhne, a German roller coaster and steel manufacturer, has developed their own version of the Floorless Coaster called the X-Car Floorless; the car is the same as the original X-Car with the only difference being that there is no floor during the ride. As of 2012, no X-Car Floorless roller coasters have been manufactured. Dive Coaster, a type of roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, that feature floorless trains on some models. Bolliger & Mabillard's Floorless Coaster
BuzzSaw (roller coaster)
BuzzSaw is a Maurer Söhne SkyLoop roller coaster located within the Town of Gold Rush section of the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast of Australia. The ride began operation on 17 September 2011 as part of Dreamworld's 30th birthday celebrations. BuzzSaw has a track length of 150 metres; the steel ride consists of a single train which holds 12 riders and lasts 50 seconds. BuzzSaw features the tallest inversion in the Southern Hemisphere and is the second-highest inversion of its type in the world; the ride is themed around a series of unexplainable occurrences in the Town of Gold Rush which date back to the late 1800s. The setting is based on encounters with the ghost of one Jack Darke, killed by a buzz saw at a sawmill built after the gold rush ended; the ride is closed for maintenance with no current reopening date scheduled due to a ride failure on May 22, 2018 In December 2009, a Gold Coast Bulletin report detailed a variety of new attractions for the region's theme parks and stated that Dreamworld was in negotiations with a manufacturer to add to its "Big 6" thrill rides.
In February 2011, Dreamworld's operator, Ardent Leisure, announced the addition of two new rides in 2011 as part of Dreamworld's 30th Birthday. In April 2011, it was announced that in addition to a family thrill ride, another major ride would be opened in time for the September school holidays; the name "BuzzSaw" was confirmed two months by the park's outgoing CEO, Noel Dempsey, who confirmed plans to team up with DreamWorks Animation. Vertical construction for BuzzSaw started around the same time. On 20 July 2011, Dreamworld announced the addition of BuzzSaw to the Dreamworld park to the public. Testing for the ride began in early September 2011, BuzzSaw opened to the public on 17 September 2011. Marketing for BuzzSaw began on 6 July 2011 when Dreamworld released a television commercial promoting their plans to open a "new bone-chilling thrill ride" by September of that year. At this stage, the name BuzzSaw had not been announced. A second television marketing campaign was released for BuzzSaw on 8 September 2011, just before its official opening on 17 September 2011.
The commercial stated "this September fear will reach new heights". Banners around Dreamworld advertise BuzzSaw as a "ripper of a ride". BuzzSaw is one of Dreamworld's "Big 8 Thrill Rides" alongside The Claw, The Giant Drop, Mick Doohan's Motocoaster, Tower of Terror II and Wipeout, it boasts the tallest inversion in the Southern Hemisphere at 46.2 metres above the ground. This ranks it tied as the third-highest inversion worldwide. BuzzSaw's steel roller coaster track is 150 metres in length; the ride consists of a single Maurer Söhne X-Car train. The train features two cars. Riders are restrained by a lap bar. BuzzSaw is themed around a series of unexplainable occurrences in the Town of Gold Rush which date back to the late 1800s. In 1876, the Town of Gold Rush was formed, it was a prosperous town during the great gold rush. Eleven years in 1887, the town's Gold supply was gone; the town established a sawmill and turned their focus to timber. On a clear moon-lit night, a sawmill worker named Jack Darke was killed by the buzz saw after he had a scuffle with some other workers who were attempting to set the building on fire.
The circumstances leading up to his death were covered up by the town with the legend stating that Jack tried to burn down the sawmill and slipped into the path of the buzz saw. The sawmill has remained closed since with many people claiming encounters with the ghost of Jack on nights similar to that of his death; the entrance to BuzzSaw is located in the Town of Gold Rush where the Helicopter Joy Flights used to operate, opposite the former entrance of the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride. The station is themed to the abandoned sawmill in the town of Gold Rush and tells the story of Jack Darke. Within the building, guests are directed through a series of queue pathways. Several television screens are embedded in the walls and show burning timber. Parts of the theming are caged off with crime scene signs. Throughout the queue, guests are able to hear the sound of buzzsaws as well as several warnings to not go any further and to escape while they can. Large circular saws are located on the roof of the building.
BuzzSaw is Maurer Söhne SkyLoop XT 150 roller coaster. As part of Maurer Söhne's X-Coaster range of roller coasters, the SkyLoop begins with a vertical chain lift hill to a height of 46.2 metres. At the top of this lift hill, the car is pulled back over on itself before it is released into a full heartline roll and a drop down a steep hill back towards the station; the train oscillates between the two hills before it is caught by the chain hill and lowered back down into the station. A single ride on BuzzSaw is completed in 50 seconds; the reception of BuzzSaw has been positive. Melinda Siegmeier of the Gold Coast Bulletin stated "the scream machine is a fitting way to describe Dreamworld's newest thrill ride the BuzzSaw". Siegmeier commented on the vertical lift hill: "by this stage I was wishing I was back on the ground". Ardent Leisure, the owners of Dreamworld, have claimed the launch of the ride to be a success. In the first year of operation, over 435,000 people rode the attraction. However, in the worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll in 2012, BuzzSaw ranked 221 out of 365.
In 2018 the
Gold Coast, Queensland
The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland 66 kilometres south-southeast of the state capital Brisbane and north of the border with New South Wales. With a census-estimated 2016 population of 638,090, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, Queensland's second-largest city; the Gold Coast region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterland's red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century. In 1875, Southport was surveyed and established and grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. After the establishment of the Surfers Paradise Hotel in the late 1920s, the Gold Coast region grew significantly; the area boomed in the 1980s as a leading tourist destination and in 1994, the City of Gold Coast local government area was expanded to encompass the majority of the Gold Coast's metropolitan area, becoming the second most populous local government area in Australia after the City of Brisbane.
Today, the Gold Coast is a major tourist destination with its sunny subtropical climate and has become known for its surfing beaches, high-rise dominated skyline, theme parks and rainforest hinterland. The city is part of the nation's entertainment industry with television productions and a major film industry; the city hosted the 21st Commonwealth Games which ran from 4 to 15 April 2018. The Gold Coast is the ancestral home of a number of Indigenous clans of the Yugambeh people, including the Kombumerri and Tulgi-gi-gin clans. Lieutenant James Cook became the first European to note the region when he sailed along the coast on 16 May 1770 in HMS Endeavour. Captain Matthew Flinders, an explorer charting the continent north from the colony of New South Wales, sailed past in 1802. Escaped convicts from the Moreton Bay penal settlement hid in the region; the region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach, named after seeing a cutter named Mermaid.
The hinterland's red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century. A number of small townships developed in the hinterland; the western suburb of Nerang was surveyed and established as a base for the industry and by 1870 a town reserve had been set aside. By 1873, the town reserve of Burleigh Heads had been surveyed and successful land sales had taken place. In 1875, the small settlement opposite the boat passage at the head of the Nerang River, known as Nerang Heads or Nerang Creek Heads, was surveyed, renamed Southport with the first land sales scheduled to take place in Beenleigh. Southport grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents; the Gold Coast was known as the South Coast. However, inflated prices for real estate and other goods and services led to the nickname of "Gold Coast" from 1950. South Coast locals considered the name "Gold Coast" derogatory. However, soon the "Gold Coast" became a convenient way to refer to the holiday strip from Southport to Coolangatta.
The Town of South Coast was formed through the amalgamation of Town of Coolangatta and Town of Southport along with the coastal areas from the Shire of Nerang on 17 June 1949 with the effect of having the present-day Gold Coast coastal strip as a single local government area. As the tourism industry grew into the 1950s, local businesses began to adopt the term Gold Coast in their names, on 23 October 1958 the Town of South Coast was renamed Town of Gold Coast; the area was proclaimed a city less than one year on 16 May 1959. In 1995, the Albert Shire was amalgamated into the City of Gold Coast. In 2007, the Gold Coast overtook the population of Newcastle, New South Wales, to become the sixth largest city in Australia and the largest non-capital city. Today the Gold Coast is known for its golden sanded surf beaches, theme parks and rainforest hinterlands; the Gold Coast hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Gold Coast is half covered by forests of various types; this includes small patches of near-pristine ancient rainforest, mangrove-covered islands, patches of coastal heathlands and farmland with areas of uncleared eucalypt forest.
Of the plantation pine forests that were planted in the 1950s and 1960s, when commercial forest planting for tax minimisation was encouraged by the Commonwealth government, tiny remnants remain. Gold Coast City lies in the southeast corner of Queensland, to the south of Brisbane, the state capital; the Albert River separates the Gold Coast from a suburban area of Brisbane. Gold Coast City stretches from Beenleigh and Russell Island to the border with New South Wales 56 km south, extends from the coast west to the foothills of the Great Dividing Range in World Heritage listed Lamington National Park; the southernmost town of Gold Coast City, includes Point Danger and its lighthouse. Coolangatta is a twin city with Tweed Heads located directly across the NSW border. At 28.1667°S 153.55°E / -28.1667. From Coolangatta forty kilometres of holiday resorts and surfing beaches stretch north to the suburb of Main Beach, further on Stradbroke Island; the suburbs of Southport and Surfers Paradise form the Gold Coast's commercial centre.
The major river in the area is the Nerang River. Much of the land between the coastal strip and the hinterland were once wetlands drained by this river, but th
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae.. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, it is recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala weighs 4 -- 15 kg. Pelage colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south; these populations are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet; because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.
Adult males attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives; these young koalas, known as joeys, are weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus, as well as by bushfires and droughts. Koalas were depicted in myths and cave art for millennia; the first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists.
Because of its distinctive appearance, the koala is recognised worldwide as a symbol of Australia. Koalas are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; the Australian government lists specific populations in Queensland and New South Wales as Vulnerable. The animal was hunted in the early 20th century for its fur, large-scale cullings in Queensland resulted in a public outcry that initiated a movement to protect the species. Sanctuaries were established, translocation efforts moved to new regions koalas whose habitat had become fragmented or reduced; the biggest threat to their existence is habitat destruction caused by urbanisation. The word koala comes from the Dharug gula. Although the vowel'u' was written in the English orthography as "oo", it was changed to "oa" in error; because of the koala's supposed resemblance to a bear, it was miscalled the koala bear by early settlers. The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear".
The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for "ash coloured". The koala was given its generic name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review. In 1819, German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus; because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus. French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest proposed the name Phascolartos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown-coloured versions were a different species than the grey ones. Other names suggested by European authors included Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, P. koala by John Edward Gray in 1827. The koala is classified with wombats and several extinct families in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia; the Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes possums.
The ancestors of vombatiforms were arboreal, the koala's lineage was the first to branch off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene. The modern koala is the only extant member of Phascolarctidae, a family that once included several genera and species. During the Oligocene and Miocene, koalas had less specialised diets; some species, such as the Riversleigh rainforest koala and some species of Perikoala, were around the same size as the modern koala, while others, such as species of Litokoala, were one-half to two-thirds its size. Like the modern species, prehistoric koalas had well developed ear structures which suggests that long-distance vocalising and sedentism developed early. During the Miocene, the Australian continent began drying out, leading to the decline of rainforests and the spread of open Eucalyptus woodlands; the genus Phascolarctos split from Litokoala in the late Miocene and had several adaptations that allowed it to live on a specialised eucalyptus diet: a shifting of the palate towards the front of the skull.
During the Pliocene an
Amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation, they are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects. Amusement parks evolved from European fairs, pleasure gardens and large picnic areas, which were created for people's recreation. World's fairs and other types of international expositions influenced the emergence of the amusement park industry. Lake Compounce opened in 1846 and is considered the oldest continuously-operating amusement park in North America.
The first theme parks emerged in the mid-twentieth century with the opening of Santa Claus Land in 1946, Santa's Workshop in 1949, Disneyland in 1955. The amusement park evolved from three earlier traditions: traveling or periodic fairs, pleasure gardens and exhibitions such as world fairs; the oldest influence was the periodic fair of the Middle Ages - one of the earliest was the Bartholomew Fair in England from 1133. By the 18th and 19th centuries, they had evolved into places of entertainment for the masses, where the public could view freak shows, acrobatics and juggling, take part in competitions and walk through menageries. A wave of innovation in the 1860s and 1870s created mechanical rides, such as the steam-powered carousel, its derivatives, notably from Frederick Savage of King's Lynn, Norfolk whose fairground machinery was exported all over the world; this inaugurated the era of the modern funfair ride, as the working classes were able to spend their surplus wages on entertainment.
The second influence was the pleasure garden. An example of this is the world's oldest amusement park, opened in mainland Europe in 1583, it is located north of Copenhagen in Denmark. Another early garden was the Vauxhall Gardens, founded in 1661 in London. By the late 18th century, the site had an admission fee for its many attractions, it drew enormous crowds, with its paths noted for romantic assignations. Although the gardens were designed for the elites, they soon became places of great social diversity. Public firework displays were put on at Marylebone Gardens, Cremorne Gardens offered music and animal acrobatics displays. Prater in Vienna, began as a royal hunting ground, opened in 1766 for public enjoyment. There followed coffee-houses and cafés, which led to the beginnings of the Wurstelprater as an amusement park; the concept of a fixed park for amusement was further developed with the beginning of the world's fairs. The first World fair began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark Crystal Palace in London, England.
The purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world and it was designed to educate and entertain the visitors. American cities and business saw the world's fair as a way of demonstrating economic and industrial success; the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Illinois was an early precursor to the modern amusement park. The fair was an enclosed site, that merged entertainment and education to entertain the masses, it set out to bedazzle the visitors, did so with a blaze of lights from the "White City." To make sure that the fair was a financial success, the planners included a dedicated amusement concessions area called the Midway Plaisance. Rides from this fair captured the imagination of the visitors and of amusement parks around the world, such as the first steel Ferris wheel, found in many other amusement areas, such as the Prater by 1896; the experience of the enclosed ideal city with wonder, rides and progress, was based on the creation of an illusory place.
The "midway" introduced at the Columbian Exposition would become a standard part of most amusement parks, fairs and circuses. The midway contained not only the rides, but other concessions and entertainments such as shooting galleries, penny arcades, games of chance and shows. Many modern amusement parks evolved from earlier pleasure resorts that had become popular with the public for day-trips or weekend holidays, for example, seaside areas such as Blackpool, United Kingdom and Coney Island, United States. In the United States, some amusement parks grew from picnic groves established along rivers and lakes that provided bathing and water sports, such as Lake Compounce in Connecticut, first established as a picturesque picnic park in 1846, Riverside Park in Massachusetts, founded in the 1870s along the Connecticut River; the trick was getting the public to the resort location. For Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, on the Atlantic Ocean, a horse-drawn streetcar line brought pleasure seekers to the beach beginning in 1829.
In 1875, a million passengers rode the Coney Island Railroad, in 1876 two million visited Coney Island. Hotels and amusements were built to accommodate both the upper classes and the working class at the beach; the first carousel was installed in the 1870s, the first roller coaster, the "Switchback Railway", in 1884. In England, Blackpo
