Disney has built an empire off of theme parks. Between Disneyland and Disney World, there’s many different attractions that have cutting edge technology and bring in thousands of customers every day. Disney owns some of the most prominent theme parks now, but where did it all begin?
The first theme park in the United States opened in 1846. Lake Compounce was the name of this theme park in Bristol, Connecticut. The park first opened to showcase a scientists experiments with electricity. Dating back to 1583, in Kampenborg, Denmark the first theme park in the world opened its doors. Bakken was the name of this historic theme park. The park featured rides, live entertainment, and games. It’s incredible that this park is still open to this day.
In 1766 the second theme park would open. Wurstelprater in Leopoldstadt, Austria was the name of the park. Before opening, it was used as a hunting ground. The park is still open today and the ferris wheel at the park serves as a historical Vienna landmark. Tivoli Gardens was the third park to open in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened in 1843, and is also surprisingly still open to this day. It is home to what might be the oldest wooden roller coaster: Rutschebanen; which was built in 1914. Tivoli Gardens was so popular that it actually inspired Walt Disney’s design of Disneyland.
