When it comes to theme parks, Disney is probably at the top of most lists and perhaps you want to skip that creepy looking taxidermy stop with the falling-down sign you passed on the highway a few years back. There are theme parks for everything and every interest. Here are a few of our favorite unique and yes, odd theme parks from around the world.
Haw Par Villa Theme Park
Located in Singapore, you can feel free to embark on a journey filled with Chinese mythology, legends and unusual folklore at the Haw Par Villa Theme Park. This park packs a moral punch and my scare a few. This is a rare opportunity to learn right from wrong by seeing an executioner disemboweling a student caught cheating on an exam or perhaps a tax evader crushed by a stone hammer. This theme park contains over 1000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from legends, history and folklore, as well as various facets of Confucianism.
Jeju Love Land
This is an interesting and popular place for Korean honeymooners.
Opened in 2004, Jeju Love Land is an outdoor sculpture park on Jeju Island in South Korea, and we suggest it’s for adults only. An erotic sculpture park with around 140 artworks depicting humans and animals in various graphic sexual positions. A conservative country where young people often live at home until marriage (sometimes arranged), this park is designed to teach newlyweds about sex in a (cough) relaxed way.
Soviet Bunker
For a mere $200 USD you can experience a park that takes you back to Communist-occupied Lithuania! In an authentic bunker where the acting guards are actual members of the former soviet army you can spend two hours undergoing the duress that far too many Soviet-era citizens struggled through. You’ll wear a gas mask, eat a typical Soviet meal, learn the Soviet anthem, go through demanding interrogations and medical checks and get a congratulatory shot of vodka to calm your nerves when you reach the end of this fun-filled journey.
Ferrari World
If you’re an adrenaline junky with a need for speed, you want to get yourself to Ferrari World. A mesmerizing monument paying homage to the sexy Italian sports car, you will be converted into a speedy F1 racer here. From the heart racing 149 MPH roller coaster “Formula Rossa” to the 20 plus rides, shows and tours, you will not be disappointed. If the fastest roller coaster in the world, moving at up to 4.8g’s, might make you pass out, this may not be for you.
Bollywood Parks & Resorts
The world’s first theme park dedicated to all things Bollywood opened in 2016 in Dubai. Inspired by Bollywood blockbusters, Mumbai’s famous movie industry can be celebrated with 20 daily live shows plus 16 rides and cinematic attractions. In the Royal Plaza Zone, the Rajmahal Theatre is home to Broadway-style Bollywood musical Jaan-e-Jigar. The rides play out Bollywood movie scenes, such as the “Dabangg: Stunt Spectacular Show” which recreates a police chase in a spectacle complete with bullets and explosions. The park also has several restaurants offering great Indian cuisine including fine dining at Mughal-E-Azam, which offers royal Awadhi cuisine, a unique method of slow cooking known to bring out essence and flavors.
There are a lot of odd theme parks from around the world and a few in the good ‘ol USA as well.
Action Park, New Jersey
If you lived in New Jersey between 1978 and 1996 you probably have memories or even nightmares of the infamous Action Park. A theme park with a reputation that one would think only comes from movies.
Thanks to badly-designed and poorly-constructed rides, ambulances were a common sight at the park. In fact, Vernon Township, home of this dubious fun-land, had to buy more ambulances (AKA: “Action Park Express”) just to keep up with the park’s frequent calls for injuries (including six fatalities).
Perhaps the most notable thing about Action Park recently, though, is that the company that originally owned it and helped earn the park such a happy reputation recently repurchased the location and re-opened it under the same name. Any takers?
