We’ve seen parks of all types, locations, and architectural styles. Some parks, however, were just very weird. After a fun trip down memory lane we created this list of the 10 weirdest parks in the world. Enjoy!
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10. Yomiuriland – Inagi, Tokyo, Japan
Old meets new; sometimes that’s beautiful, sometimes that’s not. For Yomiuriland it’s simply a lot. The park has a lot of quirky characteristics – from a rapids ride themed to Nissan Instant Ramen Noodles to a Gerstlauer spinning coaster themed to a fashion show. Not weird enough? Try riding their looping coaster that was built for sit-down trains but now offers a stand-up train as well (the low clearances? Absolutely terrifying). The park is also home to a coaster that you can pedal like a bicycle to go faster, a hyper coaster with shoulder harnesses, and a kiddie coaster with a concrete infield filled with Christmas lights. On top of all that, Yomiuriland happens to be a rather well-maintained Japanese park with lots to offer the greater Tokyo metro.
9. Marineland Theme Park – Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Strange is the nicest way to describe this Canadian mess. Despite being one of the coolest coasters in the world, Dragon Mountain alone can’t save this park from scathing scrutiny. Marineland is too large – featuring roads instead of midways and requiring guests to climb steep hills in hopes to ride their S&S tower – and don’t get us started on their horrific history of animal neglect. The park is so largely devoid of development that you simply hope you’re wandering in the right direction towards a ride or attraction of some kind; we’re not even sure how they’re still open.
8. Ocean Park – Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, China
Ocean Park in Hong Kong is a massive park with the most stunning views of the ocean (hence the name). The park is divided in two halves, and travel between the two involve either a trip on a steampunk-themed funicular or a skyride across the side of the mountain – either option is awesome. What makes this park weird? It tries to explore all sorts of themes that simply don’t seem to fit, yet the park is oddly exciting and entertaining. World-class animal exhibits, awesome roller coasters, natural beauty and a whole lot of colors. They can’t quite seem to figure out what to do when it comes to aesthetic and we’re not mad about it, although some of the older areas could use a little TLC.
7. Fuji-Q Highland – Fujiyoshida, Yamanshi, Japan
Fuji-Q Highland (on a clear day) has an amazing view of Mt. Fuji, located in a picturesque valley just an hour or so away from Tokyo. The park is famous for massive coasters such as Eejanaika, Do–Dodonpa, Takabisha and Fujiyama, which together create one of the most impressive coaster lineups in the world. The park however, seems to solely rely on using white, grey, and black color schemes for these massive coasters, and though these coasters stand hundreds of feet tall, the park is actually tiny. Do–Dodonpa circumnavigates half the property, while Eejanaika stands right in the middle of the park. The other two massive coasters stick out beyond the public midways, with the overall time it takes to walk between the two furthest points is approximately 5 minutes. Even stranger? This modern park features free admission and a pay-per-ride system using facial recognition. Upon entering you enter a booth that will scan your face and link your ticket type. Then you queue for each attraction and go through another booth that scans your face to decide if you can ride. Super high-tech, but super strange.
6. HB World – Whuzhong, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
HB World was a phenomenal theme park themed to famous Chinese feature films by the Huayi Brothers. We were expecting a theme park like any other studios themed parks. The real difference? Sets were life-sized. This park has the most massive, most detailed, and best themed lands of any movie themed parks in the world. Statues standing hundreds of feet over the Die Renjie’s Heavenly Empire castle, gardens, cityscapes, etc. All the money seemed to have gone to all the theming and the incredibly impressive themed areas, but the rides themselves were almost an afterthought. The park’s Wing Coaster was awesome, but the flume ride? Poorly executed. There is a Transformers-sized dark ride with a completely virtually show building – just a meandering layout and some VR headsets! The park is home to some hokey shooter dark rides that ran like knock-off TrioTech installations. Nevertheless, we had a blast; just walking around this gorgeous park is all we needed to leave satisfied.