Entertainment in everyday life

Vol. 25, Issue 19, 17 March 2023

Amusement parks or so-called attractions are designed to entertain people, mainly adults, teenagers, and children. All entertainment is usually located on the same territory.

Sometimes there are theme parks, that is, amusement parks, attractions, the environment, the staff of which are stylized for a certain theme, for example, the Wild West or Pirate Island. In 1583, Bakken Park was built in Denmark. This event is considered the beginning of the history of stationary amusement parks. According to legend, one girl, walking in the Royal Deer Park in the north of Copenhagen, noticed a spring gushing from the ground. After taking some water, she brought it home. The water of the spring was considered curative. Thousands of people came here. The Danes rested next to the spring, enjoying the silence and coolness. Artists began to play street performances here for the amusement of the public. They began to build booths. Inns appeared. Then primitive rides followed. Bakken Park continues to work without interruption to this day. Amusement parks with water games (comic fountains) have become widespread. An ingenious solution of engineering thought was suddenly gushing jets of water.

Also, carousels with horses have become very popular. The carousel with horses became the first mobile attraction that could be easily disassembled and transported on carts. Among the most famous are Disneyland Paris built in 1992 and the amusement park in Seoul (Korea) “Lot World”. The latter is listed in the Guinness Book as the world’s largest closed park (with a total area of more than 7560 hectares).

An amusement park located in Finland in the city of Helsinki. The park was opened on May 27, 1950, and belongs to the non-profit organization Lasten Päivän Säätiö. There are 43 different attractions on the territory of Linnanmaki Park, designed for different ages and heights. There are other entertainment and services in the park, such as games and slot machines, restaurants, kiosks, shops, and an outdoor stage. In the summer, popular performers perform on the outdoor stage. Holidays in Finland are suitable for both adults and children. In winter, you can stay in any of the 75 ski resorts of Santa Claus’ homeland. In summer, there are more places for entertainment: theme parks, attractions, and water parks. Amusement parks in Finland are very popular. If we compare them with the parks of other European countries, the Finns will surprise by the high service and reasonable payment.

Finland is nature everywhere, so the Finnish park is not created artificially. Entertainment complexes in nature are created against the background of century-old trees. Many will be surprised, but Finns have their own Disneyland. Naantali is a Finnish Disneyland with a Moomin Park.

Naantali is one of the oldest Finnish cities. Fans of Tove Jansson and her stories about moomins should visit it. Here is the legendary “Moomin Park” Muumimaailma, a kind of Disneyland in Finnish.

Adults will also have a place to spend time in Naantali because it is here that the largest spa hotel in Scandinavia, Naantali Spa Hotel & Resort.

Interesting facts about amusement parks:

• Tokyo Disneyland had the highest attendance at the end of the XX century. In the last decade, 179.11 million people have visited the park. This is half the total population of Japan and exceeds the figures of any other park in the world.

• In the city of Sandusky (USA) there is an amusement park “Cedar Point”, which has the largest number of rides for skiing (77). The park has been operating since 1870 and is considered one of the oldest in the world. There are 17 roller coasters here, which is also more than in any other park in the world. The highest slide — “Top Thrill Dragster” — was built in 2003 and exceeds the Statue of Liberty.

• Every autumn, the world’s largest temporary amusement park is built in Munich (Germany), especially for the annual Oktoberfest festival. This is a huge complex, on the territory of which there are about 50 different attractions. The attraction of such temporary parks is an incredibly steep “Roller coaster”. For example, the Olympia Looping Ban, developed by the famous German designer Anton Schwarzkopf, has as many as five sharp turns.

• The first Chinese Disneyland was built in Hong Kong (Hong Kong). It was opened on September 12, 2005, and was completely created according to the laws of Feng Shui. This is the smallest of Disney parks. Its area is only 126 hectares, and the park serves 5 thousand employees. May 17, 2013 — the opening date of the last attraction “Mystical Estate”.

•The oldest “Roller coaster” is called “Lip-Ze-Dips”. It is located in Lakemont Park, in the American city of Altoona. The slide was built in 1902 by the Edward Joy Maurice Company. A complete reconstruction was carried out from 1985 to 1999. It is noteworthy that the wooden “Roller coaster” and “Scenic Railway” in the “Luna Park” of Melbourne, St. Kilda district (Australia) have been operating without reconstruction since 1912 to the present day. The project was created by La Marcus Adna Thompson, who is considered the creator of modern roller coasters.

•The Dubai Eye in Dubai, UAE is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world with a height of 250 m (diameter of 210 m), opening to visitors at the end of 2020.

Amusement parks are big business today. However, it happens that the queues for some attractions stretch up to eight hours, even though the average travel time on the slide is only about two minutes.

The pleasure of roller coasters is associated with the search for thrills – the tendency to get pleasure from different, new and strong physical sensations, such as mountaineering or skydiving.

Perhaps the attraction of attractions is the feeling of fear, as when watching a horror movie. Such physical signs of fear as rapid heartbeat, breathing, and a surge of energy caused by the release of glucose are known as the “fight or flight reaction”.

People like to ride rides due to a combination of speed, fear mastery, and positive effects associated with a physiological surge of emotions. A roller coaster ride is a legitimate, usually safe, and relatively inexpensive way to experience natural euphoria. Naturally, people are happy to pay money in exchange for this entertainment for many years.