Amusement parks and theme parks didn’t start in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland. And contrary to popular belief, they didn’t even start back in the 1890s at Coney Island. Their history is long and winding, much more than people initially recognize.

So, how do we trace the history of amusement parks?

The history of amusement parks goes back almost a millennium and touches every aspect of society. Over the past few posts, I’ve covered the history of dark rides, flat rides and water rides, which all help tell the story of amusement parks.

History of Amusements Parks, Pleasure and Thrills: A Brief History of Amusement Parks
Print of Atlantic Amusement – Amazing, right?!   (courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Let’s jump into our time rover and learn about the history and evolution of theme parks.

Brief History of Amusement Parks Video

It’s fascinating to see how amusement parks evolved over the past thousand years.

The concept of an amusement park as we know it didn’t start until the parks of the late 1800s. But there were plenty of antecedents, like pleasure gardens, World’s Fairs, Exhibitions and more. Technology and social mores shaped how we spend our spare time, including societal and cultural events.

By the 1920s, there were over 2000 roller coasters in the United States with almost as many amusement parks. Natural and man-made disasters spelled the doom of the golden age of amusement parks.

There are also several big names in the amusement park industry, like Paul Boyton and his water chutes. Boyton, although not well known by today’s standards, made one of the largest contributions to the growth of the modern amusement park. And prices have been increasing ever since!

History of Amusements Parks, Pleasure and Thrills: A Brief History of Amusement Parks
Paul Boyton’s Shoot-the-Chutes Park in Chicago. Is this the first true amusement park ever?

Technology and media influenced the growth of amusement parks, as well as expendable income and an increase in leisure time. 


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History of Amusements Parks, Pleasure and Thrills: A Brief History of Amusement Parks
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Let’s Hear From You

As detailed in this brief post, amusement parks have a lot of history behind them. It’s hard to contain it all into a short little summary, but I tried my best to give a comprehensive overview without overwhelming the viewers. There were so many historic moments I had to leave out. Would you like to hear more?

What do you think are some of the most important moments in amusement park history? What in the Disney parks reminds you of the classic amusement parks of old? Let me know in the comments!

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George Taylor
George has been obsessed with Disney theme parks since the first time he saw a photo of the Haunted Mansion in the early 70s. He started writing about Disney in 2007 and has amassed one of the world's largest Disney-related libraries.