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Best Theme Parks in the World

1. Cedar Park
   Also voted as the best amusement park in the world by Amusement Today, Cedar Park is a dream theme park in Ohio. With the biggest collection of rollercoasters, this park is currently home to more rides and roller coasters than any other park in the world. Also featuring some of the tallest and the fastest machines around, this thrill seekers paradise also has a water park, an entertainment complex, award-winning live shows and much more.

2. Island of Adventure
   Prepare to set your heart racing and your pulse beating in overdrive at this thrilling amusement park. Ride with your loved ones through five astonishing islands, where all of your favorite legends, cartoon characters and childhood heroes come to life.

3. Walt Disney World
   Located in Orlando, Walt Disney World is also the world’s biggest theme park. Covering an area approximately equal to one fifth of Singapore’s area, it hosts four big theme parks, three aquatic paradises and 32 vacation hotels, plus 784 camping sites.

4. Europa Park
   Second only to EuroDisney in terms of size, Europa Park is split into 14 different areas named after specific places in Europe. Over 100 rides and the biggest rollercoaster in Europe welcome you to this fabulous park.

5. Everland
   Located in the suburbs of South Korea this is the only comprehensive amusement park in the whole world. Over 40 facilities with a nature wild zoo make it a must stopover for all amusement park lovers. Blooming flowers such as tulips, roses, lilies and chrysanthemums welcome you into this park.

6. Blackpool Pleasure Beach
   Lying to the northeast of England and famous for its beautiful long beaches, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is famous the world over for one of a kind experiences. Rare and unique rides such as the Grand National, the wooden Wild Mouse, Noah’s Ark, Turtle Chase and Europe’s only full size Whip are some of the many amazing things that you will be tempted to try here.

7. Six Flags Magic Mountain
   Named aptly after magic, this magical theme park is full of rides, built on top of a mountain. Also home to a magnificent water park, Magic Mountain is a thrill seekers paradise.

8. Tivoli Gardens
   At the heart of Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, this park occupies an area of 20 acres, and is the Danish famous amusement park with the name of “city of the fairy tale”. Equipped with more than 20 exploration routes with different thrilling degrees, the park also has a flying line to let the tourists browse the fairy tale story that exists in the Anderson fairy tale story.

9. Port Aventura
   Divided in five distinct lands, this park includes many transportation rides, a tropical paradise, shows, beautiful landscaping and one of the most impressively themed Wild West towns!

10. EuroDisney
    Located in one the world’s most romantic city, Paris, Disneyland is spread over an area of 5000 acres. This Disneyland boasts one of the world famous big steamboats as well as a Grand Canyon replica.

Universal Studios Theme Parks Around the World

Universal Studios is also referred to as Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios, which is a subsidiary of NBC Universal, one one of the major film studios in America. They are located in Universal City, California. Universal studios is the second longest-lived studio in Hollywood. Universal Studios operates a number of theme parks based on movies it has produced. The original, Universal Studios at Hollywood, was started by running tours of the soundstages and back lots, while filming was underway. Universal Studios used to own the PortAventura theme park in Salou, Spain till 2004.

Universal Studios theme parks currently open or under construction are:

1. Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood is the original Universal Studios theme park, created initially to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets. The attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood are split into two areas on different levels, connected by a series of escalators. The upper lot of the studio has Universal’s Animal Actors, Fear Factor Live, Shrek 4-D, 3-D: Battle Across Time, Waterworld-a live sea war spectacular, Jaws, King Kong, Nickelodeon Blast Zone, and Back to the Future. The Simpsons Ride will replace Back to the Future in 2008. The other attractions are Blues Brothers R&B Revue, Universal’s House of Horrors, Monster Skate Park. The Lower section of the studio offers special stage effects, Revenge of the Mummy, The Ride, Jurassic Park and Backdraft.

2. Universal Orlando Resort

The Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is a joint partnership between NBC Universal and the Blackstone Group. The resort consists of two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure), Universal CityWalk (a night-time entertainment destination), and three Loews hotels. In early 2007, Universal began considering the Wet ‘n Wild park in Orlando, which it purchased in 1998, part of Universal Orlando Resort. Its newest expansion plan also consists of a new Blue Man Group show in Citywalk for the year 2007, The Simpsons Ride to Universal Studios Florida for 2008 ,and The wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure for 2009.

3. Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan is in Osaka, Japan. The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, containing many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as South Korea, China, and Taiwan. In 2005, Goldman Sachs became the largest shareholder of Universal Studios Japan. Universal still has a small minority stake in the park. The main attractions are in 8 areas of the park.

They are:

1. Happy Harmony Celebration – Dream of Friends

2. The Amazing Adventure of Spider Man – The Ride

3. Terminator 2: 3 D

4. Hollywood Dream the Ride

5. Shrek’s 4-D Adventure

6. Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic

7. Universal Monsters Live Rock And Roll Show

8. Animation Celebration

4. Universal Studios Singapore

Universal Studios Singapore to be completed by 2010 is an under construction new Universal theme park which is located within the Resorts World at Sentosa Integrated Resort in Sentosa, Singapore. There will be 22 rides in the park and at least 16 of them will either be original or specifically designed for this new park. The park is reported to be a “one-of-its-kind theme park in Asia” as Universal Studios has promised that this will be the only park it would have in Southeast Asia for the next 30 years. Its physical design will be larger than Universal Studios Hollywood with further room for expansion. The total number of attractions in the park will also be more than Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It will, however, be smaller in terms of both size and number of rides than Universal Studios Florida. It is also estimated that the new park will draw more than five million visitors annually. The park will include 6 themed areas that encircle a lagoon and feature iconic blockbuster locations, as well as new rides based on movies such as Madagascar, King Kong, Revenge of the Mummy, and Waterworld. There will also be live entertainment shows and educational features where visitors can learn more about computer generated animation and the art of making hit movies.

5. Universal Studios Dubai

Universal Studios Dubai is a proposed Universal theme park located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, expected to be completed and open to the public by 2010. It is to be located within Dubailand which is an entertainment mega-complex. The project is a joint venture costing over $2.2 billion USD, with Dubai-based Tatweer. The park is expected to attract 5 million visitors annually when completed. This Universal Studios theme park is expected to cover 20 million square feet. It will be part of the larger theme park multinational development of Dubailand which is speculated to be 3 billion square feet. The development will feature at least 4000 units of accommodation and 100 restaurants and retail outlets. The theme park will feature attractions based on the films of King Kong, The Mummy, Jurassic Park, and Beetlejuice.

6. Universal Studios Korea

Universal Studios Korea has just been chosen and there is no news when its construction is to begin and when it will be completed.