The debate about how the amusement park started is one that has been discussed since before the days
of the great pyramids of Egypt. Okay, maybe not that long but it has been a long fought over debate.
Here is the story as told through the eyes of our websites founder and boss Paulie.
People work hard. Long ago before computers and cell phones
they worked even harder. I mean they had to dig their own pits for the outhouse and everything. That's not an easy job. You'd
be looking for a break too.
For as long as people have worked they needed recreation. They need a way to relax
and forget about the everyday. As far back as the early 1500's there is documented proof of outdoor recreations that
are the forefathers of todays modern amusement parks. These places were usually found on the outskirts of major cities in
Europe. At the time many of these cities were not very clean and people escaped to these areas which were known as Pleasure
Gardens.
These Pleasure Gardens featured ornate floral arrangements, shaded walkpaths and
sometimes performers and travelling minstrels.
One of these parks still exists today. Dyrehavsbakken, now known as Dyrehaven,
as been a favorite area for the people of Copenhagen Denmark since 1583. It is believed to be the world's oldest operating
amusement park.
It was in America, many years later, that the Pleasure Garden would explode
into the Exposition Parks, Amusement Resorts, Amusement Parks and Theme Parks we know today. The evolution was grand in scale
and happened very quickly.
Click the links below to read about certain eras
of the amusement parks evolution.
