Roller coasters are designed to offer high-speed thrills, with riders thundering around wooden and steel circuits at a lightning-fast pace. Perhaps that’s why they hold such fascination for many people when they are abandoned, left to rot and rust away in silence.
At any one time, there are dozens of roller coasters “standing but not operating” at amusement parks all over the world, in various states of disrepair. Some are ultimately rescued, being dismantled and moved to new homes. Others are simply left in place, gradually falling to pieces in a process that can take decades.
Here are 25 stunning images of abandoned roller coasters taken by intrepid photographers all across the globe.
25. Cyclone (Williams Grove Amusement Park, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania)
Within two years of the Williams family hosting its first picnic in a small grove close to Mechanicsburg in 1950, a fairground had taken root on the site. It was destroyed by Hurricane Agnes in 1972 but reopened and operated until the end of the 2005 season. The Cyclone was built in 1993 and operated until the park closed.
24. Aska (Nara Dreamland, Nara, Japan)
Opened in 1961, Nara Dreamland was a blatant rip-off of Disneyland, complete with its own versions of Main Street, U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Matterhorn and the Skyway. Among its better-known rides was Aska, an Intamin-built wooden coaster modelled on Coney Island’s famous Cyclone.
23. Screw Coaster (Nara Dreamland, Nara, Japan)
Another of Nara Dreamland’s lost roller coasters is Screw Coaster, a double corkscrew design built by the now-defunct Arrow Development.
22. Big Dipper (Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio)
Chippewa Lake Park operated for a century, closing in 1978. Demolition was started in 2009, however some rides remain standing even today. The wooden Big Dipper was the headline roller coaster at the park, and was built in 1924-25. After its closure, the surrounding woodland gradually started to reclaim it.
21. Little Dipper (Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio)
Like the Big Dipper, the junior version remained in place at Chippewa Lake Park for years. The self-contained steel ride featured a host of tight turns, but rusted away into oblivion.
20. Wild Mouse (Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio)
The final abandoned roller coaster at Chippewa Lake Park was the Wild Mouse, which packed a host of tight twists and turns into a compact circuit.
19. Zippin Pippin (Libertyland, Memphis)
Constructed in 1912, Zippin Pippin is one of the old wooden coasters in the US. Reputedly, it was also Elvis Presley’s favorite coaster. It stood abandoned for four years after the closure of Libertyand, but has since been rescued and installed at the Bay Beach Amusement Park.
18. Unknown coaster (Greenland, Limbiate, Italy)
Italian park Greenland was opened in the 1960s, but suffered a gradual decline and was closed by a judicial order in 2002.
17. Unknown coaster (near Sofia, Bulgaria)
On a mountainside near Sofia in Bulgaria sits this sad little coaster, with no one around to ride it.
16. Muskrat Scramber (Six Flags New Orleans)
Abandoned by Six Flags following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Six Flags New Orleans stands as a testament to the destructive power of nature. The wild mouse-style Muskrat Scrambler was left in place while other rides were removed and sold on.
15. Mega Zeph (Six Flags New Orleans)
The once-mighty wooden coaster Mega Zeph still stands at Six Flags New Orleans. It only operated for half-a-decade, opening in May 2000 before closing following 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
14. Jester (Six Flags New Orleans)
Vekoma’s steel creation Jester only opened at Six Flags New Orleans in 2003. It was not one of the rides that was recovered after Hurricane Katrina, instead being left to rust away.
13. Zydeco Scream (Six Flags New Orleans)
Vekoma’s Boomerang coasters are found all over the world, and one of them is rotting away in the remains of Six Flags New Orleans.
12. Spreeblitz (Spreepark, Berlin, Germany)
Former communist-era amusement park Spreepark was declared insolvent in 2001. Spreeblitz still stands as a ghostly reminder of its once fun-filled past.
11. Unknown coaster (Okpo Land, South Korea)
After a series of fatal accidents (including one in which a young girl fell from a ride), Okpo Land shut its gates in May 1999. The remnants were finally demolished in 2011, but not before a few intrepid explorers captured some photographs.
10. Batman The Escape (Darien Lake, New York)
When Six Flags Astroworld shut down in 2005, Intamin stand-up coaster Batman The Escape was moved to Darien Lake. Six Flags has since sold the park, and the ride remains in storage. Judging from this photo, it won’t be reassembled any time soon.
9. Delphis (Festivalgate, Osaka, Japan)
Opened in 1997, the Festivalgate amusement park sat just next to the Shin-Imamiya Station. Although Osaka city invested in it, the private company that ran it went bankrupt in 2004. The park was finally demolished in 2012.
8. Thunderbolt (Coney Island, New York)
Located on New York’s famous Coney Island seafront, Thunderbolt operated from 1925 until 1982. It then stood abandoned for 18 years, before finally being demolished in 2000. In 2014, a new steel roller coaster with the same name will open at Coney Island’s Luna Park.
7. Over Water Roller Coaster (Honey Lake Entertainment City, Shenzhen, China)
Honey Lake Entertainment City was once the dominant amusement park in Shenzhen, but after being cut in half by a new dual carriageway and facing competition from a second park, it closed in 2011. Its headline ride was the appropriately-named Over Water Roller Coaster, which had been standing but not operating since 2007.
6. Unknown coaster (Hydropark, Kiev, Ukraine)
Hydropark was built during the Soviet era to entertain the masses, but its amusement park rides largely fell into disrepair in the 1980s (other elements live on).
5. Ozark Wildcat (Celebration City, Branson, Missouri)
Celebration City was conceived as a “night-time theme park” to complement Silver Dollar City. Themed around America in the early 20th century, it opened the $4 million wooden coaster Ozark Wildcat in 2003. When the park underperformed and was closed in 2008, the trains were sold on – but the ride still stands.
4. Dragon Flyer (Camelot, UK)
After several years of financial struggles and question marks over its long-term future, the Camelot Theme Park in Lancashire, England finally confirmed that it would close for good at the end of the 2012 season. While some rides were sold on, many were left in place – including the powered Dragon Flyer roller coaster.
3. Knightmare (Camelot, UK)
A Schwarzkopf/Zierer, Knightmare was once one of Camelot’s most popular rides. Relocated from Japan at a cost of £3 million, it now stands rusting and abandoned.
2. Scenic Railway (Dreamland Margate, UK)
Rides first appeared on the Dreamland site in Margate as far back as 1880, but it really took off when the Scenic Railway roller coaster was installed in 1920. It became a fixture in the seaside town, but like many seafront amusement parks it fell into decline and was shuttered in 2006. The famous Scenic Railway was partially destroyed in an arson attack in April 2008.
Fortunately, this is one abandoned coaster that is set to be saved. Dreamland will be converted into a heritage amusement park populated by historical attractions.
1. The Comet (Lincoln Park, Massachusetts)
This stunning image captures the remains of The Comet, a twister-layout wooden roller coaster that was the main attraction at the defunct Lincoln Park until 1987. Storms, water damage and other factors led to large parts of the coaster collapsing over the years.
