AMUSEMENT PARKS are a combination of the frivolous and the fantastic – a world of escape from the pressures of life. They fascinate people of all ages through their total dedication to the pursuit of fun. The thrill of the rides is just part of the experience: the bright lights, the various sounds and the smell of the food stimulate all of our senses.
The static amusement park in Britain evolved from the travelling fairground at the end of the nineteenth century, following the introduction from the United States in the 1880s of the Switchback Railway, the first commercially produced rollercoaster. The concurrent huge growth in the popularity of the seaside holiday led to most amusement parks being established in coastal resorts, either in their own right (such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach), or as part of multi-entertainment centres (such as New Brighton Tower, or the Kursaal at Southend-on-Sea). The continued introduction of new rides, usually from the United States, led to a period of rapid growth for the parks through the Edwardian era and into the inter-war period. However, following a successful period just after the Second World War, their popularity declined in the 1960s and 1970s, when more people were taking foreign holidays and enjoying other leisure activities, such as watching television. Many of the parks were closed, but the arrival of a new generation of thrill rides led to the opening of inland ‘theme parks’, easily accessible by car, such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures. Such places, and also the long-established Blackpool Pleasure Beach (one of the few surviving seaside amusement parks), are among the most popular visitor attractions in the United Kingdom.
Most of the rides described in this book were placed in permanent amusement parks rather than travelling fairgrounds. Some rides were a feature of both, such as the dodgems and the Caterpillar, and a few of the more popular examples have been included. However, other features of the amusement park, such as the sideshows, amusement machines, miniature railways, special exhibitions and wall-of-death rides, are not described here. For many, the highlight of a visit to an amusement park is a ride on a rollercoaster, the origins of which can be traced back to ice slides and primitive wooden railways.
The Russian ice slides, as seen here at St Petersburg in 1884, were a forerunner of the rollercoaster.