Searching for thrills on your vacation? Forget lounging on the beach or strolling quaint cobblestone streets … you need something a little more exciting. Something full of twists and turns, dips and drops, and plenty of fried foods. You need to find a theme park! Luckily, there are theme parks worth visiting all around the world. Here, we’ve rounded up our four favorites:
Tivoli Gardens
This amusement park and “pleasure garden” has delighted Dens and tourists alike since 1843. In fact, one of the park’s most famous repeat visitors was Hans Christian Andersen, the author of beloved fairy tales like “The Princess and the Pea”! Another famous creative mind — Walt Disney — also took inspiration from Tivoli. For a thrill ride straight from the past, hop on the wooden roller coaster, which first took visitors on a topsy-turvy ride in 1914. But Tivoli has modern thrills too! “The Demon,” for example, is a roller coaster with a virtual reality component — riders feel like they’re dodging fire-breathing dragons and fireworks.
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Calling all coaster junkies! Make your way to Santa Clara, California, to experience the coaster capital of the U.S. At Six Flags Magic Mountain, you can dip, loop, and speed through nineteen different roller coasters! This theme park has the most roller coasters of any park in the U.S. — and even the world. One coaster you can’t miss? The Green Lantern. This all vertical coaster flips you 360 degrees. Just don’t eat lunch right before you ride …
Bakken
Yes, another Denmark park has made the list. Bakken is the oldest theme park in the world; its doors first opened in 1583. That means this park is older than the United States itself! In addition to traditional park rides like bumper cars and flume logs, the park boasts six different roller coasters. For serious park enthusiasts, consider combining trips to Tivoli Gardens and Bakken during one thrill-seeking Danish vacation. Bakken is just 10 km outside Copenhagen, which is where Tivoli Gardens is located.
This attraction in Darwin, Australia, isn’t like a typical theme park. Instead of getting thrills from roller coasters, you get thrills from crocs! In the “Cage of Death,” brave souls climb into a cage that’s then lowered into a tank full of 20-feet-long crocodiles! To up the ante, staff throws food into the tank so the crocs will swarm and feed all around you. This is the only way to spend 15 minutes face-to-face with some of the world’s fiercest, most fascinating creatures — without risking life and limb!