Top 17 'Laughter-Haunted' Abandoned Amusement Parks to visit for Eerily Beautiful Decay Photography in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
There's a unique silence that hangs over a dead amusement park. It's a silence thick with the ghosts of laughter, the phantom screams of thrill-seekers, and the tinny, cheerful music that once poured from every corner. Where joy once reigned, nature now stages a slow, beautiful coup. Rust bleeds down the faces of cartoon characters, vines strangle the skeletons of roller coasters, and moss carpets the pathways where thousands of feet once hurried towards the next adventure.
For photographers, these "laughter-haunted" spaces are more than just ruins; they are canvases of surreal beauty. They offer a powerful narrative of time, memory, and the inevitable triumph of the wild. Capturing this eerie elegance—the poetry of decay—is a unique challenge that blends landscape, architectural, and documentary photography into one compelling genre. It’s about finding the beauty in the breakdown, the story in the stillness.
So, for 2025, charge your batteries, pack your wide-angle lens, and prepare for a journey into the world of beautiful desolation. We’ve curated a list of the top 17 abandoned amusement parks around the globe that offer the most stunning opportunities for decay photography. Each one tells a different story, a unique ballad of glory and ruin.
1. Pripyat Amusement Park, Ukraine
Let’s start with the undisputed king of abandoned parks. Located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Pripyat Amusement Park was scheduled to open on May 1, 1986. The Chernobyl disaster happened just five days earlier, on April 26th. The park opened for only a few hours on the 27th to distract residents before the city’s evacuation was announced. Its rides were never truly enjoyed.
Today, its iconic Ferris wheel stands as a silent, radioactive sentinel against the grey Ukrainian sky—perhaps the single most famous symbol of the Chernobyl catastrophe. The bumper cars sit huddled together, decaying in their pavilion, and the swings remain frozen in mid-air. The atmosphere here is heavy, not just with radiation, but with the weight of a city erased in a day.
Photography Tip: Access is only possible through a licensed guide. Use this to your advantage. Focus your lens on the small details: a doll left on a ride, peeling paint on the Ferris wheel cabins, the texture of rust against concrete. The grandeur is obvious, but the tragedy is in the details. A polarizing filter can help cut through the glare and deepen the somber colors of the sky.
2. Six Flags Jazzland / New Orleans, USA
Submerged by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Six Flags New Orleans is a haunting memorial to the storm's devastating power. The park has been left to rot for nearly two decades, creating a post-apocalyptic landscape of twisted steel and water-logged structures. It’s a vast, eerie playground where nature has completely taken over.
The most iconic shot is the skeletal remains of the "Mega Zeph" roller coaster, its tracks dipping into murky swamp water. The graffiti-covered SpongeBob SquarePants statue, with its perpetually vacant smile, offers a surreal and deeply unsettling subject. The entire park is a masterclass in textures: rust, mold, peeling paint, and encroaching vegetation.
Photography Tip: Security is present, and trespassers are prosecuted, so seek legal means of entry if possible (film crews sometimes get permission). If shooting from the perimeter, a long telephoto lens is your best friend. Focus on compressing the layers of decay, using the twisted roller coaster tracks to frame the ruined midway in the background.
3. Spreepark, Germany
Once the only amusement park in East Berlin, Spreepark is a Cold War relic with a bizarre history involving bankrupt owners and smuggled cocaine. Left abandoned in 2002, it became a legendary urbex destination. Its giant Ferris wheel, peeking through the trees of the Plänterwald forest, became a symbol of Berlin's alternative culture.
The park's most photogenic residents were the giant, fallen dinosaur statues, slowly being consumed by the forest floor. While the park is now undergoing a slow, phased reopening as a public art and culture space, many of the old, decaying structures are being preserved and integrated. This makes 2025 a unique time to visit, capturing the intersection of managed decay and careful rebirth.
Photography Tip: Check the official "Spreepark Art Space" website for tour information. This will grant you legal access to capture the remaining relics. Focus on the contrast between the old, decaying rides and the new, intentional art installations. It’s a story of transformation.
4. Nara Dreamland, Japan (A Ghost of a Memory)
We include Nara Dreamland as a cautionary tale. For years, this sprawling, unauthorized replica of Disneyland was the holy grail for urban explorers in Japan. Its pastel-colored castle, overgrown roller coasters, and silent teacups were breathtakingly photogenic. It was a perfect, eerie mirror of the "Happiest Place on Earth."
However, Nara Dreamland was completely demolished between 2016 and 2017. Its absence serves as a powerful reminder for decay photographers: these places are ephemeral. They are not permanent monuments. They exist in a fragile state between their past life and their final erasure from the landscape.
Photography Tip: The lesson of Nara Dreamland is simple: go now. If a location is on your bucket list, don’t wait. The forces of redevelopment, safety concerns, or demolition are always looming. Document these places while you still can, as your photographs may one day be the only record that they ever existed.
5. Gulliver's Kingdom, Japan
If you're looking for the surreal, look no further. Built in the shadow of Mount Fuji, this Lilliputian-themed park was a commercial failure, closing in 2001. Its centerpiece and primary photographic subject was a gigantic, 147-foot-long statue of a prone Lemuel Gulliver, tied to the ground by the tiny Lilliputians.
The sight of this colossal, decaying giant being slowly reclaimed by nature was profoundly unsettling and visually stunning. The peeling paint on his face and the weeds growing around his body created a scene straight out of a dark fairytale. Sadly, like Nara Dreamland, the iconic statue was demolished.
Photography Tip: While the main attraction is gone, the story highlights the unique photographic potential of theme parks in Japan. Research other abandoned sites (known as "haikyo") like the equally creepy and remote Takakanonuma Greenland, where fog and overgrowth create an otherworldly atmosphere.
6. Wonderland Amusement Park, China
Just 20 miles outside Beijing lies the ghost of a fairytale castle. Wonderland was designed to be Asia's largest amusement park, a rival to Disney. Construction halted in 1998 due to financial problems, leaving a collection of half-finished, skeletal structures in the middle of vast cornfields.
For years, photographers and explorers could wander through the framework of the medieval-themed castle and other buildings. It was a bizarre juxtaposition of grand ambition and total failure, with local farmers tending their crops in the shadow of the abandoned fortress. While much of it has since been demolished to make way for a shopping mall, some ruins may still be accessible at the perimeter.
Photography Tip: Focus on the scale. Use a human element (if you have a model or fellow explorer) to show the immense size of the abandoned structures. The contrast between the decaying, would-be fantasy world and the surrounding rural landscape is the core of the story here.
7. Heritage USA, USA
This park has one of the most unique backstories. Located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, it was a Christian-themed park founded by televangelist Jim Bakker. After a series of scandals and financial implosions, the park closed in 1989.
What remains is pure photographic gold: the ruins of a massive, European-style castle. The empty window frames look like hollow eyes, and the crumbling turrets create a dramatic silhouette against the sky. It feels less like an abandoned park and more like the genuine ruins of a forgotten kingdom.
Photography Tip: The castle ruins are the main event. Visit during the "golden hour" (just after sunrise or before sunset) when the low, warm light will pour through the empty windows and illuminate the textures of the crumbling stone. This will add a dramatic, almost painterly quality to your shots.
8. Mimaland, Malaysia
As a photographer with roots in Southeast Asia, I, Goh Ling Yong, have always been fascinated by how the tropical climate accelerates the process of decay. Mimaland, Malaysia's first theme park, is a prime example. Closed since 1994 after a series of tragic accidents, the jungle has reclaimed it with breathtaking ferocity.
Giant water slides are now green arteries running through the forest, and the dinosaur statues in its prehistoric-themed area are covered in moss and vines, making them look terrifyingly alive. The humidity creates a permanent, hazy mist, lending a primordial, "Jurassic Park"-esque atmosphere to the entire location.
Photography Tip: A polarizing filter is essential here to cut through the glare on wet leaves and deepen the greens. Be prepared for the environment: bring insect repellent, watch out for snakes, and protect your gear from the intense humidity. Focus on capturing the sheer power of the jungle's embrace.
9. Okpo Land, South Korea
This park's story is genuinely chilling. Located on Geoje Island, Okpo Land was shut down in 1999 after a series of fatal accidents, including one where a young girl fell to her death from the duck-themed roller coaster. The owner vanished overnight, and the park was left exactly as it was.
The most famous image from Okpo Land was the single, suspended duck-themed ride car, dangling precariously from the tracks where the accident happened. The whole park had an aura of profound sadness and neglect. Though it was demolished in 2011, its legend lives on in photos that captured its tragic stillness.
Photography Tip: When photographing a location with a tragic history, be respectful. Your goal is not to be sensational, but to tell the story of the place with sensitivity. Use composition to convey emotion—a low angle to make a ride feel imposing and menacing, or a tight shot on a peeling, cartoon face to highlight the faded joy.
10. Chippewa Lake Park, USA
For a slice of classic, decaying Americana, Chippewa Lake Park in Ohio is a must-see. Operating for a century from 1878 to 1978, it has been left to the elements for over four decades. Nature has had ample time to work its magic here.
The park’s wooden roller coaster, the "Big Dipper," is slowly being consumed by a forest that has grown up through its very structure. The Ferris wheel seats are tangled in branches, and the ballroom is a collapsing shell. It’s a soft, quiet kind of decay, more melancholic than menacing.
Photography Tip: The beauty here is in the fusion of wood and nature. Use a tripod and a slightly longer exposure to capture the details in the shadowy, overgrown areas. Focus on compositions where trees are visibly growing through the rides, as this perfectly illustrates the park's story.
11. Dadipark, Belgium
Opened in the 1950s as a simple playground, Dadipark in Dadizele evolved into a modest amusement park. After a boy lost his arm on a ride in 2000, the park closed for renovations but never reopened. It sat in a state of suspended animation for over a decade before being demolished in 2012.
Its most recognizable feature was a long, winding yellow slide that snaked down from a crumbling watchtower. The graffiti that eventually covered every surface added a vibrant, chaotic layer to the decay, making it a favorite for European urbex photographers.
Photography Tip: Like Nara and Okpo, Dadipark is a ghost. Use its story to inspire you to explore smaller, local abandoned places. Not every photogenic ruin is a massive theme park. Sometimes a forgotten playground or a single abandoned carnival ride can tell an equally powerful story.
12. Joyland Amusement Park, USA
Located in Wichita, Kansas, Joyland operated for over 50 years before closing its gates in 2006. It’s a time capsule of mid-century American entertainment, now peeling and fading in the harsh Kansas sun.
The park is famous for its creepy, smiling clown mascot, "Louie the Clown," who once played a Wurlitzer organ, and its wooden roller coaster, which has been the subject of numerous arson attacks. The mix of nostalgic charm and genuine creepiness makes Joyland a compelling subject.
Photography Tip: The light on the Great Plains can be harsh. Plan your shoot for early morning or late afternoon to get softer, more angular light that will bring out the texture of the peeling paint and cracked wood. The contrast between cheerful subject matter (clowns, coasters) and its decayed state is your primary storytelling tool.
13. Camelot Theme Park, UK
What could be more photogenic than an abandoned theme park based on Arthurian legend? Located in Lancashire, England, Camelot closed in 2012, leaving its castles and medieval-themed rides to the mercy of the British weather.
The massive roller coaster, "Knightmare," looming over the park entrance, provides a dramatic silhouette. The fake castle walls, crumbling and covered in graffiti, offer a surreal backdrop. It's a fantasy world that has become a genuine ruin, a modern-day Camelot lost to time.
Photography Tip: The often overcast, moody British weather is perfect for this location. The soft, diffused light will prevent harsh shadows and create a somber atmosphere that perfectly suits the theme. Focus on the anachronism: modern graffiti on medieval-style walls, a rusting roller coaster over a fake moat.
14. Dogpatch USA, USA
This Arkansas park was based on the satirical comic strip "Li'l Abner." After it closed in 1993, its rustic, hillbilly-themed buildings were left to rot in the Ozark Mountains, creating a uniquely American scene of decay.
The park is filled with tilting wooden structures, rusting antique cars, and faded signs promising "good clean fun." It's less about thrilling rides and more about a lost, kitschy vision of Americana being swallowed by the Ozark forest.
Photography Tip: Pay attention to the details that tell the story of the park's theme. Capture the hand-painted signs, the rustic architecture, and any remaining props. Use a macro lens to get close-ups of peeling paint and rusting metal, contrasting the man-made decay with the vibrant nature around it.
15. Parque de Atracciones de Artxanda, Spain
Perched on a hillside overlooking Bilbao, this park offers not only decaying rides but also spectacular views. It closed in the 1990s due to declining attendance, and its remote location has preserved it in a state of arrested decay.
The main attractions for photographers are the rusted roller coaster tracks snaking along the hillside and the empty log flume ride, now a channel for rainwater and leaves. The combination of industrial decay and the beautiful Basque landscape is stunning.
Photography Tip: Use a wide-angle lens to capture the context of the park's location. A shot of a rusting ride with the city of Bilbao or the rolling green hills in the background tells a much richer story than a simple close-up.
16. Umoja Children's Park, Zanzibar
This park tells a very different, more poignant story. Built in the late 1970s with East German funding on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, it was meant to be a symbol of socialist progress. It fell into disrepair and now lies in ruins.
The rides here are simple, almost naive: faded cartoon-animal swings, a crumbling miniature train track, and a rusted climbing frame. It's not a story of corporate failure, but of a forgotten dream. The tropical setting adds a layer of vibrant, aggressive decay.
Photography Tip: Your approach here should be one of sensitivity. This isn't just "creepy" decay; it's the ruin of a place built for children in a community with few resources. Focus on the quiet, melancholic details—a single rusted swing, a faded mural—to tell a story of lost hope and forgotten promises.
17. Takakanonuma Greenland, Japan
We end with a legend. Shrouded in fog and mystery, Takakanonuma Greenland is a holy grail for haikyo explorers. It had a short, troubled life, opening and closing several times before being abandoned for good in 1999. Its remote, forested location makes it incredibly difficult to find.
Those who make the journey are rewarded with one of the most atmospheric abandoned parks on Earth. The rides are almost completely hidden by dense vegetation and are often blanketed in a thick, silent fog. The park's intense isolation and the oppressive silence create an atmosphere that is genuinely terrifying and breathtakingly beautiful.
Photography Tip: If you can find it and access it safely, the fog is your greatest asset. Use it to create a sense of mystery and to isolate your subjects. A single roller coaster support beam emerging from the mist is far more powerful than a clear shot of the whole ride. This is a place for atmospheric, moody photography.
The End of the Ride
These parks, scattered across the globe, are more than just collections of rusting metal. They are theaters of memory, monuments to forgotten fun, and powerful symbols of the relentless march of time. Photographing them is an act of preservation, capturing their final, haunting chapter before they are ultimately erased. Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that finding beauty in these unexpected places is one of the most rewarding journeys a photographer can take.
Remember to always prioritize safety and respect the law. These are often dangerous places. But for those who tread carefully, they offer a chance to capture something truly unique: the eerily beautiful echo of a bygone laugh.
Now, I want to hear from you. Which of these laughter-haunted parks is at the top of your 2025 photography bucket list? Have you explored an incredible abandoned park that we missed? Share your stories, locations, and tips in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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