Amusement Parks

Amusement parks are certainly a big part of the entertainment industry. I use the term "amusement park" as a general term that includes traveling carnivals, stationary amusement parks, and theme parks as well.

Traveling carnivals are almost always a part of every state and county fair. They're even found at world fairs. There are "rides," food vendors, merchandise vendors, and oddities. There are games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and sometimes animal acts. What we call a traveling carnival today can actually trace its roots back to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

A stationary amusement park is more elaborate than a city park or playground. It usually provides attractions meant to attract adults, teenagers, and small children. Many large cities have stationary amusement parks. The offerings are very much like traveling carnivals. There are thrill rides, of course. There's the usual food, like hot dogs and cotton candy. There are games that test accuracy and strength. But unlike traveling carnivals, stationary amusement parks are, well, stationary. They stay in the same place. The buildings are permanent. Unlike theme parks, though, there is no central "theme" that the park is built around. It is simply a collection of unrelated rides and other entertainment.

Theme parks are one of the biggies in the amusement sector of the entertainment industry. Theme parks are stationary. They don't move from place to place like traveling carnivals, but unlike stationary amusement parks, theme parks are built around a central theme. The same rides and games are found but they are "themed."

Disney World and Disneyland are probably two of the best-known theme amusement parks. But Six Flags and Dollywood are also themed amusement parks, and there are many others.