A California amusement park is a type of park that offers more elaborate activities than the average city park or playground, which might cater to adults, teenagers, small children or general audiences. A California theme park is a more specialized type of amusement park that will typically feature a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions put together in a theme for the purpose of entertaining a large group of people. These are also both great reasons to take an extended vacation to the Golden State.



California amusement parks follow a long tradition that started in Europe with the various fairs and pleasure gardens that were created for people's recreation. The first amusement park, which opened in 1583, is Bakken in Klampenborg, Denmark. In the United States, world fairs and expositions were the first amusement parks. One such California amusement park was created for the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego's Balboa Park from 1910 to 1916 to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. Many of the structures created for the exposition are still available for the public's amusement today.

Most California amusement parks have fixed locations, unlike traveling carnivals. A California theme park will also typically have a fixed location. What makes a theme park different, however, is that it will often have various ?lands? or sections of the park devoted to telling a particular story. A California theme park might have a theme that has to do with African animals, or tropical sea creatures, or the Wild West. A Paramount theme park might have a theme that has to do with various Paramount films and series, the characters in them, and the imaginary worlds created for them.

There are many different types of California amusement parks and theme parks. They all have something different to offer and are all worth visiting on a weekend trip or an extended vacation.