jedimaster1227 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2013/10/01/hungarians-say-goodbye-to-175-year-old-amusement-park/ Hungarians have said their final goodbyes to the 175-year-old Vidampark, which was forced to close due to the economic problems in the country. Vidampark (Happy Park) closed its doors on Monday, with only attractions considered national heritage items being saved. The roller coaster, the longest of the three wooden ones still operating in Europe, is one of the attractions that will survive the amusement park's demise. The park has hosted countless weddings, parties and even a European midget conference over its long history. Vidampark survived bombings during World War II and a fire set by a pyromaniac, but it could not keep going amid flagging attendance and Hungary's economic meltdown. The Budapest City Park was turned into a public space for artists, vendors and performers, as well as an exhibition center for new inventions, in the early 19th century. Movies, the telegraph, the telephone (the telephone exchange was invented by Hungarian Tivadar Puskas), the phonograph and other inventions were exhibited at Vidampark, park spokeswoman Eva Árendas told Efe. The park sustained extensive damage during World War II and was nationalized and redone in 1950 under the communists. Vidampark was at its peak in the 1970s, when attendance during the April-October operating season topped 2.7 million. The park fell into disrepair in recent years, with the number of visitors dropping to between 250,000 and 300,000 annually. Edited October 7, 2013 by jedimaster1227 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Another point may be that Hungary had become a quite extreme right wing country in the last years - lately starting to surpress minorities, cutting freedom of the press and cutting the rights of its supreme court. This repelled many tourists from western European countries. Right now Hungary is no travel destination for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milst1 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 We were there a few years ago. It was pretty deserted. Loved the strange old woodie. What a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Good to read that at least the coaster (which I had no idea even existed) will be saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xcoaster Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Hopefully the unusual outward facing carousel and the dark ride will also be saved. The story last time was that the adjacent zoo would take over operation of the rescued rides. I went by the park in late March this year because their website and facebook indicated they would have reopened by then, despite news articles to the contrary, but the person at the ticket counter said they would only have kid's rides opened that day, and the larger rides would open the following week. I guess their revival season didn't work out. It looked like an interesting park, and the area where it's at has some other nice tourist attractions - it's kind of the Hungarian equivalent to Balboa Park (which also once had a coaster). perpendicular carousel Park entrance Ticket booth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 ^Whoa! What the heck is that thing! That would probably make me way sicker than a normal carousel ever could! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 The carousel is very unique. The horses are on a spring mechanism that doesn't mechanically move as the carousel turns but do so with both the moving of the rider and the spinning of the carousel platform. I get sick on rides and I was absolutely fine with the carousel. I did, however, throw up after ridding the parks condor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noporian Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 This park had a waagner biro magic arms. I wonder what will happen to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackdude101 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Another point may be that Hungary had become a quite extreme right wing country in the last years - lately starting to surpress minorities, cutting freedom of the press and cutting the rights of its supreme court. This repelled many tourists from western European countries. Right now Hungary is no travel destination for me. I'm pretty sure the reason why its attendance dropped is because the park sucks compared to all of its modern competition and frankly, without the historical roller coaster treasure Hullámvasút, I think the park would have closed sooner than this. Plus, Hungary isn't exactly the first place that comes to most people's minds when it comes to amusement parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Cow Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Another point may be that Hungary had become a quite extreme right wing country in the last years - lately starting to surpress minorities, cutting freedom of the press and cutting the rights of its supreme court. This repelled many tourists from western European countries. Right now Hungary is no travel destination for me. I'm pretty sure the reason why its attendance dropped is because the park sucks compared to all of its modern competition and frankly, without the historical roller coaster treasure Hullámvasút, I think the park would have closed sooner than this. Plus, Hungary isn't exactly the first place that comes to most people's minds when it comes to amusement parks. I would argue that the park was never for international tourists. A little bit of research would have shown you how small the park was and how little competition it had. There is a whopping one amusement park in all of Hungary, and that's Vidampark. It's primary market probably isn't even going to be people from outside of Budapest. I've been to the park; it's small, carnival-like, and close to the zoo and a big outdoor market. The place probably banked on people in the city who wanted something to do. Because of this, I think it's wrong to believe that Hullamvasut actually made much of a difference. Even if the people appreciated the "treasure" that it is, that does not mean they would go to ride it over and over again, just to support it. It helps to not think like an enthusiast in situations like this, or even in general when it comes to park politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackdude101 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 It helps to not think like an enthusiast in situations like this, or even in general when it comes to park politics. Yes, you are correct. I just think it's odd to blame the local area's politics on poor park attendance. I mean, people aren't going to simply stop going to parks here in the US just because of the current government shutdown or what ends up happening with Obamacare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 The park had a nice collection of intense flat rides and good dark rides. They also had a full service bar in the park and great pizza (and I'm a pizza snob). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackdude101 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 They also had a full service bar in the park and great pizza (and I'm a pizza snob). Mmmmmm...pizza. This topic is starting to make me hungary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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