Mental Floss

AMUSEMENT PARKS

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando just opened up their newest ride: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. And diehard fans are willing to spend half their day waiting to ride it.

Sam Howzit, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

It didn't have drops or turns, but ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was the most terrifying ride at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in the 1990s.

Tbennert, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

The roadside attraction, which first opened in the '60s, has been demolished. There's good news, though: The Arizona location will be reopened soon for a limited run.

Alex Lomas, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

Built in the 1940s to provide bomb shelter for an airplane engine factory during World War II, the Drakelow Tunnels have become a destination for people looking for paranormal activity.

iStock.com/Image Source

SeaWorld's Aquatica water park in Orlando, Florida is now a certified autism center, with an autism-friendly guide that ranks rides based on how much they stimulate certain senses.

Thomas Hawk, Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0

Fred and Wilma have been evicted.

Disney Parks, YouTube

One of the rides will be the biggest Disney attraction of all time.

Zade Rosenthal, Marvel/Disney

Ant-Man, Spider-man, and Doctor Strange will all be there.

Walt Disney's Disneyland provides an inside look at how the iconic theme park came to be.

Larzland, YouTube

There are even light settings that go from day to night, plus crowd sounds.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London—The Making of Harry Potter

Beware of Death Eaters.

Anna Fox, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

It's about time.

Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

From a fire in Sleeping Beauty's castle to the sinking of the Mark Twain Riverboat, the famed amusement park was far from a happy place on day one.

Jacqueline Nell/Disneyland Resort, Getty Images

There's no magic involved in keeping the Most Magical Place on Earth bug-free.

Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC.

Bringing dinosaurs back from extinction gets expensive.

Getty Images

There could be a battle of sci-f theme parks brewing.

Zandy Mangold

From 1978 to 1996, New Jersey hosted a ride-at-your-own-risk water park that earned it the nickname “Class Action Park.”

Flicrk // Thomas Hawk // CC BY-NC 2.0

7. The water is cleaner than it looks.

Courtesy of Land of Oz

The park officially closed in 1980, but that wasn't the end of Oz.

A recreation of the house in My Neighbor Totoro built for the 2005 World's Fair.

Stroll through Mononoke Village and try not to lose your way in the park's Totoro-inspired forest.

Van Eaton Galleries

The most valuable of the 400-plus lots is the original model for a clock in "It’s a Small World," which could bring in $80,000.

Sam Howzit, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

In 2008, the popular arcade game started malfunctioning. The company blamed a rogue programmer. He insisted they were digging in the wrong hole.

Matt Stroshane, Disney/Getty Images

Belle would never break this cardinal rule. Gaston? Eh, maybe.

Amy Meredith, Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0

A roadside attraction near the Grand Canyon is home to a charming—if slightly dilapidated—tribute to America's favorite modern Stone Age family.