With roller coaster thrills, candy floss, and lovable mascots, there’s nothing better than a theme park to reawaken your inner child and escape the pressures of adult life.
But if a trip to the Magic Kingdom sounds a bit too ‘Goofy’ for you, there are some more alternative – and extreme – options if that’s what you’re after.
Perhaps you’d prefer to spend a day feeding crocodiles down under? Or how about a visit to a Buddhist Shangri-La?
If these sound more up your alley than a day with Mickey & co. take a look below.
Find yourself in the U.S.S.R
Fancy dressing up in Soviet military uniform and being barked at in Russian?
History fanatics can head to a site, deep in the woods near Vilnius, Lithuania, and take part in an attraction which translates as ‘Survival Drama’. As a visitor, you’ll spend a day living as a 1984 citizen of the Soviet Union and get a shocking insight into the reality of life in a totalitarian state. And the best part: it all takes place in a frigid subterranean bunker.
You’ll get to don a decades-old gas mask, subject yourself to a medical examination and an interrogation straight out of the Gulag. For those who make it to the end, a glass of vodka awaits – bottoms up! We think you’ll need it.
A S**tload of fun: BonBon-Land, Denmark
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen receives most of the plaudits when it comes to Danish theme parks, and with good reason.
But if you’re looking for something a bit weird and wacky, try a day at BonBon-Land.
Located on the island of Seeland, about 100 miles from Copenhagen, the park is devoted to the theme of the nation’s much-loved BonBon sweets.
But with some of their sweet names translating as stomach-churning ‘Seagull Droppings’ and ‘Dog Farts’, the same unsavoury theme can be said of their rides.
There is a dog fart rollercoaster, accompanied with lots of lovely noises, a horse dropping attraction and also the ‘Kanalratte’ which takes guests through a mocked-up sewer system.
With a tagline translating as ‘S**tloads of fun’, what’s not to like?
A Toothy Treat: Crocosaurus Cove, Australia
Are you a fan of the Crocodile Hunter? Crocodile Dundee? Maybe you just wear crocs. Then perhaps Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin City is for you.
Take a dive in the ‘Cage of Death’ for a chance to spend fifteen minutes up close and personal with one of these killing machines. Watch it thrash around, ripping its prey limb from limb, and you’re guaranteed to feel happier than you ever thought possible to be locked in a cage.
Or if that’s not really your thing, no need to fret – you can stay on dry land and play with the baby crocs (which are genuinely cute). Awww.
Suoi Tien Amusement Park, Vietnam
The Suoi Tien Park takes you on a cultural and spiritual journey through Vietnam with attractions devoted to Buddhist symbols and figures. Instead of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, you’ll find lots of nods to dragons, unicorns, tortoises and a phoenix.
It’s an impressive site with a mix of amusements and a water park with a dose of scary spirits and a water slide which takes you through a Buddha’s mouth.
Unnervingly though, there is a bay of 1500 crocodiles which visitors can help feed by hanging poles with meat on above them.
Originally published 10 2016, updated 07 2022.
