Get unlimited access to the latest travel industry news and analysis, comment on articles and sign up to newsletters.
Register for free
Already registered? Login here or below.
Having difficulty logging in? Try these tips, or contact support@ttgmedia.com
Retro rides offer a charm-laden trip down memory lane, whether at home or abroad – Chloe Cann highlights four of the globe’s most iconic vintage amusement parks
Hot dogs, yellow taxis, Coney Island – all are synonymous with a trip to the Big Apple, and your clients can indulge in all three with a trip to the storied amusement area, which features a beach and boardwalk as well as kooky sideshows and vintage attractions. Rebecca Evans, senior marketing executive for Funway Holidays, calls it the “granddaddy” of classic amusement parks in the US. “It has an old-school family fun park vibe with the good old carnival rides including the famous wooden Cyclone rollercoaster which has been going up, down and around since 1963,” she says. “Coney Island is filled with nostalgic charm.”
Book it: Funway Holidays offers three nights from £525pp staying at the Aloft New York Brooklyn. Price includes return flights from Heathrow with Delta for two adults sharing and a November 20, 2016 departure.
Sydney is home to several iconic sights that need no introduction, but hidden in plain view in the city’s harbour is Luna Park, a whacky site that features several buildings on both the state and national heritage registers. Rachel McMurdo, assistant product manager for Asia & Oceania at Travel 2, says: “For a traditional retro-style theme park experience Travel 2 recommends Luna Park in Sydney. Opened in 1935, the park is located at Milsons Point and overlooks Darling Harbour. Rides include a Ferris wheel, a carousel, dodgems and a haunted house. Admission is free, and ride tickets can be purchased in advance online or on the day.”
Book it: Travel 2 offers a 10-night Sydney, Brisbane & Gold Coast package from £1,449pp, which includes return flights from Heathrow and transfers. Price valid for travel in September with three free nights.
The second-oldest operating amusement park in the world (after Dyrehavsbakken in the nearby suburb of Klampenborg), Tivoli Gardens was founded in 1843 and still boasts its wooden rollercoaster from 1914 – the park’s most popular ride and one of only seven globally that has a brakeman on every train. Nathalie Cornish, product manager at Osprey Holidays, refers to the attraction as “one of the most magical fairy-tale like amusement parks”. She adds: “The best times to visit are at Halloween and in December when the gardens and park become beautifully themed. At Christmas it’s all lit up at night.”
Book it: Osprey Holidays offers two nights at the three-star Strand Hotel and return flights from Luton, plus entrance to Tivoli, from £300pp.
Reopened to much acclaim last summer, the once tired seaside town of Margate is undergoing something of a revival thanks to the nostalgic high induced by Dreamland. The amusement park closed in 2006 and was partly destroyed by an arson attack in 2008, but it has come to life once again, flaunting diners, roller discos and helter skelters aplenty, all in technicolour glory, with many attractions painstakingly restored. Highlights include the Scenic Railway, the oldest rollercoaster in the UK and a Grade II*-listed structure, which opened to the public in the 1920s. Eddie Kemsley, chief executive of Dreamland, says: “The opening of the UK’s oldest wooden rollercoaster is another fantastic reason for people to visit Dreamland.”
Book it: Dreamland is free to enter – visitors pay per ride, or can purchase a wristband for unlimited access.
