Journalism of Courage
Every year, travel website TripAdvisor gives out its Travellers' Choice awards to the best destinations, hotels, restaurants, beaches, etc., as voted by their users, contributors and experts. The list is based on votes from millions of travellers worldwide. Among the various categories, there is one that is focused on kids and family-friendly fun - the world's best amusement parks and attractions. This year, India has fared particularly well, with six Indian attractions making it to the list of Top 25 Asian amusement parks for 2016. Take a look.
25) Enchanted Kingdom, Luzon, Philippines: The Enchanted Kingdom is all that its name promises. Around 40km from Manila, the amusement park is divided into seven themed zones — Victoria Park, Portabello, Boulderville, Midway Boardwalk, Brooklyn Place, Spaceport and Jungle Outpost. (Source: Mike Gonzalez)
24) Wisata Bahari Lamongan, Lamongan, Indonesia: Some of the most popular rides at this Indonesian amusement park are the Palace of Underwater Cave Insectarium, Space Shuttle, Pavilion Wali Songo, Texas City, Pope Dangdut, Shoot Fish, Greenhouse and the Pirate Palace. (Source: Martin Lewison/Flickr)
23) Dreamworld, Thanyaburi, Thailand: With three awesome roller coasters and many rides, this is a popular weekend getaway for people living in Bangkok. (Source :Scott Gould/Flickr)
22) Nicco Park, Kolkata, India: Nicco Park is one of India's first large-scale amusement parks. The park is divided into the water park and the main park, and is a hot favourite for families when trying to escape the sweltering summer heat.
21) Happy Valley Beijing, China: Opened in July 2006, it is the second park of the Happy Valley theme park chain. It has six theme parks, which includes the Wild Fjord (Firth Forest), Atlantis, Aegean Harbor, Lost Maya, Shangri-La and Ant Kingdom. (Source: David Castor/Wikimedia Comments)
20) Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea: This is the world's largest indoor theme park and is open all-year around. It also has an outdoor amusement park called "Magic Island", which is an artificial island linked to the main building by a monorail.
19) EsselWorld, Mumbai, India: EsselWorld is the largest amusement park in the country, and is a great place to visit for a full day of family fun. (Source: Dipankar Das/Flickr)
18) Hangzhou Songcheng, Hangzhou, China: It is the most popular theme park in China, and many say that visiting it is a once in a lifetime experience to visit here. (Source: Faungg's Photos/Flickr)
17) Seoul's Children's Grand Park, South Korea: The Children's Grand Park is a park complex in the South Korean capital, and the facilities include hiking trails, the zoo and an amusement park. It's particularly lovely to visit the botanical garden.
16) Rusutsu Resort, Rusutsu-mura, Japan: This is the largest resort in Hokkaido, Japan. The resort is mostly famous for its ski slopes, and it also has an amusement park and golf courses. (Source: Martin Lewison/Flickr)
15) Wonderla Amusement Park, Kochi, India: Yet another from the Wonderla bouquet of amusement parks in India, this one in Kochi, Kerala, is known for its water rides and slides.
14) Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Japan: The theme park is located near the base of Mount Fuji, which is the added attraction here. It has a number of roller coasters, as well as two haunted attractions. (Source: Jeremy Thompsin/Flickr)
13) Harbin Ice And Snow World, China: This stunning fantasy world provides many facilities and places for children to enjoy ice and snow activities such as skifields, slides, children's playground, Christmas square, labyrinth and the big inflatable buildings. (Source: Elizabeth Phung/Flickr)
12) Legoland Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Legoland Malaysia is the country's first international theme park, and has 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions. (Source: Martin Lewison/Flickr)
11) Everland, Yongin, South Korea: Everland is South Korea's largest theme park. Along with its main attractions, Everland includes a zoo and a water park known as Caribbean Bay. (Source: Walter Lim/Flickr)
10) Imagica Theme Park, Maharashtra: The Adlabs Imagica theme park is spread over 300 acres, and is located on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. It has been divided into several segments that include a theme park, a snow park, a waterpark and a hotel. As the park's website says, it's a "place where you'd be friends with a talking dog, dine with a lion chef and fly with an elephant". (Source: Park Mumbai)
9) Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, India: At 2,000 acres, this is the largest integrated film city in the world. Sahas, its adventure park, offers visitors a number of adventure ride options. (Source: Shashi Bellamkonda/Flickr)
8) Wonderla Amusement Park, Bengaluru, India: This is one of India's most popular amusement parks with a whole host of rides and attractions for the entire family. Apparently there are 61 thrill-packed rides for visitors to enjoy at the park.
7) Vinpearl Amusement Park, Nha Trang, Vietnam: Linked with the international Vinpearl Nha Trang Resort, Vinpearl Amusement Park boasts of a Guinness record-holding 3,320m long sea-crossing cable car system, along with a whole host of extreme amusement rides.
6) Tokyo Disneyland, Urayasu, Japan: This 115-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States, and it opened on April 15, 1983. It recently opened a whole host of new attractions that include Flying Summer Magic, the Disney Natsu Matsuri and a stunning Nighttime Parade. (Source: Guy Jasper Gonzaga/Flickr)
5) Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: One of the four Universal Studios theme parks in the world, the attractions here bring you closer to your favourite movie characters. From Harry Potter's elaborate world to Hello Kitty fashion, from a Spiderman-themed ride to one that'll take you to space, even a day would seem less in this fantasy wonderland. (Source: Thord Daniel Hedengren/Flickr)
4) Tokyo DisneySea, Urayasu, Japan: The Tokyo DisneySea is a 176-acre theme park just outside Tokyo. It's inspired by ocean tales and legends, and the seven themed ports of Tokyo DisneySea offer a wealth of fun attractions and entertainment, bursting with imagination that will enthral both kids and adults alike. (Source: Amber/Flickr)
3) Ocean Park, Hong Kong, China: Ocean Park is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park, situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the southern District of Hong Kong. Other than a host of rides and the animal kingdom, what might particularly entice vistors is the free Wi-Fi. So, live updating on social media is a problem no more. (Source: Candyschwartz/Flickr)
2) Hong Kong Disneyland, Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China: This is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. It is, together with Ocean Park Hong Kong, one of the two large theme parks in Hong Kong. Inspired by fairy-tale dreams, visitors get to explore seven lands in one go — Adventureland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, Toy Story Land, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main Street, USA — all filled with excitement and Disney characters. (Source: Mark Van Der Chijs/Flickr)
1) Universal Studios, Sentosa Island, Singapore: Marketed as Asia's one of its kind amusement park, Universal Studios Singapore offers cutting-edge rides, shows and attractions based on your favourite blockbuster films and television series, such as Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey, Battlestar Galactica, Transformers, etc (Source: Lim Ashley/Flickr)
