The closed Budapest Amusement Park is doomed to become a parking lot

Lobu.hu reports that when the well-known Budapest Amusement Park was eventually closed 4 years ago, in 2013, many people naively thought that the park and its historical buildings, that are parts of our cultural heritage, might be preserved as parts of the zoo. However, 2 years later, people had to say goodbye even to the Once Upon a Time Park (Holnemvolt Park). These days, only the Carousel, the Rollercoaster and the Tale Boats make locals remember for the once crowded and popular theme park that is partly going to be transformed into a parking lot suitable for the accomodation of 700 vehicles.

When the 1st news spread about the closure of the famous amusement park, many people had sinister feelings about what is going to be the fate of it. In 2013, people already suspected that something was in the air, as it was obvious that the machines were outdated and that there was an urgent need for the global modernization and the renewal of the whole park. It was no longer economical or safe to be open. Furthermore, time passed by and the locals expressed their desire for the latest technology and the better machines present in foreign theme parks for quite a long time.

After the closure of the park in 2013, 6 hectares of its territory became incorporated by the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden. The Once Upon a Time Park still operated for about 2 years, then it became the thing of the past and gave way to the preparatory works for the construction of the new Pannon Park.

Today, only the most popular machines like the Carousel (1906), the Tale Boats (1920), the building of the dodgem cars and the wooden Roller Coaster (1922) are protected from destruction.

The future parking lot, replacing the once famous Amusement Park, is going to be constructed by the end of 2019. The General Assembly of Budapest accepted the proposal and the Hermina Parking Lot Project is already in the planning stage. According to these plans, there are going to be underground parking lots and parking spaces on the surface as well, and the Pannon Park, representing the flora and fauna of the Pannonian Basin, is going to be constructed in the near future.

Pannon Park plan
www.zoobudapest.com

How will the Pannon Park look like? http://www.zoobudapest.com/pannonpark/pannon-park/milyen-lesz

The history of the unforgettable Amusement Park

Initially, it was only open in the summer, but thanks to the high interest in the park, during the 1970s, it was transformed so it could be open to the public in winter, too. Besides the renovation of the machines, a huge playing area was also opened that was not only popular, but also helped the whole park to operate financially. Undoubtedly, it was an outstanding achievement at that time.

wikicommons Photo: Fortepan; user: Fae

wikicommons Foto: Fortepan; user Fae

After the regime changes, the image of the park also changed drastically. Most of the machines became outdated and despite the renovation works, the Budapest Amusement Park could not compete with the high-quality Western parks where everything was larger, more spectacular and technologically more up-to-date. The Looping Star, the Icarus Freefall Tower, the Pirat (huge pirate ship) and the wooden Rolling Coaster, however, meant unforgettable memories to everyone and thus, it is not a coincidence that the longest queues were always expected at these machines.

The Looping Star
wikicommons Avayak

The favourite roller coaster /wikicommons by Avayak/

wikicommons by Livvyfan

The luckiest ones could take their children to the park and presented them with enduring memories, and we can only hope that the next generations would also find their amusement park that they can cherish even when they are grown-ups.

Featured image: pixabay.com

Source: lobu.hu