Amusement or Theme?

One of my biggest pet-peeves is to hear someone say that Disneyland is an amusement park. What an insult to Walt Disney, who intended Disneyland to be a departure from seedy amusement parks like Coney Island. The difference between a theme park and an amusement park is in its theming, the scope of the park, and the attractions. A typical amusement park has minimal-to-no-theming and typically smaller (but not always) with generic rides whereas a theme park is, well, themed and designed to convey an experience. This brings me to the debate over the very first theme park.

So Santa Claus, Indiana, was arguably one of the closest manifestations of a "theme park" before Disneyland opened in 1955. Santa Claus was a themed tourist attraction that opened in 1935 as Santa Claus Town before becoming Santa Claus Land eleven years later.

A closer proto-theme park is Knott's Berry Farm, which infamously prides itself on being America's first theme park. As with Santa Claus Land, I would consider Knott's to be a themed tourist attraction until June 1968 when it was enclosed and admission was charged for the first time, thus becoming a bona fide theme park.

Disneyland was marketed as a "brand-new concept in family entertainment", certainly one that proved popular enough that dozens of imitations were made over the following years.

However, there is a curious case of a themed "amusement" park, or hey, at least a family entertainment center. It's Castles-n-Coasters in north Phoenix, Arizona, and while it's a blend of Arabian and Wild Western motifs, it is still one of the places where theming is key to the experience, but it has the atmosphere of an urban amusement park with roller coasters, a log flume, and a dozen other rides in addition to the gaming arcade and mini-golf course. Ultimately, this was marketed as Phoenix's only theme park, despite the feel of the place reflecting a spiced-up Dave and Busters. Heck, Phoenix's only actual theme park, Legend City, was closed down thirty-six years ago after twenty years of operation. As someone who grew up in Phoenix to parents who also grew up in Phoenix, I heard stories about it.