10 Most Dangerous Theme Parks In The World

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at theme parks with a less-than-stellar safety record.

DreamWorks Water Park

East Rutherford, New Jersey

Just because a theme park opens up in the modern day, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe. The DreamWorks Water Park in East Rutherford, New Jersey has only been in operation since 2020, but it already has at least one major black mark on its safety record. We’re speaking specifically of an incident back in 2023, when a number of people were injured after a (thankfully decorative) helicopter came loose and broke from its restraints. That said, this year round location still seems to have found a fanbase, who flock to DreamWorks Water Park for a little cooling off during the hot summer months.

Fantasy Island

Grand Island, New York

There seem to have been a lot of variables that went into the eventual closure of Fantasy Island in New York. Accusations of corporate mismanagement and criticism of its tarnished safety record came to a head in 2020, when Fantasy Island ceased operations for good. One particularly infamous incident occurred in 1991, when a basket that wasn’t properly fastened to a Ferris Wheel became dislodged. This resulted in the tragic death of a teen-ager, Kenneth Margerum, who fell from the apex of the Ferris Wheel over sixty feet to the ground below. A new park under new management took its place in 2021, which hopefully will have a better safety record.

Six Flags Parks

Various

The Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has a long history of theme park acquisitions over the years, renaming competitors under the Six Flags brand. Unfortunately, not every Six Flags is made equal, with multiple incidents being reported at various theme parks across the United States. Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and Six Flags Darien Lake in New York are just two examples of parks where guests have been injured or even killed. The former’s Haunted Castle was the site of a tragedy where eight teenagers perished in a fire, while the latter saw several ejections, one fatal, from coasters such as the Ride of Steel.

Rye Playland

Rye, New York

It’s pretty impressive that Rye Playland in New York has been open for nearly a hundred years at the time of this writing. That said, a theme park with this amount of history is bound to also arrive with its share of skeletons in the closet. Some of the deaths and injuries attributed to Rye Playland were the result of guest actions or misadventure, while others were directly due to park negligence. The death of a Rye employee in 2007, for example, occurred because her co-workers weren't following the proper safety procedure during a ride switch. In 2023, the Music Express ride malfunctioned, leaving helpless guests stranded in a spin until park employees could cut the power.

Adventureland

Altoona, Iowa

It isn’t only guests that run the risk of injury at a theme park. Employees spend a lot of time running the daily goings-on for places like Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. It’s easy to lose focus or to underestimate the need for proper caution at all times, leading to instances such as the loss of one employee’s arm after getting it caught in the Sky Ride. Meanwhile, another example of employee negligence resulted in an abandoned piece of wood striking a little girl in the head while the latter was riding the Tornado. The guest required surgery as a result of her injury but thankfully made it out okay.

Dreamworld

Queensland, Australia

There are a lot of factors that can go into determining the potential for danger at a theme park. For example, the sheer number of people at a park may increase the odds of an incident. So can the number of rides, the design of a ride, the difficulty in maintaining it, and so many other variables. The Thunder Rapids Ride in Queensland’s Dreamworld made headlines back in 2016 when four people tragically lost their lives after a malfunction resulted in low water levels that left an empty raft stranded. This raft was then struck by another vessel containing guests, four of whom wound up falling out and becoming crushed by the conveyor.

Kings Island

Mason, Ohio

Even when incidents occur decades apart, they can cause some to worry about safety issues.. Memories of a 1991 fatal electrocution accident at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio were recalled by Ohio area locals when a man was struck and killed by the Banshee roller coaster in June 2024. This latter incident differed in that it wasn’t a failure on the park’s end that resulted in a fatality, but the guest’s decision to enter a restricted area. The man had lost his keys on the Banshee and ignored employee orders to wait until park closure to retrieve them from the ride.

Fujin Raijin II at Expoland

Osaka Prefecture, Japan

More than thirty-five years was an impressive run for the Expoland theme park in Osaka, Japan, but one tragic accident effectively spelled the end of the line. The Fujin Raijin II was a popular coaster at Expoland, but routine maintenance was apparently not a priority for those who worked at the park. That’s because an axle became broken after years of neglect, resulting in a coaster derailment that killed one and injured at least nineteen. Investigations into Expoland found yet another coaster with the same issue, although thankfully this axle was discovered prior to the loss of any further life.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark

Kansas City, Kansas

The Six Flags Entertainment Corporation owns the branding to this franchise of water parks located across the United States. The Kansas City, Kansas iteration of the Schlitterbahn brand shuttered its doors in 2018, two years after a traumatic accident involving the son of a local state representative. The boy wasn’t seated according to proper weight distribution standards and died after becoming ejected from his seat and decapitated. Elsewhere, an investigation further revealed that the Verrückt coaster wasn’t equipped with appropriate safety harnesses or failsafes to prevent rafts from dislodging.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few other parks to mention.

Kankaria Amusement Park, Ahmedabad, India

Guests Fatally Fell From an Improperly Maintained Ride

Loudon Castle, Galston, Scotland

A Ride Operator Loses His Life Trying to Fix a Stuck Coaster

Galaxyland Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

A Mall Theme Park with a Grim Reputation

Action Park

Vernon Township, New Jersey

You know that a theme park’s reputation precedes it when an entire documentary is devoted to its off-the-charts dangerousness. “Class Action Park” is the 2020 film that details the infamous and complicated legacy of Action Park in Vernon Township, New Jersey. This was a dangerous place, but not in a way that was hidden from locals. Instead, those who visited Action Park sort of saw it as a badge of honor, an “I survived” sort of sentiment that tied in to the place’s history of danger. These included at least six fatalities between 1980 and 1987, including one the details of which the park blatantly lied about. Cart derailments, accidental electrocution, drownings and more all afflicted those who went to Action Park…and never returned.

Do the risks outweigh the rewards for you when it comes to theme park attendance? Let us know in the comments!