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Castle Park (amusement park)

{{Short description|Family amusement centre in California}}

{{More citations needed|date=July 2019}}

{{Infobox amusement park

| name = Castle Park

| logo = Castle Park logo.png

| location = Riverside

| location2 = California

| location3 = United States

| coordinates = {{coord|33|54|10|N|117|28|06|W| type:landmark_scale:5000_region:US-CA |display=inline,title}}

| mapframe = yes

| owner = Herschend Family Entertainment

| season = Year Round

| opening_date = 1976

| area = {{convert|25|acre}}

| rides = 21

| coasters = 1

| homepage = [http://www.castlepark.com Castle Park]

| previous_names = Castle Amusement Park (1976-2001)

}}

Castle Park, formerly Castle Amusement Park, is a 25-acre amusement park and family amusement center located in Riverside, California. The park utilizes a medieval "castle" theme and includes attractions such as a miniature golf course, arcade, and 21 amusement rides including one roller coaster, Merlin's Revenge, a junior rollercoaster. The main "castle" themed building, houses the arcade. The park was designed, built and operated by Bud Hurlbut, who designed several rides at Knott's Berry Farm.Merritt, Christopher, and Lynxwiler, J. Eric. maxeys Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm, pp. 92-120, 127, 139, 146-7, Angel City Press, Santa Monica, CA, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-883318-97-0}}. Castle Park is currently owned and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment.

History

The park opened in 1976{{Cite web |url=http://www.castlepark.us/ |title=Castle Park Riverside - CA |access-date=2014-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517055739/http://castlepark.us/ |archive-date=2014-05-17 |url-status=dead }} as a Family entertainment center, featuring a castle themed building housing a large two level video game arcade, and an outdoor miniature golf course. In 1985, the park expanded by adding an adjacent amusement ride area, featuring a collection of classic rides such as a Dentzel carousel built in 1905, a miniature railroad, and a log flume ride, thus becoming a legitimate amusement park.

In 1999, the park opened Ghost Blasters, an interactive dark ride designed by Sally Corporation. The ride features laser guns which riders use to shoot at targets to accumulate points. The attraction is the park's first and only dark ride, and occupies the entire second floor of the former arcade area inside the main castle building, reducing the arcade to only the first floor.

In 2008, the park opened "Dragon Flyer", a spinning flat ride, and "Screamin' Demon", a spinning wild mouse rollercoaster.

On May 25, 2019, a woman was critically injured and her husband and child suffered less-severe injuries when the log ride malfunctioned and threw them into the water.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Log ride crash injures 3 at California park |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96502758/castle-park-patrons-injured-on-log-ride/ |access-date=26 February 2022 |issue=92nd year, no. 223 |publisher=The Desert Sun Publishing Company |date=May 27, 2019}} The guests recovered mostly from their injuries.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In early 2025, the park was sold to Herschend Family Entertainment.{{Cite web |title=Herschend to Acquire Palace Entertainment |url=https://www.hfecorp.com/whats-new/herschend-to-acquire-palace-entertainments-us-attractions-from-parques-reunidos/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.hfecorp.com |language=en}}

Attractions

Rides:

  • Antique Car Ride
  • Bumper Cars
  • Castle Park Railroad - A {{RailGauge|2ft|lk=on}} narrow gauge{{Cite web|url=http://www.denverrails.com/db/stlist.cfm?state=CA|title=Denver Rails Database of Railroad Attractions|website=www.denverrails.com}} railroad.
  • Crazy Plane - A rotating "bus" ride.
  • Dragon Flyer - A "flying" ride.
  • Dragons Tower - A vertical drop ride.
  • Fireball - A looping ride.
  • Flying Animals - A "Dumbo" style flat ride.
  • Flying Saucer - A spinning gravity ride (a Gravitron).
  • Ghost Blasters - An interactive Dark ride located in the arcade.
  • Kings Crown - A swing ride.
  • Sawmill Plunge - A log flume ride.
  • Merlin's Revenge - A junior rollercoaster.
  • Merry-Go-Round - A Dentzel Carousel built in 1907.
  • Riverside Express - A {{RailGauge|14in}} gauge ridable miniature train ride.
  • Rockin' Tug
  • Scrambler
  • Sea Dragon - A swinging ship.
  • Sea planes - A children's flat ride.
  • Spaceships - A children's flat ride.
  • Spider - A spinning twirling ride.
  • Tilt-a-Whirl
  • Whip - A centrifugal ride.
  • Wiggle Racers

Other Attractions:

  • Buccaneer Cove - A water play area.
  • Arcade - A video game arcade also housing the "Ghost Blasters" attraction.
  • Miniature Golf - An 18-hole miniature golf course area.
  • Anthony The Magic - A magic show
  • The Big Top - A private parties facility.

Former Attractions:

  • Little Dipper - A children's rollercoaster.
  • Motorcycles
  • Falling Star - A rotating pendulum ride
  • Thunderbolt
  • Trabant
  • Ferris Wheel
  • Tornado Coaster - Zamperla Powered Kiddie Coaster
  • Cyclone Racer - Musik Express
  • Samba - A children's helicopter ride
  • Screamin' Demon
  • Go Karts - Was originally part of the "Big Top" area. Its former site is now occupied by "Screamin' Demon".

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.castlepark.com/}}
  • {{RCDB|4662|Castle Park}}

{{HFEC}}

{{Amusement Parks & Theme Parks of California}}

Category:Amusement parks in California

Category:Parques Reunidos

Category:Tourist attractions in Riverside, California

Category:Buildings and structures in Riverside, California

Category:1976 establishments in California

Category:Amusement parks opened in 1976