Amusement parks in Italy

If you are one of those adrenaline ‘addicts’ and you enjoy riding crazy rollercoasters, then Italy is just the right destination for you. It is one of the European countries which has a great number of amusement parks and whichever you choose, you will not be disappointed. However, you should be aware of long waiting lines for rides, so stock up on patience and let’s see our pick of the top 5 amusement parks in Italy!

1) Gardaland Park (Castelnuovo del Garda)

The first thing that comes to people’s minds when someone mentions amusement parks in Italy is for sure Gardaland Park. In June 2005, Gardaland has been ranked fifth in the top ten amusement parks in the world with the best turnover by Forbes Magazine, and according to 2011 data is the eighth in Europe by number of park visitors. It has a total of 32 rides, including seven roller coasters and three water rides. The rides are divided in three main groups: Fantasy (for children), Adventure (for all ages) and Adrenaline (well, we could say the title is pretty obvious). The park currently has 6 roller coasters: Blue Tornado, Magic Mountain, Sequoia Adventure, Mammut, Oblivion:The Black Hole and Raptor.

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2) Mirabilandia (Ravenna)

‘The heart of fun’ or as Italians like to call the park, has an area of 30 hectares, with an additional waterworld area of 10 hectares, called Mirabilandia Beach. The most popular attractions of the park are the Katun inverted roller coaster and the iSpeed launched coaster. It also possesses the world’s tallest water coaster, the Divertical (60 metres high). The attractions are divided into three groups: Extreme, Moderate and Soft (according to their intensity of adrenaline). The park has 5 differently themed areas:

• Far West Valley – dedicated to the Old West
• Bimbopoli – dedicated to the children
• Route 66 – dash of America in Italy
• Dinoland – dedicated to Jurassic World
• Adventureland – for adrenaline addicts

Getting to Mirabilandia:

• By car – If you travel by car from north, go to Motorway A14 Bologna/Ancona and then exit Cesena Nord. Highway E45 direction Ravenna and finally, exit Mirabilandia. If you are coming from central Italy, go to Motorway A1 until Orte and then Highway E45 direction Ravenna and finally, exit Mirabilandia.
• By train – The nearest main train stations are Ravenna, Rimini and Cesena; the nearest station to Mirabilandia is Lido di Savio/Lido di Classe (10 km from the park)  which is connected to the park with a shuttle bus.
• By bus – You can get to Mirabilandia by taking bus lines nr. 176 or nr. 4 from Ravenna.
• Mirabilandia address: Statale Adriatica SS 16, Km.162, 48020, Ravenna, Italy.

3) Movieland Park Studios (Lazise, Garda Lake)

It is the first amusement park in Italy dedicated to the world of movies, inspired by American Universal Studios theme parks. The main attractions in this amusement park are: John Rambo stunt show, Police Academy roller coaster, Tomb Raider machine and The Horror House (rumour has it that nearly half of park guests were not able to complete the journey – creepy !)

Getting to Movieland Park Studios:

• By car – The nearest highway is the A4 Milan-Venice, Peschiera del Garda exit, then follow signs to Movieland/Caneva. If you are coming from north, go to the A22 Modena-Brenner, Affi exit, then follow signs to Movieland/Caneva
• By bus – The park is 5 km from Peschiera del Garda train station, which is connected to the park with a shuttle bus
• By bus – besides the shuttle bus, you can take a local bus nr. 164, and the bus stop is 3 min walking distance from the park
• Movieland Studios Park address: Via Fossalta, 58, 37017 Lazise VR, Italy

4) Zoosafari Fasanolandia (Fasano)

This park is particular because it includes both zoo and amusement theme park. Zoosafari Fasanolandia has drive-through safari park which you can visit in your own vehicle as well as walk around animal areas. The park opened in 1973 and includes the only male African elephant in Italy. The theme park has has several rides: a log flume, roller coasters, ghost trains, and dodgem cars. The roller coaster Eurofighter is very popular since it has a 97 degree drop.

Getting to Zoosafari Fasanolandia:

• By car – If you are coming from north, go to highway A14 (Adriatica), if you are coming from Naples, go to highway A16, and exit Bari, take the S.S. 16 south to Fasano; Coming from the south (Lecce-Brindisi), take the S.S. 379 north to Fasano; Coming from Calabria or Sicily, follow the S.S. 106 (Jonica) towards Taranto proceeding by Martina Franca, Locorotondo and Fasano.

• By train – If you are coming from other cities, the main train station is 6km from the amusement park, so get yourself a taxi

• By plane – The nearest airports from Zoosafari are Bari Airport (70km) and Brinidisi Airport (55km)
• Zoosafari Fasanolandia address: Via dello ZooSafari, 72015 Fasano BR, Italy

5) Etnaland (Belpasso)

Last on our list, but definitely not the least, is Etnaland, located in Sicily near Belpasso (in the province of Catania). Its total area is 280,000 square meters, of which 112,500 occupied only by mechanical park, making it the largest amusement park in South Italy. The park is divided in two sections: from the purely recreational AcquaPark and Theme Park, to the educational Prehistoric Park. The main attractions are Etnaland Tower, Laser Show, Cinema 4D and Drifting Karts.

Getting to Etnaland:

• By car – If you’re coming from Catania, go to Circonvallazione to the second exit Misterbianco and take the ss121 Misterbianco – Paternò to exit Valcorrente later. From Messina, take A18 ME-CT ( at the end of the highway continue straight on the ring until the exit for Misterbianco then take route ss 121 until you reach exit Valcorrente.

• By bus – If you don’t have a car it will be a bit tricky to get to the amusement park because Etnaland is 3 km from the Circumetnea train stop at Vallcorente, so if you are not willing to walk, we suggest renting a car online.
• Etnaland address: Contrada Agnelleria, 95032 Belpasso CT, Italy

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