Victorian Gardens was a seasonal traditional-style

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

that is set up at

Wollman Rink Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, from spring through fall each year.

Description

The facility, which started operating in spring 2003, can accommodate up to 3,000 guests and features about a dozen rides which are geared primarily to ages 2–12. The rides include the "Family Swinger", "Samba Balloon", "Aeromax", "Convoy", "

Rockin' Tug Rockin' Tug is a flat tugboat ride manufactured by Zamperla. The ride is manufactured in both traveling and park versions. It is the first of a line of new "halfpiperides". Zamperla's Disk'O is another popular ride from that "family". The differe ...

", "Kite Flyer", "

Fun Slide Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining media ...

", "HydroRacer" and "Mini Mouse Coaster" among others. In addition to the rides, the park offers activities including face painting, balloon sculpting, interactive games and live entertainment, including clowns and magic shows, on weekends and holidays.

Entertainment

Every weekend various entertainers are known to perform live and interactive shows in which park guests of all ages can engage.

History

The idea to put an amusement park in the Wollman Rink came from a small group of industry veterans who saw an opportunity to use the 50,000 square foot facility all year long. After negotiations with the

Central Park Conservancy The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...

, the

New York City Parks Department The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

and the

Trump Organization Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. ...

, these private investors established Central Amusement International (CAI), which turned to

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

, an Italian amusement ride manufacturer, to make their vision a reality. Victorian Gardens first opened its gates to the general public in 2003. Due to operating restrictions caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

, Victorian Gardens did not open for the 2020 season. In August 2020, Victorian Gardens announced it was considering a permanent closure.

References

External links

* * {{Central Park, state=collapsed Amusement parks in New York (state) 2003 establishments in New York City Central Park Entertainment venues in Manhattan