Theme parks continue to evolve every year, but with that comes a long list of closures. This year’s list is unusually long, and even involves some full parks shutting down. There’s also some classic rides that are entering some uncertain futures after many years of operation. As someone who’s followed this industry for years, I’ve come up with a list of what’s really disappearing, what might return and what these decisions might mean about where the theme park world is headed.
Below is a look at the attractions and parks that closed in 2025, including a few temporary closures that will probably open back up at some point.
The Big Ones – Major Park Closures
Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor (Maryland, United States)
Six Flags America closed permanently on November 2, ending over 50 years of operation under multiple owners and names. The Hurricane Harbor water park attached to it will also close. Losing an entire park is rare these days, and this one is definitely a huge blow to the surrounding region with not as many comparable parks nearby. The closure is the first in Six Flags new consolidation trend that sees them focusing on fewer properties in hopes of being more profitable.
ZDT’s Amusement Park (Texas, United States)
I’m super bummed I never got to visit this place. ZDT’s was a small independent park best known for Switchback, a Gravity Group wooden shuttle coaster that actually went backwards. The park closed permanently in August 2025 after the owners opted to retire and were unable to find a buyer. The indoor section of the park has been sold to be used as a part of a new indoor attraction called Jungle Jam Xtreme, so that’s pretty neat that some of it will live on, but it’s unclear if Switchback, the star of the park, will be picked up and operated elsewhere.
Dixie Landin’ (Louisiana, United States)
Dixie Landin’ and its sister water park Blue Bayou have been struggling for a while, with their seasons getting shorter and shorter throughout the years. In 2024 and early 2025, local outlets were reporting that the property was being marketed as “for sale” and the original park would not be returning, at least in its current form. Rides have been listed for sale and the park didn’t reopen for the 2025 season, which effictively marks the end of Dixie Landin’ as a functioning amusement park.
Oakwood Theme Park (Wales, UK)
Oakwood, home to the Megafobia wooden coaster and a bunch of other fan-favorite rides, announced it would not reopen for the 2025 season. The local media described it as a permanent closure, as the former owner Aspro Parks is no longer involved in the property. The land is now being reassessed for future use, but there aren’t any official plans to bring the park back. Until that happens, Oakwood is closed for good.
Marineland (Ontario, Canada)
Marineland is probably the most infamous name on this list of closing parks. The location has been winding down its operations for a while now, and transferring out all the animals under Canadian regulations. Animal-welfare organizations and Canadian media have reported that Marineland is officially permanently closed to visitors. The focus is now on continuing to relocate and finding long-term care for the animals, which is much better than the park just continuing to operate as is. This one won’t be missed by most. If you think SeaWorld is bad…they look like saints compared to Marineland.
Playland Fresno (California, United States)
Fresno’s Playland park has had an on-again, off-again life, being closed from 2020 to most of 2023. Now it’s finally looking like it’s reaching the end. Local reporting confirms that 2025 was the final season for the current Playland operation in Fresno, with rides being either sold or completely removed. The park’s small coaster and classic kiddie rides will hopefully be mostly sold rather than just scrapped, but they probably won’t be relocated to elsewhere in the city.
Mirabilandia (Pernambuco, Brazil)
To avoid confusion, this is not the famous Mirabilandia in Italy, but a Brazilian park located in Olinda, Pernambuco. After years of relocation plans and different lease issues, the Olinda park announced in early 2025 it would close and vacate the site, with its attractions either being sold or moved. Local Brazilian media frame this as the definitive end of Mirabilandia’s run at the long-time location. No new permanent home has been confirmed yet.
Rides and Attractions Permanently Closed or Retired
Five Family Rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Blackpool, UK)
Blackpool Pleasure Beach announced a cluster of permanent ride retirements ahead of the 2025 season that included Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, Gallopers and Red Arrows Skyforce. The park described them as smaller, less popular rides being removed as part of a wider reinvestment plan, and by early 2025, Gallopers had already been sold and moved to operate elsewhere under a new name.
The Flying Machine – Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Virginia, USA)
The Flying Machine, which is a long-running flat ride in the Italy section of the park, was retired ahead of the park’s 50th anniversary. Park communications and fan communities confirmed the removal in early 2025, and Busch Gardens has been pointing towards a new addition coming to that area for the celebration.
Desperado – Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino (Nevada, USA)
This massive hyper coaster has been SBNO since 2019, but the final nail in the coffin came when the entire Buffalo Bill’s location closed in July 2025. With the hotel-casino shutting its doors and travel coverage calling it a permanent closure, Desperado has no real path back to operation. It now stands as an oddly photogenic inoperable coaster in the middle of the desert. Since it’s built around the buildings of the property, it’s unlikely it will get relocated. Instead, it’ll most likely be torn down unless the property finds a new operator.
Time Warp – Canada’s Wonderland (Ontario, Canada)
Time Warp, which was formerly themed to the Tomb Raider video game property, has finally met its demise. In March 2025, Canada’s Wonderland announced that this awful Zamperla flying coaster will be retired and removed before the park opened for the season. The ride has already been completely demolished, and us enthusiasts won’t really miss this uncomfortable experience. That said, a ride is a ride, and it does technically add capacity to the park. So hopefully it’ll receive an adequate replacement.
The Claw – Dreamworld (Gold Coast, Australia)
After about two decades of operating at Dreamworld, The Claw flat ride took its last sings in late January 2025. The park closed the Intamin Gyro Swing to make room for King Claw, a taller and faster next-gen version of the ride from Intamin. Australian news outlets covered the farewell, framing it as a bittersweet but forward-thinking upgrade that’ll be a more exciting thrill for the park.
Kikkerachtbaan – Duinrell (Wassenaar, Netherlands)
I hadn’t heard of this ride before doing my research, but Kikkerachtbaan is another ride that’s going away only for it to be reborn in a different form. Duinrell park announced that the family coaster would be closing in back in November, and they celebrated the 40 years of operation before closing it for good and saying they would replace it with something called “Kikkerachtbaan 2.0.” The new ride will go on the same footprint, but the old ride is permanently retired.
Euro-Mir – Europa Park (Rust, Germany)
Euro-Mir, the cool spinning coaster that twists around some large towers in the park’s Russia area, is being torn down to be rebuilt as an updated coaster with some fun new tech in 2028. Park leadership and European news outlets have been clear that Euro-Mir, in its current form and name, is being retired though. The track removal process began in late 2025.
Tidal Wave – Jenkinson’s Boardwalk (New Jersey, United States)
Tidal Wave is a small SBF Visa spinning coaster at Jenkinson’s Boardwalk that shut down on September 1, 2025. Jenkinson’s announced that Patriot’s Run, a new coaster themed to the United States 250th birthday in 2026, will take over the site. The closure is permanent, with construction on Patriot’s Run already starting.
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill – Kings Island (Ohio, United States)
Kings Island’s version of the Boo Blasters dark ride closed for good on September 1 after the park confirmed that a revived version of the old Phantom Theater ride would take over the building. It’ll be called Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, and it’s planned to open in 2026. Various new animatronics for the ride were shown off at IAAPA Expo 2025 which all looked pretty cool. This is one of those rare cases where a closure actually feels like a resurrection instead of a loss.
La Spirale – La Ronde (Montreal, Canada)
This was a slow-moving observation tower that was the visual icon of La Ronde after the Expo 67 World’s Fair. It’s also been nothing but a statue since 2018 thanks to mechanical problems. In 2025, the park and local officials finally confirmed that the tower would be dismantled for good instead of repaired. It’s definitely a huge part of the skyline that will be missed just because of it’s iconic visual.
Jet Star 2 – Lagoon (Utah, United States)
Lagoon’s Jet Star 2 is one of those Schwarzkopf rides that doesn’t really look like much, but it’s got some surprisingly intense lateral forces. The park announced 2025 would be its final season, with the last day being in November. This at least allowed locals and park fans to get a chance to get their final rides. This was definitely one of the better rides at Lagoon, even if it was a bit more low key. Maybe it’ll be replaced with something called Jet Star 3?
Arkansas Twister – Magic Springs (Arkansas, United States)
If you’ve ever been to a park where a big coaster is just sitting there inoperable, that’s what Arkansas Twister is like. Magic Springs confirmed in early 2025 that the woodie is permanently closed, but it isn’t being torn down. Instead, they’re just going to leave it standing for now as a park icon. The ride actually started it’s life at Florida’s Boardwalk and Baseball before moving to Arkansas in 2000, and now it’s just seemingly ending it’s life without being officially torn down.
Space Mountain (Original) and Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters – Tokyo Disneyland (Japan)
Tokyo Disneyland didn’t just shut down a couple rides, they’re doing a decently sized overhaul of the Tomorrowland area. The “classic” version of Space Mountain closed in 2024, and by 2025 the building and track were actively torn apart and a new structure was rising in it’s place. The new coaster will open in 2027. Also, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters shut down to be replaced by a new Wreck-It-Ralph attraction.
It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Florida, United States)
For years, Animal Kingdom guests headed under the Tree of Life to witness what some billed as the “scariest attraction in Disney” because fake bugs move underneath your seat. In March 2025, that stopped for good. It’s Tough to Be a Bug! closed to make way for a new Zootopia themed replacement called Zootopia: Better Zoogether! The new show’s been getting mixed reviews, so we’ll see if if the old Bugs Life themed show will be missed even more as time goes on.
TriceraTop Spin – Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Florida, United States)
This was never a headliner of the Dinoland U.S.A. area, but it was a very visible sign that you were in Chester & Hester’s Dinorama. When Disney finally committed to redoing the area into the Tropical Americas, the dino spinner was one of the first things to go. By early 2025 it was not only closed, but fully demolished. It’s not a big loss from a thrill standpoint, and I wasn’t even a huge fan of what it meant for the theme of the land, but I’m still super nostalgic for it. I’ll miss the spinning Triceratops, even if I never planned on riding it again.
Muppet*Vision 3D – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Florida, United States)
Now this one is a huge blow as a Muppets fan. Muppet*Vision 3D has been cheating death for a while, living through multiple eras of Hollywood Studios, but that luck finally ran out in June 2025. Disney shut down the show and the whole Muppets courtyard to prep for a Monsters, Inc.-themed land and a new suspended indoor “Door Coaster.” For a lot of fans, including myself, this is a tough loss though. It was one of the last creations that Jim Henson personally worked on, so it really feels like we lost an important part of history here. I’d say this is my least favorite closure on the entire list.
Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Belle Riverboat – Magic Kingdom (Florida, United States)
This is a close second for “most upsetting closures” though. Magic Kingdom didn’t just close a ride here, it removed a whole type of experience. The Rivers of America, the Tom Sawyer Island walkthrough area and the Liberty Belle Riverboat all ran their last day in July 2025 before the water was completely drained and crews started tearing up the riverbed. The plan is to replace the whole area with a new Cars-themed Piston Peak area, which I’m still pretty excited for, but the whole “slowed-down frontier” vibe is completely gone. It’ll be sorely missed, but at least it’s still around at Disneyland!
Superman: Escape from Krypton – Six Flags Magic Mountain (California, United States)
I’m so thankful I got to ride this back in 2017 when it was at least a bit more reliable. Superman: Escape from Krypton spent years as a ride people hoped would be open, but it was completely up in the air whether it would be or not. In March 2025, the park finally decided it’s closure would be permanent. It was pretty hard for the park to find new parts, maintenance was a nightmare, and after sitting closed since late 2024, the ride was officially retired. The 415-foot tall tower is still staying around for the attached Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, but the actual coaster with the backwards launch is now history.
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit – Universal Studios Florida (Florida, USA)
Finally, we have a Universal coaster classic. Rip Ride Rockit is one of those rides people remember as a bit of a gimmick, with being able to pick a song from a small selection (or a big selection if you knew the code for the hidden track you wanted) as the main feature. That said, the layout wasn’t completely terrible, with the vertical lift and non-inverting loop being pretty fun and visually iconic. Universal announced in 2024 that the coaster’s days were numbered, then confirmed its final operating date as August 17, 2025, with demolition happening immediately after. Luckily, fans had a decent amount of time to say goodbye, and it looks like a large new coaster will eventually be built in it’s place. Still, I’ll miss being able to type in 306 so I could listen to Eminem’s Lose Yourself on a roller coaster.
What 2025 Tells Us About the Industry
Taken together, this is a pretty wild year of losses:
- Regional and smaller independent parks are definitely dealing with operating cost issues, with some opting to just shut down permanently if they can’t find a buyer.
- Large corporations like Disney, Universal and Six Flags are continuing to take out fan-favorite yet older attractions and replace them with usually IP-driven rides and lands, and the new experiences aren’t always better.
- Older coasters and flat rides that have aging hardware are unfortunately hitting a point where replacement is a smarter move than refurbishment. Expect more things like Schwarzkopf coasters to get torn down eventually.
Of course, this isn’t every single closure on earth. Smaller parks sometimes slip under the radar, and a lot of attractions overseas might disappear before a stateside person like me even realizes. So if there’s a ride or park you know closed in 2025 that isn’t on the list, drop it in the comments and I’ll look into it. The more eyes on these closures, the better record we all keep of the different rides that we’ve lost over the years.
Here’s to hoping 2026 gives us more openings than farewells.
Limitless Park 