Pirates World (fictional; post-1973)

Pirates World is an amusement park in Dania, Florida that opened on April 7, 1967 and is currently owned by Carwardine Parks. Developed by Recreation Corporation of America, it was initially popular for it's first few years, but with the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, attendance dropped drastically, and the park was sold to Nationwide Recreation Properties, a division of the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, in 1973. In 1981, Nationwide sold Pirates World to Carwardine Parks.

History
The park was announced in late 1966 at a cost of $4 million to open in the Spring of 1967, and would be the fourth-largest amusement park in the United States, the park was planned to be located right next door to a movie studio that'd be build afterwards. The theme of the park was partially inspired by the ambition to bring the spring training of the Pittsburgh Pirates to Dania, Florida.

At the beginning of 1967, Pirates World asked clean-cut college students to apply for jobs at the park, with a then-generous hourly pay of a dollar-fifty per hour. Around the same time, the park was found out to cost a total of $7 million to build, rather than the originally envisioned $4 million.

The park opened on April 7th, 1967. The park contained a one-price entry similar to Six Flags Over Texas, but unlike Disneyland. Several attractions, including the Crow's Nest and the Log Flume, were purchased used from the 1964 World's Fair, and the iconic Coney Island Steeplechase would also move there, south from New York. The park was immediately well-received by guests, city officials, and even staff members.

For the 1968 season, the Pirate Adventureland area was added, with several interactive features and a boat ride featuring a fire-breathing dragon animatronic, which was impressive for the time.

Starting in 1969, the park began to host outdoor concerts, along with announcing a merger with Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Canada, although the merger eventually failed. But worse was that the outdoor concerts were filled with drug use and general crime, with local residents complaining about the loud noise of the concerts as well, but most notably, the filming studio, now coined "Film World", opened to the public, which allowed guests to get a glimpse into the world of filmmaking, unfortunately, several movies and TV shows shot at the studio were low-budget and critically panned as well.

In 1970, a tent was added over the rock concert arena.

In 1971, Wild Cat was added.

In 1972, WKID-TV launched, however, attendance was slightly waning due to the opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, although it was still making a profit, largely due to it's concerts. However, as it became more and more of a public nuisance, a rezoning order was put into place, although it was denied, but the original owners had no choice but to sell the property to another company.

In 1973, the park was sold to Nationwide Recreation Properties. The first change was the closure of the concert area on June 1st, which would be replaced with new rides and attractions in the following years. Starting that September, the park was now year-round, albeit weekends only for the time being. Security for vandalism and illegal drugs was increased, along with fines for those responsible. With the concerts gone and Walt Disney World continuing to expand, Nationwide marketed the park more towards locals than tourists, and with the success of Walt Disney World's version of Pirates of the Caribbean that Christmas, the Pirate-related marketing would be bumped up for the next season.

In 1974, several non-pirate themed attractions were rethemed to pirate themes, in order to capitalize on a Floridian pirate interest boom following the opening of Walt Disney World's Pirates of the Caribbean, along with this, Pegleg Bayern was added, in hopes to attract thrillseekers. Attendance still sank, mainly due to the oil crisis at the time, but Nationwide would start advertising the park in gallons of gas rather than miles or minutes in hopes to attract wary customers.

In 1975, A new sub-area, nicknamed "Oriental Village" on brochures, was added. It would contain an Asian buffet, scale replicas of Asian pirate vessels, and The Siamese Octopus triple thrill ride.

In 1976, with the American Bicentennial, new American-themed shows and events were added, but the biggest addition was Timber!, a huge parachute ride that could be seen from miles away.

In 1977, Nationwide, upset with still-dwindling attendance no matter what they did for the park, were about to unleash a big 10th Anniversary celebration, including new and improved pirate mascot performers, new pirate themed food and drinks and most notably, two new full-sized rollercoasters, with Blackbeard's Revenge, South Florida's only completely wooden roller coaster and Deep Sea Dragon, containing Florida's first ever vertical loop on a roller coaster. This heavily spiked attendance upwards, and many musicians wanted to book acts, with Nationwide refusing most of them, fearing repeats of previous incidents.

In 1978, after years of new additions, Nationwide decided to do more quality-of-life improvements, including having Arrow come in and modernize the Steeplechase attraction, after years of decay and troubled maintenance, this included some of the wood being replaced with steel and the original manual system becoming computerized.

In 1979, The Big Bad Wheel was added.

In 1980, Nationwide, looking to make one last big investment before its planned sale, built a new permanent concert venue at the park and converted the former film studio into a smaller television studio.

In 1981, Nationwide sold the park to Carwardine Parks of Virginia, Inc.

In 1982, The Captain's Corkscrew was added, marking Carwardine's first investment into the park.

In 1983, Gangway! Enterprise was added.

In 1984, Jr. Buccaneer was added.

In 1985, Pirates Plunder was added.

In 1986, Barrel Roll was added.

In 1987, Any Port In A Storm? was added.

In 1988, Powder Keg was added.

In 1989, Young Blackbeard's Little Revenge and Swashbuckler Swings were added.

In 1990, Pirates World Arena was added.

In 1991, Land Ho! Scrambler was added.

In 1992, Blackbeard's Bowling was added.

In 1993, The Captain's Corkscrew closed for good and sold to a park in Israel.

In 1994, the $12 million The Dragon's Cave opened to the public.

In 1995, Gangway! Enterprise closed forever.

In 1996, Pirates Cove Waterpark opened. It contained a wave pool, a slide complex, and Buccaneer Falls Log Flume, which had been refurbished by Hopkins and relocated to the area.

In 1997, Yoshi's Island Adventure opened.

In 1998, Powder Keg closed forever.

In 1999, S.S. Chaos opened, on the former spot of Powder Keg.

In 2000, Pirates' Plunder closed for good.

In 2001, Lighthouse Post opened.

In 2002, a few children's rides closed for good.

In 2003, PBS Kids Neighborhood debuted.

In 2004, Redwall: By Land or By Sea was added, marking Phase II of PBS Kids Neighborhood.

In 2005, Chaos was closed and sold off.

In 2006, Barrel Roll and Any Port In A Storm? were closed due to dwindling popularity and a shortage of parts, while Barrel Roll was relocated to Stoogeland Theem Park with the help of Premier Rides, Any Port In A Storm? was broken up for it's parts to be moved to other Carwardine Parks properties with Intamin Looping Starships, with everything non-mechanical being sold to a local scrap dealer.

In 2007, major renovations occurred for the park's 40th Anniversary, including the addition of Viva Piñata Cannonata, an Intamin launched roller coaster, a renovation of Grand National Steeplechase, a rebrand back to Kids Kountry with the addition of Mega Man ZX: Double Strike and the addition of Tsunami Tornado to Pirates Cove.

In 2008, Antique Cars would close due to dwindling popularity, landlock issues, and gas prices being increased due to the then-ongoing great recession.

In 2009, Silverwing: Take Flight was added.

In 2010, Pegleg Bayern closed forever due to worn out parts, a final ride was given on Labor Day 2010 at 11:00 PM, with Wieland Schwarzkopf (son of ride designer Anton Schwarzkopf), Bertha Taylor (the first ever public rider) and several employees at SED-Hopkins (the company that owns the assets to Anton Schwarzkopf's company), after that, the ride was sold for scrap, with several vehicles being auctioned for Give Kids The World Village.

In 2011, 77 Kids Kountry was rethemed back to Kids Kountry.

In 2012, The Siamese Octopus was removed, marking the last remnant of the former Oriental Village to be nixed.

In 2013, Sea Serpent was added to Pirates Cove waterpark.

In 2014, The Big Bad Wheel closed for good.

In 2015, Timber! closed for good, marking the last full-scale parachute ride in the Southeast US, the parachute vehicles were moved to other Carwardine Parks properties with similar rides while the tower was imploded.

In 2016, Slideboard Central was added.

In 2017, Hangman's Swings was added in the former spot of Timber!, marking the new tallest ride in the park.

In 2018, Rollin' Rum River was added to Pirates Cove.

In 2019, Overwatch: Mission 320 was added to the park.

In March of 2020, the park was closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but reopened in June with the addition of the "Ye Olde Escape Room".

In 2021, Bluey's Road Trip and Walk the Planks were added.

In 2022, High Tide was added.

In 2023, Tie the Knot, Florida's first SlideWheel, was added to Pirates Cove.

Lands

 * Olde Towne
 * New Town
 * Nintendo Island
 * Xbox Island
 * Kids Kountry (formerly PBS Kids Neighborhood from 2003-2007 and 77 Kids Kountry from 2009-2011)
 * Action Zone
 * Pirates Cove

Flat rides

 * Drunkin' Airlines (1967; a Von Roll skyride, formerly known as "Sky Trail" [1967-1970s]) [Olde Towne/New Town]
 * Hangman's Swings (2017; A Funtime Starflyer) [New Town]
 * Land Ho! Scrambler (1991; an Eli Scrambler) [Olde Towne]
 * Lighthouse Post (2001; an Intamin Gyro Drop) [Olde Towne]
 * Mega Man ZX Double Strike (2007; A Zamperla Hawk 48 ride) [Kids Kountry]
 * Paratroopa Army (1967; a Paratrooper ride, formerly known as "Paratrooper" [1967-1993]) [New Town]
 * Pirates World Carousel (1967; a carousel) [Olde Towne]
 * Swashbuckler Swings (1989; a Zierer Wave Swinger, relocated from Philly's Drive-In Theater Park) [New Town]
 * Yoshi's Island Adventure (1997; a Sally Corporation dark ride themed to Yoshi's Island) [Nintendo Island]

Kiddie rides
All kiddie rides are located in Kids Kountry.
 * Baby Bop and BJ's Dino-Soars (2003; A Zamperla Mini Jet ride with dinosaurs)
 * Bluey's Road Trip (2021; a Zamperla Convoy)
 * Fire Chief (2003; a Zamperla Crazy Bus themed to a fire truck, formerly known as "Barney's Fire Department" [2003-2007])

Pirates Cove

 * Arms of the Squid (1996; a ProSlide multi-slide complex)
 * Crazy Leg (a ProSlide TurboTwister)
 * Kraken's Back (two ProSlide MultiBumps)
 * Suction Collision (four ProSlide PipeLines)
 * Tangled One (a ProSlide Twister)
 * Tentacle Drops (two ProSlide FreeFalls)
 * Buccaneer Falls Log Flume (1967; a log flume, relocated from the Olde Towne section and refurbished by Hopkins in 1996)
 * Cannonball Creek (1996; a lazy river)
 * Car-Wave-dine Pool (1996; A 500,000-gallon wave pool)
 * Rock 'n Roll Boats (2001; a Zamperla Hydro Racer)
 * Rollin' Rum River (2018; A ProSlide RocketBlast + FlyingSaucer)
 * Sea Serpent (2013; a Polin King Cobra slide)
 * Slideboard Central (2016; a WhiteWater West Slideboarding complex)
 * Tie the Knot! (2023; a WhiteWater West SlideWheel)
 * Tsunami Tornado (2007; a ProSlide Tornado, custom layout)

Other attractions

 * Blackbeard's Bowling and Merriment Parlour (1990; a bowling alley and arcade located underneath Blackbeard's Revenge's current station)
 * The Crow's Nest (1967; formerly the Belgian Aerial Tower at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair)
 * Crow's Nest Arcade (1981; an arcade located underneath the Crow's Nest)
 * Pirates World Arena (1990; indoor arena)
 * The Rock-afire Explosion (1993; characters are dressed in pirate-esque outfits)
 * Walk the Planks (2021; a 4-level RCI SkyTrail included with admission)
 * Wawa Amphitheater at Pirates World (1980; an outdoor amphitheater with booking by Live Nation, replaced the original outdoor concert venue on the site)
 * Ye Olde Escape Room (2020; an escape room)

Food & drink

 * Dippin' Dots (multiple stands throughout the park)
 * KFC [Old Towne]
 * Krispy Kreme/Insomnia Cookies [Nintendo Island]
 * McDonald's [Olde Towne]
 * Pirate's Booty Cornelius IDC Pro (est. 2018) [serves Keurig Dr. Pepper and independent products]
 * Pirate's Booty Pepsi Spire (est. 2015) [serves PepsiCo products]

Roller coasters

 * Barrel Roll (1986-2006; A TOGO Ultra Twister, replaced with Viva Pinata Cannonata, relocated to Stoogeland Theem Park and now known as "Down the Drain")
 * The Captain's Corkscrew (1982-1993; An Arrow Custom Looper with a layout near-identical to the Vekoma Corkscrew and Bayernkurve, replaced with The Dragon's Cave, relocated to a park in Israel)
 * Wild Cat (1971-1981; A Schwarzkopf Wildcat 54m, replaced with The Captain's Corkscrew, now operates at a park in Atlantic City, New Jersey)
 * Young Blackbeard's Little Revenge (1989-2002; A Miler Kiddie Coaster relocated from a fairground in Georgia, now runs as part of FairCon)

Flat rides

 * Antique Cars (1967-2008; an Arrow antique cars, replaced with Silverwing: Take Flight, scrapped with the cars being relocated to Billings' Wild Kingdom)
 * Any Port In A Storm? (1987-2006; an Intamin Looping Starship, scrapped, replaced with Mega Man ZX Double Strike)
 * Big Bad Wheel (1979-2014; a Chance Trabant ride, scrapped, replaced with Pirate's Booty Pepsi Spire)
 * Gangway! Enterprise (1983-1995; a HUSS Enterprise, scrapped and replaced with Pirates Cove Waterpark)
 * Pegleg Bayern (1974-2010; a Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve, scrapped, replaced with a designated smoking area)
 * Pirates Plunder (1985-2000; an Intamin 1st Generation Freefall, imploded and replaced with Lighthouse Post)
 * Powder Keg (1988-1998; A Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl, scrapped for spare parts, replaced with S.S. Chaos)
 * The Siamese Octopus (1975-2012; A Huss Troika, relocated to FairCon, replaced with Sea Serpent)
 * Timber! (1976-2015; An Intamin Parachute ride, scrapped and replaced with Hangman's Swings)
 * Spiral Slides (1967-late 70s; Spiral slides, scrapped and replaced with Gangway! Enterprise and a bathroom complex)
 * S.S. Chaos (1999-2005; A Chance Chaos ride, replaced with several pay basketball games, sold to Bartels-Beutler and now operates on the German fair circuit)

Kids rides

 * Jr. Buccaneer (1984-2002; a Theels Manufacturing Brothers carousel-style ride with boats submerged in a shallow pool of water, scrapped and replaced with a kiddie land expansion)

Trivia

 * This is one of the few parks in the chain not to use the Serpentine font in its logo, instead it had opted to keep the same font for it's logo since it opened in 1967. It still uses the Serpentine font for other purposes, though.

Map
https://www.scribblemaps.com/create/#id=fWFUgNJQKv