11 Forgotten Arizona Amusement Parks Hiding In Plain Sight
Arizona’s backroads are full of ghosts that shimmer in the heat: old amusement parks, roadside pools, and fading signs that once promised endless fun.
Drive long enough and you’ll spot them: a Ferris wheel rusting behind mesquite, a cracked mini-golf course where cactus blooms between the holes, a ticket booth still painted in bright colors gone pale with sun. These places whisper of summers past, of laughter and motion now replaced by wind and silence.
I spent days tracking down twelve of these forgotten parks, each with its own strange beauty and story to tell. Some are gone to dust, others reborn in new forms, but all still hum with the echo of what once was. Buckle up, Arizona remembers, even when the maps don’t.
1. Legend City Legend City (Phoenix–Tempe)
There’s a strange electricity in the air where this amusement park once stood, part nostalgia, part mirage. The land feels alive, like the laughter just stepped out for a minute.
Opened in 1963 as Arizona’s bold attempt at a Disneyland rival, Legend City featured the Lost Dutchman Mine, River of Legends, and a full cast of costumed performers. It closed in 1983 after years of ownership changes.
Even now, standing near the Salt River, I could almost hear carousel music echo through the desert wind.
2. Big Surf Big Surf (Tempe)
The idea of surfing in the desert sounds like a punchline until you see the massive wave pool that made it real. The smell of warm chlorine and the shimmer of heat still hang in the air.
Built in 1969, Big Surf became the world’s first inland wave pool, drawing crowds who waxed boards in the parking lot. It stayed open for decades before finally closing in 2022.
Tip: park nearby and look for the faded entrance arch, its sun-bleached lettering feels like Arizona’s version of beach graffiti.
3. Breakers Water Park Breakers Water Park (Marana)
The old towers rise over the brush like desert ruins—slides cracked, ladders rusting, the silence oddly theatrical. A light breeze stirs the weeds where beach towels once lay.
Breakers opened in 1982 as Tucson’s biggest water park, thrilling generations with twisting slides and its beloved wave pool until closing in 2018. Locals still call it “our little ocean.”
I visited at dusk, and it was quietly magnificent. The sunset lit the empty slides gold, and for a second, it almost looked alive again.
4. Magic Carpet Golf (Tucson)
A row of giant tiki heads once guarded this neon-lit mini-golf wonderland on East Speedway, glowing against the desert dusk. Even now, you can spot some of its statues scattered around Tucson like local relics.
Opened in the early 1970s, Magic Carpet Golf was part kitsch, part art project, its fiberglass camels, dragons, and astronauts became landmarks until it closed in 2008.
I tracked one statue to a nearby car wash. Seeing it there felt surreal, like bumping into a childhood friend in disguise.
5. CrackerJax Family Fun & Sports Park (Scottsdale)
You can still smell sunscreen and engine oil at this long-loved Scottsdale stop where locals learned to drive go-karts before learning to drive cars. It hums with nostalgia and faint arcade beeps.
Opened in the 1990s, CrackerJax thrived for decades with laser tag, bumper boats, and driving ranges before closing in 2023 to make room for redevelopment. It was a family fixture for generations.
Tip: if you drive past the old site, glance east, the Ferris-wheel silhouette still flickers in memory, even if it’s gone in steel.
6. Jambo! Indoor Amusement Park (Mesa)
The air inside was always a sensory overload, bright lights, fried-dough scent, and the overlapping laughter of a dozen birthday parties. Everything was exaggerated in the best way.
Jambo! opened in 2008 as a year-round indoor carnival for kids, filled with small rides, a jungle-themed arcade, and enough flashing neon to light a runway. It became a suburban survival plan for scorching summers.
I used to think it was chaos, but the good kind. Even adults left smiling, their shoes sticking slightly from cotton-candy sugar on the floor.
7. Encanto Park Kiddieland (Phoenix)
The smell of popcorn and motor oil used to float across the lake at Encanto Park, where this little amusement nook brought downtown families together for decades. The rides were pint-sized but pure joy.
Opened in the late 1940s, Kiddieland once held carousel horses, a tiny Ferris wheel, and kid-sized boats drifting over shallow water. It closed quietly in the early 2000s.
Now, when you stroll the park’s bridges, it’s easy to picture laughter echoing across the water like ripples in sunlight.
8. Rawhide Western Town (Original Scottsdale Site)
Before Rawhide moved to Chandler, it lived in Scottsdale, an Old West town built from scratch and dust. Walking those plank sidewalks once felt like stepping into a movie set.
It opened in 1971 as a full-blown Western experience, with gunfight shows, saloons, and stagecoach rides. Families came for steak dinners and stayed for the spectacle.
The original site is long gone, but if you visit its Chandler successor, peek for nods to the past. You’ll feel that same playful desert swagger.
9. Santa Claus (Mohave County)
You can’t prepare for the surreal sight of Santa Claus, Arizona; a roadside ghost town painted pink and white, abandoned toy shops melting under desert sun. It’s eerie and oddly charming.
Built in 1937 as a themed pit stop on U.S. 93, it once drew families with holiday dinners, toy stores, and even a “Santa’s postcard” stand. It closed in the 1990s.
I stopped here on a 110-degree day. Seeing Christmas murals fade into cracked stucco felt like catching holiday fever in a fever dream.
10. WaterWorld Safari (Phoenix)
The smell of chlorine and sunscreen still seems to hang in the heat haze around this long-gone park. You can almost trace the slides in your mind’s eye.
Opened in 1983, WaterWorld Safari was Arizona’s splashy answer to suburban summers, twisting tubes, wave pools, and concrete warmed by a thousand flip-flops. It merged into Wet ’n Wild before closing in 2018.
Locals say if you listen near Pinnacle Peak Road at dusk, you might hear phantom lifeguard whistles echoing in the desert breeze.
11. Bedrock City, Flintstones Theme Park (Coconino County)
At the edge of the Kaibab Forest once stood Bedrock City, a Flintstones-themed park complete with stone-age houses, cartoon cars, and a giant Dino slide that squeaked in the sun.
Opened in 1972 near Valle, it became a family stop for Grand Canyon travelers for nearly fifty years. The park finally closed in 2019 after generations of “Yabba Dabba Doo!” selfies.
I went once as a kid, and again as an adult, and both times left grinning. Silly, sweet, and stubbornly timeless.