In Bali, a theme park which never opened its doors is hidden in the jungle near to the beaches of Sanur.
I went to explore the derelict rides and abandoned ruins of Taman Festival, fearing that rumours of cannibalistic crocodiles and bat infested cinemas would be true, but knowing that there was only one way to really discover the truth.
Taman Festival isn’t a place to take the kids. Broken glass and rusting metal litter the walkways of this disturbingly sinister theme park, which closed in 2000 after never having really even been open anyway.
The ticket office might have been boarded up long ago, but a shifty looking security guard ambled over and demanded an entrance fee of 10,000 Rupiah, or 1 USD, for the pleasure of a lovely day out at Bali’s most abandoned, and probably most life endangering theme park.
The builders envisaged families strolling through the lush green vegetation, and riding a roller coaster or two in the sweltering humidity of Bali, but the fate of Taman Festival has instead been bleak.
Now, as the jungle grows through the dusty ruins of game stands and decrepit buildings, it’s more Jurassic Park than Thorpe Park.
The restaurants lie empty, and the only refreshment still available is muddy pond water and bamboo shoots, but there’s still a few toilets in the desolate basements if you get dysentery from the unsanitary conditions during your day out.
You can even relax and chill out at The Turbo Theatre. It might not be functioning, but unlike many of the buildings it’s at least still standing.
The inside was dark. There’s plenty of seating space though. Just watch out for bats and spiders.
Film reels were left behind amongst the debris, and I don’t dare to think about the other horrors that might remain in the darkened projector room. No, I got the hell out of the Turbo Theatre before the three dimensions actually began to haunt me.
Urban rumours abound that when the park was closed, the crocodiles in the animal enclosure were left in their pits. Supposedly the locals fed them live chickens for a while, until eventually the crocs resorted to cannibalism.
Whether or not this is true, it certainly makes walking through Taman Festival a nerve racking experience given the dense foliage and abundance of swamps throughout the park.
Even if just one of the creatures survived, I didn’t particularly want it to ruin what was turning out be an outstanding day at the theme park by snapping off a limb.
Concerned as I was with losing a leg to a cannibalistic crocodile in the jungle, I had forgotten about the endemic bat threat in the old buildings.
Fearing a reptilian ravaging in the forest, I escaped to the apparent safety of a rickety staircase, only for a pair of bats to savagely fly in from the side door, brushing my head with their huge bat wings in the confined entrance.
These were big bats too. More beast than bat really and large enough to be seriously considered as a candidate for the demise of the crocodiles here. I’m no Attenborough, but my first and only opinion was that these monsters could easily carry away a crocodile. I would be a mere snack in comparison.
I ran, but wanting to know what could possibly be inside such a large building- aside from bats- I soon found the courage to enter the building from another, more camouflaged entrance. As if the camouflage would stop the bats…
There wasn’t much left inside. It seemed like the remains of a canteen, except everything of any value had been looted years ago. Or had been carried off by bats.
Disappointingly for a self-styled theme park, there were in fact no roller coasters to see, or even any rusty, beat up carousels or Ferris Wheels. Perhaps that’s why no one wanted to visit in the first place and the whole place had to be abandoned. At least now though, with bats, crocodiles and even a Turbo Theatre, it’s a much more interesting attraction than it could ever have been before.
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Richard Collett
If you too would like to be attacked by rabid bats and stalked by the crocodiles which may or may not still inhabit this abandoned theme park, then you’ll find Taman Festival in Sanur, Bali. It’s easy to spot, just along the beach on Jalan Pantai Padang Galak.
Creepy and weird. Thanks for sharing your photos, and providing extremely creepy descriptions. I think I can skip this attraction.
Haha it’s not for everyone Jen!
Really creepy but looks like a fun adventure. Thanks for sharing your experience so I do not have to go there. Great job.
Very creepy, I go so you don’t have to!
Crazy! I loved the descriptions and the photos. I’m totally a scaredy-cat when it comes to abandoned places, but I love to read about them.
Thanks, it was pretty terrifying at times, but well worth the terror!!!
Fantastic topic! I love off-the-wall places that most people don’t go see. Definitely have to visit here.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s an experience Shannon! Go and visit if you can!
The park was open and actually up and running until the year 2000, they had mini roller coaster and ferris wheel and all that sort of stuff.
It was the most beautiful park with the most beautiful balinese architecture as far as I could remember.
The plan for them was to make the longest roller coaster in South East Asia while giving proposal for a loan investment from the bank but not long after they receive the funding the owner took off with the money and never continued the project.
As for the crocodile, I used to go there every week to feed chickena to the crocs until the local authority decided to remove it from the establishment.
Very cool! I’m totally fond of weird attractions like this, but crocodiles (even rumored ones) throw me off a little. It looks very Jurassic park though!
Very Jurassic Park, especially with the fear of crocodiles in the air.
I love abandoned places and especially abandoned theme parks! My favourite one so far is the one I visited in Berlin!
I’m definitely checking this out when in Bali! Thanks for the info!
I will have to check out the one in Berlin too!
I love this post! It’d be fun/terrifying to explore at dusk … but I’d totally do it!
Scary times when the sun sets for sure!
I heard from a youtube explorer that the park was a joint private/government venture, but money ran out before rides were put in and opening could take place.
That would make sense!
But seriously, are there crocs? I’m visiting in October and definitely need to know. 😛