When you arrive at a theme park, the last thing you want to see is broken rides and creaky Ferris wheels – but history has not been kind to all tourist attractions.A number of former hotspots around the world have fallen into disarray, with their previously buzzing vibe replaced instead by an abundance of rubble, overgrown plants and an aura of decay.Urban explorers and horror film fanatics might be intrigued – but most holidaymakers would run a mile from these eerie, faded attractions that bear little to no resemblance to their former glory. It comes amid ongoing debate surrounding the fate of tourist attractions, with some such as London’s Borough Market, overladen with tourists, facing a crisis regarding their future. From once-thriving markets hidden in plain sight to former theme parks overtaken by nature, these are some of the world’s most faded tourist attractions….Dunblobbin, Crinkley Bottom, Somerset, UK Top of the list is Dunblobbin at Crinkley Bottom, Somerset, UKNoel’s House Party was one of the biggest Saturday night shows of the 90s… but the mansion that provided the backdrop to Noel Edmonds’s hit show ended up in a run-down state.In 1994, at the height of the show’s success, Mr Edmonds opened the Crinkley Bottom theme park, which he described as offering an unrivalled family day out in the company of one of the country’s biggest stars. The remains of ‘Dunblobbin’, the stately home where Mr Blobby famously resided, were discovered nestled deep in the grounds of Cricket St Thomas in Somerset in 2015.The property had been part of the Crinkley Bottom theme park which capitalised on the success of the TV show, but after it was sold the Blobby house was simply left to rot for nearly 15 years – before it was demolished.With Mr Edmonds’s and Blobby’s celebrity status dwindling, Crinkley Bottom began to struggle and was forced to close its doors in 1999.The theme park was renovated and turned into a hotel and wildlife park, but the annexed Dunblobbin was left to its own devices, and began to rot in the nearby woodland.Haludovo Palace Hotel, Croatia Next up is the Haludovo Palace Hotel, situated in Croatia The abandoned hotel has a decayed pool area, graffiti, and derelict concrete exteriorBack in the 1970s, the Haludovo Palace Hotel was popular among wealthy travellers.Conceived and bankrolled by Bob Guccione, one of America’s most infamous porn barons, hostesses known as ‘Penthouse Pets’ swanned around in corsets, bringing guests champagne. Saddam Hussein even stayed in the master suite. Now it is graffiti-strewn and debris-riddled.The Balkanist said back in 2013: ‘Piles of broken glass cover the floor. Large chunks of the concrete staircase have broken off and fallen to the ground below. Floors buckle. The skylights have all shattered, leaving shards of serrated windowpane hovering overhead.’Arndale underground market, Manchester, UK Arndale underground market has been abandoned for yearsArndale Underground Market was a bustling hub during the 1970s and 1980s, with 100 market stalls and multiple entrances.It is even credited as the first place in Manchester to sell Levi’s jeans, a veritable fashion staple in those days as it is today. Now, the stairs leading from the Market Centre to the street have been closed off – and a few explorers – such as Urban Sherman – have ventured below ground to see if they can access it.Graffiti, old tiles and old shop signs line the alleyways, and the overall vibe is positively creepy.Camelot Theme Park, Lancashire, UK Camelot Theme Park in Lancashire, UK joins the ranking – the castle was further damaged recently by a fireCamelot theme park in Charnock Richard, Lancashire, has been abandoned since its closure in 2012, but for three decades its King Arthur-themed rides were hugely popular with families and youngsters.Abandoned buildings and overgrown remnants of the attraction were left scattered across the site.Instead of welcoming young families, the site has more recently seen urban explorers, pill-popping ravers and anti-social youths – and thrill-seekers to the abandoned park’s ‘Scare City’ event.But earlier this year, a huge fire ripped through the abandoned site of the once iconic British theme park – destroying the last remaining building. The construction of homes on the site is also now in the works, according to the BBC. Royal Marines Museum, Portsmouth, UK The former Royal Marines Museum has been closed to the publicThe former Royal Marines Museum in Eastney (part of Southsea, Portsmouth) has been left empty since 2020.In April 2026, The Bearded Explorer shared a YouTube video exploring the site – in which he claimed to have found a family living there.While much of the building appears intact from the outside, the inside is full of crumbling paintwork, rubbish and even a ‘dead pigeon’, the intrepid explorer said.The faded grandeur is evident.One visitor wrote on Facebook: ‘Such a shame that this building has been left to rot like this. I got married there in 2014 and it was beautiful then.’Another added: ‘Why not convert it for homeless veterans or even just allow use of it.’Nara Dreamland, Japan More ‘horror film’ than ‘holiday hotspot’, Nara Dreamland theme park was once inspired by Disneyland The tea cup ride and pink castle at Nara Dreamland have both crumbled Nara Dreamland was built in 1961 as Japan’s answer to Disneyland, but low visitor numbers forced it to close decades later.With its crumbling slides, buckling rollercoaster tracks and hauntingly empty carousels, the derelict Nara Dreamland in Japan is enough to give anyone nightmares.Chilling photos reveal the decay of the once popular tourist attraction, which closed to the public in 2006.Vegetation is slowly taking over the giant wooden rollercoaster, and the once vibrant pink castle, inspired no doubt by Disney, sits behind overgrown grassland.Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes, UK Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes is overgrown and appears stuck in time The theme park site has been shut for 10 yearsShrieks of excitement, cheers from children and the roar of rides were all common sounds once heard from beyond the walls of Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes.The seaside theme park, located in the east of Lincolnshire, first opened in 1993, and welcomed hundreds of thousands of adrenaline junkies through its gates every year.It boasted plenty of heart-racing roller coasters, including Alakazam, Terror Rack and Gravitron, drawing in both Lincolnshire locals and visitors from neighbouring towns.Yet since its closure a decade ago, the site has remained abandoned, shutting up shop in 2016 after 23 years.Photos last year revealed how painted walls of broken buildings were still standing as well as arcade machines and ride props. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, West Virginia, US The entrance to Lake Shawnee abandoned amusement park is terrifyingAn abandoned theme park in the US is said to be one of the world’s ‘most haunted places’, with a violent history and reports of paranormal activity on site.Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in West Virginia was originally home to a farm – until some of the farmer’s children were mysteriously killed, leading to a bloody feud between the family and a Native American tribe held responsible for their deaths.The eerie site was purchased in 1926 and converted into a theme park with rides, swings, a water slide, a dance hall and swimming hole.It operated for two decades – until the spooky history continued with a further string of children’s deaths, including a boy who allegedly drowned in the pond and a three-year-old girl who lost her life on the swings.After closing in 1966, the park was abandoned for 20 more years until developers decided the site would make a great residential neighbourhood.That is, until they discovered the site was built on top of an ancient burial ground – and most of the skeletons were of children.Since then, the park has drawn in ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts from the US and around the world.Pripyat Amusement Park, Ukraine After the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Pripyat was left abandoned The children’s amusement park was left to stand with no visitorsPripyat, an abandoned city near Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus, is arguably the most famous abandoned town in the world – and is home to an equally derelict theme park.Residents were forced to flee after one of the reactors at the Chernobyl power plant went into meltdown in April 1986, sparking the world’s worst nuclear disaster.The abandoned amusement park is perhaps among the most eerie and prolific images of ghostly Pripyat.The Ferris wheel has stood unused and slowly decaying since 1986.Abandoned bumper cars in the unfinished amusement park appear to have been frozen in time since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Greenery surrounds the structure as nature has begun creeping back in.