1. The geography of theme parks
Learning objective:
To research theme parks worldwide to understand their varying geography.
Notes: this PowerPoint and its contents have been adapted from materials provided by Garry Simmons, Wilmington Grammar School for Girls, Dartford, Kent.
You will need: A3 paper plus devices.
Key questions:
What is a ‘theme park’?
Focus student attention on how theme parks are linked to geography.
Starter:
What is a ‘theme park’.
How are theme parks linked to geography?
5 mins
©Teaching Geography Theme park geography Simmons, Harris

2. Noun: an amusement park with a unifying setting or idea
Theme park
Noun: an amusement park with a unifying setting or idea
Reveal definition and emphasise that they are not just rollercoasters, but can be an amusement park with any defining idea/theme e.g. The Making of Harry Potter/ Peppa Pig etc.
Credits:
Source of definition -
Photos: top left – rollercoaster © Garry Knight (cc); top right – The Making of Harry Potter © Graham Churchard (cc); bottom – Peppa Pig World - © Sarah and Austin Houghton-Bird (CC)
©Teaching Geography Theme park geography Simmons, Harris

3. Instructions Groups to be given a number
Number relates to a theme park
Research theme park using prompts given. Have 15 minutes in groups to research and create a poster with key facts/ figures to present back to the class.
Thorpe Park
Godstone Farm
Disneyland Paris
Peppa Pig World
Walt Disney World Florida
The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour
LEGOLAND® Windsor
Chessington World of Adventures
Alton Towers
Give each group a number.
The number corresponds to a theme park.
Once the groups are sorted proceed to the next slide.
©Teaching Geography Theme park geography Simmons, Harris

4. Key details to research
Remember to work collaboratively and divide tasks equally amongst your group to get all of the task completed in time.
Don’t forget to create a poster with key facts/ figures from your research to present back to the rest of the class too!
Name
Location
Size / area
Distance from nearest town/city
Amount of people it attracts per year
Number of employees
Number of attractions / rides etc.
Main tourist attractions
What else is at the resort? (E.g. hotels, restaurants, etc.?)
How long do people stay there?
Where do people stay when they visit, or do they just go for the day?
Where do people come from to visit the attraction? What is the attractions ‘sphere of influence’? Is it a local/regional/national/ international attraction?
Who owns the park?
Who runs the park? E.g. Merlin Entertainments
When did it open?
How much did it cost to build?
How much does it cost to run?
Students research their given theme park, finding out information on the factors shown on the board.
Groups to create a poster for their theme park with main facts and figures (questions in red) to present back to the class.
Give them 15 mins to research and create a poster before the presentations.
The idea is to have a good overview of a theme park so they have some context to compare the Paramount Resort to when they eventually research this.
15 mins
©Teaching Geography Theme park geography Simmons, Harris

5. Plenary
Learning objective:
To research theme parks worldwide to understand their varying geography.
How did the theme park you researched compare to some of the others?
Do some have a bigger influence than others? Are they local / regional / national / international?
Are they standalone features or are they part of much bigger ‘resorts’ with hotels, restaurant facilities, etc. for an extended stay?
What impact do ‘resorts’ have on the local area, compared to smaller scale theme parks?
Ask a series of questions to draw out the contrasts between theme parks.
Start to lead this towards the idea of resorts having a larger scale impact beyond the boundaries of the resort, and that they can have a large influence (positive or negative) on the wider area.
5 mins
©Teaching Geography Theme park geography Simmons, Harris