4. Thorpe Park

© Merlin. Click for larger.

Problem: Contained on an island, Thorpe Park has had a most unusual explosion into the public consciousness. Existing as a simple family park with a petting zoo, 3D theater, and collection of family flat rides for decades, the park got supercharged in 2002 under the guidance of Merlin (owners of Alton Towers). Since 2002, the park has added five massive steel coasters and re-branded itself as the nation’s thrill capitol. Maybe, but the 2013 park map did no favors in guiding guests from thrill to thrill. Click the map to open a much larger version, then tell us: Can you spot the vomiting rider? How about the one with his arm cut off?

© Merlin. Click for larger.

Solution: The map was radically redesigned for 2014, and while it appears a lot less cluttered and easier to navigate, it’s not exactly crystal clear. According to 2014’s map, the park’s five massive coasters each reach to the stratosphere. Better than a dizzying and unclear collection of rides and sick guests.

5. Phantasialand

Via Theme Park Review. Click for larger.

Problem: This unfairly overshadowed German park is perhaps one of the most impressive of the parks stuck in Disney’s shadow. Its realistic themed lands and collection of incredible family and thrill rides set it apart and earn it a spot in Europe’s most attended. Problem is that for many years, its park map was practically useless, drawn in a fish-eye orientation that highlighted only a few paths and grouped the park’s many rides into an odd corner.

Image via Theme Park Review. Click for larger.

Solution: The park got wise for 2014, changing its map into an almost GPS-specific style that doesn’t sacrifice detail OR artwork. Easy to navigate AND collector-friendly, the map is a whole lot better than it used to be at guiding guests.

6. Busch Gardens Williamsburg

© SeaWorld Parks. Click for larger.

Problem: Like its Floridian, Africa-themed sister, the European-themed Busch Gardens in Virginia has a storied past archive of park maps trying to make sense of its complex layout. The park is located in the dense forests of Williamsburg with extreme climbs, bridges, and very intense stairs connecting its many country-themed lands. In that same unfortunate style of the early 2000s, the park’s map was more comic book than guiding aid. It was full of exaggerated architecture and mangled paths that resemble a seek-and-find book, with little help on how to actually get anywhere or what landmarks might actually look like.

© SeaWorld Parks. Click for larger.

Solution: Following Tampa’s footsteps, the map was simplified and given a harsh dose of reality, becoming an accurate representation of the park’s layout. Maybe it does lose some style in the process, but in a park like Busch Gardens, practical maps have got to come first. Noticing just how different the first map is from the second shows how inaccurate and out-of-scale the first really was!

Conclusion 

You wouldn’t think that making good park maps would be that hard. But some of the parks above have tried out new styles every year or two just trying to find the right way to balance beauty and usefulness. The results have been staggering, as you can see. Next time you visit your favorite park, grab a map and pretend you’d never visited before… Could YOU find your way around by the map alone?