The Abandoned Dreamland

Known as a Disneyland rip-off, the Nara Dreamland is now an abandoned amusement park located in Japan. Nara Dreamland opened in 1961 and was heavily inspired by the American Disneyland which opened in California in 1955. 

The entrance to the park is almost identical with the park entrance in California, including things like the Train Depot, Main Street U.S.A., and the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The park also had its own mascots, which were 2 kids dressed as bear skinned guards, named Ran-chan and Dori-chan. There were also spots in the park with fountans which had statues of characters such as Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln residing in them. Due to the declining amount of visitors, Nara Dreamland permanently closed on August 31, 2006.

Nara Dreamland was founded by a man named Kunizu Matsuo, president of the Matsuo Entertainment Company. As the park's history goes, Matsuo wanted to bring Disneyland to Japan - not to Tokyo, but to the old capital Nara, the cradle of Japanese culture. Matsuo also was in direct contact with Disney’s engineers to create the Japanese version of Disneyland. But towards the end of the construction phase, the two parties couldn’t agree on license fees for all the famous Disney characters so the Japanese side created their own mascots and abandoned the idea of Nara Disneyland.

The rides at Nara Dreamland included: Aska, a wooden roller coaster, Screw Coaster, Bobsleigh, Fantasy Coaster, Kid's Coaster, Figure-8 Monorail, a carousel, log fume, a Jungle Cruise Ride, and other small powered rides. Its main attraction was the Aska roller coaster, a wooden coaster built by Intamin and opened in 1998. 

Although Nara Dreamland had been shutdown for years, it hasn't been demolished and the park's attractions are still there. The park is also under tight security making it hard for "unauthorized" people to enter.

Sources: AbandonedKansai, AbandonedPlaygrounds