First Look: Tivoli Gardens Reveals Hikari, The Largest Themed Area In The Park's Almost 200 Year History

One of the oldest amusement parks in the world is about to look quite new after a major renovation.

What's Happening:

• Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen Denmark, is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, as it's been around for almost 200 years.
• The park opened in 1843 and is known to have been a major influence on Walt Disney's creation of Disneyland when he visited Europe multiple times in the 1950s.
• Tivoli has been undergoing a major update over the last couple of years transforming its Asian inspired district into a new themed area, called Hikari, which means light in Japanese.
• Hikari's 2,000 sq. meter redesign will make it easier to navigate for guests.
• The Demon, one of Tivoli's iconic attractions, will make its new home in the Hikari area.
• One of two new attractions, Hotel Hikari is an indoor attraction where guests will enter an elevator and then be subjected to multiple visual illusions and effects, including a vortex tunnel, a tilted hotel room and an infinity mirror maze.
• The second new attraction, Typhoon's Eye, a rotating drum ride that includes the floor falling away.
• Hikari will also include five dining locations and two retail locations.
• A few pictures have been released on the new area.

• Hikari will open in August though the exact date has not been announced. A media preview is set for August 12, so it will be sometime after that date.

Tivoli & Disneyland

• Walt Disney is known to have visited Tivoli Gardens multiple times in his life, both before and after opening Disneyland.
• It's said that one particular area that impressed Walt was the park's cleanliness, something he wanted to emulate in his own park.
• The upcoming Disney Vacation Club Member Cruise, departing in August will be visiting Tivoli Gardens, so members will be able to experience this new area.