Terra Encantada

Terra Encantada was an amusement park in Rio de Janeiro which was designed to be one of the most modern amusement parks in Latin America. It was opened in 1998 after two delays in opening. There are 200,000 square metres located at Avenida Ayrton Senna, 2800, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro with a theme based on characters and festivals of Brazilian culture and its origins: indigenous, African and European. The main street consists of bars, restaurants and most shops in the park, all the facades in various styles of Brazilian architecture. The main roller coaster in the park, Monte Makaya, held the record for most inversions in the world (8 inversions in all) for four years, but was trumped by Colossus, Thorpe Park.

Current situation

Since its opening in January 1998, Terra Encantada could not overcome the expectations of the public who came to buy tickets even before the inauguration. It was expected to be a Disney Carioca Bar and became the land of fun and fantasy, attracting dozens of investors.

In the project, there were more than 60 dining options and came to be contemplated opening a U.S. subsidiary of Planet Hollywood. Investments reached U.S. $220 million. More than 12 thousand people should be employed directly and indirectly and the forecast was 20 thousand visitors per day. Sales came to about $30 million monthly. The reality was very different. The problems began even before the inauguration of the Terra Encantada, which was twice postponed. The first was scheduled for October 12, 1997 and the other for December 15. When the park was opened in January 1998, only part of the attractions were available. The first visitors, disappointed, came to claim the money back. The leisure center was running for less than a month when he received a visit from actress Isis de Oliveira. The artist was injured in one of the main attractions of the park, the lift cabum and entered in court. Thereafter, a series of problems have shaken the credibility of Terra Encantada. Fights between fighters of jiu-jitsu a strike by employees.

One case that gained more impact in the press occurred in March 2002 during a rock band's A Charlie Brown Jr. brawl, at around 1:30 am, left 61 people injured. Shops were destroyed and looted, and stones, chairs, trash cans and potted plants were thrown everywhere by young people who attended the show. (Source, Jornal O Globo) Today, the structure of Main Street went through reforms, but the Castle of Water and Lookouts remain in precarious

In 2010, Terra Encantada was chosen to be the site of recordings from the soap opera "Ugly Betty" by Rede Record and has all your main street turned into an old neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, but precisely in the neighbourhood of Gamboa.

However, on June 19, 2010, the 61 year-old kitchen helper, Heydiara Lemos Ribeiro, was thrown out of Mount Aurora, falling from a height of approx. 10 meters. The victim died from head trauma. During the investigations it was proven that the park's rides all had serious structural and mechanical failures, which led to a total ban of the park and the indictment for manslaughter and the director and the engineer held responsible. The report is being awaited from the expertise and the park will only open its doors again when they fulfill all the demands made by the Civil Defense. The park has since been abandoned.

Characters

The characters were created especially for the park, based on the theme, which is the Brazilian culture and its origins: indigenous, African and European. Enjoying the beauty and strength of nature, have highlighted some endangered species - like the golden lion tamarin, the hyacinth macaw and the boto color pink - who managed to save himself and went to live in Terra Encantada.

Thematic areas

Terra Encantada is divided into different thematic areas that depict the origins of the Brazilian people. Walking through the park is to admire its beautiful scenery and of course walking on their innovative rides.