Five Literary Theme Parks To Blow Your Vacation Days On.

What’s down a taxable park? Often arsenic not, a bully yarn.

When I was little, my family sometimes recovered itself astatine Story Land successful New Hampshire. This park—and galore others for illustration it astir nan world—loosely celebrates fairy and people tales, successful a people’s Disney sorta way. At Story Land, Hans Christian Anderson’s activity sewage a batch of emotion from nan creation department. But if representation serves, truthful did Mother Goose.

This committedness to communicative and characteristic near beardown impressions connected my dreamy kid psyche. But also, a craving for specificity. As we creep toward summer, I’m reminded of this relationship betwixt play and story. This dreamy big wondered if location mightiness beryllium thing extra impressionable astir a parkland that commits to 1 circumstantial yarn. (Or character.)

On a lark, I went looking. Here are a fewer specified dorky destinations.

Avonlea Village on Prince Edward Island celebrates nan world of L. Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. 

A large position connected literate tours, Avonlea Village is location to respective replicas from Anne Shirley’s universe. Free to enter, it’s besides a large eating and shopping destination. One tin bargain Anne-centric souvenirs astatine nan artisan market, past enjoy—I assume—a raspberry cordial and plum pudding. Just for illustration our favourite lit-kid redhead.

Excuse me, I misspoke. There is different contender for favourite lit-kid redhead. If you’re a Pippi stan and find yourself successful Småland, you mightiness cheque retired Astrid Lindgren’s World. There, visitors tin committee Captain Efraim Longstocking’s ship. Or spell creeping astir Villa Villekula, location to nan coolest emancipated kid you’ve ever encountered.

This taxable parkland is besides location to unrecorded shows and a awesome woody of observant world-building. Diehard Lindgrenites tin immerse themselves successful nan remainder of Astrid’s canon, via strolls done nan Tiny Tiny Town aliases down Troublemaker Street.

Pinocchio Park successful Tuscany germinated astir a monument—Emilio Greco’s stunning bronze, “Pinocchio and nan Fairy.” Conceived arsenic a sculpture parkland appealing to children and adults, nan parkland is now location to a “pathway of surprises” capturing episodes successful this small woody puppet’s little and wondrous life.

The parkland includes an interactive museum, retro rides, a zip line, and—you guessed it—a puppet show. And different awesome useful of creation are peppered passim nan grounds.

In France, nan hyper-detailed PuyduFou places visitors astatine nan halfway of an Arthurian legend. This 100 twelvemonth aged wood ruin was reclaimed successful 1978, erstwhile immoderate existent niche entrepreneurs hatched a scheme to shape open-air amateur history plays explaining “the sadistic communicative of nan Vendée civilian war.”

Today nan parkland immerses visitors successful a unrecorded recreation of King Arthur’s first quest. After visiting nan Round Table, guests tin stroll done a Medieval Village.

A connection to Connecticut Yankees? Visitors propose you return France’s 2nd most-trafficked taxable parkland pinch a atom of humanities salt. Some person chided PuyduFou for its era inaccuracies and a “reactionary” agenda.

Vermonters and older children-at-heart tin bask Jane Austen Weekends astatine nan Governor’s House successful Hyde Park. No rides present per se, but attendees tin immerse themselves successful Austen-tivities, and are lightly encouraged to dress successful costume. Meaning, Regency garb.

This taxable acquisition does not a inexpensive escapade make. Regular JAW rates commencement astatine $495 a pop, and that is if you’re consenting to stock a suite. But tickets see “two nights’ lodging, Friday evening’s talk pinch dessert, afloat meal connected Saturday morning, Saturday day tea, Saturday meal statement pinch book discussion, whist, aliases English state dancing, early Sunday Continental breakfast, and nan Jane Austen quiz during Sunday brunch.”

Weekends are arranged astir peculiar novels. Watch this abstraction for specifications connected nan upcoming Emmapalooza.

Some different literate parks person flamed out. A Dickens World went defunct successful 2016, possibly because rides for illustration “the workhouse” couldn’t clasp nan children’s interest. But this excursion tripped my mogul wire. So galore books look ripe for nan taxable parkland treatment.

One skim done my trusty manual, Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi’s The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, yields respective possibilities. Where, for instance, is nan Kingdom of Azaz, aft Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth?

What if 1 could get lifted connected a summertime Friday astatine an IRL Borgesian library? Or, successful that negging Dickensian spirit, sojourn Kafka’s Castle? Where’s nan taxable parkland Middle Earth? The taxable parkland Narnia?

Shrewd Redditors punctual us: nan reply to each our problems is, arsenic usual, IP law. Many estates person been loath to relinquish thrust rights. So it looks for illustration we must clasp our breaths for #KafkaSummer.

Oh, well. In nan meantime, we’ll ever person Avonlea.

Images via, via, via, via, via