Luna Park Tel Aviv: How Scary Is Israel’s Biggest Amusement Park?

Nestled in the heart of Tel Aviv, Luna Park has long been a cornerstone of Israeli childhoods: a sun-drenched escape filled with spinning rides, sticky cotton candy, and the unmistakable soundtrack of delighted screams. But for horror fans and thrill-seekers with a darker taste, this seemingly cheerful amusement park, the biggest in Israel, raises an intriguing question: beyond its family-friendly charm, does Luna Park Tel Aviv offer any real adrenaline for adults?

To answer this question, we prepared an “adult” review of the amusement park for you, emphasizing one essential question: What scary rides at the amusement park can appeal to adults today, or even horror fans? As you will immediately see, we found several rides, including roller coasters, spinning rides, free fall, and more.

What Is The Luna Park Tel Aviv?

Before we start reviewing specific rides, here are a few words about Luna Park. Israel’s largest and oldest amusement park was opened in 1970 as a municipal amusement park. It essentially took over the role of the amusement park in Jaffa, which was opened in 1950 by disabled veterans of the Israeli Independence War and investors. The park featured a relatively limited list of rides, including a carousel, bumper cars, and, at one point, a “Ghost Train,” which was essentially a roller coaster. The park is part of Israeli culture, which was established as a country just a few years ago. The truth is that the famous Israeli children’s song “Daddy, Let’s Go to Luna Park” – written and composed by Yosef Canaan and Israel Yitzhaki and performed by Avshalom Canaan – was written in 1952 on the occasion of the opening of the Amusement Park on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa.

In 1970, when the amusement park moved to its current location in Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, it had three rides: a carousel, bumper cars, and a Ferris wheel. Interestingly, unlike today, but not too unusual in amusement parks, admission to Luna Park was free, with visitors having to pay only for the rides.

In the late 1980s, a private company privatized the amusement park, and today “Entertainment Town Ltd.” manages it. This company also operates the “Meymadion” Water Park located just across the road and “Superland,” the big “rival” (as far as amusement parks managed by the same company can be rivals) in Rishon LeZion.

What Attractions Are In Luna Park Tel Aviv?

The amusement park currently has about 30 rides, which we can divide into two groups. The first, less relevant to our site, is family attractions or rides for children (even though adults can enjoy some).

The list of rides on Luna Park Tel Aviv in this context includes, among other things:

• Family roller coaster – a train with 10 cars (each with two seats), which runs for about 330 meters with ups, downs, and twists. It is an excellent way to introduce children to roller coasters.
• Power Towers – In this attraction, which opened in 2004, you sit on chairs in two towers and pull a rope upwards, up to 8 meters. The device, which works to a certain extent on power and allows for dealing with a fear of heights, is suitable for relatively older children (120 cm and above).
• Horses Carousel – A classic horse carousel, opened in the 1970s, with 30 horses in shades of black, white, pink, or light blue.
• Elephant Carousel – A carousel with about 10 different-colored elephants moves at medium speed. Those using the carousel can press a button to raise them to a height.
• Mini Boats Carousel – Another slow carousel that simulates vertical sailing in the sea (without ups and downs).
• Planes Carousel – A slow carousel that will turn your children into “pilots” (at least for your photos).
• Swans Carousel – A carousel consisting of 10 black and white swans that move in a slow circular motion.
• Bumper Cars – 16 cars collide in different colors. It can also be suitable for adults, with or without their children.
• Driving School – Driving 15 cars on a track that simulates a real road. The experience begins with a video that explains the traffic rules, and at the end, you can buy a “driving license” for children, with the child’s details and photo.
• Monorail – A single-track train with cars that move slowly on an axis. Although there are pedals, they do not affect the ride, which is at a constant speed.
• Cinema Luna – A cinema that shows videos in four dimensions (4D) with various effects. Please note that the cinema involves a separate fee and is not included in the entrance ticket to the park.

Of course, the list of the park’s attractions has undergone many changes over the decades it has been operating. Dozens of rides have been dismantled or replaced for various reasons, such as the old Ferris wheel, the cable car that once passed over the park, the roller coaster that operated until 2010, a glass maze, an octopus ride, and even the pirate ship that makes a complete loop, which at one point moved to the “Superland” (where it still operates today).

Scary Rides At The Luna Park

With all due respect to rides suitable for (almost) all ages, our bread and butter are the rides designed for older children, which work mainly on adrenaline and allow you to deal with various fears, such as a fear of heights or high speeds.

So, what scary rides are waiting for you on Luna Park Tel Aviv?

Anaconda

The Anaconda roller coaster is one of the most popular and scary rides at the amusement park. The train, manufactured by the Dutch company “Vekoma” (which has installed similar models in dozens of amusement parks worldwide), will take you on a fast ride for one minute and 48 seconds. The track, which is about 285 meters long, goes to a maximum height of about 35.5 meters, a maximum speed of about 75.5 kilometers per hour, and a peak acceleration of 5.2 G. The Anaconda includes three loops, curly screws, and a reverse run.

The Anaconda has undergone several cosmetic changes over the years, including its repainting in shades of blue and purple around 2025.

Adults and children at least 130 cm tall can ride the Anaconda roller coaster. An adult must accompany riders between 130 and 140 cm.

Black Mamba

Black Mamba – the attraction, not the scary snake we wrote about on the site – has been operating since 2009. It is a free-fall attraction, during which 16 passengers will be taken up by elevator to a height of about 65 meters, from where they will quickly descend downwards and back again.

The Black Mamba roller coaster is suitable for people 130 cm tall or taller.

Ferris Wheel

The Ferris Wheel at Luna Park Tel Aviv can be challenging for people scared of heights or even a more specific fear of Ferris wheels. The wheel at the entrance to the park, which is considered one of its main symbols, reaches a height of about 60 meters, making it the tallest in Israel (the Ferris Wheel at Superland, for comparison, reaches a height of only about 50 meters).

The Ferris Wheel opened in its current form in 2016, and its use is only permitted from a height of 95 cm. An adult must accompany it up to a height of 142 cm.

The King

The King is a Loop Fighter, which replaced the Octupos that once were there. The ride reaches a height of about 25 meters and performs complete 360-degree inversions. It may scare people afraid of heights or make it difficult for those sensitive to vertigo.

The King is for people from a height of 140 cm to a height of 2 meters.

Pirate Ship

Luna Park’s pirate ship does not perform a complete inversion (unlike the ride at Superland, which, as mentioned, was once at an amusement park), but it can still be fun and a little scary. The ship, which is about 12 meters long and includes nine benches, will move up and down, back and forth, dozens of times. The belief is that rides of this type are scarier when you sit at the edges rather than in the middle.

The use of the pirate ship, built in the 1980s, is permitted from a height of 120 cm.

Ghost Train

The Ghost Train, which has been operating since the 1970s, was one of the oldest attractions at Luna Park. The principle here is that passengers travel through a dark tunnel, which simulates a slow ride through some scary place. Along the route, you encounter scary dolls with a particular movement and sound effects: in the past, it was mainly a witch. Today, you will meet characters from the entire arsenal of horror. Still, don’t expect real horror icons like Freddy Krueger or Pennywise here, but more general scary images, such as a monster or a vampire.

The amusement park’s Ghost Train was renovated and renewed in 2015, including replacing the scenery and dolls. It consists of six cars, each with space for up to two passengers. The target population is adults and children from 90 cm tall, with heights between 115-90 cm. Adult accompaniment is required.

Crazy Twister

Crazy Twister is a more family-friendly roller coaster that began operating in 2011 and is based on cars that rotate during the ride. The route includes descents, ascents, and turns, and the train does it twice during the attraction’s operation.

The Crazy Twister in Luna Park Tel Aviv is intended for people 200-120 cm tall and weighing 120-25 kg.

The Star

The Star Flyer is a chain carousel, that is, a carousel in which you sit in chairs that rise to an impressive height and rotate quickly around an axis. In this case, the ascent will be up to a height of about 66 meters, with the ride reaching about 72 meters, making it the tallest in the amusement park as of the current time.

Star Flyer is designed for heights of 120 cm and up to 142 cm, an adult must accompany the ride.

Top Spin

Top Spin, known as “The Candy,” is a scary ride that will “turn your head and stomach” at best but may cause dizziness for particularly sensitive people. The ride, built in 1988, includes two rows of seats (a total of up to 40 passengers at a time) connected by poles. The result is a thrilling journey, including ups and downs, inversions (i.e., with the head facing down), and a 360-degree spin at breakneck speed. By the way, the ride once included a water spray on the passengers.

Top Spin is suitable for heights of 140 cm and up to a maximum height of 185 cm.

Tagada

Tagada is one of the most controversial rides at Luna Park Tel Aviv today. The Tagada, which is suitable for a height of 140 cm, is an extremely fast carousel that rotates and “jumps” to the sounds of music (yes, in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of that dancing nun from Mexico).

The main principle is that there is no seat belt here, and passengers must hold on to the railing. Anyone who stands or tries to dance, God forbid, endangers themselves, as happened in 2017 with an accident that injured two young women who were standing in the middle of the carousel and flew. The controversial ride has been banned from construction and use in various places worldwide, including the United States. Since that incident in Israel, the only requirement has been that the carousel rotates, not bounces.

Water slides

Luna Park is not a water park, and you are almost certainly not expected to get wet during your visit. Still, it has two red water slides, where you slide in rubber boats. These slides replaced the “death glider,” which involved a descent at an angle of about 80 degrees. There used to be blue slides here too, but in a manner reminiscent of abandoned amusement parks, they stopped being active and became covered in vegetation.

Each boat can fit up to two passengers from a height of 95 cm. Up to a height of 110 cm, an adult is required, with the child sitting in the front of the boat.

Luna Park Tel Aviv Opening Hours

Planning to go to Luna Park? It is essential to check the hours of operation in advance for several reasons. First, the park is not open all year round but mainly on weekends and Israeli holidays. In addition, there are days when it is closed to the general public. Anyone who arrives without making sure that it is open may be disappointed.

You can check via Luna Park Tel Aviv website, which usually displays the opening hours a few weeks in advance. When the park is open, it will usually open at 10:00, but it can close in the afternoon (17:00-18:00) and on certain days in the evening. Visiting the park in the evening will give a different character to the visit when the rides are lit up in various colors.

What Is The Luna Park Entrance Fee?

Israel is an expensive country that has become even more expensive in recent years. You can find cheaper prices if you arrive at a less crowded time. However, those are still far from attractive to the average Israeli family or tourist visiting Israel.

So, what do you do to buy tickets to Luna Park TLV and stay alive financially? A few things. You can usually find discounted Luna Park tickets occasionally or through customer clubs. We recommend checking your options for buying discounted amusement park tickets in your lineup and on the dates you wish to attend because the discounts reduce the tickets by tens of percent, which can be significant for families.

Admission for children up to 90 cm tall is free, and there is no need to buy an amusement park ticket. The bad news is, as we saw from the facility review, they won’t be able to top most of them.

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