Venue: Pirates World
Town: Dania Beach, US

Pirates World was a 100-acre (40 ha) pirate-themed amusement park in Dania, Florida, that opened April 8, 1967. Developed by Recreation Corporation of America, it was located on the north side of Sheridan Street between U.S. Route 1 and A1A. With the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, attendance dropped drastically, and the park was closed in 1973. Pirates World was successful in its early years, but in 1971 Walt Disney World opened in Florida, which took much business away from the theme park. In 1973, it became bankrupt and closed (though some sources list the park as having closed in 1975). Norman Kaufman, a venturing carnival rides owner back in Coney Island, bought some of the steeplechase's fiberglass horses and eventually gave one of them to the "Coney Island, USA" museum more than 20 years later. The fate of the others is unknown. In 1978, a biblical theme park was to have been developed on the site, but those plans fell through. The land was sold, zoned residential and condominiums were built over the last traces of the park. The park featured "The Crow's Nest" observation tower, which had originally been the Belgian Aerial Tower at the 1964 New York World's Fair. This structure was bought secondhand after the fair and transported to the site, where it was re-erected. It consisted of a central post from which were suspended four metal cages by cables, designed to carry several standing passengers. To balance the structure, two cages would be in the air while two were being loaded on the ground, and the cages would be raised and lowered simultaneously. Another feature was the pirate ship ride - an actual life-sized pirate ship. The ship, piloted by park personnel, cruised along a "river" through a barrage of cannon fire and "enemy" pirates shooting at the ship, while the pirates that were aboard the ship were firing back at them, protecting their passengers from harm. There were amusement park games owned and run by Cindy and Joe Dickman, along with a pet