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Having the time of their lives being scared almost to death, the five young Americans above are part of the bigger-than-ever audiences this summer at amusement parks. The surge of customers supports the current emphasis in the fun-spot business toward "theme parks" that stick to one motif — and are generally aimed at being educational. While a few like Denver's Elitch Gardens (p. 30) remain strongholds of miscellaneous fun, most of the new ones have educational pretensions — and a marked absence of roller coasters. Of the big new parks in the U.S., some 50% have adopted the "theme park" pattern. Among them: Disneyland, the granddaddy of the movement. New York's Freedomland, Africa U.S.A. in Florida (see cover), Wisconsin's Fort Dells with its western setting and the proposed Bible Storyland in California. The fun-spot industry proudly announced that despite a few disastrous failures, its 1959 business increased by $250 million, bringing it to a total $2 billion. Its attendance jumped by 50 million people. Freedomland, the latest, largest and most elaborate theme park, opened last month on the outskirts of New York City. It covers 85 acres, is shaped like a map of the United States, and cost $65 million. Visitors can stroll from New York to Illinois, watch the great Chicago fire (right), ride in a Great Lakes stern-wheeler or a fur trapper's boat and sample a hundred other thrills connected, more or less, with American history. Freedomland was designed by one of the architects of Disneyland. But unlike its celebrated forerunner, which stays open all year, Freedomland closes for the cold months, has to make more hay while the sun shines. […]