Inside the abandoned Florida water park once used to film Tarzan and Thunderball

To look at it now, it’s hard to imagine Hollywood blockbusters like Tarzan and Thunderball were once filmed in this abandoned theme park.

A creepy abandoned theme park in Florida was once used as a filming location for Hollywood blockbusters during its heyday.

The original Tarzan as well as Thunderball and Creature from the Black Lagoon were all filmed at Wild Waters Water Park.

The park now sits abandoned. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

Today, very little remains of the theme park, with demolition removing many of the rides.

However, it was once one of the most popular parks in Florida, having first opened in 1978, and was built by ABC Television.

It opened as a sister park to Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, which was famous at the time for its glass-bottom boat tours.

The Wild Waters Water Park in Florida was built in the 1970s. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

Today, very little remains of the theme park. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

It was one of the few water parks in the country at the time to use fibreglass flumes, which are now used across the industry.

Rides included a dual-speed flume ride, Silver Bullet, a 25-metre double flume called the Hurricane and a 1,700,000 litre wave pool.

Along with water rides, there was also a shaded picnic area, food stores and gift shops.

Pictures of the park, taken since by an urban explorer known as Abandoned Southeast, reveal rides having fallen into disrepair and being taken over by nature.

Rides included a dual-speed flume ride. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

Visitors are banned from entering, but some still do. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

The brightly painted buildings are covered in graffiti despite visitors being banned from entering, and pools are dirty and empty.

While it was a smaller attraction than most theme parks, visitor numbers were high.

Palace Entertainment managed the park until 2002, and the contract was originally planned to run until 2029.

However, the former governor allowed them to end it early in 2013.

The park still has some rides being taken over by nature. Picture: Abandoned Southeast/Media Drum Images/Australscope

It was then passed to Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Park Service.

The park closed in 2016 and demolition works started in 2018.

However, parts of Silver Springs remain, and it is now a state park where the glass-bottomed boat tours still remain.

Another theme park in the US has been left to rot after being forced to close.

Six Flags New Orleans, used as a filming location for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World, closed in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina.

The UK also has several abandoned theme parks, including Camelot in Lancashire.

This article originally appeared on the The Sun and was reproduced with permission