Saturday, March 03, 2001
Ohio a thrill-seekers' delight
Ohioans' affinity for amusement parks dates to the late 1800s. The second-oldest park in North America is Cedar Point in Sandusky, which began operations in 1870.
Here's another trivia note: The president of each of the four major theme park chains in the country — Cedar Fair, Paramount, Six Flags and Busch Entertainment Corp. — hail from Ohio.
“That tells you right there that the roots of theme parks and amusement parks runs deep in Ohio,” said Tim O'Brien, an editor with the amusement-industry trade publication Amusement Business. “It's a part of Ohio's heritage.”
Here are other fun facts about the region's amusement parks, which include Paramount's Kings Island in Mason, Cedar Point, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville and Six Flags World of Adventure in Aurora, Ohio:
• More than 10 million people visited amusement parks in Ohio and Kentucky in 2000.
• There are 44 roller coasters at the four parks in Ohio and Kentucky combined.
• There are 123,403 feet of roller coaster track — or about 23 miles, equivalent to a trip from Paramount's Kings Island to Cincinnati's riverfront — at the four parks in Ohio and Kentucky combined.
• Thrills are a big business. The four parks combined employ more than 18,000 seasonal employees every year.
• Kings Island's attractions have logged more than 942 million rides — nearly three times the U.S. population — since it opened in 1972.
• Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, which has a large water park, uses about 3 million gallons of water daily.
• More than 85 million people have visited Kings Island since 1972.
• Kings Island's Royal Fountain on International Street uses more than 10,000 gallons of water every minute.
— Kevin Aldridge
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