Great America

Six Flags Great America is located outside of Chicago in Gurnee, Illinois. This park first opened in 1976. The park currently has eight different themed sections and a waterpark attached. This year, the park will be closed the entire season due to budget cuts. I believe this is the only operation park in the state. I can remember visiting the parks while still in school. This is where we took our 8^th grade and senior class trip.  As a kid, we looked forward to these trips all year. The best park about going on the trips was all the different roller coasters that this had to offer. My class mates and I would compete against one another to see who could ride the most roller coasters in one day. We also enjoyed getting characterchers drawn and then comparing to see whose the best was.

Currently, the park has a whopping thirteen roller coasters. These roller coasters range from wooden to steel and they go upside down and spin around and around. Some also tilt you forward so you can feel like you are flying or allow you to stand up. Around the park you can also find numerous other rides for people of all ages and all different types of games. You can find both mind games and physical games. There is also an array of food that you can find though out the park. Then, in October the park offers Fright Fest all month long for those that like Halloween to enjoy.

Water Country

Water Country USA is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. This park first opened in 1984. It is currently the Mid-Atlantics largest water park. There is much more to this park besides just the water rides, Here at this park,  you can take yourself back in time a bit since all of the water rides, restaurants, shops, and entertainment has either or 1950’s or 1960’s beach theme.

Currently the park has 17 different water rides, 2 lazy rivers, and 3 different areas for the kids to play. The new water ride to open up this year is called Vanish Point. This new attraction was inspired by the point on a wave where water and gravity form a perfect partnership. Once you reach the top of this 75-foot tower you have two different options of getting down. At the top there are 4 different slides, 2 of each kind.  You can either step into a sky box where the floor drops out on you, or you can lay down on your back and drop almost straight down a 300’ speed slide.  Either one is likely to get your nerves going. Another unique thing that the feature for entertainment is a dive show called AQUABATICS. This is an exciting show that you don’t want to miss. The show features a combination of high-dive, trapeze acts, trampoline stunts and athletic acrobats.

Throughout the summer you can come to this park and enjoy a day of fun in the sun! Ticket prices this year are $46.00 for those 10 and over, $39.99 for ages 3-9, and those that are 2 and under are free. For more information about this park you can visit their website.

http://www.watercountryusa.com/

Noahs Ark

Noah’s Ark is located in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, the town known as the “Water Park Capital of the World.” This water park is currently America’s largest water park and is constantly rated among one of the best water parks to visit in the United States!  The park opened in 1979 and has been growing ever since.

As far as water attractions go, this park has 49 waterslides, two huge wave pools, two lazy rivers, and 4 different kid’s play areas. The slides vary from 1-4 for the amount of people that can go down at a time, so you don’t have to do everything alone!  Some of the top water rides that this park features includes The Black Anaconda,  America’s longest water coaster, Time Warp, the world’s largest bowl ride, Scorpion’sTail, America’s first near-vertical looping waterslide and The Point of No Return, a water slide that is 10 stories high and you drop almost vertically down in just 5 short seconds.

A nice thing about Noah’s ark is that even though it is a water park, it does have some activities that you can enjoy without getting wet.  These activities include bumper boats, mini-golf, an arcade, remote control boats, a haunted crypt, a 4-D movie theatre and arcades. It’s nice to be able to go to a water park where rain won’t ruin your entire day.

This park is open every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day. You can purchase an all day unlimited pass for $35.99 for those 48” and above, and a 20% discount for those under that. Children two and under are always free. For more information, visit the parks website.

http://www.noahsarkwaterpark.com

Fun Facts I Didn't Know about Parks

I would like to take some time to talk about how I feel my blogs have been going.  They are not as hard as what I originally thought they were going to be, but they are still time consuming. I have discovered many parks that I didn’t even know existed.  From doing this project I have learned a lot more about parks that I did not know in the past. For instance, I didn’t know any of the following:

·         Many of the small parks that I have been researching are actually owned by bigger companies that had other parks across the United States.  Dollywood and Silver Dollar City are connected. Cedar Fair Entertainment Company owns all 10 of the following parks: Worlds of Fun, Cedar Point, Valley fair, Knott’s Berry Farm, Michigan’s Adventure, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and California’s Great America. They are getting up there with Six Flags!

·         A lot more amusement parks are adding on water parks. They are then advertising the 2 for the price of 1 deal and attracting a bigger customer base.

·         Many of the parks offer very similar attractions to one another. They just have different names and colors.

·         Parks sometimes buy rides from other amusement parks when they are done with them.

·         If you order your tickets online you can save yourself money.

·         Every year Golden Ticket Awards are awarded to the best parks, cleanest parks, best wooden coaster and best coaster across the United States and even in other countries.

Splish Splash

Splish splash is located in Riverhead, New York. This was park opened up in 1991. At this time it only had 3 body slides, 2 speed slides, 2 tube slides, 2 children’s play areas and a lazy river.  In just twenty short years Splish Splash Water Park has built itself up to be one of the top water parks in the United States according to the Travel Channel. During the summer of 2008 the park announced that it would be adding 7 new rides over the next few years. Their latest ride that they added was Dr. Von Dark’s Tunnel of Terror, in 2009. This ride is a longer winding slide that you go through in total darkness.  People get on this slide with either a one or two person tube.  They will then wind back and for a experience a drop of 40ft.  Quite a bit has happened to the water park in just a short amount of time.

This park is spread out over 96 acres and has tons to offer. It features over 30 slides and attractions for people of all different ages and swim skill levels.  In addition to what was mentioned earlier the park has also added a wave pool and 2 more children’s play areas.

If you need a break for the water you can always enjoy one of the dining areas or the spectacular Bird Show. During this show you will watch 4 parrots compete for the title of Pirate Weldon’s Parrot. This show is fun for the whole family and is bound to have everybody laughing.

Tickets are available for this park at a price of $37.99 for regular admission, $28.99 for those under 48” or over 62, and children 2 years of age and under are free.  For more information about this park you can visit its website.

http://www.splishsplashlongisland.com

Kennywood

Kennywood is located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The park first opened in 1898 as a “trolley park.” A trolley park was a picnic and recreation area that could be found along or at the ends of streetcar lines. These came along before amusement parks. In 1906 it was bought and has been an amusement park ever since. Surprisingly, this park still has some rides and structures that are still there from when the park first opened. This makes the park one of only two listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This park currently has three themed areas called Kiddieland, Lost Kennywood, and Volcano Valley. Kiddieland is known for being one of the first areas for just children’s rides in the world and has 14 different rides for the young ones to enjoy! Within the other two areas you can find 6 roller coasters, 3 water rides, 9 thrill rides, 10 classic rides, and 3 dark rides. In the Kennywood area you can take a step back and review the history of the park.  Volcano Valley is the newest section of the park and it continues to grow each year with the addition of at least one new ride.

With all the rides, shows and more than 30 different refreshment areas this park has stuff for the whole family to enjoy. Ticket prices for this year are $36.99 for those over 46”, $23.99 for these under 46”, and $17.99 for those aged 55 and up. Kids that are two and under are free! For more information about this park you can visit its website. http://kennywood.com/

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is located in Branson, Missouri. This park has been in business since 1960.  If you want to take a step back in time to the 1880’s, this is the perfect amusement park for you to visit. It is located in a wooded area, so the atmosphere is perfect.

The park offers over 30 rides and attractions. They have rides for people of all ages who are looking for different types of adventure.  This is a little less than most major theme parks but this park seems to focus more on their shops and entertainment.

While at Silver Dollar City you can check out one of their 60 unique and inspirational shops. These shops include: jewelry, old fashioned candy, blacksmith shops, glass shop, a leather shop, numerous different types of art shops and more. Here you would be able to find a great one of a kind gift for anyone. In some of the shops they even show you live demonstrations to how they made the products that they have to offer the old fashioned way.

If you are really into shows, Silver Dollar City offers over 40 live shows daily. In 2009, they were rated best in the entire theme park industry by Golden Ticket Awards. These shows offer a variety of music performances, some more traditional and others that take you way back. There are even some short performances that are both funny and fun for the whole family.

This year’s current ticket prices are $55 for adults, $45 for children 4-11, and $53 for 65 and up. For more information regarding this park visit their website.

http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/