 | This article needs to be updated.(May 2024) |
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| Years in amusement parks | |
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This is a list of events, openings, and closings that occurred in amusement parks in 2023.
| This article needs to be updated.(May 2024) |
| Part of a series on | |
| Years in amusement parks | |
|---|---|
|
This is a list of events, openings, and closings that occurred in amusement parks in 2023.
| Name | Park | Type | Manufacturer | Opened | Formerly | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matugani | Lost Island Theme Park | Accelerator Coaster | Intamin | May 20 | Kanonen at Liseberg | [18] |
| Name | Park | Type | Manufacturer | Opened | Formerly | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcat's Revenge | Hersheypark | Hybrid steel roller coaster | Rocky Mountain Construction | June 2 | Wildcat | [19] |
| Name | Park | Type | Opened | Formerly | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hover and Dodge | Carowinds | Bumper cars | April 7 | Dodg'ems | [20] |
| Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland | Dreamworld | Themed area | March 31 | DreamWorks Experience | [26] |
| Name | Park | Type | Manufacturer | Opened | Formerly | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyro Force | Carowinds | Wipeout | Wipeout | Spring 2024 | Lady Luck at Adventureland |
| Name | Park | Type | Closed | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Bobsled | Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor | Bobsled roller coaster | September 4 | [27] |
| Camp Bus | Knott's Berry Farm | Zamperla Flying Carpet | August | [28] |
| Fire in the Hole | Silver Dollar City | Enclosed roller coaster | December 30 | [29] |
| Mardi Gras Hangover | Six Flags Great America | Fire Ball | October | [30] |
| Mindbender | Galaxyland | Indoor twister looping coaster | January 30 | [31] |
| Poseidon's Fury | Universal Islands of Adventure | Special effects show | May 10 | |
| Raging Rapids in Boulder Canyon | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | River rapids ride | June 14 | |
| Revolution | Six Flags Great America | HUSS frisbee | October | [30] |
| Rock & Roll | Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk | Matterhorn | 2023 | |
| Timberline Twister | Knott's Berry Farm | Kiddie roller coaster | August | [28] |
| Sand Serpent | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | Wild mouse roller coaster | July 9 | [32] |
| Splash Mountain | Magic Kingdom | Log flume | January 23 | |
| Vikings' River Splash | Legoland Windsor Resort | River rapids ride | September 25 | [33] |
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
Kings Island is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Island, a popular resort destination along the banks of the Ohio River that was prone to frequent flooding. After more than $300 million in capital investments over the years, the park has grown to feature over a hundred attractions including fifteen roller coasters and a 33-acre (13 ha) water park.
Paramount Parks was a subsidiary of National Amusements-owned Viacom, headquartered at its Paramount's Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the time of its acquisition, the company owned and operated five amusement park/water parks, which annually attracted 13 million patrons. Viacom assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994.
Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, twenty miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island near Cincinnati, and the nickname for the Commonwealth of Virginia, "Old Dominion."
A flying roller coaster is a type of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured such that their backs are parallel to the track.
The launched roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power, along a launch track. This mode of acceleration powers many of the fastest roller coasters in the world.
Carowinds is a 407-acre (165 ha) amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park first opened to the public on March 31, 1973. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The park has a sign telling guests where the state line lies. It was constructed at a cost of $70 million following a four-year planning period led by Charlotte businessman Earl Patterson Hall. Carowinds also features Carolina Harbor, a 27-acre (11 ha) water park that is included with park admission. Annual events include the Halloween-themed SCarowinds and the Christmas-themed WinterFest.
Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster located at Carowinds. Constructed by Vekoma, it is located in the Thunder Road section of the park. The roller coaster originally opened as Stealth at California's Great America on April 1, 2000. In 2003, Paramount Parks decided to relocate the roller coaster to Carowinds. It reopened as Borg Assimilator – the first coaster in the world to be themed to Star Trek – on March 20, 2004. After Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006, Paramount themes were soon removed from the park, and the ride was renamed Nighthawk. It is one of only two Flying Dutchman models still in existence from Vekoma, the other being Batwing at sister park Six Flags America.
Since the 1990s, Nickelodeon, a worldwide children's television network and franchise, owned by Paramount Global, has had an involvement in the creation and theming of amusement parks rides.
Roller coaster amusement rides have origins back to ice slides constructed in 18th-century Russia. Early technology featured sleds or wheeled carts that were sent down hills of snow reinforced by wooden supports. The technology evolved in the 19th century to feature railroad track using wheeled cars that were securely locked to the track. Newer innovations emerged in the early 20th century with side friction and underfriction technologies to allow for greater speeds and sharper turns. By the mid-to-late 20th century, these elements intensified with the introduction of steel roller coaster designs and the ability to invert riders.
Through its history, Hanna-Barbera has operated theme park attractions, mostly as a section in Kings Island, Carowinds, California's Great America, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and, recently, Six Flags Great America.
Woodstock’s Air Rail is an inverted roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, and at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. Manufactured by Vekoma, the Suspended Family Coaster model debuted at Kings Island in 2001 and was followed by another identical installation at Carowinds in 2003. Both rides originally opened as Rugrats Runaway Reptar, themed to the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and its two-part episode "Runaway Reptar". Following Cedar Fair's acquisition of both parks in 2006, the roller coasters were eventually renamed Flying Ace Aerial Chase for the 2010 season, themed after the 1960s comic strip series Snoopy vs. the Red Baron by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. The Carowinds installation was renamed again to Kiddy Hawk for the 2018 season. The Kings Island installation was renamed again to Woodstock’s Air Rail for the 2024 season.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2011. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that have occurred in 2012. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2013. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2014. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This article is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2016. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2021. These various lists are not exhaustive.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2022. These various lists are not exhaustive.