Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, more commonly known as Six Flags or as Six Flags Theme Parks, is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns more theme parks and waterparks combined than any other amusement park company in the world, and has the seventh-highest attendance in the world. The company operates 27 properties throughout North America, including theme parks, amusement parks, water parks and a family entertainment center. In 2019, Six Flags properties hosted 32.8 million guests.
Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Darien, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.
Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates twelve amusement parks, nine included admission outdoor waterparks, four separate admission outdoor water parks, one indoor water park, and fourteen hotels/lodging in the US and Canada. Cedar Fair also manages Gilroy Gardens under contract with the city of Gilroy, California.
Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's first roller coaster – later known as the Big Dipper – was built in 1925. The park was sold to Funtime, Inc., in 1969 and was expanded over the years with additional rides and amenities. Funtime was acquired by Premier Parks in 1995, and for the 2000 season, they re-branded Geauga Lake as Six Flags Ohio, adding four new roller coasters. The following year, Six Flags bought the adjacent SeaWorld Ohio and combined the two parks under the name Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
Lake Compounce is an amusement park located in Bristol and Southington, Connecticut. Opened in 1846, it is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the United States. It spans 332 acres (134 ha), which includes a beach and a water park called Crocodile Cove included in the price of admission. The park was acquired from Kennywood Entertainment Company by Palace Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of Parques Reunidos. In addition to the 14th oldest wooden roller coaster in the world, Wildcat, its newer wooden roller coaster, Boulder Dash, has won the Golden Ticket Award for the #1 Wooden Coaster in the World for five consecutive years.
Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride similar to the Waltzer in Europe, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals, in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Larson International of Plainview, Texas.
Zoombezi Bay is a 22.7-acre (9.2 ha) water park owned by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium near Powell, Ohio just north of Columbus. The park sits on the site of the former Wyandot Lake Adventure Park, which was purchased by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 2006. Zoombezi Bay opened to the public on May 26, 2008, and currently ranks as one of the Midwest's most popular water parks, attracting more than 400,000 visitors annually.
Skycoaster is an amusement park ride produced and managed by Skycoaster Company, LLC.. On the Skycoaster, riders in groups of 1 to 3 are harnessed in specialized Flight Suits, winched to the top of a launch tower, pull the ripcord to engage flight, swing from a cable tether back and forth until brought to a rest. The attraction is often compared to a combination of skydiving, bungee jumping, and hang gliding.
Palace Entertainment is a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain based Parques Reunidos which operates various attractions including amusement parks, zoos, and water parks around the world. Palace Entertainment is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is primarily involved in the operation of attractions in the United States.
The Rotor is an amusement ride designed and patented by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in 1948. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949, and was exhibited at fairs and events throughout Europe, during the 1950s and 1960s. The ride still appears in numerous amusement parks, although travelling variants have been surpassed by the Gravitron.
Big Dipper was a wooden roller coaster located at the defunct Geauga Lake amusement park in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. Originally opened in 1925 as Sky Rocket, it was renamed Clipper in the late 1940s and eventually Big Dipper in 1969. It was the oldest operating roller coaster in Ohio and seventh-oldest in the United States when it closed in 2007. Designed by John A. Miller, the Big Dipper was also one of the last remaining roller coasters in the world from the designer. American Coaster Enthusiasts awarded the coaster its ACE Coaster Classic and ACE Coaster Landmark designations. Efforts to sell, preserve, and restore the ride were unsuccessful. The ride was demolished on October 17, 2016.
Boulder Dash is a wooden roller coaster located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut. Construction for the coaster began in June 1999 and was completed in May 2000. The coaster was built by Custom Coasters International using Southern Yellow Pine wood; while the track is made of Douglas Fir. This ride was ranked the #1 Wooden Roller Coaster in the World by the Golden Ticket Awards in 2004 and from 2013 to 2016, until slipping into third place in 2017. The trains were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.
Double Loop was a steel roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. Built by Arrow Dynamics, it opened in 1977 as the first roller coaster in the world to feature two consecutive vertical loops. The roller coaster operated until the park closed permanently in 2007, and it was later sold for scrap at an auction a year later.
Raging Wolf Bobs was a wooden roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Designed by Curtis D. Summers to resemble Bobs, a popular roller coaster at the defunct Riverview Park in Chicago, Raging Wolf Bobs was constructed by the Dinn Corporation and opened to the public in 1988. It operated until June 16, 2007, following an accident involving the derailing of a train that unexpectedly rolled backward on one of the track's hills. Later that season, park owners Cedar Fair announced the permanent closure of Geauga Lake, sealing the fate of Raging Wolf Bobs.
SeaWorld Ohio was a theme park and marine zoological park, located in Aurora, Ohio. It was owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, formerly known as Busch Entertainment Corporation. The Ohio location was the second SeaWorld park to be built in the chain, following SeaWorld San Diego which opened just six years earlier. The park was developed by George Millay, founder of the SeaWorld brand. Wildwater Kingdom, a waterpark built by Cedar Fair in 2005, occupied the property until its closure in September 2016.
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in close to a dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centers, and cable cars. These facilities are located in Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia and the United States. Through acquisitions of established names such as Kennywood Entertainment Company, Dutch Wonderland and Palace Entertainment, Parques Reunidos greatly expanded its presence in American amusement operations beginning in 2007 through today. Annual visitors to the group's attractions exceed 22 million, with revenue exceeding $570 million (USD). In 2008 it had the fifth-highest attendance figures for worldwide chains with 24.9 million, ahead of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Cedar Fair.
Rides At Adventure Cove is a small amusement park area that is part of and owned by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio. The park was originally part of Wyandot Lake before the zoo purchased the property in 2006, splitting it into two separate sections after the 2006 season. The water park became known as Zoombezi Bay while the dry ride area became Jungle Jack's Landing. The amusement park was named after zoo director emeritus Jack Hanna and opened on May 26, 2008. It debuted with 14 rides and attractions, several of which were retained from the former Wyandot Lake. In 2020, the Jungle Jack's Landing name was dropped with the amusement park area being renamed to tie into the neighboring Adventure Cove area of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium which opened for the first time on the same year.
Dinn Corporation was a roller coaster designing and manufacturing company established in West Chester, Ohio, in 1983 by Charles Dinn. The company is noted for moving and rebuilding several existing wooden coasters and building ten new wooden roller coasters in the United States.
This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2009. These various lists are not exhaustive.
