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Kennywood is an amusement park which is located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1898, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway.
In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends.
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.
Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is an amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as a campground along the Ligonier Valley Railroad by Thomas Mellon, Idlewild is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States behind Lake Compounce and Cedar Point. The park has won several awards, including from industry publication Amusement Today as the best children's park in the world.
Story Land is a theme park in Glen, New Hampshire. Opened in 1954, the park is meant to appeal to children up to the pre-teen ages.
Skycoaster is the name of a free-fall and flight-simulating amusement park attraction produced and managed by Skycoaster Company, LLC.. On the Skycoaster, riders in groups of 1 to 3 are harnessed in specialized Flight Suits, and are winched to the top of a launch tower; the riders then pull a ripcord to engage their “flight”, upon which they swing several times from a cable tether, back and forth, until finally brought to a rest. The attraction is often compared to a combination of skydiving, bungee jumping, and hang gliding.
Sandcastle Waterpark is a water park located in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Homestead. The park is located on a 67-acre (270,000 m2) piece of land along the banks of the Monongahela River. Sandcastle is owned by Palace Entertainment, subsidiary of Spain-based Parques Reunidos, who purchased original parent company Kennywood Entertainment. The company runs its original sister parks, Kennywood, Idlewild Park, and Lake Compounce. The park contains sixteen water slides, several swimming pools, and a handful of other attractions.
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is a privately held corporation based in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey established HE&R in 1927 to distinguish and separate his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business ventures. All of his non-chocolate producing businesses were established as Hershey Estates, renamed HERCO, Inc. in 1976 and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company in 1998.
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 still appears in numerous amusement parks. The Rotor is a large, upright barrel, rotated to create an inward acting centripetal force supplied by the wall's support's force. Once at full speed, the floor is retracted, leaving the riders stuck to the wall of the drum.
Herbert Paul Schmeck was an American roller coaster designer. From 1923 to 1955, Schmeck designed 84 coasters for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. As a designer and president, the company became the most prominent manufacturer of roller coasters in the United States.
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. Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards ranked Boulder Dash as the world's best wooden roller coaster in 2004 and from 2013 to 2016. The trains were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.
Quassy Amusement Park is an amusement and waterpark in Middlebury, Connecticut, and is one of only 11 trolley parks still operating in the United States. It has 20 rides on its 20 acres (81,000 m2). Quassy consists of a full-fledged amusement park plus a waterpark called Splash Away Bay. Swimming in Lake Quassapaug is available. In 1901, a writer pronounced Lake Quassapaug as "the handsomest bit of natural water on Earth". Today, beach clubs and houses surround the entire lake. The park is home to the award-winning Wooden Warrior roller coaster, which opened in 2011. Quassy offers swimming, picnicking, a catering service, an arcade, a waterpark, and live entertainment including school bands, dance groups and magic shows.
Great Old Amusement Parks is a 1999 PBS television documentary VHS DVD produced by Rick Sebak of WQED Pittsburgh which aired on PBS, on July 21, 1999.
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about 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, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, 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.
An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
The Tunxis Trail is a 79-mile (127 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" that traverses the western ridge of the central Connecticut Valley. The mainline trail is not completely contiguous, notably there are two gaps of several miles.
Funtime, Inc was an American amusement and entertainment company located in Cleveland, Ohio. The company was established in 1965. It owned several properties throughout its 31-year-long lifespan.
References
- ↑ News Release (2007-12-11). "New Chapter in Kennywood Entertainment History Announced" (PDF). Kennywood Entertainment Company. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-11.