Kennywood is an amusement park 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.
Cedar Point is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounce. Prior to the merger with Six Flags in 2024, Cedar Point served as the "flagship park" of the Cedar Fair amusement park chain and hosted the corporate headquarters. Known as "America's Roller Coast", the park features 17 roller coasters, which ranks third among amusement parks in North America behind sister parks Canada's Wonderland (18) and Six Flags Magic Mountain (20).
Knoebels Amusement Resort is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is the United States's largest free-admission park. The park has more than 60 rides including three wooden roller coasters, three steel roller coasters, a 1913 carousel, and two haunted house dark rides.
Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–1999), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts. Opening in the late 19th century, it is the oldest amusement park in the Six Flags chain, acquired by Premier Parks in 1996 and rebranded Six Flags New England in 2000. Superman The Ride is among the park's most notable rides, having appeared as a highly ranked roller coaster in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today since the ride opened in 2000.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly known simply as Fiesta Texas, is an amusement park in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It opened on March 14, 1992, in the La Cantera master-planned development and district as the first business in that development. Spanning 200 acres (81 ha), the park was originally built to become a destination musical show park with its focus on the musical culture of the state of Texas. The park was purchased by Time Warner in 1995, and branded as a Six Flags park for the 1996 season.
A side friction roller coaster is an early roller coaster design invented by Edward Joy Morris. The design introduced side-friction wheels to help prevent trains from derailing during curved portions of the track. In addition to weight-bearing wheels traditionally located on the underside of each train car, friction wheels were added to both sides, which roll perpendicular along the inner edge of the track.
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, which was classified as "historic" by the American Coaster Enthusiasts group in 2010. Conneaut Lake is Pennsylvania's largest natural (glacier) lake, and is a popular summer destination for recreational boaters due to there being no horsepower limit on the lake.
Michigan's Adventure is a 250-acre (1.0 km2) amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Six Flags since 2024. The park was previously owned by Cedar Fair from 2001-2024. As of 2024, Michigan's Adventure has over 60 rides, slides and attractions, more than any other park in the state.
Leap-The-Dips is a wooden roller coaster located at Lakemont Park near Altoona, Pennsylvania. Built in 1902 by the Federal Construction Company and designed by E. Joy Morris, it is the oldest standing roller coaster in the world and believed to be the last surviving side friction roller coaster of the figure-eight variety.
Lakeside Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Salem, Virginia, neighboring Roanoke, at the intersection of U.S. Route 460 and State Route 419. The park was named after a very large swimming pool which was opened on the site in 1920. The pool was surrounded by a beach and quickly became a favorite summer retreat for residents of Roanoke and Salem. Amusement park rides were added to the facility within a few years of its opening. The park also included a pavilion, which hosted celebrity concerts. Frequent performers included country artists Tom T. Hall and Conway Twitty.
Thunder Run is a wooden roller coaster at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The ride originally operated from August 1990 through to October 2009, when then-operators Six Flags abandoned the park. After remaining closed since 2009, Thunder Run reopened in May 2014 when Kentucky Kingdom reopened under new operators.
Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1903 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines, Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines. Not long after opening, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, United States, outside Allentown. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park features 64 rides, including eight roller coasters, several thrill rides and kiddie rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom, with 19 water rides.
Jack Rabbit is an "out and back" wooden roller coaster located at Seabreeze Amusement Park in Irondequoit, New York. The Jack Rabbit is a terrain coaster that features seven dips, a helix, and a tunnel. It opened on May 31, 1920. Jack Rabbit is the fourth oldest operating roller coaster in the world and the second oldest in the United States. The oldest, Leap-The-Dips in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was closed from 1985 to 1999, making Jack Rabbit the oldest continuously operating coaster in the country.
Skyliner is a wooden roller coaster located at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It first opened in 1960 at New York's Roseland Park, and was John C. Allen's first full-size coaster design. Roseland Park closed in 1985, and following the success Knoebels had in relocating wooden coaster Phoenix, Lakemont Park followed suit. Skyliner reopened at Lakemont Park in 1987 after being moved from Roseland Park. Skyliner is an ACE Coaster Classic. The ride is not operating for the 2024 season.
Figure 8 roller coasters are a category of roller coasters where the train runs through a figure 8 shaped course before returning to the boarding station. This design was one of the first designs to be featured in roller coaster design, along with the out and back roller coaster. The figure 8 design allowed for more turns than the out and back design, offering riders an alternative experience.
Waldameer Park & Water World is an amusement park and water park at the base of Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Waldameer is the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, the tenth oldest in the nation, and one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the country. It is home to several notable rides, including the Ravine Flyer II roller coaster.
White Swan Park was a small amusement park on the border of Moon and Findlay townships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania that operated from 1955 to 1989.
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.
Enchanted Island Amusement Park is a 7.5-acre amusement park located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is in the center of Encanto Park, a 222-acre city park. It features nine rides and a variety of attractions.
