Jane Byrnes and her family traveled last summer from their home near New York City to visit friends in Buffalo, then west to Ohio, with Pelee Island in Lake Erie as the final destination.
But one stop on the trip loomed large for Jane's son John: Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, which calls itself the world's largest roller coaster park. John counted down the days to Cedar Point, and he'd researched the biggest rides, so he knew all about the 420-foot-high Top Thrill Dragster, which opened shortly before the Byrnes arrived.
“He was unbelievably excited,” Byrnes recalled. As luck would have it, despite lines that stretched for hours and intermittent closures that are typical of brand-new rides, John got to ride the Dragster on his 12th birthday.
Like the Byrnes, many vacationing families set aside a day of a longer trip to visit an amusement park as a way of varying the itinerary—and pleasing the kids. Wherever you are and wherever you're going, there's a park full of rides, splashes and fun nearby, from the country's biggest theme parks in Florida and California, to the 29 Six Flags parks in 15 states, to award-winning parks in Texas and Indiana, to parks that fit in with classic regional road trips.
Regions and parks
Busch Gardens, Shenandoah National Park and Colonial Williamsburg make a nice itinerary for Virginia, while Hersheypark, Gettysburg and Amish country is a popular trip in Pennsylvania. Other well-known parks in Pennsylvania include Sesame Place and Dorney Park.
In New York City, take a break from the museums and boutiques and hop the Brooklyn-bound subway to Coney Island. There's nothing like the breeze blowing off the Atlantic, the clatter of the wooden Cyclone coaster, and the view from atop the 150-foot-high Wonder Wheel. Next door walruses and penguins cavort at the New York Aquarium.
Even on a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to France, small children who may or may not appreciate the Louvre might enjoy a trip to Disneyland, a quick train ride from Paris.
The energy and thrills of an amusement park can also be a nice way to punctuate a rural retreat. In the resort town of Lake George in upstate New York, Six Flags has a “Great Escape” park; and in Saco, Maine, Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. is small by megapark standards but fun— rides plus a water park.
The Northwest's largest theme park, Silverwood, is a half-hour from Spokane, Wash., and 15 minutes from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It boasts more than 60 attractions and a water park called Boulder Beach.
The South is home to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Paramount's Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C., where the Thunder Road twin-racing coasters straddle the North and South Carolina border, zooming back and forth through both states. Lake Winnepesaukah in Rossville, Ga., just six miles from Chattanooga, Tenn., and Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach, S.C., are well-known waterside parks, while Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, N.C., is known for its 3-mile steam train ride.
In the Midwest, about three hours from Chicago and three and a half hours from Minneapolis, Wisconsin Dells offers 18 indoor-outdoor water park resorts. The parks include Chula Vista, a southwest-themed resort; the Great Wolf Lodge, a North Woods-style log lodge; and the Kalahari Resort, an African-themed getaway with high-end accommodations, including a new stand-up surfing ride called the "Flowrider".
Award winning amusement parks
The Midwest is also home to several parks that aficionados consider among the finest anywhere—including the Byrnes' favorite, Cedar Point, voted best amusement park in the world for six consecutive years by the industry magazine Amusement Today.
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Ind., takes Amusement Today's top honors for “friendliest park” and “cleanest park.” The park even supplies visitors with free sunscreen and free unlimited soft drinks. Holiday World is also home to The Raven, which captured Amusement Today's No. 1 spot for wooden coasters. New this season at Splashin' Safari is Jungle Racer, a 5-story-tall complex of 10 racing water slides. Splashin' Safari's Zinga won Amusement Today's best water park ride category.
Paramount's Kings Island in Ohio, 24 miles north of Cincinnati, has won Amusement Today's "best kid's area" three years in a row. Its 85 attractions include a new Australian-themed water park called Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay Water Park Resort, with a "Didgeridoo Falls" water slide, Tasmanian Typhoon inner-tube ride and a Kookaburra Cay water playground for little ones. A Boomerang Bay water park is also opening at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.
Amusement Today's other top awards for 2003 went to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas, as best water park; Busch Gardens in Williamsburg for best landscaping; Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio for best shows; and Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pa., for best food (including vegetarian options, bison burgers and catered barbecue group picnics). The 2004 awards come out in late August.
In the home states of Disney
Visitors to Florida and California, of course, often devote their entire vacations to visiting theme parks, and if awards were based on attendance, those states would be the hands-down winners, according to figures from Amusement Business, a trade publication. Disney's Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., had 14 million guests last year. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., racked up 12.7 million guests, while its newer cousin, Disney's California Adventure, attracted 5.3 million.
Epcot, the Disney park in Florida, reported 8.6 million guests. Nearly 8 million people visited Disney-MGM Studios, and 7.3 million headed for Disney's Animal Kingdom, both at Lake Buena Vista.
In Orlando, Universal Studios and its sister park, Islands of Adventure, were visited by more than 6 million people each, with SeaWorld Florida attracting 5 million visitors, Universal Studios Hollywood in California attracting 4. 5 million and Busch Gardens of Tampa Bay registering 4.3 million.
SeaWorld California in San Diego attracted 4 million visitors last year while Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., had 3.4 million guests.
If you go
AMUSEMENT PARKS NATIONWIDE: To find an amusement park in your area, click on the map at www.freewebcentral.com/hidden/frameamusementparks.htm. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions has a clickable map and other information at www.ticketforfun.com
AMUSEMENT TODAY: For complete "best of" lists, go to www.amusementtoday.com and click on "Golden Tickets."