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Kings Island Named Park of the Year by 'Amusement Today'

Amusement Today gave Kings Island the Park of the Year award “because of its important 50 year history and its perfect celebration of it.”

Sep 12, 2022 at 11:28 am

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Photo: Paige Deglow

Kings Island

Kings Island is receiving praise from the biggest amusement park nerds in the business.

Amusement park magazine Amusement Today chose Kings Island for its Golden Ticket Award for Park of the Year. This award is given during the annual international Golden Ticket Awards which gathers votes from “well-traveled amusement park enthusiasts” who rank the industry on rides, guest experiences and more.

Park of the Year was part of the publisher's pick awards. Editor-in-chief of Amusement Today Gary Slade chose Kings Island “because of its important 50 year history and its perfect celebration of it.”

The voters recognized some of the park's most famous attractions including The Beast and Diamondback plus some of the newer rides like the Mystic Timbers and the park's giga coaster, Orion (a coaster with an over 300-foot drop), that opened in 2020.

Slideshow

Kings Island's Top 25 Rides Ranked

24. Dodgem Modern safety standards have neutered this attraction. Long dispatch times and not that much bumping contribute to this attraction's low ranking on CityBeat's list.

23. WindseekerPoor capacity and reliability, as well as an inconvenient location are behind this attraction's ranking. Only good if you want views of the nearly abandoned SpongeBob 4D Theater or the former Vortex site.

22. Grand Carousel More of a historical artifact than a ride, says the Kings Island fanatic. The Grand Carousel was built in 1926 and recently had its organ rebuilt in 2022. However, it is hard to deny its gorgeous setting and design, so it’s worth a spin in your downtime.

21. Race for Your Life Charlie Brown A Coney Island transplant and day-one ride. It's good for kids but will have long lines, lackluster splashes and its formerly wooded setting has been encroached upon over the years.

20. All Coney Mall Flats (Scrambler, Shake Rattle and Roll, Monster, and Zephyr)The park’s collection of twirl 'n hurls. These rides do more or less the same thing and rarely have a wait. The nostalgia of these attractions do earn them a few bonus points, though.

19. Congo FallsKings Island’s Shoot the Chutes ride. Remember to stand slightly off to the side of the exit bridge if you want to get soaked.

Click to View 26 slides

Kings Island placed second in the Best New Show category for their 50th anniversary fireworks show that involves 200 synchronized drones, laser projections and fire bursts. They also received second place for Best Kids Area in the World for Planet Snoopy.

There were two Kings Island coasters in the Best Wooden Rollercoaster category— The Beast placing fifth and Mystic Timbers taking sixth place.

Kings Island’s annual spooky celebration Halloween Haunt is set to open Sept. 23 and Tricks and Treats Fall Fest starts Sept. 25. Then, WinterFest will begin on Nov. 25 and continue on select weekends throughout the end of the year.

Kings Island is located at 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason. Find more information at visitkingsisland.com.

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