Kings Island Rainbow

Red text over illustration of Eiffel tower with rainbow on white background.

Kings Island is an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio, which first opened in 1972. It is open seasonally from the spring until the fall. It boasts 364 acres with over 100 attractions such as 14 roller coasters and a 33-acre water park. It is owned by Cedar Fair, which owns and operates other amusement parks across North America, including the famous Cedar Point. There are 9 areas of attractions; Action Zone, the Coney Mall, International Street, Oktoberfest, Planet Snoopy, Rivertown, Soak City, Halloween Haunt, and Winterfest. Notable attractions include roller coasters such as Flight of Fear, The Beast, and Mystic Timbers, as well as Soak City Water Park, and international attractions like a one-third scale replica of the Eiffel Tower that gives guests a view of the entire park. Kings Island was the second most visited amusement park in the U.S in 2017 behind the number one spot, Cedar Point.

Kings Island was opened by the Taft Broadcasting Company, which also owned Coney Island on the Ohio River, near Cincinnati, which was prone to flooding. Kings Island was designed to replace the historic Coney Island. Coney Island was founded in 1867, but had closed down all but it’s pool when Kings Island opened in 1972. Coney Island has since expanded out to become a water park. Kings Island was later sold to Paramount and again to Viacom. From 1992-2006, rides were named after movies and shows Paramount owned, but in 2006, Cedar Fair purchased the park changing things to their brand. By 2010, all of Paramount and Nickelodeon’s presence was completely gone from the park. Rides such as Top Gun later became Flight Deck, Tomb Raider: The Ride became The Crypt, and The Italian Job Stunt Track is now Backlot Stunt Coaster. Kings Island has won a few awards over the years, including Golden Ticket Awards 18 years in a row from 2001-2018 for, “Best Kids Area,” from Amusement today and, “Best New Ride,” in 2017 for Mystic Timbers.