I love amusement parks. I have worked in many departments since I started in 2019 and will be stepping up to lead a new operations efficiency team this summer. To learn more about me and my journey, please visit this post or my About Me page!
This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit a lot of other parks. My boyfriend and I visited the East Coast and were able to visit a handful of parks. This list also includes parks closer to home. To make this post interesting, I have decided to rank them by least to most favorite. This is all my own opinion, and I encourage you to go out and make your own!
Starting us off,
11) Lost Island – Waterloo, IA
This park is brand new, opening in 2022. I have visited once every year since, but nothing really stands out to me. The theme in the park is great! Everything is cohesive and colorful, but this park lacks in the ride department for me.. I do plan on visiting the park again in 2025 to ride their new coaster, Fire Runner, Iowa’s first-ever single-rail coaster.
Favorite Ride: Matugani
10) Six Flags: America – Bowie, MD
This is the first park we visited when we landed in DC. We went straight here after leaving the airport. The park was empty compared to what we thought it would be. However, it was 106℉ outside, which I believe played a huge factor. This park was boring to me, maybe I was too hot to ride and enjoy the rides, or I was tired because I had just gotten off the plane. This park is ranked higher than the previous park because it was something new, and provided more rides that I haven’t been on before.
Favorite Ride: Superman
9) Valleyfair – Shakopee, MN
This is another park that is close to home. Compared to the rest of this list, there really isn’t much that stands out to me. However, I have heard that their waterpark, Soak City, is really fun, and I hope I am able to go back this summer and check it out!
Favorite Ride: Steel Venom
8) Dorney Park – Allentown, PA
I don’t remember this park super well, and if I didn’t go with someone, I probably would have forgotten to add this to the list. I remember it being hot, and a lot of rides were closed. However, I had a lot of fun on the rides that were open.
Favorite Ride: Thunder Creek Mountain
7) Adventureland Park – Altoona, IA
This is my home park. I have worked here for 7 years, and I can still visit this park and have fun. There have been a lot of improvements since I first started. If you haven’t been here in a long time or never visited, I would definitely recommend it. It is not a huge park, but there is a lot to do.
Favorite Ride: Monster
6) Worlds of Fun – Kansas City, MO
This is the first park my boyfriend and I visited together, so it holds a special place in my heart. This park has the perfect mix of rides and other attractions without being a “big” park. My last visit here, we had gotten stuck inside a shop because of a severe thunderstorm and missed out on the entirety of the Halloween event. This, of course, wasn’t the park’s fault, but I do want to go back and be able to do the haunted houses!
Favorite Ride: Mamba
5) Kings Island – Mason, OH
While this park is fantastic, the drive it takes to get there is not. I think 2 hours is a long car ride, imagine how I felt after 9 hours! I remember having a lot of fun at this park. Compared to what I had visited before at this point, it was one of the bigger parks I’ve visited. I liked how they differentiated an area for kids here. Overall, so much to do, and even though I was there for multiple days, I’m sure I missed a couple of rides I would definitely go on.
Favorite Ride: Diamondback
4) Kings Dominion – Doswell, VA
This park will forever be in my top 5. There were so many rides, things to do, things to eat, and I just thoroughly enjoyed my time here. This is the only park we visted both the rides and the waterpark at. The waterpark was super fun and was the first one I had visited in years. I plan to find a way back this summer.
Favorite Ride (of all time): Twisted Timbers
3) Busch Gardens Williamsburg – Williamsburg, VA
This park is stunning, and they absolutely use the scenery to their advantage. I think the theming in this park is perfect, and you turnly step into a new country everywhere you go. I wish I spent more time at this park; there is so much I didnt get to do. Like a lot of other parks on this trip, it was over 100℉ and the heat got the best of me.
Favorite Ride: Pantheon
2) Hersheypark – Hershey, PA
This park was beautiful as well. I am a big Hershey fan, so the theming with the chocolate and candies was spectacular, and continued through the entire park. I still feel like I missed so much because of the size of this park. I was able to reunite with a director who used to work at Adventureland. Overall super fun and would visit again in a heartbeat.
Favorite Ride: Wildcat’s Revenge
And finally,
1) Cedar Point – Sandusky, OH
The food here? Amazing. Weird that I would start with that, but compared to every other park, it was worth noting. I spent a week here with my boyfriend and a group of our friends, and I fear that nothing will top that trip. I want to go back and visit their waterpark as I have also heard good things about theirs! I also want to ride Top Thrill 2, which opened very briefly last year, but was closed majority of the summer.
Favorite Ride: Millennium Force
Have you been to any of these parks? Did you like them? What was your experience like? Let me know if there are any parks that I should visit!
** All photos are taken my myself, friends, or family