Kings Island recent attractions
2007 — Firehawk; Halloween Haunt; More Intense Halloween Event
2008 — Expanded Live entertainment Lineup 2-6; Hallow Fest — kid-friendly Halloween event
2009 — Diamondback
2010 — Planet Snoopy refurbished children’s area
2011 — WindSeeker; Dinosaurs Alive!
2012 — $10 million Soak City waterpark expansion
MASON — Kings Island’s announcement Friday of a $10 million expansion marks what’s become an annual occurrence for the theme park — the addition of a new attraction or event for the park.
It’s a tradition that is not only important for the park’s bottom line. Kings Island is the top Warren County destination and sends a ripple effect throughout the county’s economy, which has a total economic impact from tourism of more than $863 million, according to a study conducted by the Warren County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
“Any time a partner invests in product development it’s a great thing for the county,” said Jennifer Burns, the bureau’s marketing and public relations manager. “As a marketing tool, our job is to support tourism. From a marketing perspective, any new attraction is another way to talk about what the county has to offer.”
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company — owners of Cedar Point in Sandusky — purchased the park in 2006. Since then, Kings Island has brought a wave of new and enhanced attractions each year, from new rides such as the Diamondback roller coaster in 2009 and giant WindSeeker spire in 2011 to revamped Halloween events in 2007 and a refurbished children’s area in 2010.
Kings Island’s latest plan is to double the size of its Boomerang Bay waterpark — newly renamed Soak City — with additions including a bigger, more aggressive wave pool and an action river.
“You have to have something for everyone,” said park spokesman Don Helbig.
He said the park’s additions have enhanced the variety of amenities at Kings Island.
“You want to add things and have things that make people smile and laugh and create memories that last a lifetime. Adding new attractions is just one way to keep the experience of every visitor fresh,” he said.
Helbig said he didn’t believe that additions were coming with any greater frequency as a result of the new ownership. However, he said the new rides, exhibits and upgrades were hitting all aspects of the park’s audience and building upon it.
“We want to have as broad an appeal as possible,” Helbig said. “Maybe some of our guests aren’t thrill seekers, but we still offer live shows and educational attractions like Dinosaurs Alive!”
The dinosaur exhibit, a 12-acre animatronic dinosaur park featuring more than 60 moving dinosaurs, opened this season.
While Kings Island does not release attendance figures, Helbig did note the $22 million Diamondback roller coaster saw more than a million riders within a few months of its debut.
The Warren County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which markets the county as a tourist attraction and place to hold events, conducted a study that found that tourism has a total economic impact on Warren County of more than $863 million and generates more than $245 million in wages from tourism-related jobs annually.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
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