
Key Information
Download our Printable Guide
Located just northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, Kings Island is part of the Cedar Fair chain of amusement parks. Light on theming, but heavy on thrills, the park is home to wide variety of roller coasters and thrill rides, headed-up by the 230-feet-tall Diamondback. In 2014, the park added the world's longest inverted coaster, Banshee. Vortex closed in October 2019 after more than 30 years as one of Kings Island's most popular coasters.
Park History
In 1969, the owners of Cincinnati's Coney Island amusement park sold it to the Taft Broadcasting Company. Eager to expand, the firm relocated the park to a new 1,600-acre site in 1972, although much of this acreage has since been sold off. Helped by appearances on "The Partridge Family" and "The Brady Bunch", the park proved to be an instant success - even spawning a sister park, Kings Dominion. A spell under the ownership of Paramount Parks led to addition of a number of movie-themed rides, but the takeover by Cedar Fair in 2006 saw many of these returned to a vanilla state.