The phrase summer time could immediately recall to mind a wide range of totally different photos. Yard barbeques on the porch, a soothing day at your native seaside, a moonlit baseball recreation when the solar’s gone down and it’s barely cool sufficient to take a seat exterior. Or, higher but, perhaps you’re the kind of one that is immediately envisioning their subsequent journey to the closest theme park close to you.
There are dozens upon dozens of improbable amusement parks unfold out throughout the US, from the a number of Six Flags that dot the nation to bigger amusement parks like these owned and operated by Disney or Common. Nonetheless, it’s additionally value noting what number of lesser-known theme parks there are all through the nation, from parks nestled within the farmlands of Pennsylvania to those who sit proper alongside the Nice Lakes.
Listed here are among the most underrated theme parks within the US, all of which we’d advocate for the right summer time day away from dwelling.
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Hersheypark — Hershey, Pennsylvania
You wouldn’t assume Pennsylvania is understood for its theme parks, however with locations like Kennywood and Hersheypark providing every kind of thrills and chills all through the summer time months, a tough argument may be made that Pennsylvania is the go-to place for theme parks within the Northeastern US.
A theme park with a key concentrate on chocolate, it doesn’t get a lot sweeter than Hershey. The park boasts dozens of rides, starting from old school wood curler coasters to log flumes, drop rides, a big zoo, and side-by-side curler coasters that race each other.
In case you’re not one for rides, Hershey additionally in fact affords chocolate and sweets round each nook, with its trademark Hershey’s Chocolate World containing just about each sweet or candy-related product conceivable in its retailer. There’s even a trip that walks you thru how Hershey’s chocolate is made by means of each stage of its manufacturing. For these with an incurable candy tooth, this can be a should.
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Cedar Level — Sandusky, Ohio
Resting on the banks of Lake Erie, Cedar Level has fairly presumably among the greatest points of interest out of any theme park on the continent. There’s the Cedar Level traditional Millenium Drive — the park’s hottest trip — which incorporates a thrilling 300-foot drop at descending speeds of 91 mph.
The park is no doubt made for curler coaster fans — simply take a look at the absurdly excessive drops for Metal Vengeance, Valravn, or Magnum XL-200 — however there’s additionally lots for non-roller coaster followers as effectively. Through the summer time months, the park opens its doorways to the adjoining Cedar Level Shores water park, containing simply over a dozen water slides along with its varied swimming pools and different water-based points of interest.
The recently-opened Snake Rider Expedition or the 15-minute lengthy Cedar Level & Lake Erie Railroad trip additionally make for a super cease for park attendees of all ages, to not point out the attractive sights the park affords over the scenic lake and its surrounding woodland space.
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Dollywood — Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
You don’t have to like nation music to like Dollywood, the eagerness venture of famend nation singer Dolly Parton. As family-friendly a park because it will get, Dollywood is the premiere vacation spot for anybody on the lookout for a enjoyable place to go to within the Southern US.
Sprawling over 150 acres and providing over 40 rides to park attendees, Dollywood is damaged right into a whopping 11 themed lands, containing every kind of scrumptious eating places and facilities all through. Moreover, there are every kind of concert events and musical occasions year-round, so be sure you take a look at the park’s schedule forward of time in case you wish to time your go to along with your favourite musicians.
In case you get uninterested in the solar or wish to spend an extra few days close by, you can too take a look at a few of Parton’s adjoining properties. There’s Dollywood’s Splash Nation water park, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, Dolly Parton’s Stampede (a Western-themed dinner and present, just like Medieval Instances), and an enormous museum showcasing Parton’s life and profession through the years.
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Busch Gardens — Williamsburg, Virginia and Tampa Bay, Florida
Busch Gardens has two places on the East Coast — one in Tampa Bay and the opposite in Williamsburg. It’s robust to say which is the higher of the 2, however for our cash, if you happen to had to decide on between them, we’d advocate visiting Busch Backyard’s Williamsburg location.
Themed after a number of European international locations, Busch Gardens takes loads of inspiration from native myths and legends that abound in Europe, utilizing them as the premise for his or her varied rides and curler coasters. For instance, you may have the Loch Ness Monster — the one remaining curler coast left with interlocking loops — and the critically acclaimed Apollo’s Chariot, well-known for its eight hills that offer you some critical airtime.
Recognized predominantly for its above-par curler coasters, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a superb place that’s a cheerful comprise for historical past buffs, curler coaster followers, and people who at all times wished to go to Europe however don’t essentially have the finances to cross the Atlantic. It might lack the zoo Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is understood for, but it surely greater than readily makes up for it with its huge number of rides and (most significantly) number of curler coasters.
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Vacation World & Splashin’ Safari — Santa Claus, Indiana
Situated within the fittingly-named city of Santa Claus, Indiana, Vacation World & Splashin’ Safari is a Midwestern theme park and sister water park with a really distinctive theme round it. Divided into 4 separate lands, every space of the park coincides with a few of America’s main holidays: Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and naturally Christmas.
Between Vacation World and Splashin’ Safari, it’s inconceivable to develop bored while you go to the park. Every land incorporates tons of points of interest effectively value visiting. A number of the park’s hottest points of interest embrace the Thunderbird (a curler coaster that launches riders from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds), and Mammoth, the longest water coaster on the earth.
Maybe the best factor about Vacation World & Splashin’ Safari, although, is its beneficiant giveaways. All through your go to, visitors are entitled to free sunscreen, parking, Wi-Fi, and limitless tender drinks, making this a improbable bang on your buck.
Picture Credit score: Vacation World and Splashin’ Safari.
Kings Island — Mason, Ohio
One other Midwestern staple, Kings Island is owned and operated by Cedar Honest — the identical firm that oversees operations at Cedar Level — positioned simply north of Cincinnati. Like Cedar Honest, it’s recognized for its fan-favorite curler coasters, lots of which have set data as being the tallest, quickest, or longest coasters on the earth at one time or one other.
Upon coming into the park, you’ll spot quite a few family-friendly points of interest like bumper vehicles, a log flume, and a number of other much less intense curler coasters for youthful riders entrance and heart in Planet Snoopy.
Heading additional again is the place you’ll encounter among the park’s most well-known rides for these on the lookout for a extra intense Kings Island expertise. The park’s common Racer (credited with serving to revive individuals’s curiosity in curler coasters within the Seventies) is a should, as is The Beast, the longest wood curler coaster on Earth, and Banshee, the world’s longest inverted curler coaster.
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Knott’s Berry Farms — Buena Park, California
Disney and Common would be the parks most individuals consider in California, however there’s additionally the equally entertaining Knott’s Berry Farms, one of many oldest and greatest theme parks within the US. California’s first amusement park (predating Disneyland by about 30 years), Knott’s Berry Farms began off as a small berry stand that shortly grew into one of many Golden State’s must-visit places.
Divided into 4 lands, Knott’s Berry Farms has no scarcity of issues to do, see, and eat inside their property. Tour the park’s Ghost City aboard the horse-pulled Butterfield Stagecoach, rocket down the historic Timber Mountain Log Journey (the park’s hottest trip), or hop on Montezooma’s Revenge, the final curler coaster of its sort on the earth.
For all of the foodies on the market, you can too seize any one of many park’s signature dishes, such because the scrumptious fried rooster platter at Mrs. Knott’s Rooster Dinner Restaurant. It’s to die for.
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Silver Greenback Metropolis — Branson, Missouri
Constructed across the Ozarks’ nationwide landmark, the Marvel Cave, Silver Greenback Metropolis affords park visitors the possibility to step again in time to the Eighteen Eighties, taking up a Western theme and providing attendees some lighthearted Southern leisure and points of interest.
Making the most of its historic and geographic setting, Silver Greenback Metropolis weaves every kind of native historical past and concrete legends into its theme park points of interest. In Hearth within the Gap (the park’s first and oldest curler coaster), visitors trip by means of an enclosed, dark-lit constructing occupied by masked, marauding vigilantes often known as the Baldknobbers. In Wildfire, you hop aboard a curler coaster themed after Eighteen Eighties inventor Dr. Horatio Harris, who deliberate on constructing a tool to ascend the Ozarks.
Although it was tailor-made extra for many who get pleasure from a robust theme behind their park-going expertise, Silver Greenback Metropolis is a improbable amusement park that capitalizes on its fascinating regional location.
Picture Credit score: Silver Greenback Metropolis Sights.
Knoebels Amusement Resort — Elysburg, Pennsylvania
Giving Hersheypark a run for its cash because the definitively greatest theme park in Pennsylvania, Knoebels is a family-owned property that features a giant amusement park and campground unfold over 160 acres.
Inside their park grounds, Knoebels has greater than 60 rides at your disposal, from wood curler coasters to a log flume to an genuine 1913 carousel. With that many rides, there’s one thing for everybody on the park, whether or not you’re into fast-paced thrill rides just like the wood bobsled coaster, Flying Turns, or Knoebels’ award-winning Haunted Mansion darkish trip.
Not like different parks, you don’t need to pay an admission charge when visiting Knoebels. As an alternative, you simply need to pay for the person points of interest you hop on, permitting you to fastidiously decide and select which rides you’d wish to go on (in case you’re on a decent finances).
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Canobie Lake Park — Salem, New Hampshire
Canobie Lake Park could also be comparatively smaller than most different entries on this record, however that positively doesn’t imply it’s not value visiting if you happen to occur to seek out your self in southern New Hampshire.
A family-run park that sits overlooking the Granite State’s picturesque Canobie Lake, Canobie Lake Park celebrates its one hundred and twentieth anniversary this yr, making it one of many oldest theme parks within the US. It clocks in at a decent 50 rides and points of interest, which embrace an vintage carousel that’s been round because the park opened in 1902, and the well-known Yankee Cannonball wood curler coaster, initially put in in 1936.
Canobie Lake Park could not have the biggest number of curler coasters so that you can cycle by means of, but it surely does have a comfy, homely ambiance to it that makes it really really feel prefer it belongs to a different period.
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Richard Chachowski is a contract author primarily based in New Jersey. He loves studying, his canine Tootsie, and just about each film to ever exist (particularly Star Wars).
