The 2025 season for amusement parks is looking to be another exciting one for me as I plan on visiting 10 different amusement parks! Some of these amusement parks I have been to before, while a few of them are completely new for me, with two of them in states I have never been to before! With the merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags in July 2024, it makes visiting all the parks under the new Six Flags banner that much easier (and cheaper!) with just one pass with the All Park Access add-on!
Neb's Funworld:
The first park of the year for me was Neb's Funworld, an indoor Family Entertainment Centre (FEC) located in Oshawa, Ontario on the evening of February 3rd, 2025. It was a great evening of fun, as my brother Scott, our friend Amadeo, and I took in a few rides on the Sparetime Express roller coaster, ChronoZ, and Skylight Skyscreamer (just to name a few), a round of mini golf, bowling, and some arcade games all away from the wintry weather! It was a great time and definitely a place I would highly recommend for anyone to visit when in the area!
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| The Sparetime Express at Neb's Funworld. |
Kennywood:
If you followed along on my amusement park road trips last year, you probably saw I went to Kennywood in June! Well I plan on going again this year for their opening weekend in April, as I fell in love with the charm of the park, nestled in the hilly suburbs of Pittsburg! This time I am taking my brother Scott along for the ride. Kennywood is home to many historical rides and attractions, with the oldest dating back to 1901, that being the Old Mill! There is something I love about Pennsylvania parks and their older collection of rides that you cannot find anywhere else. I hope this time around I am able to experience the Turtle, a Traver Tumble Bug ride dating back to the 1920s as it was being refurbished during my first-ever visit to the park last June. Other awesome historical rides at to experience at Kennywood include the Kangaroo, Noah's Ark, and the Carousel!
Unfortunately it looks like I'll be missing out on Steel Curtain again as it won't be quite ready for opening day, but with other roller coasters like the Jack Rabbit, Thunderbolt, Racer, and Phantom's Revenge, who could complain? I greatly enjoyed them all and look forward to riding them again this April!
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| Kennywood as seen from the parking lot on June 13th, 2024. |
Canada's Wonderland:
It is of no surprise that I'll be visiting my home park many times throughout the 2025 season, especially with the addition of AlpenFury, a Premier Rides launch coaster featuring nine inversions, starting with a launch out of the iconic Wonder Mountain! No opening date has been announced for AlpenFury as of yet, but my guess is it will be ready by mid to late May. Be sure to stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on my first ride on AlpenFury when it does open!
In addition to AlpenFury, another exciting thing to look forward to at Canada's Wonderland this year is the re-tracking of Mighty Canadian Minebuster by the Gravity Group! The iconic wooden roller coaster has rode a little rough over the past few years, so this refurbishment is greatly welcomed! In other news, Time Warp will be removed from the park's roller coaster line-up before opening day. I believe other exciting updates will occur around the park before opening day arrives!
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| AlpenFury construction site on January 4th, 2025, during the final evening of Winterfest for the season. |
Cedar Point:
After many years of hearing about how amazing Cedar Point is, I am finally making my first-ever trip to the park this May during the week of the Canadian Victoria Day long weekend! Cedar Point opened in 1870 and is located on a peninsula on Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio. It is home to a wide collection of rides and roller coasters, including the all-new Siren's Curse set to debut this year!
While it looks like Siren's Curse won't be ready for my visit in May, I am looking forward to hopefully riding Top Thrill 2, a reimagined version of the original Top Thrill Dragster that premiered for a brief time last year, with the original roller coaster dating back to 2004. The new rendition of Top Thrill 2 looks to combine the thrills of a swing launch like that on Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the nearly same height of the now former Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. Top Thrill 2 definitely looks to be a roller coaster I don't want to miss as I enjoyed the other two roller coasters mentioned!
Other rides and roller coasters I am looking forward to experiencing at Cedar Point are the Cedar Downs Racing Derby Carousel, the Calypso, Monster (as I'm a sucker for these rides!), the classic Blue Streak, Gemini, Magnum XL-200, the insane Steel Vengeance, and of course the well-regarded Millennium Force, just to name a few!
I am hoping to experience as many rides and roller coasters as possible during my first visit to Cedar Point as I'll be spending two days at the park during the middle of the week, which shouldn't be too busy.
Kings Island:
While in Ohio, I will also visit Kings Island, a park which I have previously visited three times over the past 11 years! Kings Island holds a special place in my amusement park-filled heart as it was the first amusement park I visited in the US in July 2014. Since then, I have made visits to Kings Island in June 2016 and April 2023.
During my recent visit to Kings Island in April 2023, I really enjoyed the newer additions to the park such as Mystic Timbers and Orion. During this upcoming visit, I look forward to re-riding them again, as well as other classic roller coasters that I enjoyed on previous visits such as The Beast, Adventure Express, The Bat, The Racer, Invertigo, and more modern thrills such as Banshee and Diamondback! I am also looking forward to checking out the new Adventure Port section that was still under construction the last time I was there. I also look forward to hopefully experience the new-for-2024 Vekoma Family Boomerang, Snoopy's Soap Box Racers!
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| A view of The Beast form the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island on April 15th, 2023. |
Dollywood:
In June I'll be heading down to Tennessee to visit Dollywood, Dolly Parton's amusement park located in Pigeon Forge. While the park dates back to 1961, Dolly Parton became half owner of the park in 1986, renaming the park Dollywood, a name which it has proudly held for 40 seasons as of 2025! I have heard a lot about this park over the years from the rides, theming, shows, food, and especially the world-famous cinnamon bread served at the park.
The rides and roller coasters I am most looking forward to when visiting Dollywood include Daredevil Falls, Drop Line, Dollywood Express Train, the Tennessee Tornado, Blazing Fury, Lightning Rod, Mystery Mine, Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, and their newest roller coaster, Big Bear Mountain.
This is also my first time ever in the state of Tennessee, so I am looking forward to driving through some beautiful wooded and mountainous landscapes of the south!
Six Flags Over Georgia:
Also on the June road trip, I'll be stopping by Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags' second amusement park. Six Flags Over Georgia opened its gates in 1967 and is currently home to 12 roller coasters and many other rides and attractions! Some of the roller coasters I am looking forward to riding for various reasons include the Riddler Mindbender, Goliath, Dahlonega Mine Train, Great American Scream Machine, Georgia Scorcher, Twisted Cyclone, and the new for 2025 Georgia Gold Rusher!
Other rides I am looking forward to experiencing are Monster Mansion dark ride, Six Flags Railroad, Riverview Carousel, and Acrophobia, as well as some other rides seen at other Six Flags parks. I am really looking forward to visiting Six Flags Over Georgia and the state of Georgia for the first time!
Six Flags Darien Lake:
In July I plan on making my annual trip to Six Flags Darien Lake. While there is nothing new at the park for 2025, the Mind Eraser had received a refurbishment during the off-season which involved a fresh coat of paint and most importantly, two new trains! The new trains, manufactured by Vekoma will feature vest restraints like those I experienced on the Riddler Revenge at Six Flags New England! They make Vekoma SLCs very enjoyable, so I am looking forward to this upgrade! Two train operation will also help keep the lines moving as Six Flags Darien Lake has operated with only one train on all their roller coasters for many years.
Maybe we will continue to see investments of new trains for the park's other roller coasters in the near future as they are desperately needed!
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| Signage stating the refurbishment for the Mind Eraser at Six Flags Darien Lake as seen on May 25th 2024. |
Michigan's Adventure:
Another new to me park for this year is Michigan's Adventure! Located in Muskegon, Michigan, Michigan's Adventure is home to seven roller coasters, three of which are wooden, including the over 5,000 foot long thrilling out-and-back Shivering Timbers, the double out-and-back Wolverine Wildcat, and the family friendly Zach's Zoomer. Other roller coasters at the park include the classic Arrow built Corkscrew, a rare Arrow Wild Mouse known as Mad Mouse, a Vekoma SLC known as Thunderhawk, and the Woodstock Express family coaster. Out of the roller coasters, I am most looking forward to riding Shivering Timbers, Mad Mouse, Corkscrew, and Thunderhawk.
Michigan's Adventure is also home to some rare and classic rides such as the Trabant, Flying Trapeze, Logger's Run log flume, Timbertown Railway miniature train, Tilt-A-Whirl, mini-golf, and swan paddle boats too! From photos I have seen online, Michigan's Adventure also has a lake situated in the middle of the park, allowing for some picturesque views!
I am looking forward to making a visit to Michigan's Adventure this August!
Six Flags Great America:
After a visit to Michigan's Adventure, I plan to head over to Six Flags Great America, a park I first visited and greatly enjoyed in July 2023. One of the reasons for wanting to go back to Six Flags Great America is to ride the classic Demon and Whizzer roller coasters as both were closed during my visit to the park. The other reason is to ride the new-for-2025 Wrath of Rakshasa, a B&M Dive Coaster featuring five inversions within its 3,239 feet of track! While not extremely tall at 180 feet, the combination of inversions and layout of the track look to be a winning combination and a great addition to the park's line-up of roller coasters!
So here's hoping I get to experience the classic Demon and Whizzer coasters, re-ride many of the fun rides and attractions, and ride the new Wrath of Rakshasa during my second-ever visit to Six Flags Great America!
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| The iconic Sky Trek Tower at Six Flags Great America on July 9th, 2023. |
Well, that wraps up my amusement park trip plans for this year! I am really looking forward to visiting all of these great parks, especially the ones that are new to me! Be sure to follow along here on my blog, Amusement Views, as well as on social media via Instagram, X, and Bluesky!
As always, if you see me at one of the amusement parks mentioned above, please feel free to say 'hi' as I enjoy meeting fellow enthusiasts! Here's to a thrilling 2025! 🙂🎢
