List of former Kings Island attractions
Former roller coasters
Table:
Ride

Year Opened

Year Closed

Manufacturer
(Model)

Description

Ref(s)

The Bat

1981

1983

Arrow Development
(Suspended)

Prototype suspended coaster. Although intense, the ride had a fair share of downtime as a result of the designers not banking the track as they did with later suspended coasters. This concept was reintroduced with Top Gun (later renamed Flight Deck) in 1993, which was significantly more reliable. The Bat closed in 1983, remained standing but not operating in 1984, and was demolished in spring 1985. It was replaced with Vortex, the world's first six-looping roller coaster, which opened in 1987. The Bat's name would eventually be reused, as Flight Deck was renamed The Bat for the 2014 season.

[1][2]

Bavarian Beetle

1972

1978

SDC
(Galaxi)

A steel roller coaster. Originally operated at Coney Island, Cincinnati, Ohio, as Galaxi (1970–1971).

[3]

Firehawk

2007

2018

Vekoma

A Vekoma Flying Dutchman coaster. Originally known as X-Flight at Geauga Lake from 2001-2006. Relocated to Kings Island in efforts to downside Geauga Lake. Reopened at Kings Island the following year under the new name Firehawk and with a changed track color, from green and black at Geagua Lake to red and yellow. On September 27, 2018, Kings Island announced that they would remove the ride from the park following the 2018 season due to it operating sporadically and that the manufacturer, Vekoma, had stopped supporting the model and therefore parts were increasing expensive and hard to find. And in August 2019, Kings Island announced that Firehawk would be replaced by the Orion giga coaster in 2020.

[4]

King Cobra

1984

2001

TOGO

Prototype Stand-up roller coaster. It was the first stand up coaster with a loop in the United States. It was taken down in 2002 because TOGO had gone out of business making it harder to find new parts. King Cobra's track was scrapped in December 2006, and eventually portions were sent to Kings Dominion to be used as parts for its sister installation, Shockwave.

[5]

Screamin' Demon

1977

1987

Arrow Development

Also known as The Demon. First looping roller coaster at Kings Island and one of the first in the country to run forwards and backwards through a loop. The ride was sold and relocated to Camden Park in West Virginia where it was renamed to Thunderbolt Express. It last operated there in 1999 and was demolished in November 2004.

[6]

Scooby's Ghoster Coaster

1998

2005

Caripo
(Batflyer)

Prototype suspended roller coaster (billed as the first suspended coaster for kids). The ride had poor capacity and roughness complaints. Removed prior to the 2006 season as a part of the change from Hanna-Barbera Land to Nickelodeon Universe.

[7]

Son of Beast

2000

2009

Werner Stengel
/Roller Coaster Corporation of America

Son of Beast was the first wooden roller coaster with a vertical loop and at the time the only wooden hypercoaster. In response to 27 injuries that occurred on July 9, 2006,[8] Cedar Fair installed lighter trains acquired from the Hurricane: Category 5 roller coaster at the former Myrtle Beach Pavilion and removed the loop in order for the new trains to complete the circuit. It reopened on July 4, 2007, but closed indefinitely on June 23, 2009, following another injury report.[9] Park officials confirmed on March 15, 2010, that they had no plan to reopen the ride.[10] It was removed from Kings Island's park map and the ride list on the official web site in early 2010.[11][12] After reviewing all options, Kings Island officials announced on July 27, 2012, that Son of Beast would be taken down to allow for more park expansion.[13][14] The lift hill was demolished on November 20, 2012, at 11:02 a.m. ET. An inverted roller coaster, Banshee, was opened on the former Son of Beast site on April 18, 2014, and the station is now used for the Haunt attraction Wolf Pack.

[15]

Vortex

1987

2019

Arrow Dynamics

Constructed at a cost of $4 million on the former location of The Bat, Vortex was a steel roller coaster that opened in the park's Coney Mall area as the world's tallest roller coaster at 148 feet (45 m).[16] It also held the record for most inversions, featuring six.[16] Both records were superseded the following year by Shockwave which opened at Six Flags Great America.[16][17] After 33 seasons, the ride permanently closed during the 2019 season.[18][19]

[20][21]

Based on the tabular data plus the supporting evidence provided.

Answer the following question: The ride that was the first suspended coaster for kids was built by a company that was eventually bought by who ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

The Bat was a suspended roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason , Ohio . Designed by Arrow Development , the ride was billed as the first and only suspended roller coaster in the world when it opened to the public on April 26 , 1981 . The model took several years to develop and was considered a prototype by Arrow . Though the ride was very popular , it was plagued with mechanical problems and frequent closures that led to a short lifespan . The ride was permanently closed after just three seasons in 1983 and removed from the park the following year .
Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides , especially roller coasters . Based in Clearfield , Utah , the company was the successor to Arrow Development ( 1946-1981 ) and Arrow Huss ( 1981-1986 ) , which were responsible for several influential advancements in the amusement and theme park industries . Among the most significant was tubular steel track , which provided a smoother ride than the railroad style rails commonly used prior to the 1960s on wooden roller coasters . The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland , built in 1959 , was Arrow 's first roller coaster project . In 1975 , Arrow Development introduced the first corkscrew style track Corkscrew , at Knott 's Berry Farm that sent riders through a series of corkscrews . Arrow created several other firsts over the years , introducing the first suspended roller coaster in almost a century , The Bat , in 1981 , and the world 's first hypercoaster , Magnum XL-200 , which opened in 1989 . They built the first 4th Dimension roller coaster , X2 , which was designed by Alan Schilke in 2002 . Arrow Development 's ownership changed three times between the 1950s and 1980s . Arrow Dynamics would eventually survive two bankruptcies and spin off a sister company , Fabriweld , primarily to build track , by 1988 . Arrow Dynamics eventually closed on December 3 , 2001 . S & S Worldwide purchased part of Arrow 's remaining assets on October 28 , 2002 , and the remainder of the company was dissolved . In 2012 , Sansei Yusoki Co. of Osaka , Japan , acquired a 77.3% interest in S & S - Arrow .
A suspended roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the car hangs from the bottom of the rolling stock by a pivoting fulcrum or hinge assembly . This allows the car and riders to swing side to side as the train races along the track . Due to the swing designs , these roller coasters can not invert riders .
Vortex was a steel roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason , Ohio . Designed and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics at a cost of $ 4 million , the ride officially opened to the public on April 11 , 1987 . Vortex debuted as the tallest , full-circuit roller coaster in the world with a height of 148 feet ( 45 m ) . It was also the first coaster to feature six inversions . Vortex occupied the same location in the park once held by The Bat , the world 's first suspended roller coaster . Tied to the coaster 's debut , attendance at Kings Island exceeded 3 million in 1987 for the first time . It accommodated more than 46 million guests throughout its lifespan , making Vortex one of the most frequently-ridden attractions in park history . It closed permanently on October 27 , 2019 .
The Bat , formerly called Flight Deck and Top Gun , is a suspended roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason , Ohio . Built by Arrow Dynamics , the ride was known as Top Gun when it opened in 1993 . It is the park 's second suspended coaster following an earlier prototype from Arrow Development - also called The Bat - that operated at Kings Island from 1981 to 1983 . The layout is designed to give riders the illusion they are narrowly missing track supports and other elements while swinging through sharp turns .
Galaxi ( also Galaxy ) is the common name of a series of mass-produced roller coasters manufactured primarily by Italian company S.D.C , which went bankrupt in 1993 . The roller coaster design was first used in the 1970s , and as of 2009 , sixteen Galaxi coasters are still in park-based operation , across the North American , European , and Australian continents , with another two Standing But Not Operating . At least 37 amusement parks are or have previously operated Galaxi coasters ; this does not include those owned by funfairs and traveling ride companies .
Coney Island is a small water park located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati , Ohio , approximately 10 miles ( 16 km ) east of the downtown area in Anderson Township . Beginning in 1870 , the original owner called the area Parker 's Grove , which was later renamed Ohio Grove , The Coney Island of the West after the Ohio Grove Corporation purchased the park in 1886 . The name was shortened to Coney Island the following season . Growth over the years spawned dozens of rides and attractions which led to its popularity as an amusement destination . Coney Island was sold to Taft Broadcasting in 1969 with intentions to move the park to a new , larger destination away from frequent flooding . The new park opened as Kings Island in 1972 , although Coney Island 's Sunlite Pool remained opened . Rides eventually returned , and additional investments and improvements were made to the Sunlite Pool area . These changes , along with the opening of the nearby Riverbend Music Center in 1984 , allowed the park 's attendance and profitability to recover . In 2019 , Coney Island announced plans to remove all amusement rides with intentions to focus exclusively on its water park amenities .
Firehawk was a flying roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason , Ohio . Manufactured by Vekoma , it originally opened as X-Flight at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure on May 26 , 2001 , billed as the Midwest 's first and only flying roller coaster . Cedar Fair purchased Worlds of Adventure in 2004 and began efforts to downsize the park . X-Flight was relocated to Kings Island following the 2006 season , where it reopened as Firehawk on May 26 , 2007 . The roller coaster 's layout was identical to Batwing , another Vekoma Flying Dutchman model from Vekoma , located at Six Flags America amusement park . Firehawk closed permanently on October 28 , 2018 , and was later demolished . On August 15 , 2019 , it was announced that Firehawk would be replaced by a new Bolliger & Mabillard Giga Coaster coaster named Orion , which will open in 2020 .
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer . Vekoma is an abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek ( Veld Koning Machine Factory ) and was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld . They originally manufactured farm equipment and later made steel constructions for the coal mining industry in the 1950s , After the closure of Dutch mines in 1965 , they manufactured steel pipes for the petrochemical industry . Since the 1970s , they have manufactured amusement rides . In 2018 , Vekoma was acquired by Sansei Technologies , the parent company of American ride manufacturer S & S Sansei .
Geauga Lake was a theme park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora , Ohio , United States . Established in 1887 in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name , the first amusement ride was added in 1889 , and the park 's first roller coaster - later known as the Big Dipper - was built in 1925 . In 1969 , the park was sold to Funtime , Inc. , and was expanded over the years with additional rides and amenities . Further expansion occurred in the mid and late 1990s after Funtime 's acquisition by Premier Parks in 1995 . Prior to the 2000 season , soon after Premier Parks acquired Six Flags , the park was re-branded as Six Flags Ohio and four new roller coasters were added . A year later , Six Flags bought the adjacent SeaWorld Ohio and combined the two parks under the name Six Flags Worlds of Adventure . The park changed ownership again in 2004 after a purchase by Cedar Fair . The park 's SeaWorld portion was transformed into a water park in 2005 , and together they became known as Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom . On September 21 , 2007 , Cedar Fair announced the closing of the amusement park in 2008 , and that the property would operate solely as a water park under the title Wildwater Kingdom . Cedar Fair announced Wildwater Kingdom would not reopen after the 2016 season .
King Cobra ( 1984-2001 ) was a TOGO Stand-up roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason , Ohio . It was the first in the world to be designed from the ground up as a stand-up roller coaster . Other stand-up roller coasters that preceded King Cobra were sit-down models later modified to accommodate stand-up trains . After the ride 's manufacturer , TOGO , went out of business in 2001 , parts for the ride became more expensive and harder to find . In addition , the ride was losing popularity in recent years . So in April 2002 , Paramount Parks decided to dismantle King Cobra and put it up for sale . Trains were sent to Kings Island 's graveyard located at the old Wild Animal Habitat feeding house area next to the Son of Beast . After the ride would n't sell , the decision was made in 2008 to transfer some of the ride including the trains to Kings Dominion to be used as spare parts for Shockwave . As of 2010 , remnants of the King Cobra could still be spotted in some back areas of Kings Island near Flight of Fear
TOGO ( 株式会社トーゴ , Kabushiki-gaisha Tōgo ) was a Japanese amusement ride company that built roller coasters , giant wheels , carousels , flumes , dark rides , sky cycles and other amusement rides .
A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster designed to have the passengers stand through the course of the ride .
Shockwave was a stand-up roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell , Virginia . Opened in 1986 , it was the third stand-up roller coaster installation built and designed by Japanese company TOGO . Following closures of the previous two , it became the oldest of its kind still in operation . After nearly thirty years in operation , Shockwave closed permanently on August 9 , 2015 . It was replaced by Delirium , a Mondial Revolution flat ride , which opened in 2016 .
The Thunderbolt Express was a looping shuttle roller coaster located at Camden Park . Originally named Screamin ' Demon ( and later just Demon ) when it operated at Kings Island from 1977 to 1987 , the roller coaster was built and designed by Arrow Dynamics . It was sold to Camden Park following the 1987 season , and reopened at its new location in 1988 . Following an electrical issue in 1999 , the ride was closed indefinitely for a period of time . An announcement surfaced that the ride would reopen in 2002 , but the roller coaster would eventually be dismantled following the 2004 season and replaced by a miniature golf course .
Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company , incorporated in California on November 16 , 1945 , and based in Mountain View . Arrow was founded by Angus Andy Anderson , Karl Bacon , William Hardiman and Edgar Morgan . :158 Originally located at 243 Moffett Boulevard , they relocated to a larger facility at 1555 Plymouth Street after Walt Disney Productions purchased one third of Arrow in 1960.:775 They also had offices at 820 Huff Avenue . By 1956 , then secretary Bill Hardiman , and Angus Anderson , then vice president , had sold their interests in Arrow to Wharton graduate Walter Schulze , who then became Arrow 's secretary-treasurer and vice president . Walter and his wife had been performing accounting services for several small companies in the Bay Area , including Duro-Bond Bearing , which is where he likely heard of Arrow . Schulze left Arrow after its sale to Rio Grande Industries . In 1979 , Arrow listed over a dozen types of rides in their catalog including 15 corkscrews , five looping coasters , 12 runaway mine trains , 43 flumes and 77 automotive , for a total of more than 200 rides installed at nearly 100 locations around the world . Huss Trading Corporation purchased Arrow Development in 1981 , but the combined Arrow-Huss would go bankrupt in 1984 . The similarly named Arrow Dynamics , eventual successor to Arrow Development , was incorporated in Delaware on January 10 , 1986 by Ron Toomer , Otis Hughes , David Klomp , Ray Crandall and Brent Meikle .
Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington , West Virginia . Established in 1902 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company , it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States . Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines , Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines . Not long after opening , the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions . Camden Park is West Virginia 's only amusement park . The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions , including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster , the Big Dipper , and several other vintage rides . Over the years , Camden Park has featured a swimming pool , a roller rink , and even a small zoo . Today , the park hosts a variety of events throughout the year , including live musical performances as part of the Hot Summer Nights concert series . Other events include the Children 's Festival , Coca-Cola Days , and the Halloween Spooktacular . The park is typically open six days a week from late May to early August , with a more limited schedule in late August , and select dates in September and October .
The Thunderbolt Express was a looping shuttle roller coaster located at Camden Park . Originally named Screamin ' Demon ( and later just Demon ) when it operated at Kings Island from 1977 to 1987 , the roller coaster was built and designed by Arrow Dynamics . It was sold to Camden Park following the 1987 season , and reopened at its new location in 1988 . Following an electrical issue in 1999 , the ride was closed indefinitely for a period of time . An announcement surfaced that the ride would reopen in 2002 , but the roller coaster would eventually be dismantled following the 2004 season and replaced by a miniature golf course .
Scooby 's Ghoster Coaster was a suspended roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason , Ohio . Opened in 1998 , it was billed as the first suspended roller coaster in the United States designed for children . The ride is also the first in the country from Caripro Amusement Technology , a defunct company once based out of the Netherlands and later bought by Vekoma . Scooby 's Ghoster Coaster was removed in the 2005-2006 off-season to make room for other rides during the area 's conversion from Hanna-Barbera Land to Nickelodeon Universe .
Son of Beast was a record-breaking wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason , Ohio . Built and designed by the now defunct Roller Coaster Corporation of America , it opened to the public on May 26 , 2000 , and was themed as a sequel to one of the park 's other signature attractions , The Beast . In addition to breaking the world record for speed , Son of Beast was the first wooden hypercoaster in the world with a 214-foot ( 65 m ) drop and was the second wooden coaster to feature an inversion ; Flip Flap Railway was the first , but was long defunct before the ride 's opening . Son of Beast is also known for two major , non-fatal accidents . In 2006 , damage to the track caused one of the trains to stop abruptly . After another incident in 2009 , when a woman claimed to have suffered a head injury , the ride was closed indefinitely . On July 27 , 2012 , the closure was made permanent , as Kings Island announced that the roller coaster would be dismantled and removed from the park . When Banshee opened in Son of Beast 's former location in 2014 , a tombstone prop depicting the Son of Beast and its years of operation was placed in the ride 's line queue .
Werner Stengel ( born 22 August 1936 in Bochum ) is a German roller coaster designer and engineer . Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering , also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH ( or Ingenieurbuero Stengel GmbH ) . Stengel first worked on amusement park rides in collaboration with Anton Schwarzkopf in 1963 . He established his own company , Stengel Engineering , in 1965 . His collaboration with Schwarzkopf was responsible for many innovations in roller coaster design , including in 1976 the first modern vertical looping coaster , Revolution , at Six Flags Magic Mountain . ( Arrow Dynamics had debuted the first modern corkscrew loop a year earlier at Knott 's Berry Farm ) . His clothoid loop is now standard on many roller coasters , as it produces less intense forces on the human body than a circular vertical loop . In 1976 Stengel and Schwarzkopf established the first horizontal launch Shuttle Loop . He is notable for being a pioneer in heartlining , the principle of having the track twist and rotate around the rider 's heart line , rather than the track rotating around its own center . Since Schwarzkopf 's retirement , Stengel has worked on most of the world 's record-breaking roller coasters , including Son of Beast , Millennium Force , Superman The Ride , Top Thrill Dragster , Kingda Ka , Dollywood 's Mystery Mine , El Toro , Maverick and Olympia Looping , the world 's largest portable roller coaster , among many others . Seventy-two percent of the attractions on the 2004 Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards list of the world 's top fifty steel roller coasters were designed by Stengel Engineering . Stengel received an honorary doctorate from Gothenburg University in 2005 for inexhaustible creativity in linking physics and design to the experience of the body in roller coasters and other rides , among the most highly regarded of which is Lisebergbanan at Liseberg park in Gothenburg , Sweden .
Roller Coaster Corporation of America ( RCCA ) was an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States . The company 's first major project was the Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 1992 , while their most famous coaster was the Son of Beast at Kings Island , the world 's tallest and first looping wooden coaster when it opened in 2000 .
A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with running rails made of flattened steel strips mounted on laminated wooden track . Occasionally , the support structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss , but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design . The type of wood typically used in the construction of wooden coasters is Southern Yellow Pine , usually grown in the US and the rest of North America . Because of the limits of wood , wooden roller coasters , in general , do not have inversions ( when the coaster goes upside down ) , steep drops , or extremely banked turns ( overbanked turns ) . However , there are exceptions , such as the original loop on Son of Beast at Kings Island ; a corkscrew and 90-degree banked turn at Hades 360 at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells , Wisconsin ; a steel structure at The Voyage at Holiday World ; and banked turns at Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park and Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City .
A hypercoaster is any complete circuit roller coaster with a height measuring greater than 200 feet ( 61 m ) . The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the release of the first full-circuit hypercoaster in the world , Magnum XL-200 . Other roller coaster manufacturers developed their own models with custom names , including Mega Coasters from Intamin , Hyper Coasters from Bolliger & Mabillard , and Hyper-Hybrid Coasters from Rocky Mountain Construction . The competition between amusement parks to build increasingly taller roller coasters eventually led to giga coasters which exceed 300 feet ( 91 m ) and strata coasters which exceed 400 feet ( 120 m ) .
Hurricane : Category 5 was a Custom Coasters International wooden roller coaster located at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion . It replaced the Corkscrew roller coaster which existed since the late 1970s . The Pavilion unveiled their multimillion-dollar coaster May 6 , 2000 . During operation , Hurricane held the record for being the tallest , fastest , and longest wooden roller coaster in South Carolina . The ride closed with the Pavilion on September 30 , 2006 . Although Burroughs & Chapin attempted to sell the ride along with the Haunted Hotel , Log Flume , Treasure Hunt , and a few other rides , the ride was deemed too expensive a task to dismantle and relocate , and was ultimately demolished in March 2007 . The only part of the ride not demolished were the two Gerstlauer trains used on the ride . These trains were shipped to Kings Island , an amusement park in Mason , Ohio . They were then repainted and installed on Son of Beast , which was at the time the world 's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster . Son of Beast was later demolished on November 20 , 2012 , following an incident that occurred in 2009 .
The Myrtle Beach Pavilion was a historic pay-per-ride , no parking fee , 11-acre amusement park that was located in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina at the corner of 9th Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard . It was just a few blocks down from another Myrtle Beach amusement park , the Family Kingdom Amusement Park ; both in the heart of Myrtle Beach . The Pavilion had well over 40 different attractions for kids and thrill-seekers alike , and included the wooden rollercoaster Hurricane : Category 5 . Despite all the best efforts made by citizens to save the park , it was lost to redevelopment in 2007 . While the park was officially closed and became a vacant lot on 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in 2007 , some of the rides and attractions were moved to Broadway at the Beach . Broadway at the Beach and the land at 9th Avenue are both owned by Burroughs & Chapin .
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage . This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster , which runs under the track , but swings via a pivoting bar attached to the wheel carriage . The coaster type 's inverted orientation , where the passengers ' legs are exposed , distinguishes it from a traditional roller coaster , where the passengers ' arms are instead exposed .
Banshee is a steel roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason , Ohio . Designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard ( B & M ) , Banshee opened to the public on April 18 , 2014 . The roller coaster features 4,124 feet ( 1,257 m ) of track , making it the longest inverted roller coaster in the world . Banshee is also the first inverted coaster built in the United States since 2006 when Patriot debuted at Worlds of Fun .
Shockwave ( occasionally stylized as ShockWave or Shock Wave ) was a roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee , Illinois . Standing 170 feet ( 52 m ) tall and reaching speeds of 65 miles per hour ( 105 km/h ) , it opened in 1988 as the world 's tallest and fastest looping roller coaster with a record-breaking seven inversions : three vertical loops , a boomerang ( also known as a batwing ) , and two regular corkscrews . Shockwave was closed in 2002 and has been dismantled .
Six Flags Great America is an amusement park located in Gurnee , Illinois in the Chicago metropolitan area . The park was created by the Marriott Corporation , who operated it as Marriott 's Great America from its original opening in 1976 until it was acquired by Six Flags in 1984 . The park features nine themed areas and sixteen roller coasters , as well as a 20-acre ( 81,000 m2 ) water park called Hurricane Harbor . Over 3 million guests visited the park in 2017 , ranking it among the top 20 amusement parks in North America for attendance .