http://www.mercurynews.com/travel/ci_6556296

(includes Kings Island, and some others you may have heard of!)

See also:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stor.../06/daily1.html

I can't say I've heard of Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park or Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Every other I have heard of. I wonder how many people read something like this and them decided to come from out of the tri-state area to go to KI.

When making a list like this they should say top ten US parks other then Disney and Universal. If you just say outside of Orlando then Disneyland and Universal Hollywood should be on the list. I find it hard to believe that Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park is more popular then Dollywood. Also why did the Sea World parks not make the list? Busch Gardens Tampa makes the cut but Williamsburg does not?

it was written today, and still says paramounts... hmm thats real reliable...

When making a list like this they should say top ten US parks other then Disney and Universal. If you just say outside of Orlando then Disneyland and Universal Hollywood should be on the list. I find it hard to believe that Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park is more popular then Dollywood. Also why did the Sea World parks not make the list? Busch Gardens Tampa makes the cut but Williamsburg does not?

It doesn't say more popular it says top. They must've found something better about Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park than they found at Dollywood or any other park for that matter. I can't say for myself because I haven't been to either. Well technically if it says outside Orlando, WDW should be in there since it's in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Haha good point. I'm just gonna have to go out on a limb and say that whomever wrote this article has no clue what is going on. It seems like they're just trying to find 10 very different parks, hence the various park themes, i.e. Africa, Western, oceanfront, mountain trail, etc. This list is almost absurd if you ask me.

Ober Gatlinburg doesnt try to be an amusement park, they're just a tourist attraction. They have like 4 carnival rides, an indor ice skating rink, and the Alpine Slide (which is pretty cool), and the giant cable bus that goes over the smokies. How can that possibly be in the catagory of amusement parks?

This list has no credibility.

I found another link that has is longer description for each park. Kings Island...

7. King's Ransom: Paramount's Kings Island, Kings Island, Ohio

One of the best in the Midwest, King's Island features excellent shows

for families, but also top-notch rides, such as the "Firehawk," the

face-to-face inverted roller-coaster "Face/Off," and "The Beast," the

world's longest wooden roller coaster. One TripAdvisor traveler said,

"One of the nicest parks I have ever visited. The landscaping was great

and it was very clean."

Welche, Family Kingdom is several blocks south of downtown Myrtle Beach where the late Pavilion used to reside. Family Kingdom is home to a classic John Allen designed wooden coaster, Swamp Fox. I visited the park back in 2003 and grabbed a ride on Swamp Fox.

What was your opinion of the park? As good as top ten out of Orlando?

And today that same article, picked up by the Associated Press, is in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destination...ent-parks_N.htm

I have been coming to these forums for a while now, but never registered until I saw this post asking about the Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach.

Years ago this park was near perfect. The Swamp Fox coaster built in the 60s was once a top ten thrill ride in the world, along with the beach atmosphere and tons of other things to do... was a great place for families to enjoy a day at the beach.

In the late 70s, The Pavilion opened its doors and due to its location in the heart of downtown Myrtle Beach, the Family Kingdom started to fall apart. In the late 80s to early 90s, they began to clean up the park and make it a great place again to families to have a good time. Im glad the Pavilion has closed to help bring life to the almost beach front amusment park.

I have not been to the Family Kingdom in years since I have moved from that area to KY now, but I can still remember the good times when I was a kid. I have been sporting this nickname for years online due to the time I snook on this coaster when I was only 8 years old... years ago!

Thanks KICentral for being a great home to a new KI fan, but a old coaster lover....

Swampy