Illustrated theme parks collection emblem.

Parks the Highway Heads guides stop for: a trolley park running since 1898, a wooden coaster that enthusiast polls keep calling the best in the world, a recreated 1880s town built around a cave, and the one Walt Disney opened himself.

14 stops across 11 states, taken from the Highway Heads city guides.

California

Disneyland, Anaheim

Walt Disney’s original park opened July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, not Los Angeles, though it’s close enough for a long day. Opening day is still remembered as “Black Sunday”: rides broke down and counterfeit tickets got people in.

Los Angeles/Hollywood

Florida

Universal Epic Universe

Opened May 22, 2025 as Universal Orlando's newest park, with five immersive worlds including How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World and Dark Universe.

Orlando

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Split across Universal's two original parks — Hogsmeade (2010) in Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley (2014) in Universal Studios Florida.

Orlando

Idaho

Silverwood Theme Park

The largest theme and water park in the Pacific Northwest, opened in 1988 on a former airstrip, with seven roller coasters including a Corkscrew relocated from Knott’s Berry Farm that was the first coaster in the world to invert riders twice.

Coeur d'Alene

Indiana

The Voyage (Holiday World)

A wooden roller coaster repeatedly ranked the best in the world by coaster enthusiast polls — a legitimately significant ride, not just a novelty attached to the town's name.

Santa Claus

Missouri

New Jersey

Sesame Place, Langhorne, PA

A Sesame Street-themed amusement park just across the Pennsylvania line.

Trenton

Ohio

Kings Island, Mason

A 364-acre amusement and water park about 24 miles northeast of the city, built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972 as an expansion of the old Coney Island resort.

Cincinnati

Pennsylvania

Waldameer’s Comet

A 1951 wooden roller coaster preserved as an ACE Coaster Classic, still running its original layout at the fourth-oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania.

Erie

Kennywood

A trolley park operating since 1898 and one of only two amusement parks in the country with National Historic Landmark status, home to three wood coasters built between 1920 and 1968 and the record-holding steel coaster Steel Curtain.

Pittsburgh

Texas

Kemah Boardwalk

A 60-acre waterfront amusement complex on Galveston Bay, built around a marina, with a wooden roller coaster packed onto a one-acre footprint.

Houston

Virginia

Kings Dominion

A large amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, along I-95 at Exit 98; Visit Richmond lists 400 acres with more than 60 rides, shows and attractions.

Richmond

Wisconsin

Bay Beach Amusement Park

A city-run amusement park with no admission charge. Its Zippin Pippin wooden roller coaster, introduced in 2011, is a replica of the Memphis coaster that, according to Wikipedia, Elvis Presley was known to rent the whole park to ride. Ride tickets are 25¢ each and rides take 1–6 tickets; the city lists the Zippin Pippin at 6.

Green Bay

Other parks we know of

148 more that we know of, from our own register. We have not visited these and we have no guide to them — this is a list of what exists, so you can look one up. Opening times, fees and seasons belong to whoever runs the place.

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Amusement and theme parks from the Highway Heads research register (HH_Fun_Parks_Verified_20261029), kept to parks that are open or run a season and publish their own website.