2012 in amusement parks

This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that have occurred in 2012. These various lists are not exhaustive.

Amusement parks

Opening

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier opened in May.

Legoland Malaysia opened in September.

• United States Aquatica San Antonio – May 19, replaced the former Lost Lagoon water park.
• United States Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier – Summer
• People's Republic of China Happy Valley, Wuhan – April 29
• Malaysia Legoland Malaysia – September 15

Change of name

• Alabama Adventure » Splash Adventure
• The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom » Great Escape
• Boomerang Bay » Soak City
• Disney's California Adventure » Disney California Adventure

Change of ownership

• Alabama Adventure – Adrenaline Family Entertainment » General Attractions LLC
• The Beach – Unknown » Adventure Holdings LLC
• Knott's Soak City (San Diego) – Cedar Fair Entertainment Company » SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

Birthday

Luna Park Melbourne celebrated its centenary in December.

• United States Adventureland (New York) - 50th birthday
• England Chessington World of Adventures – 25th birthday
• France Disneyland Paris – 20th birthday
• Netherlands Efteling – 60th birthday
• United States Epcot – 30th birthday
• France Futuroscope – 25th birthday
• United States Kings Island – 40th birthday
• Canada La Ronde – 45th birthday
• Australia Luna Park, Melbourne – Centenary celebration (100th birthday)
• Italy Mirabilandia – 20th birthday
• People's Republic of China Ocean Park Hong Kong – 35th birthday
• United States Six Flags Fiesta Texas – 20th birthday
• United States Six Flags Over Georgia – 45th birthday
• France Walt Disney Studios Park – 10th birthday

Closed

• Camelot Theme Park - September 2
• Dash n Splash
• Le Bioscope - September 30

Additions

Roller coasters

New

Name	Park	Type	Manufacturer	Opened
Arctic Blast	China Ocean Park	Powered roller coaster	Mack Rides	July 13	[1]
Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars	China Hong Kong Disneyland	Mine train roller coaster	Vekoma	July 13	[2]
Bullet Coaster	China Happy Valley, Shenzhen	Launched roller coaster	S&S Worldwide	July 28	[3]
Dauling Dragon	China Happy Valley, Wuhan	Wooden roller coaster	Martin & Vleminckx	April 29	[4]
Dinoconda	China China Dinosaurs Park	4th Dimension roller coaster	S&S Worldwide	April 29	[5]
Divertical	Italy Mirabilandia	Water Coaster	Intamin	June 16	[6]
Dragon Fly	Netherlands Duinrell	Family roller coaster	Gerstlauer	March 31	[7]
Iron Shark	United States Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier	Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter	Gerstlauer	June 1	[8]
Lego Technic Test Track	Malaysia Legoland Malaysia	Wild Mouse roller coaster	Mack Rides	September 15	[9]
Leviathan	Canada Canada's Wonderland	Giga coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	May 6	[10]
Manta	United States SeaWorld San Diego	Launched roller coaster	Mack Rides	May 26	[11]
OzIris	France Parc Astérix	Inverted roller coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	April 7	[12]
Polar X-plorer	Denmark Legoland Billund	Family roller coaster	Zierer	April 29	[13]
Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya	Spain PortAventura Park	Hyper coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	May 12	[14]
Skyrush	United States Hersheypark	Hyper coaster	Intamin	May 26	[15]
Superman: Ultimate Flight	United States Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Launched roller coaster	Premier Rides	June 30	[16]
The Swarm	Thorpe Park	Wing Coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	March 15	[17]
Tren de la mina	Spain Parque de Atracciones Madrid	Family roller coaster	Gerstlauer	March 30	[18]
Verbolten	United States Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Launched roller coaster	Zierer	May 18	[19]
Wild Eagle	United States Dollywood	Wing Coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	March 24	[20]
Wodan Timbur Coaster	Germany Europa-Park	Wooden roller coaster	Great Coasters International	March 31	[21]
X-Flight	United States Six Flags Great America	Wing Coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	May 16	[22]

Relocated

Name	Park	Type	Manufacturer	Opened	Formerly
Apocalypse	United States Six Flags America	Stand-up roller coaster	Bolliger & Mabillard	June 7	Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America	[23]
Cliffhanger	United States Glenwood Caverns	Steel roller coaster	S&MC	June 15	Thunderbolt at Celebration City	[24]
Goliath	United States Six Flags New England	Giant Inverted Boomerang	Vekoma	May 25	Déjà Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain	[25]
Stinger	United States Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom	Invertigo	Vekoma	April 28	Invertigo at California's Great America	[26]
Triops	France Bagatelle	Invertigo	Vekoma	June 10	Tornado at Sommerland Syd	[27]
Wild West Express Coaster	United States Glenwood Caverns	Steel roller coaster	Zierer	May 25	Endicott Emerald Mine at Wild Zone Adventures	[24]
Western-Expressen	Norway TusenFryd	Sit Down roller coaster	Vekoma	April 28	Family Adventure at Mirabilandia	[28]

Refurbished

Name	Park	Type	Manufacturer	Opened	Formerly
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy	Australia Warner Bros. Movie World	Suspended Looping Coaster	Vekoma	April 7	Lethal Weapon – The Ride	[29]
Cosmic Coaster	United States Worlds of Fun	Junior roller coaster	Preston & Barbieri	April 14	Wacky Worm
The Barnstormer	United States Magic Kingdom	Junior roller coaster	Vekoma	March 12	The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm	[30]
Escape from Madagascar	Australia Dreamworld	Suspended Family Coaster	Vekoma	March 31	Sky Rocket
Hoot N Holler	United States Darien Lake	Junior roller coaster	Zierer	May 12	Brain Teaser	[31]
Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast	United States Six Flags Over Texas United States Six Flags St. Louis	Launched roller coaster	Premier Rides	May 12 May 5	Mr. Freeze	[32][33]
Twisted Typhoon	United States Wild Adventures	Inverted roller coaster	Vekoma	2012	Hangman	[34]

Other attractions

New

Name	Park	Type	Opened
Adventure Alley	United States Six Flags Great Adventure	Themed area	April 5	[35]
Air Jumbo	United States Six Flags Great Adventure	Aerial carousel	May 23	[35]
Alpine Freefalls	United States Great Escape	ProSlide water slide complex	June 2	[36]
Angry Birds Land	Finland Särkänniemi	Themed area	June 8	[37]
Aquanura	Netherlands Efteling	Dancing fountain show	May 31
Big Red Boat	Australia Dreamworld	Rockin' Tug	December 14	[38]
Black Widow	United States Kennywood	Zamperla pendulum ride	June 8	[39]
Bonzai Pipeline	United States Six Flags St. Louis	ProSlide SuperLoop	May 26	[40]
Buena Vista Street	United States Disney California Adventure	Themed area	June 15
Burnout	Australia Funfields	Chance Rides Trabant	November 23	[41][42]
Cars Land	United States Disney California Adventure	Themed area	June 15	[43]
Celebrate the Magic	United States Magic Kingdom	Nighttime spectacular	November 13	[44]
Celebration Plaza	United States Cedar Point	Themed area	June 8
Constrictor	Australia Wet'n'Wild Water World	WhiteWater West Family Constrictor water slide	September 28	[45]
Das verrückte Hotel Tartüff	Germany Phantasialand	Funhouse	June 23
Déjà Vu	United States Six Flags Great Adventure	Scrambler	May 23
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem	United States Universal Studios Florida	Infitec 3D simulator ride	July 2	[46]
Dinosaur Island	Australia Sea World	Dinosaur exhibit	June 16	[47]
Dinosaurs Alive!	Canada Canada's Wonderland United States Cedar Point United States Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom United States Kings Dominion	Dinosaur exhibit	May 6 May 12 April 28 April 6	[48][49][50][51]
Disney Dreams!	France Disneyland Park (Paris)	Nighttime spectacular	April 1	[52]
Dragster H2O	United States Soak City: Cedar Point	Multi-lane racer	May 27	[53]
DreamWorks Experience	Australia Dreamworld	Themed area	March 31	[54]
Fender Benders	United States Six Flags Great Adventure	Bumper Cars	August 7
Geyser Gulch	China Hong Kong Disneyland	Water play area	July 13
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	England Alton Towers Italy Gardaland Australia Warner Bros. Movie World Germany Movie Park Germany	4D film	March 24 March 31 June 23 March 31
Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D	Australia Warner Bros. Movie World	Sally Corporation 3D Shooting Dark ride	September 22	[55]
King Cobra	United States Six Flags Hurricane Harbor: New Jersey	Polin King Cobra	July 24	[56]
Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom	United States Six Flags Magic Mountain	Intamin Drop tower	July 7	[57]
Luigi's Flying Tires	United States Disney California Adventure	Flying Saucers attraction	June 15	[43]
Luminosity — Ignite the Night!	United States Cedar Point	Nighttime show	June 8
Mad T Party	United States Disney California Adventure	Nighttime Show	June 15
Madagascar Live! Prepare to Party	England Chessington World of Adventures	Live Show	March 31
Mammoth	United States Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	ProSlide water coaster	May 11	[58]
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree	United States Disney California Adventure	Unknown	June 15	[43]
Nemesis: Sub-Terra	England Alton Towers	ABC Drop Tower	March 24	[59]
New Fantasyland	United States Magic Kingdom	Themed area	December 6
New Test Track	United States Epcot	High speed simulated test track	December 6
Pandamonium	Australia Dreamworld	Air Race	December 21	[38][60]
Pirate Reef	United States Legoland California	Hopkins Shoot-the-Chutes	May 24	[61]
Quadzilla	United States Noah's Ark Water Park	Mat Slides	Unknown	[62]
Radiator Springs Racers	United States Disney California Adventure	Racing dark ride	June 15	[43][63]
Red Car Trolley	United States Disney California Adventure	Tram ride	June 15	[43][64]
RipTide	United States Morey's Piers	Pirate Ship	Summer 2012
SkyPoint Climb	Australia Q1	External building walk	January 14	[65]
SkyScreamer	United States Six Flags Fiesta Texas United States Six Flags Great Adventure	Tower swinger	May 27 May 23	[66][67]
Sling Shot	United States Six Flags Magic Mountain	Funtime Sling Shot	December 15
Sparkler	United States Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	Tower swinger	May 11	[68]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock	United States Nickelodeon Universe	Gerstlauer Sky Fly	March 17	[69]
Texas Star Flyer	United States Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier	Tower swinger	July 27	[8]
Tidal Wave Bay	United States Soak City: Kings Island	Wave pool	May 27
Toy Story Midway Mania!	Japan Tokyo DisneySea	Interactive 4D ride	July 9	[70]
Transformers: The Ride 3D	United States Universal Studios Hollywood	Dark ride	May 24	[71]
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid	United States Magic Kingdom	Omnimover dark ride	December 6	[72]
Universal's Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories	United States Universal Studios Florida	Nighttime spectacular	May 8	[73]
Universal's Superstar Parade	United States Universal Studios Florida	Parade	May 8	[73]
Vol Ultime	Canada La Ronde	Tower swinger	May 19	[74]
WindSeeker	United States Carowinds United States Kings Dominion	Tower swinger	March 31 April 6	[75][76]

Closed attractions & roller coasters

Name	Park	Type	Manufacturer	Closed
Cactus Coaster	United States Elitch Gardens	Family roller coaster	Allan Herschell Company	October 28	[77]
Disaster Transport	United States Cedar Point	Bobsled roller coaster	Intamin	July 29	[78]
Flashback	United States Six Flags Over Texas	Boomerang	Vekoma	September 3	[79]
Hurricane	United States Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk	Hurricane	S.D.C.	September 3	[80]
Pandemonium	United States Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Spinning roller coaster	Gerstlauer	January 1	[81]
Adventure Golf	United States Valleyfair	Mini Golf	Unknown	Unknown
Avalanche	Australia Dreamworld	Matterhorn	Bertazzon Rides	July 15
Catapult	United States Six Flags New England	Sky Swatter	S&S Worldwide	October 28
Congo River	United States Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	Lazy River	Unknown	Unknown
DreamWorks Holiday Shrektacular	Australia Dreamworld	Live show	Unknown	January 27
ElecTRONica	United States Disney California Adventure	Nighttime show	Walt Disney Imagineering	April 15	[82]
Glow in the Park Parade	United States Six Flags Great America	Parade	—	Unknown
Inferis	Italy Gardaland	Horror House	Unknown	January 6
Jaws	United States Universal Studios Florida	Water ride	MCA Planning and Development	January 2	[83]
Journey to the Center of the Earth 4-D Adventure	Australia Warner Bros. Movie World	4D film	Iwerks Entertainment	June 4
KidZville	United States Kings Dominion	Themed area	—	October	[84]
Perilous Plunge	United States Knott's Berry Farm	Shoot the Chute	Intamin	September 3	[85]
Raging Seas	United States Darien Lake	Seesturmbahn	Mack Rides	Unknown
Roller Soaker	United States Hersheypark	Suspended roller coaster	Setpoint	September 3	[86]
Rowdys Ridge	United States Darien Lake	3 rides
Snow White's Scary Adventures	United States Magic Kingdom	Dark ride	Walt Disney Imagineering	May 31	[87]
Space Spiral	United States Cedar Point	Gyro tower	Von Roll	August 14	[88]
Star Jet	United States Casino Pier	Steel roller coaster	E&F Miler Industries	October 29	[89]
Star Tours	Japan Tokyo Disneyland	Motion simulator	Walt Disney Imagineering	April 2	[90]
Stingray	Australia Dreamworld	Trabant	Chance Rides	May
T2-3D: Battle Across Time	United States Universal Studios Hollywood	4-D film	Universal Creative	December 31
Texas Chute Out	United States Six Flags Over Texas	Parachute Drop	Intamin	September 3	[79]
Thunder Alley	United States Kings Island	Go-karts	R.E. Enterprises	Unknown
Timber Tower	United States Dollywood	Topple Tower	HUSS	Unknown
Tree Top Racers	United States Adventure City	Wild Mouse	Miler Manufacturing	Unknown	[91]
Wheelie	United States Six Flags Over Georgia	Enterprise	Schwarzkopf	October 28
WindSeeker	United States Knott's Berry Farm	Wind Seeker	Mondial	September 19	[92]

Themed Accommodation

New

Name	Park	Theme	Opening	ref(s)
Disney's Art of Animation Resort	Walt Disney World	Disney Animated Films	May 31
Hotel Bell Rock	Europa-Park	New England	June 27

Amusement parks in terms of attendance

See also: List of amusement park attendance figures

Worldwide

This section list the top 25 largest amusement parks worldwide in order of annual attendance in 2012.

Rank	Amusement park	Location	2012 Attendance[93]
1	Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US	17,536,000
2	Disneyland at Disneyland Resort	Anaheim, California, US	15,963,000
3	Tokyo Disneyland	Tokyo, Japan	14,847,000
4	Tokyo DisneySea	Tokyo, Japan	12,656,000
5	Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris	Marne-la-Vallée, France	11,200,000
6	Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US	11,063,000
7	Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US	9,998,000
8	Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US	9,912,000
9	Universal Studios Japan	Osaka, Japan	8,700,000
10	Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort	Orlando, Florida, US	7,981,000
11	Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort	Anaheim, California, US	7,775,000
12	Ocean Park Hong Kong	Hong Kong, China	7,436,000
13	Everland	Yongin, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea	6,853,000
14	Hong Kong Disneyland	Hong Kong, China	6,700,000
15	Lotte World	Seoul, South Korea	6,383,000
16	Universal Studios Florida at Universal Orlando Resort	Orlando, Florida, US	6,195,000
17	Universal Studios Hollywood	Universal City, California, US	5,912,000
18	Nagashima Spa Land	Kuwana, Japan	5,850,000
19	SeaWorld Orlando	Orlando, Florida, US	5,358,000
20	Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris	Marne-la-Vallée, France	4,800,000
21	Europa-Park	Rust, Germany	4,600,000
22	SeaWorld San Diego	San Diego, California, US	4,444,000
23	Busch Gardens Tampa Bay	Tampa, Florida, US	4,348,000
24	Efteling	Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands	4,200,000
25	OCT East	Shenzhen, China	4,196,000

Poll rankings

Golden Ticket Awards

See also: Amusement Today - Golden Ticket Awards

The 2012 Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards were held at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Category	2012 Recipient	Location	Vote
Best New Ride (Amusement Park)	Wild Eagle	Dollywood
Best New Ride (Waterpark)	Mammoth	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Best Amusement Park	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio
Best Waterpark	Schlitterbahn	New Braunfels, Texas
Best Children's Park	Idlewild and Soak Zone	Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Best Marine Life Park	SeaWorld Orlando	Orlando, Florida
Best Seaside Park	Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk	Santa Cruz, California
Best Indoor Waterpark	Schlitterbahn Galveston Island	Galveston, Texas
Friendliest Park	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Cleanest Park	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	Santa Claus, Indiana
Best Shows	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Best Food	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Best Water Ride (Park)	Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls	Islands of Adventure
Best Waterpark Ride	Wildebeest	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Best Kids' Area	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio
Best Dark Ride	Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey	Islands of Adventure
Best Outdoor Show Production	Epcot	Bay Lake, Florida
Best Landscaping	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Williamsburg, Virginia
Best Halloween Event	Universal Orlando Resort	Orlando, Florida
Best Christmas Event	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Best Carousel	Knoebels Amusement Resort	Elysburg, Pennsylvania
Best Indoor Coaster	Revenge of the Mummy	Universal Studios Orlando
Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction	Noah's Ark	Kennywood

Top 10 Steel Roller Coasters
Rank	2012 Recipient	Park	Supplier	Points
1	Millennium Force	Cedar Point	Intamin	1272
2	Bizarro	Six Flags New England	Intamin	946
3	Nitro	Six Flags Great Adventure	B&M	650
4	Apollo's Chariot	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	B&M	597
5	New Texas Giant	Six Flags Over Texas	Rocky Mountain Construction	564
6	Expedition GeForce	Holiday Park	Intamin	537
7	Intimidator	Carowinds	B&M	520
8	Magnum XL-200	Cedar Point	Arrow	480
9	Goliath	Six Flags Over Georgia	B&M	444
10	Diamondback	Kings Island	B&M	395

Top 10 Wooden Roller Coasters
Rank	2012 Recipient	Park	Supplier	Points
1	El Toro	Six Flags Great Adventure	Intamin	1279
2	The Voyage	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	The Gravity Group	1190
3	Phoenix	Knoebels Amusement Resort	PTC/Schmeck	1091
4	Thunderhead	Dollywood	GCI	1018
5	Boulder Dash	Lake Compounce	CCI	1009
6	Ravine Flyer II	Waldameer Park	The Gravity Group	762
7	The Beast	Kings Island	KECO	677
8	The Raven	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	CCI	385
9	Shivering Timbers	Michigan's Adventure	CCI	378
10	Balder	Liseberg	Intamin	364

Best Roller Coaster Poll

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll is yet to be held for 2012.^[94]

Top 10 Steel Roller Coasters
Rank	Name	Park	Location	Manufacturer	Debut Year
1	Expedition GeForce	Holiday Park	Germany	Intamin	2001
2	Bizarro	Six Flags New England	United States		2000
3	New Texas Giant	Six Flags Over Texas	United States	Rocky Mountain Construction	1990
4	Intimidator 305	Kings Dominion	United States	Intamin	2010
5	Kawasemi	Tobu Zoo Park	Japan		2008
6	Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya	PortAventura Park	Spain	Bolliger & Mabillard	2012
7	Skyrush	Hersheypark	United States	Intamin	2012
8	iSpeed	Mirabilandia	Italy		2009
9	Katun			Bolliger & Mabillard	2000
	Maverick	Cedar Point	United States	Intamin	2007
	Mega-Lite	Happy Valley Shanghai	China		2009

Records broken

Record name	Record attribute	Ride	Amusement Park	Date broken
Amusement park with the most number of roller coasters	17 roller coasters		United States Six Flags Magic Mountain	May 2	[note 1][95]
World's Longest Water Coaster	1,763 feet (537 m)	Mammoth	United States Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	May 11	[58]
World's Tallest Vertical Drop Ride	400 feet (120 m)	Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom	United States Six Flags Magic Mountain	July 7	[57]

See also

• List of roller coaster rankings
• Category:Amusement rides introduced in 2012
• Category:Roller coasters introduced in 2012
• Category:Amusement rides that closed in 2012

Notes

1. Cedar Point has since removed WildCat resulting in their coaster count to drop to 16 and now Six Flags Magic Mountain has the lead with 17 coasters.