Latest Amusement Parks Headlines
All the headlines from our Amusement Parks Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ohio Looking at Increased Oversight of Amusement Park Rides
May 9 2018 // State lawmakers will consider whether to increase oversight of carnival rides, including hiring more inspectors, following a deadly accident at the Ohio State Fair that flung riders onto the midway. The proposed changes...
Schlitterbahn, Former Park Operator Indicted in Kansas Waterslide Death
Mar 27 2018 // A Kansas waterslide hyped as the world’s highest was a “deadly weapon” that had already injured more than a dozen people before a 10-year-old boy was decapitated on it in 2016, according to a grand jury...
Man Claims He Caught Eye-Eating Parasite at Pennsylvania Amusement Park
Dec 4 2017 // A man has filed a lawsuit against a Pittsburgh amusement park claiming he contracted an eye-eating parasite after getting splashed on a water ride. Robert and Krystsina Trostle claim in their lawsuit filed Tuesday that he...
Vermont Has No Amusement Park Ride Safety Oversight
Jul 31 2017 // Vermont has no direct safety oversight of the rides at the fairs, carnivals and field days held across the state every summer and fall, and efforts to require such oversight have gone nowhere, officials said. The state...
Tennessee Legislators Tighten Amusement Park Safety Regulations
May 8 2017 // Tennessee could soon tighten amusement park safety regulations after people were injured on rides in two incidents last year. The Tennessee House passed a bill Thursday with heightened safety requirements. The Senate...
Kansas Tightens Amusement Park Regulations after Boy’s Waterslide Death
Apr 26 2017 // The death of a colleague’s son has spurred the governor in the often anti-regulation Kansas to toughen the state’s inspection requirements for amusement parks. A new law signed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback...
Kansas Amusement Ride Safety Bill in the Works
Mar 27 2017 // Members of a Kansas House committee are pushing to ramp up oversight of temporary and permanent amusement park rides after a lawmaker’s son was killed on a waterslide last year, but the bill that would allow it to...
State Oversight of Thrill Rides Questioned After Recent Accidents
Sep 19 2016 // In some parts of the U.S., the thrill rides that hurl kids upside down, whirl them around or send them shooting down slides are checked out by state inspectors before customers climb on. But in other places, they are not...
Safety Inspections of Thrill Rides Vary by State
Aug 24 2016 // In some parts of the U.S., the thrill rides that hurl kids upside down, whirl them around or send them shooting down slides are checked out by state inspectors before customers climb on. But in other places, they are not...
State Regulation Limited for Kansas Water Park
Aug 15 2016 // The huge Kansas City, Kan., waterslide on which a 10-year-old boy died was built in a state known for its light regulation of amusement park rides, and the company lobbied legislators to help ensure that it remained...
Austin Area Amusement Park to Pay $20K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Jul 1 2016 // Austin’s FEC LLC and Austin Entertainment Center, LP d/b/a Austin’s Park N Pizza, a Pflugerville, Texas-based amusement park, has agreed to pay $20,000 and improve its workplace practices to settle a disability...
Texas Gun Rights Advocates Taking Aim at Zoos
Oct 13 2015 // Visitors to the Houston Zoo can now pack a little something extra besides a camera and picnic basket. The nearly century-old institution recently lifted its longtime firearms ban amid a broader push by gun rights advocates...
12 Injured in Kentucky Amusement Park Ride Accident
Jul 29 2015 // Authorities say at least 12 people were injured when a swing ride at an amusement park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, tipped over. The Daily News reports emergency officials were dispatched to Beech Bend Amusement Park around...
New York Gov. Cuomo Issues Amusement Park Safety Tips
Jun 9 2014 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a message for families planning trips to amusement parks this summer: avoid horseplay, and keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times. The Democratic governor announced a series of...
Six Flags Roller Coaster Had Previous Injuries; Min. $1M in Liability Coverage
Jul 24 2013 // Nearly a dozen people reported being injured in the last five years while riding the Texas roller coaster from which a woman fell to her death last week, though the most serious injuries appear to be a concussion and...
States Differ in Amusement Ride Inspections
Jul 18 2011 // North Carolina inspectors responsible for checking rides at Carowinds kept records on every problem they discovered during their annual inspections at the amusement park that straddles both Carolinas near Charlotte,...
Six Flags Amusement Park Settles Kentucky Teenager’s Accident Case
Nov 24 2008 // An amusement park said it has reached a settlement with the family of a Louisville teenager whose feet were severed when a thrill ride malfunctioned last year. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom said the settlement would provide...
Deposition: Maintenance Guide Ignored on Ride that Injured Kentucky Teen
Apr 15 2008 // A maintenance supervisor for a Louisville, Ky. amusement park said workers did not follow several of the ride manufacturer’s instructions for handling a cable that snapped and severed the feet of a teenager last...
Update: Kentucky Passes Bill on Thrill Ride Operation after Grisly Accident
Apr 4 2008 // Most high schoolers will soon be barred from operating thrill rides in Kentucky after a grisly accident last year severed the feet of a girl at a Louisville amusement park. The state Senate voted 37-0 on Tuesday night for...
Kentucky Senate Passes Bill to Tighten Rules on Amusement Park Rides
Mar 13 2008 // Potential fines would increase tenfold and the age of amusement park ride operators would rise under a bill the Kentucky Senate has passed unanimously. The action follows an accident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom last year...
