In 1992, Paramount Communications Inc. (formerly Gulf+Western) purchased KECO along with Kings Island from American Financial in a deal worth $400 million.
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In the last 50 years, the park has been owned by Taft Broadcasting, Kings Entertainment Co., American Financial Corp., Paramount Communications, and Cedar Fair, the current owners. Cedar Fair purchased Kings Island in 2006 for a reported $1.24 billion.
The Hanna-Barbera characters remained in the park until 2006, when the children's' area of Hanna-Barbera Land was changed to Nickelodeon Universe. That same year, the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, acquired Kings Island and the rest of Paramount's theme parks.
Sale to Cedar FairOn January 27, 2006, the then-newly minted CBS Corporation announced its intent to sell Paramount Parks due to the fact that it did not fit well within the company's core business (producing and distributing television content).
Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Island, a popular resort destination along the banks of the Ohio River that was prone to frequent flooding.
And finally, on June 30, 2006, Kings Island and four other Paramount Parks were sold to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company for $1.25 billion. “In my mind and my heart, I always thought it was going to be us operating it forever,” Speigel said of the original management.
But by the 1970s, no one lived here year-round; most residents had moved to Nome, on the mainland. While several forces drove the migration, King Islanders say a main cause was the decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to close a school it ran on the island in the late 1950s.
2. The very first. The first rides and attractions constructed at the park were the Eiffel Tower, Royal Fountain and the Racer roller coaster. The Racer was the first twin-track wooden coaster built in modern times, according to the Kings Island website.
Net revenues for 2021 totaled $1.34 billion compared with $1.47 billion for 2019, driven by: Attendance that approximated 70% of 2019 levels (85% on a comparable operating day basis) (1);