Tag Archives: Kings Island

Attractions, RoadNews

New Ohio Experiences Provide Excitement, Wonder and Relaxation in 2017

From the wonder of nature and blood-pumping excitement of thrill rides to the anticipation of new craft brews and joy of 50-year-old music and memories, there is no better place than Ohio to connect with the people who mean the most to you in 2017.

For more travel ideas and inspiration, visit Ohio.org. Download the free “Official Ohio Travel Guide by TourismOhio” app for easy access to everything you need to explore Ohio.

Legends of our Galaxy and Beyond!

Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume at the Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati (May 25-Oct. 1, 2017)

Let your imagination run wild, and embrace your inner Jedi at the Smithsonian Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume exhibit. Check out more than 60 costumes worn by your favorite characters including the menacing black mask of Darth Vader, the gilded suit of C-3PO, the yak and mohair costume of Chewbacca, lavish royal gowns of Queen Amidala and more. Immerse yourself in George Lucas’s fantastical world and get to know the designers who brought the Star Wars characters to life.

John Glenn Astronomy Park, Hocking Hills State Park (Opening Late 2017)
Follow in the footsteps of an American hero who touched the stars at the John Glenn Astronomy Park. The park will feature awe-inspiring views of the night sky in a natural setting far from city lights. Just north in New Concord, visitors can stop at the John & Annie Glenn Museum to tour Glenn’s boyhood home during this year’s 55th anniversary of his mission as the first American to orbit the Earth.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame “50 Years After the Summer of Love,” Cleveland (Opening May 31, 2017)
Relive the memories of 1967 with “50 Years After the Summer of Love” at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Discover how artists like Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, the Doors and the Jimi Hendrix Experience emerged during this time and continue to influence music today.

Thrill Seekers Paradise

Mystic Timbers at Kings Island, Mason (Spring 2017)
The anticipation will build as you make your way to Kings Island where a new roller coaster, Mystic Timbers is lurking in the woods! Reaching a height of 109 feet, the wooden coaster has 3,265 feet of track that will take riders spiraling through the forest, plunging down ravines and rocketing over water at speeds up to 53 mph.

Cedar Point Shores, Sandusky (Spring 2017)
Thrill seekers will enjoy an exhilarating day at the all-new Cedar Point Shores waterpark. The 18-acre park features your favorite water slides and pools from the past as well as four brand new attractions, including Point Plummet, a six-story, near-vertical aqua-drop body slide. Prepare to plummet when the floor drops out from beneath you!

Akron Zoo Curious Creatures Exhibit, Akron (Opening June 2017)
Embrace the bizarre and celebrate the strange at the Akron Zoo’s new Curious Creatures exhibit. Here you can meet weird and unusual species like naked mole rats, red-eye tree frogs, walking batfish, flashlight fish and Venus flytraps. Twenty exhibits will plunge visitors into the realm of biodiversity and animal adaptation.

Explore the Outdoors

Lake Erie Canopy Tours at Geneva State Park, Geneva-on-the-Lake Lodge  (Summer 2017) Get your heart racing as you soar through the treetops at the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake’s Lake Erie Canopy Tours. This zip line and aerial bridge adventure will provide unique views of nature and Lake Erie from the treetops of Geneva State Park. Take a guided zip line canopy tour or the self-guided challenge course, and there is even a challenge course of kids.

BLINK Cincinnati, Cincinnati (Oct. 12-15, 2017)
Take in awe-inspiring displays at the inaugural BLINK art and light festival. Bring the whole family to experience this large-scale light festival featuring light displays, sculptures, interactive exhibits and murals spanning 20 city blocks.

Bicentennial of Historic Zoar Village, Zoar (2017)
Delve into the culture, art and architecture of the Zoarites as Zoar Village celebrates its bicentennial and recent designation as a National Historic Landmark. Experience village life as it was lived by 200 German Separatists who left their homeland in 1817 to create one of America’s most successful communal settlements. Today, about 75 families live in the village that comes to life through living history demonstrations, beautiful gardens, 19th-century buildings and traditional crafts to try for yourself. Special events will be held throughout the year to celebrate the Village’s 200th anniversary.

Beer and Spirits

Brewery Openings and Expansions, Statewide (2017)
Ohio continues to add to its more than 190 craft breweries across the state, and currently ranks No. 4 among states in craft beer production with many more breweries scheduled to open in 2017. HiHo Brewery Co. in Cuyahoga Falls, and Masthead Brewing Co., in Cleveland, are just two of Ohio’s newest breweries.

Distilleries Expand with New Restaurants and Production, Columbus (2017)
Looking for dinner with your cocktail? A revision to Ohio law allows distilleries to serve food and drinks so you can now sample your favorites at Middle West Spirits on-site or pair a tasty dish with a beverage at Watershed Distillery following their respective expansions.

Cincinnati Brewing Heritage Trail, Cincinnati and Summit Brew Path, Akron (Throughout 2017)
Cincinnati will showcase its storied history of brewing with the Cincinnati Brewing Heritage Trail. Take a tour through the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to visit the area’s iconic breweries from today and years past. The Summit Brew Path in Akron leads visitors on a journey of the area’s current and soon-to-be open breweries, highlighting the growing Northeast Ohio craft beer scene.

About TourismOhio
TourismOhio, operating within the state of Ohio’s Development Services Agency, works to ensure Ohio is positioned as a destination of choice, enriching lives through authentic travel experiences. The branding Ohio. Find It Here. supports Ohio’s $42 billion tourism industry. For more, visit Ohio.org.

For more I-75 construction info, visit  www.i75exitguide.com, the Internet’s largest and most complete website devoted to I-75, America’s Interstate Main Street. Detailed exit service listings… discount lodging, camping, food, gas and more for every exit from Michigan to Florida! Plus I-75 construction, real-time traffic and road news.

Traveling another route? Visit our growing family of exit guides: I-4 Exit Guide, I-5 Exit Guide,  I-10 Exit Guide , and I-95 Exit Guide.

Attractions

New 2016 Ohio Travel Opportunities

From high-flying, water-splashing adventures to awe-inspiring aviation machines, artistic masterpieces and gastronomic delights, Ohio delivers new travel experiences in 2016 that will help visitors make lasting memories with the people they love. With 60 percent of the U.S. population within 600 miles of all these amazing experiences it’s easy to be together in Ohio. That’s a short drive for world-class fun at an affordable price. Don’t miss one white-knuckled expression, joyful scream, spark of inspiration, new taste or closer connection with family and friends!

Dive into Adventure

Valravn at Cedar Point, Sandusky (Cedar Point Opens May 7)
The world’s tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster is set to debut this spring at Cedar Point. Valravn boasts a record-breaking 90-degree, 214-foot drop to take thrill-seekers on an adventure via steel track. Find your perfect hotel in Sandusky.

Typhoon Tower at Coney Island, Cincinnati (Opens May 28)
Two 130-foot tall twisting waterslides, more than 70 interactive water play stations and a 33-foot tall Hydro Storm, the largest in the world, at Typhoon Tower will thrill and soak kids – and kids at heart. Find your perfect hotel in Cincinnati.

Tropical Plunge at Kings Island, Cincinnati (Opens May 28)
Feel the adrenaline rush of six different water slide experiences at the new Tropical Plunge. This expansion of Kings Island’s Soak City Waterpark features a slide that sends riders twisting and spiraling through an enclosed chute with four intense 360-degree loops. Find your perfect hotel in Cincinnati.

Tiger Passage at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (Scheduled opening first week of June)
Two Amur tigers will soon reside in a new, state-of-the-art home at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Tiger Passage will feature four different interconnected habitat areas, including a space allowing tigers to pass over visitors’ heads. Find your perfect hotel in Cleveland.

Hippo Exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (Opens this Summer)
After nearly two decades, hippos will return to the Cincinnati Zoo when a $7.3 million exhibit opens this summer. Featuring two nearly 5,000-pound Nile hippos, the exhibit will include a nose-to-nostril underwater viewing area. Find your perfect hotel in Cincinnati.

Explore from Earth to Space

100 Ways to Celebrate at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Peninsula (Now Open)
Celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary 100 different ways at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The 11th most visited National Park in the country has no shortage of opportunities to make memories. Visitors can ride a scenic train, bike along a canal towpath, hike to scenic waterfalls, kayak the Cuyahoga River and more. Find your perfect hotel in Cuyahoga Falls.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Expansion, Dayton (Opens June 8)
Be one of the first to visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s new fourth building. Visitors can climb aboard the Space Shuttle Exhibit, walk through four presidential and three cargo aircraft, try out the Air Force Museum Foundation’s new suite of simulator rides and more! Find your perfect hotel in Dayton.

Embark on an Artful Escape

Cleveland Museum of Art Centennial (Now Open)
The Cleveland Museum of Art is celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2016 with a year-long series of exhibitions, programs and events. Five new exhibits will be devoted to post-1960s art, highlighting many contemporary artists. Don’t miss Pharoah: King of Ancient Egypt on display through June 12.  Find your perfect hotel in Cleveland.

Impressionism at the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati (Open through May 29)
Cincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art is the exclusive U.S. venue of the international exhibition, Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh: Impressions of Landscape, in 2016. This exhibit features 55 impressionist paintings. Find your perfect hotel in Cincinnati.

10th Anniversary of Glass Pavilion at Toledo Museum of Art (Opens April 15)
To mark the 10th anniversary of its world-renowned glass collection, Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion will open Hot Spot: Contemporary Glass from Private Collections this year. The exhibit showcases more than 80 diverse works of art, with many objects on public view for the first time. Find your perfect hotel in Toledo.

Taste Crafted Culinary

BrewNuts, Cleveland (Opens in Spring)
In Cleveland, beer-flavored donut venture Brewnuts will open a themed bar serving craft brews on draft, in addition to its sweet treats. This new location will expand their footprint as well as their menu, featuring local craft beers and a savory new menu.  Find your perfect hotel in Cleveland.

Donut Trail, Butler County (Open now)
Southwest Ohio boasts one of the Midwest’s highest numbers of donut shops per capita, and is now also home to the state’s first and only Donut Trail. Visitors can follow the trail to family-run shops – with more than 227 years of combined donut-making experience – and enjoy wild flavors made by experts.

BrewDog, Columbus (Opens in August)
Craft beer fans will toast Scotland-based BrewDog as they open their first U.S. brewery, visitor center, restaurant and tap room in the Columbus area. The site, which will be accessible by both road and bike path, is anticipated to produce 852,000 barrels within its first three years. Find your perfect hotel in Columbus.

Witness Sports Heroes

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton (Opens in July)
The former Fawcett Stadium, site of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement and Hall of Fame Game, is transforming as the new Hall of Fame Village is under construction. The Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium will feature new seating, a new field, a one-of-a-kind stage, party decks and the latest technology available – all in time for the Hall of Fame Game on August 7. Find your perfect hotel in Canton.

U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club, Columbus (Opens August 8-14)
Columbus’ Scioto Country Club will host the 2016 U.S. Senior Open. The championship is open to any professional and amateur 50 years or older, providing a world-class experience for competitors and golf fans. Find your perfect hotel in Columbus.

TourismOhio, operating within the state of Ohio’s Development Services Agency, works to ensure Ohio is positioned as a destination of choice, enriching lives through authentic travel experiences. The branding Ohio. Find It Here. supports Ohio’s $40 billion tourism industry. For more, visit Ohio.org.

On the road? Why not take us with you. Our Websites are Mobile-Friendly! Visit our growing family of exit guides:  I-4 Exit Guide, I-5 Exit Guide, I-10 Exit Guide, I-75 Exit Guide, and I-95 Exit Guide. Detailed exit service listings… discount lodging, camping, food, gas and more for every exit along the way!