Coney Island Cincinnati to close forever after holiday season
On Dec. 14, 2023, it was announced following the final evening of Nights of Lights holiday lights drive-through on Dec. 31, 2023, Coney Island Cincinnati will close its doors forever. This announcement brought a deluge of angst from the local public who adored the park both for its current incarnation primarily as a pool and water park, but also for the memories that surely come from an amusement area that dates to 1870.
Many social media posts have expressed much disdain for this unexpected gut-punch, citing “greed” and “secret backroom deals” as possible explanations for the abrupt closing. Having personally been there on several occasions in the past year, it has been crowded every single time. By personal observation, it does not appear it was a simple lack of attendance leading to the closure.
As stated, its current state following the 2019 season has been exclusively a water attraction venue. The park has long boasted the “nation’s largest recirculating pool”. Sunlite Pool was originally installed in 1925. To say this pool is large is an understatement. The 12th largest pool in the world, Sunlite Pool is 80,200 square feet. For reference, a football field including the endzones is 57,600 square feet. Other attractions include a few water slides, mini-golf, paddle boats, a floating obstacle course, and an inflatable jump pad.
Between the 1920s and 1971, Coney Island operated as a complete amusement park. It had wooden roller coasters and other rides, carnival-style games, and even a dance hall – Moonlite Gardens. For a good 40 years, you could ride the Island Queen from Cincinnati to the park, about 10 miles upriver to Coney Island. This would seem a yesteryear version of the Disney World Monorail or boat from the transportation center to the park that many consider their “first ride” when visiting the Magic Kingdom.
Anyone who has lived on a river’s edge or even in a river town knows flooding is a way of life. Spring rains and melting snows locally and upriver as far away as Pittsburgh and beyond make for nearly yearly flooding in the spring. From the late ’60s into the early ’70s, it was decided that the park would move up I-71, about 25 miles to what is now Mason, Ohio. That park was named Kings Island, and it remains one of the crown jewels of Cedar Fair/Six Flags company. Many rides like the Grand Carousel were moved to the new park and continue to operate today. Others like the notable Shooting Star roller coaster designed by legend Herbert Schmeck were simply shuttered in favor of the newly designed The Racer, classic out and back racing coasters.
Sunlite Pool remained. Coney Island donated land to the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops in order to build an outdoor amphitheater that was completed in 1984. It has hosted everything from the symphony to top contemporary acts. At one point, Coney Island brought back a limited number of smaller rides, but eventually closed these after the 2019 season. Coney Island has been home to several yearly events including Summer Fest, one of the region’s largest craft fairs, and Coney Island Balloon Glow, featuring over a dozen hot air balloons hitting their flames on command. The last few season have ended with the holiday light drive-through.
The area was sold to the company running Riverbend, Music and Event Management, Inc., which remains a subsidiary of the Cincinnati Symphony. They plan on creating a new music and entertainment venue.
Did you know?
Jimmy Buffett of Margaritaville fame, passed away this past September. He played six shows at the Timberwolf Amphitheater at Kings Island in the mid-’80s. During one show, a member of the band, and previously of The Eagles, Timothy B. Schmidt, looked over the crowd dressed in grass skirts and hats, and Hawaiian shirts, and remarked to Buffett, “They look like a bunch of parrot heads”. The name stuck and Jimmy Buffett fans are still known today as “Parrot Heads”. Buffett went on to play 54 shows in 35 years at Riverbend Music Center at Coney Island in Cincinnati.
This message was posted on the Coney Island website:
Thank you, loyal patrons, for your support over the years. We will miss your smiles and enthusiasm. We have been proud to provide a place where so many wonderful memories were created for families. We thank the millions of patrons and employees from Cincinnati and surrounding neighborhoods. You made this a special place for all of us.
