Cedar Point

Known as "America's Roller Coast," Cedar Point has been home to many record-breaking rides over the years and boasts a towering skyline of steel unmatched by any other amusement park. Photos : View the Top 10 Cedar Point roller coasters With 17 coasters, Cedar Point remains just behind Six Flags Magic Mountain's 18 coasters in a fierce back-and-forth battle for the coveted title of "Roller Coaster Capital of the World. " The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park is about mind-blending speeds, gut-wrenching drops and scream-inducing thrills of the wooden- and steel-coaster kind.

Reporting from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey-- Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., has a long and winding roller coaster history that's filled with as many twists and turns as the amusement park's many record-breaking rides. Photos : Top 10 Six Flags Great Adventure roller coasters Great Adventure was a must-see on my road trip across America's coaster belt, in large part because of the park's three world-class rides: El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro.

PIGEON FORGE, TENN. - Set against the Great Smoky Mountains, Dollywood is surrounded by a green canopy of hardwood trees and colorful blankets of flowers that envelop every ride and attraction in the Tennessee wilderness. Photos: Top 10 Dollywood rides and attractions The 150-acre theme park in Pigeon Forge traces its origins to the 1961 debut of the Rebel Railroad, a five-mile steam train ride into the foothills of the Smokies, complete with Indian attacks and train robberies.

Pavel Kotas came to America to learn the language. He just didn't expect most of his English lessons to revolve around the rules of tossing a softball into a milk can. The 19-year-old from the Czech Republic was one of 700 foreign students recruited to work at Cedar Point amusement park this summer. With workers in short supply, the park hired nearly 20% of its 4,000 seasonal employees from overseas to operate roller coasters, french fry stands and ticket booths.

Knott's Berry Farm has agreed to a financial settlement with the family of a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured during a 2009 accident on the Xcelerator roller coaster. "There's a confidential settlement," said Art Morgan, the family's attorney. "We can't say the amount. " A Knott's spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement. Kyle Wheeler was sitting in the front row of Xcelerator when the roller coaster's launch cable snapped, whipped toward the riders and split the fiberglass car in half.

With 14 rides, including eight roller coasters, the proposed Orlando Thrill Park hopes to cater to enthusiasts underserved by Florida's theme parks. Photo gallery : View the 14 proposed Orlando Thrill Park rides Scheduled to open in summer 2013, the proposed amusement park would include rides from several manufacturers, including Intamin , Vekoma , Chance Morgan , Mack , S&S Power , U.S. ThrillRides and Mondial , according to Chuck Bell, spokesman for the Orlando Thrill Park.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is expected to add a terrain-hugging launched roller coaster in 2013 featuring the world's tallest loop, according to an employee who wasn't authorized to speak on behalf of the amusement park. A Magic Mountain mechanic inadvertently revealed closely guarded facts about the record-setting  attraction while casually talking with a group of coaster enthusiasts during the recent West Coast Bash event at the Valencia amusement park. Details of the conversation quickly appeared on the Theme Park Review  website and rapidly spread through the online coaster community.

A van carrying teenagers to the Cedar Point amusement park collided with a jackknifed tractor-trailer Tuesday, killing five people. The van was one of four carrying teenagers and counselors from a juvenile probation program.

Legoland in Carlsbad, Calif., has been named best children's park in the annual Golden Ticket Awards competition. The Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, won awards for best amusement park and best new ride of 2007 for its Maverick coaster. The awards, based on surveys from hundreds of amusement park fans, have been presented near the end of each summer for 10 years by Amusement Today, a trade newspaper based in Texas.