Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Powell, Ohio

This park is located right next to the Columbus Zoo, but it originally was known as Wyandot Lake. It started as a picnic grove in 1896, and Floyd Gooding turned it into a small amusement park starting right after World War II. In the 1970s, the small park was purchased by the city of Columbus, and the Wyandot Lake Adventure Park opened in 1984. The new park was run by Funtime, Inc., a company that was purchased by Premier Parks in 1995. A few years later, Premier purchased the Six Flags chain and changed its name to Six Flags, Incorporated. Although Wyandot Lake was part of the Six Flags family, their corporate branding was never added to the park. When the Six Flags company struggled financially in the early 2000s, it began selling many of its properties, and Wyandot Lake was sold to the Columbus Zoo for $2 million in 2006.

The amusement park was closed for renovations in 2007, but opened as part of the famous Columbus Zoo in 2008. The water rides were in an area called Zoombezi Bay, while the amusement park rides were in an area called Jungle Jack's Landing, named after Columbus Zoo director emeritus Jack Hannah. Today, all of the water rides and amusement park rides are in an area of the zoo called Rides at Adventure Cove.