Arnolds Park opens for the season with new attractions

by: Jason Takhtadjian

Posted: Jun 6, 2023 / 07:12 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 7, 2023 / 09:36 AM CDT

OKOBOJI, Iowa (KCAU) — Arnolds Park Amusement Park opened for the 2023 summer season with new and refurbished attractions, but the rides aren't the only draw for visitors.

"It's been so fun to see all the spaces in this community filled up with people. We’ve seen our numbers are really strong this year. Especially compared to last year, so that's been really good. We also see that the number of visitors that we have are being spread out a little bit more throughout the community," Okoboji Tourism Director Rebecca Peters said.

The Okoboji tourism director says 2023 is shaping out to be a record year for Arnolds Park Amusement Park. A major draw for tourists this year is the refurbished ‘Legend’ wooden roller coaster.

"The main one is the refurbishment of the roller coaster right behind me, that section of the coaster has been redone and up the chain hill there and around the first loop there, that's the final phase of a 5-step process that we’ve been doing. So the whole coaster has been refurbished over the last six or seven years," Arnolds Park Amusement Park Marketing Director Paul Plumb said.

Arnolds Park also brought the old scrambler ride back this year. Peters said the surrounding businesses have benefitted from Arnolds Park's facelift.

"Especially after Memorial weekend people are really happy with how things are going, so just based on those indicators and everyone looking at their numbers this year compared to last year, businesses are really happy," Peters said.

If the rides aren't your forte, live music at preservation plaza is a big draw.

"And they had a huge concert on June first and it totally sold out and we’re really excited about that, and that's just going to continue as the summer progresses. Arnolds Park amusement park has completed its stage and concession stand at Preservation Plaza. So imagine being right out here by the lake, this incredible view, watching a great sunset and live music," Peters said.

With all the new additions, Plumb said this summer season will be used to grow.

"we’re calling this whole summer a learning experience for our staff, we have additional staff members now that we brought in because we’re growing, and we’re just learning how to interact with one another, how to get the guests to have the best customer experience that they can have," plumb said.

Arnolds park will have a firework show every Saturday night after concerts are over until labor day.

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