Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of global amusement park operator Parques Reunidos, today announced its acquisition of Adventureland Resort in Altoona. Adventureland, which has been a family-owned business since opening in 1974, will become part of a portfolio of more than 60 attraction assets around the world, including Palace Entertainment’s 25 amusement park venues across 10 states.

Based in Pittsburgh, Palace Entertainment plans to expand Adventureland’s current lineup of rides with eight additional family rides in 2022, plus two all-new attractions for the 2023 season.

“We are excited about adding Adventureland into our portfolio,” said John Reilly, chief operating officer of Palace Entertainment. “We specialize in parks and venues that create experiences to be enjoyed over a lifetime, from childhood to young adulthood to parenting and grandparenting.”

The amusement park will retain the Adventureland Resort name, along with the properties under the Adventureland umbrella, including the Adventureland Inn, said Nick Paradise, director of corporate communications for Palace Entertainment. The company is not disclosing financial details of the acquisition, which became effective today.

Adventureland Park and Resort was founded in 1974 by Jack Krantz. It has been run as a family business by Krantz’s sons and daughter since Krantz’s death 15 years ago. Adventureland is one of the Midwest’s best-known family theme parks and has become a regional magnet for tourism.

“For almost 50 years, our family has worked hard to bring good times to people of all ages who come to the park to create lifelong memories,” said outgoing CEO Michael Krantz. “Palace wants to carry these traditions forward so future generations can do the same. That would make our father incredibly happy.”

The company also announced that beginning next year, Adventureland Platinum Season Passholders will be able to visit all Palace Entertainment sister parks free of charge, including Noah’s Ark Waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells and Kennywood, Palace’s amusement park near Pittsburgh. Similarly, Platinum Passholders at other Palace-owned and -operated parks will also be able to visit Adventureland next summer as one of the Platinum Pass perks.

“We look forward to our Palace Entertainment team combining their operational excellence with Adventureland’s family-run legacy of entertainment,” said Pascal Ferracci, CEO of Parques Reunidos, which is based in Madrid, Spain. “Parques Reunidos has a unique track record of acquiring and successfully integrating parks, with over 20 transactions completed across 11 countries since 2004. This will continue to be a growth lever for the group, keeping local brands and historical positioning of acquired parks while benefiting from state-of-the-art tools and capabilities to further develop the business,” he said.