Americana/Lesourdesville Lake Amusement Park - 1990s

1990s

On January 8, 1990, an electrical fire broke out in the Bathhouse and Stardust Gardens Ballroom. The result was over $5 million in losses, including a first aid office, arcade, games building, locker rooms and food concessions. Ride parts and cars from the Rock-O-Plane, Flying Scooter, Bumper Buggy and two kiddie rides were destroyed. The park quickly enlisted the assistance of local labor unions to rebuild the area in time for the April opening with payment to come later in the summer. By May, a new 300-seat indoor/outdoor food court, an arcade, a Dodgem' ride and a refurbished Flying Scooter ride reopened on the site of the fire. Meanwhile, the park began experiencing problems with its insurance company regarding its multi-million dollar claim. To make matters worse, Ron Berni, a longtime fixture at the park and son of Howard Berni, had been offered a position at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. He reluctantly accepted the offer with the backing of his father.

The hiring of local students and senior citizens was always a challenge because of the keen competition of other attractions in the area. To help alleviate that problem, the park entered into an agreement with a Mexican college to hire Mexican students for the summer. The plan quickly fell apart and the park experienced a lot of negative media coverage regarding claims by the students of poor living conditions in their dorms and illegal working conditions. The local unions, who normally booked their picnics at the park, suddenly canceled their lucrative picnic outings due to the allegations and the park began a deep decline in attendance and revenue. By the end of season, attendance reached an all-time low of just under 200,000. The park then learned that its insurance company would only pay $3 million in claims, leaving the park to pick up the remaining $2 million in expenses. In December, the park was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

By Spring 1991, the park was purchased and reopened by Leisure International, a group of former park management. Joe Faggionato, Guy Sutton, Lenny Gottstein and Don Robison took over the park and began the long, hard effort of erasing the previous year's nightmare from customers, including the local unions. In July, Guy Sutton left the park to become the Operations Director at Clemonton Lake in New Jersey.

The trio built a petting zoo and opened a new restaurant for the 1992. Their efforts enabled the park to build the attendance back up to just over 330,000. In 1993, the animated Country Bear Jubilee show was sold to the Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio. No new attractions were added during the year, however, attendance increased to 412,500. During the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Leisure International spent an additional $6 million to upgrade landscaping and infrastructure throughout the park. By 1995, Faggionato, Gottstein and Robison realized that a bigger company with more capital would be needed to continue upgrading the park so Americana was put up for sale.

In 1996, Park River Corporation, owners of Coney Island of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, purchased Americana for an estimated $3 million. Between 1996 and 1998, over $1 million was spent on upgrading the Screechin' Eagle roller coaster, developing a new paint scheme of magenta and teal, introducing a new merchandising line in the gift shop consisting of unique Americana emblazon clothing, and adding a variety of rides, including a carousel, Ferris wheel, and the Tempest. In 1997, Park River owner Ronald Walker died unexpectedly and family members expressed concern about the future of the park. The park was quietly marketed for sale in 1998.

In December 1999, informational letters regarding the 2000 Family Funpacks (similar to season passes) were distributed across the area. In a shocking announcement on January 6, 2000, Park River announced the closing of the park for the 2000 season.