Kings Island may be the biggest amusement park in southwest Ohio, but it’s not the only game in the state.

Cedar Point, which has nabbed the title of best overall amusement park from the trade publication Amusement Today for the past 14 years, offers another option for those seeking their share of thrills, spills and splashes. It’s in Sandusky, on Lake Erie.

Kings Island and Cedar Point share the same parent company: Sandusky-based Cedar Fair owns the two as well as many other amusement and water parks in the United States.

Although it is the third oldest amusement park in North America, Cedar Point will take a cue from its much younger sister-park to the south this year by opening a Dinosaurs Alive! attraction on Adventure Island. Like Kings Island’s version, there will be an additional $5 fee to enter the prehistoric walk-through filled with more than 50 mighty animatronic reptiles that lived between 245 million and 65 million years ago.

Cedar Point’s Dinosaurs Alive! will open May 12.

Bryan Edwards, marketing programs manager for Cedar Point, said that the Cedar Fair company will debut a ride in one park and then, depending on the success of the attraction, roll it out to others.

He says the reason millions of people flock to the park is to not only relax but also to reconnect with the family and friends. The coolest part of his job is seeing the stress and worry on people disappear as they enter the park.

“It’s corny and cheesy, but it’s magical,” Edwards says. “People’s free time seems to be shorter and shorter ... . It seems like you don’t really spend a lot of time together as a family unit, and that’s what we can offer — a day’s worth of fun and entertainment.”