Niagara Amusement Park & Splash World will not open for the 2026 summer season, with ownership citing attendance and revenue as insufficient to keep the park operating.
The future of the park has been at the center of speculation for much of the off-season, with past guests of the former Fantasy Island pointing out on social media that no jobs were posted on the park's website, despite a May 23 opening date listed online.
Earlier this month, Grand Island Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Eric Fiebelkorn told 7 News that park management had reassured him the popular family destination would reopen.
"They have plans to open this year. They're working towards it," he told 7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley on April 17. "They're working through some logistics right now internally, and that's their words towards it, nothing more than that. But they assured me that they're working towards opening. So, having such a good relationship, we want to take them at their word, but there's questions."
WATCH: Questions surround future of Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World at Fantasy Island
Grand Island resident Logan Benjamin, who has visited the park every year since childhood, said the warning signs were visible online before any official announcement.
"The signs I found on the website were that the season pass link, the job and employment link, as well as the ticket links were not working, and then by April, the actual sublinks that were included, like to buy season passes or to apply for a job, they led you to '404 Error' pages," Benjamin said.
Benjamin reflected on years of memories at the park spanning multiple eras of ownership.
"I have so many memories. I grew up during the Martin's Fantasy Island era, and really enjoyed visiting the park and my family and my friends, and even into the Apex era from 2016 to 2019, and this new era of Niagara Amusement Park for the past five years as well," Benjamin said.
Late Thursday evening, the park posted a statement on its website reminiscing on the memories it brought to the community. Park leaders acknowledged how disappointing the closure is for families, employees, and supporters.
The website states that 2026 season passholders will be contacted and can expect a refund within 30 days. While the park will remain closed, plans are still in place to host the annual July 4th fireworks on the park's property, with details to be released soon.
WATCH: Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World won't open for Summer 2026
Despite the announcement, Benjamin said he remains hopeful about the park's future.
"Honestly, I hope that either an established amusement park operator or even a local business person, steps in and brings the park back as it has quite a few times over its 65-year history," Benjamin said.
The full statement can be found below:
Today, we are sharing difficult news with the community we have proudly served.
Niagara Amusement Park & Splash World will not open for the 2026 summer season.
Since taking stewardship of this property, we invested significant effort to revive and improve the park. We believed deeply in its potential and worked to preserve a place that has created memories for generations of families.
Throughout this process, our local team worked tirelessly to prepare the park for the upcoming season while continuing to make meaningful improvements across the property. Ultimately, attendance and revenue levels in recent seasons were not sufficient to sustain operating costs and the continued investment required to rebuild the park. Over the offseason, we explored every reasonable path to open this year and worked diligently to find a sustainable way forward. We understand many in the community were seeking updates during that time, and we sincerely appreciate your patience as those efforts continued.
This is not the outcome we wanted, and we know it will be disappointing to many families, employees, and supporters who care deeply about this park.
We are sincerely grateful to every guest who visited, every employee who gave their energy and heart to the operation, and every community member who supported our efforts along the way.
The Grand Island community’s support has always meant a great deal to us, and we still plan to host the July 4th fireworks tradition from the park property, with additional details to be shared soon.
Over the next 30 days, we will personally contact all 2026 Season Passholders to process full refunds. We are committed to completing this as promptly and efficiently as possible.
Thank you for believing in this park and for the memories created here over the years.
Sincerely,
IB Parks & Entertainment
Additionally, 7 News reached out to the Town of Grand Island and the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce for any information and we waiting to hear back.
