Summer and vacation go hand in hand. Luckily for us, in southern Ohio there is a destination that seems tailor-made for getting away with the family for a day or two without the expense or effort that many other trips require.

And it’s no secret either. Since Kings Island opened four decades ago in Mason, more than 120 million visitors have passed through the park’s gates — many of them Ohioans who have made the destination a yearly tradition for their families.

This year, the park will open for its 2012 season on April 28, with daily operation beginning May 11.

Kings Island opened in 1972.

NEW ATTRACTIONS

With each year of operation, the park has had new attractions to trumpet, and this 40th anniversary year is no exception. The Soak City Waterpark, a massive $10 million expansion of the former Boomerang Bay, has more than doubled in size from 15 to 33 acres and more than 50 water attractions. Opening May 26, entry is included with park admission.

Some of the new attractions include Tidal Wave Bay, a massive 39,000-square-foot wave pool, a new action river, entrance and more places to lounge and relax.

“Soak City is the place to go this summer for aquatic thrill-seekers,” said Don Helbig, public relations area manager for the park. “With more than 50 water activities, including thrill rides, family rides, kids’ play areas and plenty of lounging areas for grown-ups, Soak City is equipped to provide our guests with a best-day-of-the-year experience.”

The reinvented waterpark debuts at a time when many new attractions are being added, including WindSeeker, a 301-foot-tall spinning tower that opened last year in June, and Dinosaurs Alive!, a 12-acre animatronic dinosaur park featuring more than 60 life-sized moving dinosaurs, which opened last April.

Four new live shows will also be introduced this year: “Remember When: The ’70s!,” “British Invasion,” “Charlie Brown’s All-Stars” and “Ed Alonzo’s Psycho Circus of Magic and Mayhem.”

Alonzo is probably best known for his role as Max in the TV show “Saved by the Bell.” “British Invasion” and “Charlie Brown’s All-Stars” will begin when the park opens April 28, while the other two are scheduled to begin in June.

40 YEARS STRONG

And expect to see and hear the number 40 bandied about a lot if you’re planning a visit. There are promotions galore in the works and the shops will be stocked full of 40th anniversary merchandise.

The Racer, Scrambler, Grand Carousel and the park itself are still going strong 40 years later, and so is the public’s interest and appetite for what it has to offer.

IN THE BEGINNING

The idea to open up an amusement park where Kings Island now sits was set into motion after another Ohio park — Coney Island, 10 miles east of downtown Cincinnati — fell victim to disastrous flooding in 1964 that blanketed the park in more than 14 feet of water.

Fast-forward eight years: On April 29, 1972, Kings Island opened its gates, and by the end of the first year it had set attendance records with more than 2 million people visiting. The entertainment destination been going strong ever since.

“The transition was empirical in every sense of the word,” said International Theme Park Services Inc. President Dennis Speigel, who served as Kings Island’s assistant general manager when the park opened.