Lee Alexicos has been in the amusement park business long enough to remember when kids actually had unscheduled time during the summer and were looking for someplace to go -- like maybe Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

Now, the vice president of marketing for Cedar Fair, the world's sixth most popular amusement park chain, says the competition has changed. "Twenty-five years ago, we weren't competing against a kid that was staying home on Saturday afternoon so he could play Xbox."

If there's a tug of war between the video game industry and amusement park operators, it should start heating up again as temperatures warm across the nation, bringing many of the latter out of hibernation and back into the fray for the attention of teens and families.

Spending on U.S. amusement parks is projected to rise from $11.5 billion in 2006 to $14 billion in 2011, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Meanwhile, the NPD Group estimates U.S. sales of video games, including hardware, software and accessories, which was $12.5 billion in 2006, totaled almost $18 billion last year.

Combine competition from other forms of entertainment with high fuel costs and ever shorter vacations, and the challenge to draw visitors to amusement parks isn't getting any easier.

For a team of about 25 people based in Station Square that scenario has created both an opportunity and a challenge, not to mention countless chances to try out rides, even if it means wearing a coat and tie on a coaster after a business meeting. "We're addicted," said George E. Garber, president and chief executive officer of Yellow Submarine Marketing Communications Inc.

A few weeks ago, the agency staff shot scenes at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., and the schedule includes dates for hitting Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C.; Kings Dominion in Richmond, Va.; and Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, followed by a return trip to Knotts. The ad agency's biggest client, Cedar Fair, owns them all.

This isn't the first time around the midway for Mr. Garber and Ed Fine, the agency's chief creative officer. Both worked on marketing for Cedar Point and other parks in the past. A couple of years ago, they won assignments for Cedar Fair again while working at ad agency Marc USA/Pittsburgh.

Eventually, a group left Marc to launch a new ad agency that would be able to focus on all the work coming their way from the park operator. The account now involves an annual media budget of around $30 million.

The core message selling amusement parks hasn't changed that much. A old poster in Yellow Submarine offices shows an illustration of a person's face stretched out under the words, "Demon Drop. A diabolical new ride." The poster advertised day passes to Cedar Point at just $11.95.

Last year, the agency produced a commercial for a ride at Kings Island, outside of Cincinnati, that showed a boy sprinting along a runway. He picked up speed, sending off heat waves and then took off into the air where the scene morphed into views of riders on a so-called "flying roller coaster" introduced there last summer.

Both then and now, people are looking for thrills. But back then, one agency would have been less likely to handle many different parks. Consolidation has been the industry trend in the past five to 10 years, said Christian Aaen, a principal with Economic Research Associates in Los Angeles.

Pittsburghers were startled to learn a few months ago that longtime family-owned theme park operator Kennywood Entertainment had agreed to be bought by Spanish company Parques Reunidos, of Madrid. The deal is scheduled to close this spring.

Although those involved have indicated visitors to the Kennywood, Idlewild and Sandcastle parks won't notice major changes, the acquisition would move Parques Reunidos up in the attendance rankings. Presumably, the larger operator also will have more money to invest in its parks.

Cedar Fair's biggest growth came in 2006 when it acquired six parks from Paramount. Analyst Scott W. Hamann, of KeyBanc Capital Markets, last month described the company as an attractive investment opportunity over the long term, although he noted officials still were integrating the new parks. In addition, the company is closing part of the Geauga Lake operation in northeastern Ohio and plans to focus on the water park at the site.

Typically, the industry's audience base differs by park, said Mr. Aaen. Parks such as the Disney-operated established in Florida and California draw the most visitors annually with their year-round attractions. Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., last year drew more than 17 million, up 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to the Themed Entertainment Association/Economics Research Associates' annual report.

By comparison, Cedar Fair's most popular park -- Knott's Berry Farm -- pulled in 3.63 million, making it the 13th most popular North American theme park. Cedar Point had attendance of 3.12 million.

Kennywood doesn't release attendance figures but estimates put attendance at the company's three Pittsburgh-area parks above 2 million.

Regional parks look to their geographic areas for between 70 percent and 90 percent of their visitors, said Mr. Aaen. Disney World-type parks reverse those percentages.

As a result of the industry consolidation, the Yellow Submarine ad team finds itself helping Cedar Fair spread costs and ideas across more parks. It's a strategy that must be done with care so visitors don't see a cookie-cutter ad.

Technology allows video of a yellow roller coaster in one park to become an appropriately red coaster for another. Distinctive shots can be interspersed with more generic material. The advertising crew also is experimenting with taking a campaign that worked in one market and refreshing it for use in a different location the next year.

Kennywood spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer isn't eager to try such an approach and promised a change in ownership there wouldn't mean losing regional flavor to a corporate brand. "When you look at our Web sites, they look really different," she said.

A more traditional advertising tactic in the amusement park business has been to promote new rides. Yellow Submarine typically develops a customized spot for the biggest Cedar Fair launches. Kennywood this year plans to unveil a new dark ride named Ghostwood Estate.

But adding major roller coasters and thrill rides is too expensive to do every year, said Mr. Aaen. So Yellow Submarine is hoping image-building strategies can generate excitement even without the pop of a new ride.

The agency is particularly focused on those gamers. Riders -- generally defined as, but not limited to, those tweens, teens and young adults who want an intense thrill -- make up about 50 percent to 55 percent of park visitors. Families with children account for most of the rest.

The agency's approach has been to try to send a message that the attractions are like a live video game. One commercial called "Ride Warriors" was shot with a slightly gritty look. It showed teens gathering in a parking lot and heading in to tackle the challenging rides. As they leave the park, the final message is: "Ride on."

The same park also was pitched with a softer spot to connect with moms. That one showed laughing families on a mix of rides and ended with the same tag line.

The two groups' online worlds differ, too. Families use the Web to plan trips, get directions and buy tickets. Cedar Fair's teens and young adult audience may catch banner ads and preroll video on MTV sites, MySpace or college humor sites.

Grabbing thrill riders on the Internet means pitching more intense stuff to get their attention. "Online you have to get really even crazier," said Mr. Fine. "Kids watch nine screens at once." That might be something like a clip that showed the jolting sensation of being on a ride. Teens loved it and adults hated it.

The generation enamored of immersing itself virtually in new experiences needs a different pitch, said Mr. Fine. "Our greatest hurdle is reminding people it's still fun to come out in the real world."