Theme Park Discussion / 2007 Golden Ticket Awards

Best Amusement Park
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Children’s Park
Legoland California, Carlsbad, Calif.

Best Marine Life Park
SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.

Best Seaside Park
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Best Wooden Coaster
The Voyage at Holiday World, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Steel Coaster
Superman Ride of Steel
at Six Flags New England, Agawam, Mass.

Best Kids’ Area
Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio

Friendliest Staff
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Cleanest Park
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Halloween Event
The Haunt at Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, Calif.

Best Landscaping - Amusement Park
Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, Va.

Best Landscaping - Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Food
Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.

Best Shows
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio

Best Outdoor Night Show Production
IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth
at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, Orlando, Fla.

Best Water Ride
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best Waterpark Ride
Master Blaster at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort,
New Braunfels, Texas

Best Dark Ride
Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best New Ride of 2007 - Amusement Park
Maverick at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best New Ride of 2007 - Waterpark
Bakuli at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari,
Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Carousel
Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort,
Elysburg, Penn.

Best Indoor Roller Coaster
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM, Orlando, Fla.

Best Indoor Waterpark
World Waterpark, West Edmonton, Alberta, Canada



Freakin' sweet. I'm an amusement park aficionado, so I pay close attention to these things.

watajoke

Unlike the Oscars, which these are often compared to, we have about the same nominees every year. So the winners are usually no different from previous years. Plus, it's only North America.

Though I don't remember if Haunt won last year.

Best Water Ride
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.


that ride is cool as fuck.

Best Steel Coaster
Superman Ride of Steel
at Six Flags New England, Agawam, Mass.

Oh yes.

[Hometown coaster, for anyone wondering]

Ahahahaha, SFFT for best shows! Ahahahaha, that's a huge joke in my book.

When were these rated? And by who? I know for a fact that SFOT had Cirque Dreams (I worked it) and that should have been "Best Show" (although the REAL Cirque Du Soleil blows it out of the water. SFFT's parade is just people walking down the streets there. Not any (or any good) floats from what I saw.

But seriously, what year was this and who rated it?

Unless they broaden the nominations and awards to include Europe and -maybe- Japan, I'm not paying attention. Some deserve it, and some, quite frankly, don't. The newest rides always win.
Aren't the ballots handed out to ACE members or something? I wouldn't trust them with this.

This is the 2007 Awards, and the ballots are for anyone who reads Amusment Today magazine, I think. But yes, they usually are repeat winners. And sometimes they seem rigged.

And the Bakuli at Holiday World as the Best New Water ride is totally gay. That ride sucked more dick than a porn star.

Sometimes they do deserve it, but maybe its time to recognize more of the non-chain parks. Sure, its great for CP's publicity that it wins Best Theme Park year after year, but what about some other great parks that aren't in Ohio? Like Holiday World? I thought Knobels was a great park. At least you can pay just to ride the coasters instead of paying $15 for parking, $30 for walking in the park, and over-priced foodstuffs, ala Six Flags.

Knobels does have awesome food, both in quality and quanity...also its REALLY clean. I don't think I saw a single piece of trash on the heavy-traffic areas.

Ahahahaha, SFFT for best shows! Ahahahaha, that's a huge joke in my book.

When were these rated? And by who? I know for a fact that SFOT had Cirque Dreams (I worked it) and that should have been "Best Show" (although the REAL Cirque Du Soleil blows it out of the water. SFFT's parade is just people walking down the streets there. Not any (or any good) floats from what I saw.

But seriously, what year was this and who rated it?

Actually when I was there a few years ago that had a really great acrobatic show in one of the buildings that just stumbled in on. I had a great time just watching the show even without all the coasters I rode that day. Maybe it's not the "best" but I wouldn't judge it based on some parade they had.

Sometimes they do deserve it, but maybe its time to recognize more of the non-chain parks. Sure, its great for CP's publicity that it wins Best Theme Park year after year, but what about some other great parks that aren't in Ohio? Like Holiday World? I thought Knobels was a great park. At least you can pay just to ride the coasters instead of paying $15 for parking, $30 for walking in the park, and over-priced foodstuffs, ala Six Flags.

Knobels does have awesome food, both in quality and quanity...also its REALLY clean. I don't think I saw a single piece of trash on the heavy-traffic areas.

Calm down, Knoebels got 2nd. And it's next to Ohio, so it's the same thing. And I don't think any Six Flags were in the top ten either.