Theme Park Discussion / 2012 Golden Ticket Awards

The 2012 Golden Ticket Awards (part of Amusement Today) were hosted today at Dollywood. Awards and nominations include best roller coaster, park, shows, sea life, water ride, and holiday events. The below link is to Amusement Today's article about who took home the gold in 25 different catergories.

http://www.amusement...d-by-dollywood/

Here is what is available now:

Best Amusement Park --- Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
Best Waterpark --- Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas
Best Children’s Park --- Idlewild and SoakZone, Ligonier, Pa.
Best Marine Life Park --- SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Seaside Park --- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Best Wooden Coaster --- El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, N.J.
Best Steel Coaster --- Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
Best Kids’ Area --- Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio
Friendliest Park --- Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Cleanest Park --- Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.
Best Halloween Event --- Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Landscaping --- Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.
Best Christmas Event --- Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best Food --- Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best Shows --- Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best Outdoor Night Show Production --- IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Orlando, Fla.
Best Water Ride --- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.
Best Waterpark Ride --- Wildebeest at Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.
Best Dark Ride --- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.
Best New Ride of 2012 --- Wild Eagle at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best New Water Ride of 2012 –-- Mammoth at Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.
Best Carousel --- Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.
Best Indoor Roller Coaster --- Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Indoor Waterpark --- Schlitterbahn Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas
Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction --- Noah’s Ark at Kennywood, West Mifflin, Pa.


To get the detailed list, you need to sign-up for Amusement Today. But I would rather wait for TPR or someone else to post the whole list like in past years. Though, El Toro finally earned #1 wooden (according to SFGAdv's Facebook page) and Wild Eagle as best new ride.

Thoughts?

Yeah Toro!

Not much of this changed from years past, but nice to see Toro get what it deserves.

Haven't been on many other new coasters other than Skyrush and Wild Eagle, but they're both really great. I'm not sure which I would choose.

Yeah Millenium Force & El Toro! Two great rides. I'm thinking that Skyrush probably could have gotten best new coaster if it didn't have that whole restraint fiasco. Talking to a lot of people who rode it, the restraints and forces were pretty rough, I even knew a guy I worked with whose phone got beaten to death while he was riding (and it WAS secure).

Because I've got a Golden Ticket! It's ours, Charlie.

Here are the official lists:

Park winners
Top Wooden Coasters
Top Steel Coasters

Most of the list hasn't changed in the past years. I'm still suspicous as to why Wild Eagle earned the best new ride award. How could Skyrush, which is comparable to Intimidator's intensity and El Toro's airtime, earn 6% of votes? And Leviathan, only 14%? I mean, 5 of the top 10 are B&M Megas and this one is about 100 ft taller than the others. And why are Goliath (SFOG) and Intimidator (Carowinds) in the top 10 steel for that matter? Going around the catergories, I'm seeing Dollywood everywhere, which isn't necesarily bad. It just seems like these awards were more from a general public stand-point.

WOO YEAH 'MERICA

I think it would be nice if they split the Best Amusement Park category into two: Best Amusement Park and Best Theme Park. It would allow them to recognize not just parks full of thrills, but parks full of theme. I mean, Disney would win, but i think it's worth recognizing, especially cause I'm often just as excited about riding the Perfectly themed but less thrilling coasters of Magic Kingdom as i am riding the extremely thrilling but laughably under-themed coasters of cedar point.

FK

Knew Knoebels had the best Carousel. It's a fact.