Every year in September, the staff of Amusement Today presents its annual awards for the best of the best in the field of theme park tourism. Their Golden Ticket Awards are so prestigious that many industry insiders refer to them as the Academy Awards of thrill rides. The 2015 voting is now in the books, as several park operators have triumphed. You’ll hear about their achievements in all of their promotional advertising over the next twelve. Here are the six biggest winners at the Golden Ticket Awards as well as one remarkable “loser.”
1. Fury 325
I previously discussed this steel roller coaster as one of the most anticipated rides of 2015, and voters clearly agreed. This anchor attraction at Carowinds was named the Best New Attraction for the year, almost doubling the voting total of the second place finisher, Wicked Cyclone at Six Flags New England. It also debuted in fourth place in the even more vaunted category of Best Steel Roller Coaster, narrowly missing the top three by a few points.
The launch of Fury 325 didn’t go as smoothly as park owners Cedar Fair might have hoped, as the ride suffered a couple of infamous breakdowns. Still, the $30 million gamble on a thrill ride has paid early dividends. Fury 325 is already considered one of the best roller coasters in the world after only a few months of operation.
2. Millennium Force
In chronicling the voting for last year’s Best Steel Roller Coaster top selections, I noted Amusement Today’s passion for this ride. During its 16 years in existence, Millennium Force has NEVER finished lower than second place in the voting for the category. 2015 becomes the sixth straight year that voters consider the pride of Cedar Point the Best Steel Roller Coaster in the world.
In a weird way, the continued dominance of Millennium Force is also a credit to Fury 325. That ride is the only one built after 2001 that earned a spot in the top five, which shows that the voters are somewhat set in their ways. It also proves that the $25 million Cedar Fair invested in the world’s greatest roller coaster is one of the savviest investments in theme park history.
As for Cedar Point, they’re not resting on their past achievements. Their most recently announced roller coaster, Valravn, will break ten (!) world records when it debuts in 2016.
3. Boulder Dash
When people think of Bristol, Connecticut, the first thing that springs in their mind is ESPN, the sports network that dominates the cable landscape. Not that far away from its central studio is Lake Compounce, one of the most underrated theme parks in North America.
The signature attraction here is Boulder Dash, a relatively frugal $6 million dollar wooden roller coaster that has sustained its popularity for almost 15 years and counting. For the third consecutive year, voters chose Boulder Dash as the Best Wooden Roller Coaster in the world. It’s the fourth time overall that Boulder Dash has won this category, but the recent surge in popularity is attributable to track changes made between the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Since then, Boulder Dash has evolved into one of the most popular theme park rides in the world. Considering the fact that you can get a season pass to Lake Compounce for only $50, it’s an amazing value for an attraction of this quality.
4. Europa-Park
Since the inception of Amusement Today, there was a vote as reliable as death and taxes. In the category of Best Amusement Park, one company stood above the rest. It wasn’t Disney or Universal, either. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, dominated the landscape. It won the category f15 consecutive years from 1998 to 2013. Imagine a team winning the Super Bowl every during that timeframe, and you’ll understand the impressiveness of the achievement.
Then, something shocking happened in 2014. Europa-Park, the pride of Rust, Germany, upset the 15-time defending champion to become THE Best Amusement Park in the world according to Amusement Today voters. In 2015, history repeated itself when Europa-Park followed its surprising victory by repeating as the champion in the category of Best Amusement Park.
While its 12 roller coasters receive most of the credit for this feat, I suspect that voters are secretly voting for Europa-Park due to its sublime roller coaster restaurant, Food Loop. Whatever the explanation, you should add this park to your theme park tourist bucket list. At current pricing of 42,50 EUR (around $50 USD, depending on the strength of the dollar to the Euro at a given time), it’s also an economical place to visit.
5. Dollywood
Southern hospitality as a concept hasn’t outlived its usefulness, at least not based on the continued popularity of Dollywood. In 2015, the crown jewel of East Tennessee tourism once again proved competitive in several major categories. This time, it won three of them: Friendliest Park, Best Shows, and Best Christmas Event. Dollywood actually has a lock on of these categories, winning Friendliest Park four consecutive years, Best Shows seven straight times and Best Christmas Event all eight times since the category’s inception.
Dollywood also has a foothold in several other major categories, finishing in the top five in seven other categories. As one of the cheapest parks to visit on the list, Dollywood is a perfect selection for a quick vacation getaway. A daily ticket to Dollywood currently costs about $65, which is a bit higher than some of the other options here but well worth it for the panoramic scenery of the Smoky Mountains.
6. Schlitterbahn
Water parks are at an all-time high in popularity, yet there is only one alpha in the industry. Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas, delivered one of the dominant showings of this year’s awards, earning 52 percent of all votes in the category of Best Water Park. It also claimed the title of Best Indoor Waterpark at its Galveston, Texas facility.
Schlitterbahn is so renowned among Amusement Today contributors for its water rides that its popularity caused a split vote in a key category. With people unable to choose between excellent splashdown attractions such as Congo River Expedition, Master Blaster, and Dragon’s Revenge, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari’s Wildebeest was able to eke out a victory in the category of Best Waterpark Ride. Its 34 percent of the vote was 10 percent better than second place finisher Master Blaster, but 11 percent lower than the three Schlitterbahn rides combined. If the park offered only one exceptional attraction, it would counterintuitively have a better chance of winning this category each year. That’s how to define theme park excellence in action. A single day’s visit to a Schlitterbahn park costs about $60, and they even throw in a souvenir bottle for you to take home afterward.
And the loser is…Disney
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Trying to explain the continued failure of Disney theme parks at the Golden Ticket Awards probably comes down to that quote. Voters must believe that Disney’s domination of the entire industry is its own reward. That’s the only conclusion I can draw from the fact that the company won only one award this year, Best Outdoor Show Production for Illuminations.
Notably, this is the only category Disney has won over the past several years. So, if they do replace Illuminations in coming years, they risk getting completely shut out in the Golden Ticket Awards, although it’s not a huge risk since they take the top four spots in this particular category. I would maintain Disney’s continued exclusion by Amusement Today participants says more about the awards themselves (and the way they’re tabulated) than about Disney. Then again, I’m a huge Disney fan.
Whatever the reason, Disney doesn’t even win a silver medal very often. Over the past five years, the only times they’ve even finished in second place in voting beyond the Best Outdoor Show Production are: Space Mountain (Disneyland) for Best Indoor Roller Coaster, Disneyland for Best Christmas Event, and Radiator Springs Racers for Best New Ride in 2012. Their last major category win was for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as Best Indoor Coaster in 2007 (!). For whatever reason, Disney gets absolutely no love at the Golden Ticket Awards.
