2015 Golden Ticket Award Winners Announced!
The theme park trade publication Amusement Today held their 17th annual Golden Ticket Awards at Luna Park in New York City this past weekend to crown the Best In Class around the industry. Every year, Amusement Today conducts an international survey of knowledgeable and experienced theme park fans to get their votes on the Best in various categories. The survey results were taken for experiences such as Best Food, Best Shows, Cleanest Park, Best Kids’ Area, Best Amusement Park and more.
Here are the highlights of some of the big winners of the 2015 Awards:
Best Indoor Roller Coaster
Revenge of the Mummy The Ride-Universal Studios Orlando in Orlando, FL
Best New Attraction of 2015-Amusement Park
Fury 325-Carowinds in Charlotte, NC
Best Steel Coaster
Millennium Force-Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH
Best Wooden Coaster
Boulder Dash-Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT
Best Water Park
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort in New Braunfels, TX
Best Halloween Event
Halloween Horror Nights-Universal Studios Orlando in Orlando, FL
Cleanest Park
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari-Santa Claus, IN
Best Amusement Park
Europa-Park in Rust, Germany
You’ll notice that Best Amusement Park went to Europa for the second year in a row, after they dethroned Cedar Fair’s Cedar Point who held that spot for 16 years straight. Eupora has received high marks for their assortment of rides, how well maintained the park is and their wide appeal to guests. It was a massive shock to fans last year when Cedar Point was replaced by Europa but it also led to discussions of how this could be. One of the things that’ll help Cedar Point’s case next year will be the paint job the Raptor will be receiving; the coaster will be neighbors with the new Valravn dive coaster that is coming in 2016. When Fury 325 made it’s debut this season, it caught the close attention of theme park enthusiasts and news readers alike. The latest addition to Carowinds has been an incredible booster for the park’s attendance and exposure nationally. One has to wonder: Will Fury 325 overtake Millennium Force as Best Steel Coaster next year? When it comes to world-class waterparks, you can’t go wrong with Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas; from the Master Blaster to the Skycoaster, your visit will be an incredible one.
Best Food-Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, PA
Best Kids’ Area-Kings Island in Kings Mills, OH
Some other notables include the Best Food category, which went to Knoebels Amusement Park. Whichever park receives the honor of having the Best Food will certainly get high respect; last year, Dollywood received the award. For the 15th consecutive year, Kings Island received the award for Best Kids’ Area with their Planet Snoopy area. The park received the award dating back to the Hanna-Barbera Land era and has continued to own the category through the Nickelodeon and Snoopy/Peanuts gang metamorphosis.
Was there a park, ride or event that should’ve won and didn’t? What categories will garner new winners next year? Be sure to sound off in our comments section below and on our social media channels!
For more information on the Amusement Today publication, visit their website here.
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