Amusement Today Honors Best of The Best At 2019 Golden Ticket Awards

It’s that time of year again! This weekend industry professionals from across the globe gathered to honor the best of the best in the amusement industry.

The Golden Ticket Awards by Amusement Today are like the Oscars for amusement parks. Each year, a detailed survey is sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park experts around the world. The surveys are sent out in balanced geographical regions asking not only industry fans, but also – in some categories – industry suppliers, manufacturers and journalists to rate the “best of the best” in different categories. Amusement Today then tallies up those votes and presents Golden Ticket Awards to the winners. Each year the event is held at a different location. This year’s event was hosted by Silverwood Theme Park and Rocky Mountain Construction in Idaho.

Sit back and relax because the wait is over. The votes have been counted and the winners are…

Best Amusement Park- Europa-Park (Rust, Germany)

Best Steel Roller Coaster- Fury 325 / Carowinds (NC) (top 10 below)

Best Wood Roller Coaster- Phoenix/ Knoebels Amusement Resort (PA )(top 10 below)

Best New Coaster Of 2019- Steel Curtain/ Kennywood (PA)

Best New Family Attraction: Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run / Disneyland

Best New Attraction Inastallation: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure/ Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Best New Water Park Attraction of 2019: Cutback Water Coaster / Busch Gardens Williamsburg Water Country USA (VA)

Best Innovation of 2019 – Loose article storage and transfer system on Yukon Striker / Canada’s Wonderland

Best Water Park- Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort (TX)

Best Marine Life Park/ Wildlife Park – SeaWorld Orlando (FL)

Best Kid’s Area- Wildwood Grove at Dollywood (TN)

Best Guest Experience – Dollywood (TN)

Most Beautiful Park – Busch Gardens Williamsburg (VA)

Best Family Park – Dutch Wonderland (PA)

Best Landscaping- Busch Gardens Williamsburg (VA)

Best Food-Knoebels Amusement Resort (PA)

Best New Show of 2019- “Reuben’s Swashbuckling Adventure” / Silver Dollar City

Best Water Ride (In a Park)- Valhalla / Blackpool Pleasure Beach (England)

Best Water Park Ride- Wildebeest / Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari (IN)

Best Dark Ride- Pirates of the Carribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treature / Disneyland Shanghai

For the first time, four past categories were recognized as Legends Awards for their long-running status and achievements and were retired after consecutively taking top honors over the years.

Legends Award – Noah’s Ark / Kennywood (PA) for taking home the now-retired category Best Walkthrough/funhouse Golden Ticket for nine straight years

Legends Award – Grand Carousel/ Knoebels Amusement Resort (PA) for having gone undefeated in the now retired category of Best Carousal

Legends Award – Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (CA) which claimed 11 of the 12 Golden Tickets ever awarded in the now-retired category of Best Seaside Park

Legends Award- Revenge of the Mummy / Universal Studios (FL) after winning the now-retired category of Best Indoor Coaster a total of 11 times

Best Halloween Event of 2018- Halloween Horror Nights / Universal Orlando Resort (FL)

Best Christmas Event of 2018- Smoky Mountain Christmas / Dollywood (TN)

Breakout FEC of 2019: C.J. Barrymore’s (MI)

Every year Gary Slade, Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of Amusement Today, makes personal selections for the Publisher’s Pick Awards. Here are the selections he made this year:

Publishers Choice:

Renaissance Award – Kings Island
Park of the Year – Morey’s Piers
Turnstile Award – Silverwood Theme Park

Top 10 Best Steel Roller Coasters

1. Fury 325 / Carowinds

2. Millennium Force / Cedar Point

3. Steel Vengeance / Cedar Point

4. Superman: The Ride / Six Flags New England

5. Expedition GeForce / Holiday Park

6. Twisted Colossus / Six Flags Magic Mountain

7. Iron Rattler / Six Flags Fiesta Texas

8. Apollo’s Chariot / Busch Gardens Williamsburg

9. Leviathan / Canada’s Wonderland

10. Nitro / Six Flags Great Adventure

Top 10 Best Wood Roller Coasters

1. Phoenix / Knoebels Amusement Resort

2. The Voyage / Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari

3. El Toro / Six Flags Great Adventure

4. Boulder Dash / Lake Compounce

5. The Beast / Kings Island

6. GhostRider / Knotss Berry Farm

7. Lightning Rod / Dollywood

8. Outlaw Run / Silver Dollar City

9. Ravine Flyer II / Waldameer

10. Mystic Timbers / Kings Island

Next year the Golden Ticket Awards will heading to Texas! SeaWorld San Antonio and Morgan’s Wonderland are set to host Amusement Today’s 2020 Golden Ticket Awards ceremonies on September 11 and 12, 2020!

For more information, visit the official Golden Ticket Awards site here.

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