Golden Ticket 2011 - Amusement Today

48 Pages·2011·19.26 MB·English

GOLDEN TICKET BONUS ISSUE
TM
www.GoldenTicketAwards.com
Vol. 15 • Issue 6.2 SEPTEMBER 2011
Holiday World hosts Golden Ticket event for third time
Amusement Today sees the biggest
voter response in survey history
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.P GOLDEN TICKET 0
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I AWARDS
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BEST OF THE BEST!
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
Host Park • 2011 Golden Ticket Awards • September 16 & 17, 2011
COURTESY S. MADONNA HORCHER
STORY: Tim Baldwin strate the big influx of additional voters.
[email protected] Tabulating hundreds of ballots can seem
SANTA CLAUS, Indiana — It was Holiday like a somewhat tedious and daunting task,
World’s idea for Amusement Today to pres- but a few categories were such close races,
ent the Golden Ticket Awards live in 2000. that a handful of winners were not determined
The ceremony was on the simple side, and until the very last ballots in the last hour of
now over a decade later, the park welcomes tabulation. These ‘nail biters’ always keep us
AT for the third time. A lot has changed since on our toes that there is never a guarantee of
that time, as the Golden Ticket Awards cere- any category.
mony has grown into a popular industry event, The dedication of our voters is also admi-
filled with networking opportunities and occa- rable. People have often gone to great lengths
sions to see what is considered the best in the to make sure we receive their ballot in time.
industry. And as mentioned before, every vote abso-
What has also grown is the voter response. lutely counts as just a few ballots determined
The 2011 awards saw the biggest response some winning categories.
from our panel of experts than ever before. One new voter wrote on their ballot: “It is
New participants and an increase of interna- an honor to be asked to vote. Thank you!” And
tional voters have had an impact on several we agree. Not just anybody is qualified. There
positions on our charts, and Amusement To- is a certain distinction and respect that comes
day looks forward to an ever-growing commu- with being asked to share a vast wealth of ex-
Top, Pat Koch closed the 2006 Golden Ticket Awards cere-
nity of aficionados to point out all that is great perience. But it is AT and the industry that truly
mony with a tribute to Carol Burnett. Above, Holiday World
about our industry. Simply by looking at the offers the thanks for recognizing the “Best of
welcomes AT for the third time in 2011.
points on our roller coaster charts will demon- the Best.”
COURTESY HOLIDAY WORLD
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2 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011
NEWSTALK
OPINIONS CARTOON LETTERS AT CONTACTS
EDITORIAL: Gary Slade, [email protected] CARTOON: Bubba Flint
Send us your ideas
As we gather at Holiday World &
Splashin’ Safari for the 2011 Golden
Tickets Awards, we want to remind our
industry friends we are always listen-
ing to your ideas on how to improve
the awards through new catageories to
Slade
consider or the way the GT ballots are
distributed.
This year, at the request of many suppliers, we
added the names of 75 well traveled ride suppli-
ers to our ballot mailing list. Those returned ballots
were included in the final tabulations that included
ballots from four different regions of the United
States and one international region. See regions
map at the right on page 3 for complete details.
If any industry professional has an idea they
would like us to consider, let us know. The Golden
Ticket Awards are as much yours as they are AT’s.
Now for a few quick Golden Ticket fun facts:
EDITORIAL: Tim Baldwin, [email protected]
•Dollywood is a finalist and/or winner in more
It must be in the genes
categories than any other park — 8.
•The New Texas Giant is only the 7th coaster in
I had the privilege to be a smoother coaster over one that is a bit more
Golden Ticket history to debut in the top 10.
part of a group of amusement rugged. But, by golly, I still have that gene. I
•The Voyage holds the record for consecutive park enthusiasts doing a tour love being in the world of amusement parks.
wins of any coaster — 5. of German parks this summer. As I watched the group riding a small family
•Cedar Point, Schlitterbahn and Busch Gardens About half of our group were coaster over and over in the rain — cheering!
Americans with the other half — I knew these people had it within them to
Williamsburg have been undefeated in their win-
being European (with a large have fun. Many folks in the industry would have
ning catageories for 14 years. Baldwin
contingent from the U.K.). It just preferred to stay in their offices, or even
•Magnum XL-200 is the only steel roller coaster was interesting to listen to the head home. But not fans like these.
to appear on every Golden Ticket top 10 list. discussions of the parks and the roller coasters. It is this slice of the public, these enthu-
We enjoyed the smallest of children’s parks to siasts, who truly “get” what the industry is
•In 1998, Amusement Today’s first year of pro-
the most magnificent theme parks. The group about. They can’t get to every park every year,
ducing the Golden Ticket Awards, 14 Golden Tick-
debated the attributes of the roller coasters, and most assuredly long to get to far away des-
ets were awarded from the first-ever survey. This
and often prodded each other to do the water tinations which they may never have the means
year, 28 Golden Tickets will be handed out. rides even though many days were on the cool to visit. But they are out there — riding, pho-
Thank you to the Koch family and all the staff side. The one thing the whole group had in tographing, documenting and spending. It is
common was that everyone was having a great this collective mass of fandom to which AT is
at Holiday World as our 2011 host park for another
time. indebted for telling us who is doing a great job
great event. See you in 2012 at Dollywood!
Maybe there is a certain gene that cre- and what new rides are the “must get to” at-
ates an enthusiast. Children seem to have it, tractions.
Gary Slade is the founder and publisher of Amusement but as some people get older they let that When it is my time to leave this earth, I
Today. His love for amusement parks began at age six gene become buried. Sure, as the body ages, hope it is after I have had one last chance to
when he first visited Pontchartrain Beach Amusement we might not be able to spin quite as much enjoy a great amusement park trip with friends
Park and Six Flags Over Texas. His long newspaper career or hang upside down like we used to. Heaven like these. After all, we share the same genes.
helped lead to the launch of AT in 1997. knows as I get older I sometimes prefer the
AMUSEMENT TODAY STAFF
Gary Slade, Founder Tim Baldwin Bubba Flint
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Editorial Cartoonist
[phone] [email protected] [email protected]
Deliveries Member of:
[email protected] Sammy Piccola
2012 E. Randol Mill Rd, Suite 203 IAAPA, AIMS International, PAPA,
Pam Sherborne Accounting / Circulation
Arlington, Texas 76011 NEAAPA, NJAA, OABA, WWA, TTIA,
Stacey Childress Editorial [phone]
NAARSO and IISF
Web & Graphic Design [email protected] [email protected]
[phone] Subscription rates are: 1 year (14 issues) $50 in the USA; $70 elsewhere; 2 years (28 issues) $90/$130;
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John Robinson / W.H.R. Inc. [email protected] [phone]
Daily E-mail Newsletter [email protected] Amusement Today is an independent newspaper, published monthly by Amusement Today Inc., P.O.
Box 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Presort Standard Postage (Permit No. 2069) pre-paid at Fort Worth,
[email protected]
Texas. The entire contents of this newspaper and its related Web sites are copyrighted and trademarked
by Amusement Today 2011, with all rights reserved.
Contributors: Dan Feicht, Howard Gillooly, S. Madonna Horcher, Dave Jackson,
Jeffrey L. Seifert, B. Derek Shaw, Allan Reid, Janice Witherow, WHR Inc. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Amusement Today, P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas
76005-5427.
September 2011 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3
Our panel of experts
P.
Since Amusement Today .I. GOLDEN TICKET 2
introduced the Golden Ticket V AWARDS 10
Awards in 1998, we continue to 1
seek out the most experienced BEST OF THE BEST!
park enthusiasts to participate
in our survey. AT follows a fair
and balanced protocol of divid-
ing our ballots between four
geographical regions (see col-
or map at right) of the United
3
States. In addition to the hun-
2
dres of surveys sent to Ameri-
can enthusiasts, international
fans are also sought out and we
1
invite such fans to contact us
for participation in future years.
Amusement Today thanks the
hundreds of voters who helped
form this year’s panel of ex-
perts and make the 2011 Gold-
en Ticket Awards a reality.
Are you a qualified candi- 4
date? Contact Golden Tick-
et Awards Communications
Coordinator Tim Baldwin at
[email protected]
and we’ll see if you would make
a good representative for your
region on next year’s new panel.
Of note, park employees,
and Amusement Today staff are
5 – International Surveys
not eligible to be on the panel.
4 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011
2011 park winners shine their brightest to take the gold
STORY: Tim Baldwin Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and
[email protected] Noah’s Ark. Each of these
.P GOLDEN TICKET 20 parks is known for a particular
Since the inception of the .I.V AWARDS 11 quality, whether it be the lat-
Golden Tickets, the catego- est waterslide products, ex-
BEST OF THE BEST!
ries of Best Park and Best ceptional theming or a huge
Waterpark have been domi- top five at No. 4 with Disney- variety of attractions. Regard-
nated by winners Cedar Point land just behind. less of which, all these parks
and Schlitterbahn. Some The second half of the rate high marks for fun.
wonder if this lock can ever be top 10 sees Universal’s Is- Idlewild is thrilled to take
broken. But for this year, both lands of Adventure, followed the Golden Ticket for Best
parks take the win for the 14th by Busch Gardens Williams- Children’s Park for the sec-
consecutive year. This unques- burg, Kennywood and To- ond year in a row.
tionaby speaks to the quality kyo DisneySea. A tie for the “We still can’t wipe the
of the product these parks of- No. 10 spot— Holiday World smiles from our faces,” says
fer guests. and Pleasure Beach Black- Ed Saxton, marketing man-
In the category for Best pool — lets AT showcase 11 ager for Idlewild & SoakZone.
Park, Knoebels has now be- parks on our chart. “The 2010 Golden Ticket was
come cozy in the No. 2 spot For Best Waterpark, the cornerstone to our entire
for the third year in a row. Schlitterbahn’s win comes marketing campaign and we
Continuing to climb is from the largest percentage intend for the 2011 Golden
Europa-Park, now rising to of votes on all of our 2011 Ticket to be the focal point as
the No. 3 spot in 2011. Dol- charts. well.” Lipton beams, “What Cedar Point’s record breaking rides and diverse resort enter-
lywood is also seen climbing A top five is completed better tagline can you get?” tainment has swept the category of Best Park for 14 years.
several notches up into the by Splashin’ Safari, Blizzard 4See PARKS, page 11 AT/JEFFREY L. SEIFERT
Park and Ride Winners
.P GOLDEN TICKET 20 .P GOLDEN TICKET 20
.I.V AWARDS 11 .I.V AWARDS 11
BEST OF THE BEST! Ranked by percentage of votes cast BEST OF THE BEST!
BEST NEW RIDE FOR 2011 (Amusement Park) BEST NEW RIDE FOR 2011 (Waterpark)
New Texas Giant Six Flags Over Texas 45% The Falls Schlitterbahn 45%
Cheetah Hunt Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 12% Vanish Point Water Country U.S.A. 15%
Wooden Warrior Quassy Amusement Park 11% Bombs Away Raging Waters 8% (tie)
Twister Gröna Lund 5% (tie) Viper NRH2O 8% (tie)
Zippin Pippin Bay Beach Amusement Park 5% (tie)
BEST SEaSIDE ParK
BEST ParK
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Santa Cruz, Calif. 29%
Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 23% Pleasure Beach Blackpool Blackpool, England 28%
Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 13% Morey’s Piers Wildwood, N.J. 16%
Europa-Park Rust, Germany 12% Gröna Lund Stockholm, Sweden 5%
Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 8% Kemah Boardwalk Kemah, Texas 4%
Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 7% BEST INDOOr WaTErParK
Universal’s Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 6.5%
Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Galveston, Texas 31%
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 5.5%
Kalahari Resort Sandusky, Ohio 16%
Tokyo DisneySea Tokyo, Japan 5% (tie)
Kalahari Resort Wisconsin Dells, Wis. 15%
Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 5% (tie)
World Waterpark Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 12%
Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 4.5% (tie)
Splash Landings Staffordshire, England 11%
Pleasure Beach Blackpool Blackpool, England 4.5% (tie)
BEST WaTErParK FrIENDLIEST ParK
Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 32%
Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 66%
Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 25%
Splashin’ Safari Santa Claus, Ind. 14%
Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 13%
Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla. 6%
Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 12%
Typhoon Lagoon Orlando, Fla. 5%
Beech Bend Bowling Green, Ky. 5%
Noah’s Ark Wisconsin Dells, Wis. 4%
CLEANEST PARK
BEST CHILDrEN’S ParK
Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 35%
Idlewild & SoakZone Ligonier, Pa. 30%
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 15%
Legoland California Carlsbad, Calif. 25%
Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 10%
Fårup Sommerland Saltum, Denmark 11%
Magic Kingdom Orlando, Fla. 9%
Legoland Windsor Windsor, England 10%
Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 8%
Dutch Wonderland Lancaster, Pa. 6%

BEST MarINE LIFE ParK BEST SHOWS
SeaWorld Orlando Orlando, Fla. 55% Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 30%
SeaWorld San Antonio San Antonio, Texas 14% Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 28%
Discovery Cove Orlando, Fla. 11% Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 10%
SeaWorld San Diego San Diego, Calif. 10% SeaWorld Orlando Orlando, Fla. 8%
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Vallejo, Calif. 6% Disney’s Hollywood Studios Orlando, Fla. 7%
September 2011 AMUSEMENT TODAY 5
From the signature tube chutes from its early years to the latest in water- Voted Best Seaside Park, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk exemplifies perfectly
park innovations, the original Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas has the what the ambience of such a setting should be with an ideal mix of new
unique attractions to win Best Waterpark. rides and classic, traditional favorites.
AT/GARY SLADE AT/GARY SLADE
Park and Ride Winners
.P GOLDEN TICKET 20 .P GOLDEN TICKET 20
.I.V AWARDS 11 Ranked by percentage of votes cast .I.V AWARDS 11
BEST OF THE BEST! BEST OF THE BEST!
BEST FOOD BEST LaNDSCaPING
Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 29% Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 33%
Epcot Orlando, Fla. 17% Efteling Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands 13%
Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 15% Gilroy Gardens Gilroy, Calif. 12%
Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 13% Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 9%
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 7% Epcot Orlando, Fla. 7%
BEST WaTEr rIDE (ParK) BEST HaLLOWEEN EVENT
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls Universal’s Islands of Adv. 26% Universal Orlando Resort Orlando, Fla. 32%
Valhalla Pleasure Beach, Blackpool 19% Knott’s Berry Farm Buena Park, Calif. 26%
Pilgrim’s Plunge Holiday World 10% Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 16%
Splash Mountain Magic Kingdom 9% Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 10%
Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando 7% Europa-Park Rust, Germany 5%
BEST WaTErParK rIDE BEST CHrISTMaS EVENT
Wildebeest Splashin’ Safari 34% Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 38%
Master Blaster Schlitterbahn 24% Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 14%
Dragon’s Revenge Schlitterbahn 13% Magic Kingdom Orlando Fla. 13.5%
Congo River Expedition Schlitterbahn 8% Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 10%
Zoombabwe Splashin’ Safari 5% Disney’s Hollywood Studios Orlando, Fla. 7%
BEST KIDS’ arEa BEST CarOUSEL
Kings Island Kings Mills, Ohio 30% Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 55%
Universal’s Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 16% Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Santa Cruz, Calif. 18%
Nickelodeon Universe Bloomington, Minn. 12% Six Flags Over Georgia Austell, Ga 7%
Drayton Manor Staffordshire, England 8% Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 5%
Efteling Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands 7% Six Flags Great America Gurnee, Ill. 4%
BEST DarK rIDE BEST INDOOr COaSTEr
Harry Potter and...Forbidden Journey Universal’s Islands of Adv. 26% Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios Orlando 31%
Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man Universal’s Islands of Adv. 23% Space Mountain Disneyland 15%
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Disney’s Hollywood Studios 15% Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Disney’s Hollywood Studios 13%
Haunted Mansion Knoebels Amusement Resort 10% Mindbender Galaxyland 12%
Indiana Jones and...Forbidden Eye Disneyland 6% Space Mountain Magic Kingdom 9%
BEST OUTDOOr SHOW PrODUCTION BEST FUNHOUSE/WaLK-THrOUGH aTTraCTION
Epcot Orlando, Fla. 34% Noah’s Ark Kennywood 24%
Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 17% Frankenstein’s Castle Indiana Beach 23%
Disney California Adventure Anaheim, Calif. 16% Noah’s Ark Pleasure Beach, Blackpool 15%
Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 10% (tie) Ghost Ship Morey’s Piers 13%
Magic Kingdom Orlando, Fla. 10% (tie) Lustiga Huset Gröna Lund 12%
6 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011
Thanks for your support
in the Golden Ticket Awards!
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G O L D E N 0
BEST
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P PRESENTED TO T I C K E T PARK
C E D A R 1
.I P O I N T A W A R D
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I. KPIRENSENGTEDS TO GOLDEN 2 . CPREESEDNTEAD TOR TICKET BEST 1
V. ISLAND TICKET KBIEDSST’ 0 I. POINT AWARD CSOTAESETLE R 1
AWARD AREA 1 V
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September 2011 AMUSEMENT TODAY 7
BEST Halloween Event TOP Steel Roller Coasters

Sandusky, OH • cedarpoint.com
Sandusky, OH • soakcity.cedarpoint.com
Buena Park, CA • knotts.com
2 9 10
Halloween Haunt® Knott’s Berry Farm Top Thrill Dragster® Cedar Point Magnum Cedar Point Orange County • San Diego
Palm Springs • soakcityusa.com
TOP Wooden Roller Coasters

Cincinnati, OH • visitkingsisland.com
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Richmond, VA • kingsdominion.com
7 11 13

The Beast Kings Island Diamondback Kings Island Intimidator 305™ Kings Dominion
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9 15 18

Shivering Timbers Michigan’s Adventure Behemoth Canada’s Wonderland Raptor® Cedar Point Kansas City, MO • worldsoffun.com
Kansas City, MO • worldsoffun.com
Muskegon, MI • miadventure.com
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10 19 21 Gilroy, CA
gilroygardens.org
Prowler Worlds of Fun Intimidator™ Carowinds Maverick® Cedar Point
BEST Landscaping
One Cedar Point Drive • Sandusky, OH 44870-5259
[phone] • cedarfair.com
Cedar Fair is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “FUN”
3
© 2011 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Intimidator™ and Intimidator™ 305
take their names from Dale Earnhardt, “the Intimidator”.
Gilroy Gardens © 2011 Peanuts Worldwide LLC, Peanuts.com © 2011 Cedar Fair, L.P.
8 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011
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V O T E D B E S T K I D S PA R K I N T H E W O R L D !
— BY AMUSEMENT TODAY MAGAZINE
September 2011 AMUSEMENT TODAY 9
10 AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2011
4 years in a row!
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