TripAdvisor Announces Top 10 Amusement Parks Outside Orlando

[BarryH]

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/08-03-2007/0004638788&EDATE=FRI+Aug+03+2007,+06:00+AM

 

TripAdvisor Travelers Hail Hershey

 

NEEDHAM, Mass., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's

largest travel community, today announced the top 10 amusement parks in the

U.S., according to traveler popularity and TripAdvisor editors. What sets

these tremendous parks apart is that they offer something for every kind of

visitor, from wonderful family rides and shows, to great food and games, to

thrilling rides and coasters.

1. Chocolate Champion: Hershey Park, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Hershey Park is about as sweet as it

gets for amusement park connoisseurs. This gigantic park features more

than 60 rides and attractions, live shows, games, a museum chronicling

Hershey history and of course, gobs of chocolate. For roller-coaster

fans, the "Storm Runner" (0-72 mph in 2 seconds flat),

"Superdooperlooper" and "The Comet" are must rides. As one TripAdvisor

member said, "What is so great about Hershey? There is something for

everyone."

 

2. Busch League of its Own: Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

With an African continent themed park, Busch Gardens takes visitors

into the jungle and on quite a ride. No garden variety amusement park,

Busch offers a little bit of everything: rides, restaurants, live

shows, games and an amazing 2,700-animal zoo. Thrill seekers will want

to take a ride on "Gwazi," a gigantic wooden double roller coaster, the

epic coaster "Kumba," or "SheiKra," the nation's first dive coaster.

One TripAdvisor member said, "I have been going to Busch Gardens for 20

years. It is always a great time, a clean and exciting park."

 

3. Cedar Point Rules: Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio

The self-proclaimed "roller coaster capital of the world," Cedar Point

boasts a remarkable 17 roller coasters, including the brand new

"Maverick" and the exhilarating "Millennium Force." The fun doesn't

end at the coasters, Cedar Point also features a number of other thrill

rides, carousels, games, water rides and even tranquil rides. According

to a TripAdvisor traveler, "Cedar Point is by far one of the country's

best amusement parks for people who love roller coasters."

 

4. Pick Six: Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas

With great shows, including musical acts, concerts and street

performers, Six Flags Fiesta is fun-filled even before you get to the

rides. But the rides are nothing to sneeze at either -- between the

blood chilling "Scream" ride and the "Poltergeist" coaster, the Lone

Star state's version of Six Flags is an amazing entertainment trip. One

TripAdvisor traveler said, "The park was clean, the staff was friendly

and courteous, and the rides were awesome."

 

5. My Kingdom for a Horse (Ride): Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Myrtle

Beach, South Carolina

With an incredible oceanfront water park combined with its amusement

park, Family Kingdom is well worth the trip. Visitors will want to

take a ride on the "Swamp Fox" coaster or the thrilling "Slingshot Drop

Zone" before cooling off on the lazy river, wild water flumes or speed

slides. A TripAdvisor member commented, "What a blast this place is! We

went up and down the water slides like we were 10-years-old!"

 

6. Action in Jackson: Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey

With dozens of thrill rides, Six Flags Great Adventure is the Mecca for

fans of pulse-pounding rides, including the outstanding superhero rides

and the "Great American Scream Machine." Be sure to try out some of

the parks excellent water rides, and Great Adventure also offers fun

live entertainment with concerts, animal shows, parades and street

performers. As One TripAdvisor traveler said, "We only rode roller

coasters and we had a great time."

 

7. King's Ransom: Paramount's Kings Island, Kings Island, Ohio

One of the best in the Midwest, King's Island features excellent shows

for families, but also top-notch rides, such as the "Firehawk," the

face-to-face inverted roller-coaster "Face/Off," and "The Beast," the

world's longest wooden roller coaster. One TripAdvisor traveler said,

"One of the nicest parks I have ever visited. The landscaping was great

and it was very clean."

 

8. Smokey Mountain Magic: Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park,

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

An amazing scenic aerial tramway up to Ober Gatlinburg gets visitors

started in style, Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park gives

patrons everything but the kitchen sink: skiing, indoor skating,

restaurants, an alpine slide, a pirate ship and fun house, go-karts,

mini golf, a shooting range, water raft rides and a black bear habitat.

One TripAdvisor traveler said, "I loved riding the new tram to Ober

Gatlinburg. The view is fantastic."

 

9. Brooklyn's Best: Coney Island Park, Brooklyn, New York

This legendary amusement park still has plenty of thrills to go around.

Featuring more than 20 classic rides, thrill-seekers will want to try

"The Cyclone" coaster and "The Scream Machine" freefall ride. Visitors

can also enjoy a walk on the beach, catch a Cyclones minor league

baseball game or cool off at the Sunlite Pool, the world's largest re-

circulating swimming pool. One TripAdvisor traveler said, "The Wonder

Wheel is a must and just a one-minute walk from the Cyclone. These are

two classic rides, and I am comfortable in knowing they will be there

for years to come."

 

10. Wind It Up: Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina

Highlighted by the outstanding water rides of Boomerang Bay, such as

"The Great Barrier Reef" (25,000-square-foot wave pool), "Down Under

Thunder" raft ride, and "Jackaroo Landing," a three-story water jungle

gym, Carowinds also offers fantastic thrill rides, live shows and

dining. As one TripAdvisor traveler said, "They have some first-rate

coasters and every one of the standard theme park and carnival rides."

"These amusement parks feature much more than cotton candy and

carousels," said Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor.

"Travelers like thrills but not spills -- TripAdvisor reviews were littered

with comments about the importance of amusement park cleanliness."

About TripAdvisor Media Network

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of their respective owners.

 

Bah humbug to this list! How did Family Kingdom end up on it? That park was bordering on ghetto. Where is Dollywood and Silver Dollar City?

 

Boo to the list!

[larrygator]

^Boo to you Barry for posting such dreck!

[cfc]

Singling out Great Adventure's Great American Scream Machine but not El Toro? Trip Advisor's gonna get sued for encouraging people to ride that concussion-causing pile of crap.

[Meteornotes]

Any list that includes Family Kingdom and PKI cannot be taken seriously.

 

dt

[Jonathan]

Even funnier than Family Kingdom is Ober Gatlinburg, a tourist trap (although a rather fun one) that is also about 10 minutes from Dollywood.

[HHIslandGirl]

I was more amused by the inclusion of "Paramount" anything...

We drove past Family Kingdom while in Myrtle Beach last summer for the last days of the Pavilion and thought "what the...?"

[gisco]

No Universal or BGE either.

[cfc]

I think an infinite number of drunken, crack-addicted chimps writing with chisels on stone tablets could come up with a better list than this.

[CoasterFanatic]

Family Kingdom?

 

It's a little too late for April Fools.

[Voyage_luvr]

Where is Holiday World in this list? I think crackheads wrote this list.

[Shavethewhales]

Obviously the writer doesn't know of very many theme parks.

 

So Family Kingdom ranks above SDC, CC, and DW? Wow, at that rate, Bell's was better than Disneyland.

[coastrfreak2000]

I find it funny that parks like Six Flags Great Adventure made the list, despite the fact that it has incredibly craptacular reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

Trip Advisor's SFGAdv Reviews

[CoasterFanatic]

^ I have never taken the time to read those before. Those reviews are downright hysterical.

[ParkTrips]

Where is Holiday World in this list? I think crackheads wrote this list.

Sorry, Holiday World finished 93rd on the list. Turns out crack heads don't buy into the free Pepsi crap either.

[ginzo]

^ I have never taken the time to read those before. Those reviews are downright hysterical.

 

To be honest, nearly all travel review sites are like that. Read the hotel reviews on that same site. My favorite negative review was when someone bashed a hotel because it happened to be in a town with not much to do. The people that post reviews tend to be the mentally deranged types that refuse to be pleased, no matter what.

[hemmy]

^ I have never taken the time to read those before. Those reviews are downright hysterical.

 

To be honest, nearly all travel review sites are like that. Read the hotel reviews on that same site. My favorite negative review was when someone bashed a hotel because it happened to be in a town with not much to do. The people that post reviews tend to be the mentally deranged types that refuse to be pleased, no matter what.

 

LOL, that it is the same thing with sites that sell computer parts like newegg the people who post the reviews expect everything for them to be perfect.

[coasterdude5]

Six Flags anything?

 

Where's Dollywood? Ah, it was too good for that list anyway, haha.

[kennywood!007]

Go Hershey woo!

[ECZenith]

W ow, where's Disneyland?

[Little Coaster Girl]

That is a very stupid list. There some good ones on it, but some really bad ones too. What is it with GASM ? That is a horrible piece of crap, they should be mentioning El Toro. And sooperdooperlooper ? I am sorry, i agree with having hershey there, but there are alot better coasters there than that one.

What a joke.

[TheRapidsNerd]

(Pointing at screen and laughing like loon) Oooh! My sides!

Well, as a crackhead, I find that offensive...the park list that is.

What? No Alabama Adventure? I'm crushed...

[alpengeist04]

Well, if I ever run out of toilet paper, I know what I can print out and use. While I think the first few should be on the list, it really goes down hill at #5.

[kewlcoasterdude]

I actually agree with that list. I think for the most part all the best parks were on the list. I know there was one that I thought was weird to be on that list. One guy was mad that Holiday World was not on there! If that park was should be on the list, then there are about 30 others that have the same chance!

Anyway, I think at least nine of the parks on the list deserve to be there.

[Guest]

This list has about as much credibility as Barry Bonds or Mark McGuire telling kids not to use steroids.

 

Granted, I do not dislike Family Kingdom as much as some who have posted in this thread do--in fact I rather like it, and liked it much better than Pavilion when both were open (Pavilion was too "polished" and "modern" whereas FK has character and a much better woodie). That said, I would never put FK in a top ten parks list.

 

Ober Gatlinburg is barely even a proper amusement park from what I've heard (I've not been, mainly for this reason). If it is what I imagine it to be, it's laughable that this place made such a list while Dollywood (one of few theme parks that I like almost as much as traditional parks) is left off.

 

Last, there's no Coney Island Park. It doesn't exist. Astroland's a park (at least until the end of this season) and Deno's Wonder Wheel Park is a park. Coney Island is a district or neighborhood. Most people probably don't know this or care, but Brooklynites and enthusiasts should recognize and cringe at the error immediately...and should soon after take the list for what it is (a marketing piece of fluff for the travel website that produced it) as a result.

 

-Jason