The Golden Ticket Awards

[Wes]

I don't know what's more grating, the award results or people complaining about the award results.

[beatle11]

MF as #1? You mean there is NO OTHER STEEL COASTER ANYWHERE that is better than that? I305 comes to mind. In fact didn't someone say "it craps all over MF" and I believe that person knows what he is talking about!

 

I believe the quote was that it "eats Millennium Force and craps it all over Cedar Point."

 

Seems like the Golden Ticket awards are just a popularity contest, and I don't care much for those.

[robbalvey]

I don't know what's more grating, the award results or people complaining about the award results.

[Rastuso]

So, the best new water ride was actually ridden by what percentage of voters? 5 or 6? And Schlitterbahns crappy little indoor park is the best?

 

Golden Tickets are purely an industry thng. I never was asked to vote, when I had a subscription, probably because I wasnt in the "in" crowd.

 

-RO

[redfoot12]

Let the bitching and moaning commence...

I stick by my post from last year...

[David H]

A bunch of random replies:

 

I wonder how many people vote in categories that they have no experience. The Falls at Schlitterbahn has been open for 1.5 months, yet won best new waterpark ride. Did people really get a chance to ride it or did they just vote for it because it's Schlitterbahn?

 

As mentioned in this thread already, AT actively encourages people to vote based on what they've seen and heard from others. Which I think is kind of ridiculous, to be honest. That said, I imagine that actually very few people vote in this category, even though it's one of the most important to the parks (they love to tout their new ride as best of the year! Plus, it gives them a one-time chance to promote their new ride as voted as the best, even if isn't actually the best ride overall.) And given that the ballots are due in early August, it's unlikely that man of the people on the panel have been more than one or two of the new rides anyways. (Ironically, I haven't actually been on the closest one to my home at Quassy yet, but I've been on the new coasters in Texas and Sweden!) So, I'd never put to much stock into these two categories anyways, particularly the water park ride. You can pretty much assume that if Schlitterbahn or Holiday World adds a new ride, that it will win easily -- unless they both do in that year.

 

Well, that puts the nail in the "What kind of coaster is New Texas Giant" coffin.

Yeah, witch brings me to this comment. Millennium Force is not even half the ride New Texas Giant is. Why the hell is it #1.

 

I don't think that there was ever any question about NTaG. The only ones questioning it were SFoT themselves. And I can bet you'll see them promoting its rankings on the STEEL coaster poll, even though they were claiming that it was a wooden coaster a few months ago.

 

As to MF's popularity, it's because a hell of a lot of people love it. And it's at the absolute most popular amusement park in the world among coaster enthusiasts. It's probably been ridden by more people on their panel than almost any other coaster on the poll. And the ride is still tremendously popular, even among many well-travelled enthusiasts, but even more so among moderately traveled enthusiasts.

 

I don't understand it either. I imagine that it's because it's very bog and very fast. That impresses a lot of people. Not me. Like I mentioned earlier, it's not even in my top 5 coasters AT CEDAR POINT!

 

A Few Thoughts:

- How is Hades Better than Prowler?

Personally, I think it is, even though it needs a ton of trackwork at this point. But I also have a lot more tolerance for rough rides if they're worth it than most people do.

 

And even on Mitch's poll, they're pretty close at #19 and #12, respectively.

 

But, also remember that Hades has been around a lot longer, so in a popularity poll, it will have a big advantage, since more people are likely to have ridden it. Plus a lot of people have only ridden it before it got rough.

 

- Odd How Riptide Bay Added like 7 New Attractions and NONE got nominated for best Waterpark Attraction

And were any of them notable? I didn't even hear about them. Did they add anything that's not been done dozens of times?

 

- Is Voyage That Good?

 

I think so. It's my number one out of 163 woodies. And also my number one coaster overall out of 861. Apparently a lot of people agree with me , judging from the poll results. But a lot of people apparently disagree with me, too, as evidenced all over this forum, and with Mitch's awards.

 

- I went to Cedar Point in 09 and I Could Probably name 5 Parks Better in QUALITY

 

That's just one person's opinion. And certainly a lot of people agree with you. But most people who agree with you would name 5 different parks than you would. There is simply no other park in the world with the kind of consensus in this category than Cedar Point. It's unstoppable.

 

A quick side note. I'm a waiter in a restaurant with a lot of tourist customers. I'll often ask where they're from and tell them that I've been there to ride coasters. If the conversation goes much further, they almost always ask me if I've been to Cedar Point. Whether they've been there or not. It's a legend, at least partly because it's mentioned on EVERY Travel Channel and Discovery Channel coaster special!

 

- I Really Wish Friendlies Park, Cleanest Park could Change Hands a Few Time

 

Why? If the panel is most of the same people and if the parks remain equally friendly and clean, then why should it change?

 

- Shouldn't Six Flags America Be Nominated for Best Kids Area?

 

Huh? I don't even remember their kiddie area. What's so special about it?

 

That said, they could give out gold ingots to everyone who walks in, and most enthusiasts would still never vote for that park for just about anything. It's seriously one of the most hated parks in the hobby, for a whole bunch of reasons, not the least of which is their clientele.

 

- KNOEBEL'S BEST HALLOWEEN EVENT????!!!!???

 

Obviously, some voters are talking the term "Halloween EVENT" more literally. Obviously, this is because of the Phoenix Phall Phunfest, which is easily the second most attended enthusiast event year in and year out (behind only Cedar Point's Coaster Mania.)

 

Personally, I think it's stretching the definition of Halloween event. And certainly, both Universal parks and Knott's do a WAY better Halloween event than Knoebels.

 

- What Part of Nick Universe is The Kids Area?

 

LOL. Good point! It should be Children's PARK.

 

- I'd Take Bizarro over Millennium Force Anyday

 

You won't get any argument from me. Apparently, you WOULD get argument from a lot of others. Then again, I'd imagine that quite a few of those who voted for MF have never even been on Bizarro. but even then, both CP and MF have enough fanboys that it's not surprising that it wins now every year.

 

- Grona Lund for "Has Rich History, Thrives as a Big Park in a Small Space" Heard of Indiana Beach? or Nick Universe? or Casino Pier? or Funtown Pier?

 

Have you been there? Because none of those parks are even remotely in Grona Lund's ballpark. Not even close. Indiana Beach would be the best of those you mentioned, but Grona Lund has it beat by a mile in just about every category (Including both dark ride and haunted walkthrough!) The only thing it was missing was a great woodie, which they've rectified this year. Which I imagine had a lot to do with it's being chosen this year. And Twister is miles ahead of anything at Indiana Beach.

 

Seriously, Grona Lund has a huge, rich history that they're VERY proud of. During the recent ACE trip, they treated us to a big slideshow presentation of that history, which includes visits by the Beatles, Louis Armstrong, the Who, ABBA, Jimi Hendrix and more in its nearly 130 years.

 

As for packing coasters and rides into a small space, not even Blackpool Pleasure Beach can pack the coasters in like they did on that small corner of land with the AMAZINGLY compact (and amazingly intense for such a small ride!) Twister interacting with three other coasters and sitting over a dark ride, in the shadow of the nearby Insane coaster, two drop towers, a funhouse and a ton more. In just that small corner!

 

Casino Pier? Funtown Pier? LOL! I've been to both and barely remember either of them. That's how memorable they were. Sorry.

 

The Voyage is good but it's not El Toro good.

 

Says you. But not me. And not most of those in the AT panel.

 

But apparently more of those who fill out Mitch's poll agree with you. But even then, of those who ranked both of them on Mitch's poll, it was still a pretty close 70-57 battle. not exactly a clear overwhelming victory.

 

And Valhalla craps all over both of them, but Valhalla will never win.

 

Others have pointed out that it did win ONCE. But it still did amazingly well, considering it's extreme disadvantage with 19% of the vote, compared to Dudley Do-Right's 26%. And when you consider that probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the people on the panel have ridden Valhalla, compared to probably 95%+ of those on the panel who've ridden Dudley, that's quite a feat.

 

I'm a huge Dudley fan. It's one of my favorite rides anywhere and will ALWAYS put a smile on my face. It does so many things right. But I'll agree that Valhalla does even more things more right! One year, before they had nominees, I forgot about Valhalla and voted for Dudley. But every other year, I've voted for Valhalla.

 

This whole thing strikes me as odd!

 

It just seems really skewed.

 

MF as #1? You mean there is NO OTHER STEEL COASTER ANYWHERE that is better than that? I305 comes to mind. In fact didn't someone say "it craps all over MF" and I believe that person knows what he is talking about!

 

Expedition GeForce at #7? Something seems off here. I've never ridden it but from what people on here say and the fact that usually it is consistently ranked very high makes this seem even more screwed up.

 

I actually believe that MF is the most popular coaster on the planet, at least among enthusiasts. (If we're talking about most popular coaster among the general population, then that's probably one of the SPace Mountains, just for sheer attendance and ridership!) I don't agree with it any more than you do. But you can't force others to agree with you!

 

I305 is actually very polarizing. Some love it. Others hate it. Others are disappointed by it, for various reasons. Count me among the latter category, despite WANTING to love it. (It was actually the main reason I extended my Summer vacation last year to Virginia.) And the original restraints and the trim brakes haven't helped its cause. That said, it's also brand new, and a whole lot of people on the panel haven't even ridden it. So it's not getting ANY points from any of them. And probably 95% of those on the panel have ridden MF.

 

Even if we take it as a given that EGF is the best steel coaster in the world among those who've ridden it (and Mitch poll says that that title actually belongs to Bizarro), there still aren't enough people on the poll who've ridden it for it to rank at #1. Again, probably something like only 1/3 to 1/2 of those on the poll have ever ridden it (if that many!) The fact that it makes it all the way up to #7 despite such a huge disadvantage is a testament to how great it is.

 

The one number that really jumps out at me is 66% of voters said Schlitterbahn was the best waterpark. Schlitterbahn is, by far, my favorite waterpark, but I like it in a Knoebels kind of way. It's cute, traditional, and one-of-a-kind. And I'm an old school, Knoebels, Schlitterbahn, Kennywood, Lake Compounce type person. But 66% of voters picked Schlitterbahn?! I know those well-themed water parks in Florida have TONS of fans...what about the Wet N Wilds, or those crazy looking waterparks in Italy and Spain? Your telling me 2/3 of voters prefer Schlitterbahn to all of those parks?! I mean Cedar Point, the darling baby of the Golden Ticket's only got 23% of voters. Crazy numbers like that make me lose confidence in this poll.

 

Trying not to rant to much, but I had to just a little

 

Honestly, I've been to ALL of the other water parks in the top 5. And nothing comes even close to Schlitterbahn, in my mind. They're all great parks (including Hyland Hills Water World, which was on the ballot, but didn't make the top 5.)

But Schlitterbahn is in a league of its own. The biggest thing that sets it apart is the tube chutes, which don't really exist in this form at any other non-Schlitterbahn park I've ever been to. They combine the best aspects of water park lazy rivers and regular park rapids rides in one amazing experience.

 

Those well-themed Florida parks can't even hold a candle to Schlitterbahn, in my opinion. Honestly, Noah's Ark is probably the only park I've been to that comes close, or maybe Hyland Hills Water World. If you'd asked me a few years ago, I'd have said that Splashin' Safari wasn't even deserving of being in the top 5, but they're really added a whole ton of new stuff to the water park in the past few years, which finally enables them to fairly compete in this category and actually earn their spot.

 

And it certainly helps that they put on THE single best enthusiast even in the industry, with nothing else even coming close. Who else gives you THREE hot meals (with REALLY good food, not just burgers and hot dogs!), morning, mid-day and evening ERT in three different sections of the park, a late night tube chute run, and even free booze at a beach party? And then tells you to come back any day of the weekend FOR FREE? And all of this for TEN DOLLARS -- which they then donate to a coaster preservation cause?!? I mean, even if there was any doubt that Schlitterbahn was the best water park in the world, this is gonna grab some attention. And I hear that their whole weekend Schlitter-Con is even better!

 

And because of these events, and Holi-Wood Knights (and the various ACE conventions that have been there), Schlitterbahn and Holiday World are for many enthusiasts then ONLY water parks they'll ever go to. So, is it any wonder that they are the only parks to get more than 6% of the vote? While a lot of us here on TPR love water parks, a lot of old school enthusiasts HATE them.

 

After ACE's convention this year, they held a "Tour of Texas that started at Schlitterbahn, before heading to San Antonio and Galveston. A lot of people who are not water park fans decided to give it a shot, mainly because

a) it was only $10, and came with THREE meals and a ton of ERT

b) it was on the way, and they didn't have anything else to do with that day anyways

c) Jeffrey Siebert, the park's PR guy,. who organizes the event is a legend among enthusiasts, known for throwing the best events in the industry

d) Schlitterbahn is widely considered the best water park in the world. So, if you're ever going to visit one, this is the one to visit.

 

I heard a lot of people saying that they were wondering if Schlitterbahn would turn them into water park fans. Almost all of them later said that it did. That says something, when you're talking about people NOT predisposed to like water parks.

 

And these are a lot of the people on the Golden Tickets panel.

 

So, the best new water ride was actually ridden by what percentage of voters? 5 or 6?

 

Well, I highly doubt that much more than 10% of the people who returned ballots even voted in that category. I certainly didn't. So, if 5-6% of them actually rode the Falls, then it would make cense that it won, since I doubt that any of the other rides were ridden by more than 2-3% of the people on the panel, and likely far fewer!

 

And Schlitterbahns crappy little indoor park is the best?

 

Despite our history, I'm genuinely curious as to why you think it's crappy. And what indoor water parks you've been to that you think are better.

 

I've got to say that I've been to very few indoor water parks, so I can't really fairly judge. And it did seem a bit sparse on actual slides, especially if you only count the indoor section. But even then, the wavy Torrent River is cool enough to give it a likely win for me, even if I'd been to many other indoor water parks. I love those things, and there are very few of them anywhere in the world, indoors or outdoors.

 

But let's be honest here. Schlitterbahn Galveston's win here is a bit of a cheat. I'm sure most people are voting for it for the overall park, over 2/3 of which is outdoors. And when you consider that, it easily wins. Especially with the three connecting rivers, which creates a great overall experience.

 

And again, it's Schlitterbahn. And they throw great enthusiast events. Run by Jeffrey Siebert, a legend among park PR people. That gives them a huge leg up on anyone else in the industry in any poll among enthusiasts. And again, how many other people on the poll have been to ANY other indoor water park? I'm pretty well travelled, and I haven't.

 

Golden Tickets are purely an industry thng. I never was asked to vote, when I had a subscription, probably because I wasnt in the "in" crowd.

 

Or maybe, perhaps it was because you were at the time in an ongoing online feud with the partner of the person who organizes the poll, attacking him and/or the organization they were officers for (not to mention a bunch of other club officers) on a daily basis? Do you think that might have had SOMETHING to do with him not going out of his way to invite you onto the panel for the prestigious poll he organizes?

 

That said, did you even ask? Ever?

[Hilltopper39]

I was a little surprised by the top 5 in the Halloween event category. I've never been to the event at Kennywood or Knobles but I've also heard almost nothing about either of those events before. Horror Nights Orlando and Haunt at Knotts seem to be very popular are high quality events but the absence of Halloscreams at either Busch Gardens or Horror Nights Hollywood seems a bit off.

[bejackso]

Glad to see Busch Gardens on many of the lists, and not a surprise to see them win best landscaping yet again. I really need to get out to Holiday World and ride their woodies.

[coasterbill]

LOL, all hail the great Magnum XL 200.

 

Here is a list of some of the coasters that were ranked behind Magnum XL 200.

 

-Intimidator 305

-Ride Of Steel

-Superman Ride of Steel (Six Flags America)

-Goliath

-Titan

 

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is all one big joke. Am I the only one that thinks Magnum is really rough and flat out not that great? And even if you do like Magnum... #10??? Really????

[Hilltopper39]

Magnum is still in my top 10 for personal reasons more than anything else, but I haven't been on a lot of the new major steel coasters around. This coaster portion of this poll has always been a bit laughable to me, but does anyone really take it seriously? Does anyone really take any coaster poll seriously?

 

The world needs TPR coaster ranking, then I might take a poll seriously.

[cal1br3tto]

^^I rank plenty of hypers above Magnum (and mostly ones that aren't all that popular).

 

Same goes for Bizarro, Nitro, and Goliath at La Ronde.

[AstroDan]

Have Golden Ticket heard of Nemesis?

 

Never seems to get anything in these awards depsite being top 10 on Hawker for years and years. #5 this year it was.

 

/fanboy

 

[alilstronger]

Congrats to all the winners!

Edited September 19, 2011 by alilstronger

[robbalvey]

I don't know what's more grating, the award results or people complaining about the award results.

[coasterlover420]

LOL, all hail the great Magnum XL 200.

 

Here is a list of some of the coasters that were ranked behind Magnum XL 200.

 

-Intimidator 305

-Ride Of Steel

-Superman Ride of Steel (Six Flags America)

-Goliath

-Titan

 

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is all one big joke. Am I the only one that thinks Magnum is really rough and flat out not that great? And even if you do like Magnum... #10??? Really????

Here's a list of coasters that ranked better than Magnum:

1. Top Thrill Dragster

2. End of conversation

 

You have to think there's something going on with this 2011 poll....but hey, I'm not complaining

 

I think it has something to do with the parks where these coasters are. Cedar Point is probably the main destination, so most coaster enthusiasts have been there, whereas other parks are either local or visited for a purpose specific to personal preferences or restricted by money/time constraints. There is also the problem of company competition, and we all know how competitive enthusiasts can be...

[redfoot12]

People are always amazed when I tell them that I love to ride roller coasters but still haven't been to Cedar Point. It's got huge mindshare with people who are only vaguely familiar with the hobby.

[cal1br3tto]

^Oddly, I had never heard of Cedar Point before becoming an enthusiast. It's also not a park the general public brings up with me. I'm not sure if I just need to talk parks with more people, or if people are assuming "everyone" knows about the park when in reality, people in my region might have no reason to know or care about it.

[redfoot12]

^Probably a regional thing with me living not too far (relatively) from the park.

[Schotcher]

This is so rigged...it's sad. Bizarro and MF are literally in my "Top 5 coaster that could burn with SOB". They're both really boring and not forceful. And TTD? Top 10? That's messed up to say the least.

[osm]

LOL, all hail the great Magnum XL 200.

 

Here is a list of some of the coasters that were ranked behind Magnum XL 200.

 

-Intimidator 305

-Ride Of Steel

-Superman Ride of Steel (Six Flags America)

-Goliath

-Titan

 

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is all one big joke. Am I the only one that thinks Magnum is really rough and flat out not that great? And even if you do like Magnum... #10??? Really????

The only one on your list that seems like it's indisputably better than Magnum is I305. Based on my experience on Magnum, my taste in coasters, and what I have heard others say about the rides you mentioned, I think I would rank Magnum higher than ROS and the Giovanola hypers (I assume you're talking about SFMM's Goliath). But yeah, #10 seems a bit ridiculous. It's my #7, but I've only ridden 35 coasters, so I think if I had been on 100-200, it would be lower in my rankings. But that's CP bias for you.

[Delgato]

Am I the only person happy to see SFOG's Goliath in the top 5? It's definitely a top 5 steelie in my book!

[osm]

This is so rigged...it's sad. Bizarro and MF are literally in my "Top 5 coaster that could burn with SOB". They're both really boring and not forceful.

Usually I don't like to bash other people's opinions...but burn with SOB? Even if you think they're overrated, you can't be serious.

[Schotcher]

Yes and no.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^Oddly, I had never heard of Cedar Point before becoming an enthusiast. It's also not a park the general public brings up with me. I'm not sure if I just need to talk parks with more people, or if people are assuming "everyone" knows about the park when in reality, people in my region might have no reason to know or care about it.

 

It's funny you should say that. When I went to Silverwood, they thought Aftershock was the biggest, best, and coolest thing ever. When I had discussions with some people regarding Cedar Point, they were just astounded and looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. Not to mention when I told them that TTD wasn't the tallest and fastest in the world.

[redfoot12]

 

...they were just astounded and looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears....

 

Like the Christmas Story reference!