Golden Ticket Awards - 2015

[GCI Wooden]

Here's a list of all of the Golden Ticket Award recipients!

 

Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters of 2015

1. Millennium Force - Cedar Point

2. Bizarro - Six Flags New England

3. Expedition Geforce - Holiday Park

4. Fury 325 - Carowinds

5. Nitro - Six Flags Great Adventure

6. Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

7. Intimidator - Carowinds

8. Leviathan - Canada's Wonderland

9. Nemisis - Alton Towers

10. New Texas Giant - Six Flags Over Texas

11. Diamondback - Kings Island

12. Goliath - Six Flags Over Georgia

13. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point

14. Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood

15. Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point

16. Intimidator 305 - Kings Dominion

17. Blue Fire Megacoaster - Europa-Park

18. Behemoth - Canada's Wonderland

19. Iron Rattler - Six Flags Fiesta Texas

20. Banshee - Kings Island

20. X2 - Six Flags Magic Mountain

22. Maverick - Cedar Point

23. Wicked Cyclone - Six Flags New England

24. Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa

25. Skyrush - Hersheypark

26. Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

27. Mind Bender - Six Flags Over Georgia

28. Twisted Colossus - Six Flags Magic Mountain

29. Black Mamba - Phantasialand

30. The Swarm - Thorpe Park

31. Raging Bull - Six Flags Great America

31. Wild Eagle - Dollywood

33. Griffon - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

34. Helix - Liseberg

35. Lisebergbanan - Liseberg

36. Goliath - La Ronde

37. Cheetah Hunt - Busch Gardens Tampa

38. Air - Alton Towers

38. Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa

38. Lightning Run - Kentucky Kingdom

41. Shockwave - Six Flags Over Texas

42. SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tampa

43. Manta - Seaworld Orlando

44. Bizarro - Six Flags Great Adventure

45. Steel Force - Dorney Park

46. Whizzer - Six Flags Great America

47. Expedition Everest - Disney's Animal Kingdom

48. Olympia Looping - Owner: R. Barth & Sohn KB (Traveling)

49. Kingda Ka - Six Flags Great Adventure

49. Medusa Steel Coaster - Six Flags Mexico

 

Top 10 Wood Roller Coasters of 2015

1. Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce

2. El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure

3. Phoenix - Knoebels

4. The Voyage - Holiday World

5. Thunderhead - Dollywood

6. The Beast - Kings Island

7. Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer

8. Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City

9. Gold Striker - California's Great America

10. Lightning Racer - Hersheypark

11. Balder - Liseberg

12. The Raven - Holiday World

13. Giant Dipper - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

14. Goliath - Six Flags Great America

15. Thunderbolt - Kennywood

16. Cyclone - Luna Park/ Coney Island

17. Prowler - Worlds of Fun

18. Troy - Toverland

19. Cú Chulainn - Tayto Park

20. Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure

21. Flying Turns - Knoebels Amusement Resort

21. Jack Rabbit - Kennywood

23. Colossos - Heide park

24. Comet - The Great Escape

25. The Legend - Holiday World

26. Wild Mouse - Blackpool Pleasure Beach

27. Megaphobia - Oakwood

28. Rampage - Alabama's Splash Adventure

29. Wodan Timbur Coaster - Europa-Park

30. Playland Wooden Coaster - Playland at the PNE

31. Hades 360 - Mount Olympus

32. Tremors - Silverwood

33. Kentucky Rumbler - Beech Bend

34. Grand National - Blackpool Pleasure Beach

35. Blue Streak - Cedar Point

35. Blue Streak - Conneaut Lake Park

37. El Toro - Freizeitpark Plohn

38. Wooden Warrior - Quassy Amusement Park

39. American Thunder - Six Flags St. Louis

40. White Lightning - Fun Spot America

41. Twister - Knoebels Amusement Resort

42. The Boss - Six Flags St. Louis

43. Boardwalk Bullet - Kemah Boardwalk

44. Twister - Gröna Lund

45. Comet - Hersheypark

45. Zippin Pippin - Bay Beach Amusement Park

47. T Express - Everland

48. Big Dipper - Blackpool Pleasure Beach

48. Tonnerre de Zeus - Parc Asterix

50. Racer - Kennywood

 

Best New Attraction for 2015 (Amusement Park)

1. Fury 325 at Carowinds

2. Wicked Cyclone at Six Flags New England

3. Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain

4. Cu Chulainn at Tayto Park

5. Thunderbird at Holiday World

 

Best New Ride for 2015 (Water Park)

1. Dive Bomber - Six Flags White Water

2. Slidezilla - Elitch Gardens

3. Aqua Rocket - Raging Water San Dimas

3. Slideboarding - Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas

4. Anaconda - Kalahari Resorts – Poconos

 

Best Park

1. Europa-Park

2. Cedar Point

3. Knoebels Amusement Resort

4. Dollywood

5. Disneyland

6. Blackpool Pleasure Beach

6. Busch Gardens Williamsburg

7. Universal’s Islands of Adventure

8. Alton Towers

8. Holiday World

8. Magic Kingdom

8. Toyko Disney Sea

 

Best Water Park

1. Schlitterbahn (New Braunfels, Texas)

2. Splashin’ Safari

3. Dollywood’s Splash Country

4. Aquatica

5. Typhoon Lagoon

 

Best Children’s Park

1. Idlewild & SoakZone

2. Storybook Land

3. Story Land

4. Legoland Windsor

5. Legoland California

5. Legoland Florida

 

Best Marine Life Park

1. SeaWorld Orlando

2. SeaWorld San Diego

3. Discovery Cove

4. SeaWorld San Antonio

5. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

 

Best Seaside Park

1. Morey’s Piers

2. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

3. Blackpool Pleasure Beach

4. Gröna Lund

 

Best Kids’ Area

1. Kings Island

2. Efteling

3. Universal’s Islands of Adventure

4. Kings Dominion

5. Blackpool Pleasure Beach

5. Nickelodeon Universe

 

Cleanest Park

1. Holiday World

2. Dollywood

3. Busch Gardens Williamsburg

4. Europa-Park

5. Disneyland

 

Friendliest Park

1. Dollywood

2. Holiday World

3. Knoebel’s Amusement Resort

4. Adventure Island

5. Silver Dollar City

 

Best Shows

1. Dollywood

2. Six Flags Fiesta Texas

3. Silver Dollar City

4. Europa-Park

5. Disney California Adventure

 

Best Outdoor Show Production

1. Illuminations - Epcot

2. World of Color - Disney California Adventure

3. Fantasmic! - Disney’s Hollywood Studios

4. Fantasmic! - Disneyland

5. Lone Star Nights - Six Flags Fiesta Texas

 

Best Landscaping

1. Busch Gardens Williamsburg

2. Gilroy Gardens

3. Efteling

4. Alton Towers

5. Dollywood

 

Best Food

1. Knoebel’s Amusement Resort

2. Dollywood

3. Epcot

4. Silver Dollar City

5. Europa-Park

 

Best Carousel

1. Knoebels Amusement Resort

2. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

3. Six Flags Great America

4. Efteling

5. Six Flags Over Georgia

 

Best Water Ride (Park)

1. Valhalla - Blackpool Pleasure Beach

2. Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls - Universal’s Islands of Adventure

3. Splash Mountain - Disneyland

4. Mountain Slidewinder - Dollywood

5. Timber Mountain Log Ride - Knott’s Berry Farm

 

Best Water Park Ride

1. Wildebeest - Splashin’ Safari

2. Mammoth - Splashin’ Safari

3. Master Blaster - Schlitterbahn

4. The Falls - Schlitterbahn

5. Verrückt - Schlitterbahn, Kansas City

 

Best Dark Ride

1. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - Universal’s Islands of Adventure

2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - Disney’s Hollywood Studios

3. Harry Potter / Escape from Gingotts - Universal Studios Orlando

4. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man - Universal’s Islands of Adventure

5. Haunted Mansion - Knoebels Amusement Resort

 

Best Indoor Water Park

1. Schlitterbahn Galveston Island - Galveston, Texas

2. Kalahari Resort - Sandusky, Ohio

3. Kalahari Resort - Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

4. World Waterpark - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

5. Splash Landings - Staffordshire, England

 

Best Indoor Roller Coaster

1. Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios Orlando

2. Space Mountain - Disneyland

3. Winjas - Phantasialand

4. Black Diamond - Knoebels Amusement Resort

5. Mindbender - Galaxyland

5. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster - Disney’s Hollywood Studios

 

Best Funhouse/Walk-Through

1. Noah’s Ark - Kennywood

2. Ghost Ship - Morey’s Piers

3. Gasten Ghost Hotel - Liseberg

4. Frankenstein’s Castle - Indiana Beach

5. Lustiga Huset - Gröna Lund

 

Best Halloween Event

1. Universal Studios Orlando

2. Knott’s Berry Farm

3. Knoebels Amusement Resort

4. Kennywood

5. Busch Gardens Tampa

 

Best Christmas Event

1. Dollywood

2. Disneyland

3. Silver Dollar City

4. Magic Kingdom

5. Europa-Park

 

2015 Publisher’s Picks

Lagoon wins the "2015 Park of the Year" award!

 

Alberto Zamperla and Valerio Ferrari win the "2015 Person of the Year" award!

 

Huck Finn's Playland wins the "2015 Renaissance Award"!

 

Quassy wins the "2015 Turnstile Award"!

Edited September 14, 2015 by GCI Wooden

[ajfelice]

Yeah that was a comical read.

 

These awards are great for personal gratification or cheap marketing for the respective parks, but other than that they are comedic gold. There are too many advances in technology and amazing additions to the coaster landscape for the Top Ten lists to remain fairly constant over the past several years. For example, I haven't ridden it but Outlaw Run in its third season still can't break a top five ranking? Some far less exciting hypers outdo New Texas Giant? Every list is up for debate, but this one really makes one scratch the head. I think a much more representative list is the Mitch Hawker poll which usually tells a better story and has a much less biased panel of voters.

 

But at least the CP Fanboys can sleep well for another year. God forbid Millennium Force is not the best steel roller coaster in the world.

Edited September 13, 2015 by ajfelice

[LiftThrill]

This is the most accurate GTA yet, I think.

[GCI Wooden]

But at least the CP Fanboys can sleep well for another year. God forbid Millennium Force is not the best steel roller coaster in the world.

I just can't wait for Europa Park to be named "Best Park" next year when the event is being held at Cedar Point!

[coasterkid124]

I still think Millennium Force is a great ride, but come on. There are many coasters that I can name off the top of my head that one can argue are much better rides. Not only Bizarro, but I think all three Superman clones blow it out of the water. Even Maverick or Skyrush cannot crack the top 10.

 

We need the Mitch poll back pronto. At least there stuff counts for what it's really worth.

[ajfelice]

I just can't wait for Europa Park to be named "Best Park" next year when the event is being held at Cedar Point!

 

I'll put in the request for ten Whambulances to be stationed outside throughout the entire ceremony. Backups will be on call in case MF slips to #2.

[Paradox]

Even if these awards do not mean much, I still get happy to see Bizarro come in the top 3 and Boulder Dash be number 1. The only thing that surprised me was that Cannibal didn't win best new attraction or at least come in the rankings.

[I305forever]

Does this list ever change? They seem so ignorant about everything thats currently happening in the theme park industry and reluctant to change their rankings.

[CDawg]

Yeah that was a comical read.

 

These awards are great for personal gratification or cheap marketing for the respective parks, but other than that they are comedic gold. There are too many advances in technology and amazing additions to the coaster landscape for the Top Ten lists to remain fairly constant over the past several years. For example, I haven't ridden it but Outlaw Run in its third season still can't break a top five ranking? Some far less exciting hypers outdo New Texas Giant? Every list is up for debate, but this one really makes one scratch the head. I think a much more representative list is the Mitch Hawker poll which usually tells a better story and has a much less biased panel of voters.

 

But at least the CP Fanboys can sleep well for another year. God forbid Millennium Force is not the best steel roller coaster in the world.

 

I love MF, but I gotta say Fury 325 should've won best steel.

[RCF]

The only thing that surprised me was that Cannibal didn't win best new attraction or at least come in the rankings.

This is where it is shown that Lagoon really is underrated. There is no possible way it shouldn't have been in the top five at least. With how unique Cannibal is, being made in-house and being the second largest coaster addition in the states this year, it very well was a winning candidate. With how comical the Golden Tickets are on who wins the awards, they could have seen how unique and big Cannibal is and say, "This is the coaster!" (Props to anyone who gets that joke.)

 

Even though Cannibal was deprived of ranking, Lagoon itself got it's first Golden Ticket ever, which is huge props for ANY park that has yet to rank with these awards! So, Cannibal at least got a honorable mention in the spiel as to why Lagoon got Publisher's Pick for Park Of The Year! A huge congrats to Lagoon Amusement Park for it's first Golden Ticket Award!

[azza29]

Very amusing. Knoebels is lovely, but better than DisneySea?

 

And Forbidden Journey gets best dark ride, with no mention of Mystic Manor, Indy or Pooh? Umm...

 

Reading through the list it's kind of sad how US-centric these "awards" are. I wonder how many of the voters even own a passport.

[zottewoef81]

I can understand that this is a North American based survey, but some of these lists are just ridiculous!

Like, there isn't any good water or darkride anywhere else than in the US? Have these guys ever heared of Chiapas, Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Indiana Jones: Adventure Temple of the Crystal Skull, Ocean Park, T-Express or any Chinese park that builds some of the best coasters in the world?

The top 10 steel rollercoaster list is a joke! Half of those coasters shouldn't be on that list.

[Heth]

Yeah, I have often found these to be rather US-centric. To see the absence of last year's Chiapas from the water rides section in particular seemed odd, alongside the absence of Tokyo Disneyland itself. Mystic Manor as well seems like a ride that would be an obvious contender for best dark-ride, and Arthur at Europa Park, and it seems each year nothing much changes in that category (excluding Gringotts appearing on the list).

[coasterbill]

I don't know I don't have a huge issue with the results this year. I actually think this poll is headed in the right direction but they're not going to fix everything overnight. The poll is far from perfect but it's also much better than it was a few years ago.

[coasterkid124]

Their FAQ is a huge joke:

 

How does Amusement Today choose the winners?

 

Amusement Today relies on a panel of voters from all over the world consisting of experienced park enthusiasts.

 

Sure

 

So how are the winners chosen?

 

For roller coasters, we ask that each voter submit a list of their top 10 coasters — wood and steel — in order from one to ten, taking into consideration the overall experience including capacity, operations, reliability and re-rideability.

 

That explains all of the B&MS.

[TyRush]

These awards are always comical. You mean to tell me Boulder Dash is better than El Toro, that I-305, Maverick, Wicked Cyclone and Skyrush aren't atleast top 15 rides, and the fact that Magnum, BEATS all those mentioned.

[danb]

Email tbaldwin@amusementtoday.com if you want to be added to the panel of voters. I did it a few years ago when I was getting frustrated with the results and although they still aren't accurate they are heading in the right direction. The more voters they have, the better.

 

Dan

[ArgoZ]

Email tbaldwin@amusementtoday.com if you want to be added to the panel of voters. I did it a few years ago when I was getting frustrated with the results and although they still aren't accurate they are heading in the right direction. The more voters they have, the better.

 

Dan

 

I agree, with a decent resume, anyone can become a voter. My wife and I have been selected the last two years. We have been to over 80 parks and 400 coasters. The more enthusiasts that participate, the more accurate the results will become. MF was not in my top ten. SkyRush and El Toro were my #1's. Disneyland was my best park.

[thecoasterdude]

This years GTAs weren't very good. Millennium Force won AGAIN, and I think in my opinion I305 is better than MF, which didn't even make the top 10. Wicked Cyclone deserves to be in the top 10, and not NTG. Even though Is a good ride, Mummy was going against coasters which may have been overall better, like Space Mountain, and Rock n' Roller Coaster. I wasn't surprised Fury would win best new ride, however I was when Dive Bomber won best water ride. Europa won best park, again, which, even though is a great park, isn't as great as CP. Glad Schlitterbahn retained, because if it didn't, that would've made it worse. Yea. So, it clearly wasn't the best, and I'm hoping that next year MF can finally lose its #1 title, maybe change things up a bit, and the fact that CP is hosting next year could be a sign that they may win best park next year. Hoping for a good one!

[JonnyRCT3]

Every award, whether it be roller coasters, movies, music, art, is always caught up in politics. Everything is always overly-biased and based on a small group.

 

However, with that being said, the rides listed are still top-notch coasters. That is indisputable.

[larrygator]

The only thing that surprised me was that Cannibal didn't win best new attraction or at least come in the rankings.

This is where it is shown that Lagoon really is underrated. There is no possible way it shouldn't have been in the top five at least.

 

You need to understand how the rankings are done. Amusement Today done a great job of spreading voters across the country. However, there will still be a built in bias against coasters in out of the way places.

 

Not every enthusiast can ride every new coaster each year so those new coasters that are in high population and destination areas will generally do better in the best new attraction award. With that said, I'm really surprised at how well Ireland's wooden coaster did.

 

The biggest inconsistency to me is that Blackpool ends up in the Top 10 parks and than fails to win best seaside park.

[alpengeist04]

I smiled when I looked at that top 10 steel coaster list. I wouldn't put Nitro, Apollo's Chariot, or Intimidator on the top 10 B&M list let alone overall steel, but that's me.

[SFOGdude25]

One of the biggest things to note this year is how well Fury 325 placed in the best steel coaster category for its debut season. According to Tim Baldwin who was presenting these awards (I watched the live feed of the ceremony), it's the highest-rated debut coaster in the poll in 9 years. Something tells me that Fury may finally unseat Millennium Force and Superman as the #1 steel coaster in 1 or 2 years as more people ride it.

 

Now don't get me wrong. I'm fully aware of how biased the GTA's are, but like it or not, these awards really are considered the Academy Awards of the industry, and they give parks some free marketing and fun bragging rights, so for that I have a tiny amount of respect for Amusement Today just because of their high regard, but that's about it lol.

[rollin_n_coastin]

It's so strange. New Texas Giant, Powder Keg, Maverick and many more, are all so much better than every B&M on the top 10 list. The top three at least make some sense and it'll be great to have Superman back on the list next year once Bizarro finally goes away.

[gerstlaueringvar]

It's not paying enough attention to places outside of US. On top of my head I can think of so many incredible parks and attractions that weren't even mentioned yet! Even if Tokyo Disney Sea is not the winner, it deserves in the top 3; even if Kärnan isn't the best in the world, that reverse drop alone can make it in the best new ride list at least! There are Mystic Manor, Pooh's Honey Hunt, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Fastasmic TDS, Space Fantasy, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom's aquarium, Liseberg, Phantasialand, Port Aventura etc. All of them didn't get the attention they deserve.

 

Something like Mitch Hawker is very much needed!