2007 golden ticket awards theme park

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Vol. 11, Issue 6.2 SEPTEMBER 2007 $5.00

Amusement Today’s 2007 Golden Ticket AwardTim Baldwin

Amusement Today

P A R K S

SEE PAGE 3

R I D E S

SEE PAGE 19

P U B L I S H E R ’ S P I C K S

SEE PAGE 31

S T E E L C O A S T E R S

SEE PAGE 34

W O O D C O A S T E R

SEE PAGE 38

AT PHOTO/TIM B

Cedar Point makes it a complete decade of win

Amusement Today’s Best Park category.

Host Park

2007 Golden Ticket Awards

September 5, 2007

2007 WINNERBEST CAROUSEL and

BEST AMUSEMENT PARK FOO

THE PHOENIX VOTED # 3

TOP WOODEN

ROLLER

COASTER

Thank You for

ANOTHER GREAT YEAR!

Often called “The Oscarsof the Amusement Industry,”this year marks the 10th annualGolden Ticket Awards. Today, more than ever,amusement parks, theme

parks, and waterparks are alllooking to adapt to the chang-ing challenges in marketing tothe public’s quest for entertain-ment. As the culture, economy,and growth of countries aroundthe world evolve, so must theindustry. Parks are looking tohone and ne-tune the essen-tials in creating a great guestexperience. The Golden TicketAwards pause to acknowledgethe Best of the Best, as deter-mined by park enthusiasts fromaround the globe. Enthusiasts of our industryspend the bulk of their vacationtime and hard-earned cash totravel across the country andaround the world to experienceall there is to see in this won-derful industry. Challengedwith the daunting task of ratingeach park for its best qualities,this panel of experts forms acollective voice that no amountof research can truly surpass.Year after year, Amusement To-day is indebted to the hundredsof fans that contribute their in-

sights and expertise. Our staff,along with parks around theworld, thank each of these a-cionados for their time and sup-port. As the general public re-nes their tastes for their enter-tainment dollar, each park mustseek out to exceed their expec-tations. In so doing, the taskof nding the Best of the Best becomes a greater challengefor our experienced panel. The

harder it is for them to pinpointthe cream of the crop, the clear-er sign it is that the industry isindeed moving forward in theright direction in meeting andexcelling in customer satisfac-tion. Amusement Today salutes allthe parks around the world thatstrive each day to bring smilesto those that visit their facility,whether they be four years old,or 84...continue to take us to

GOLDEN TICKE

BONUS ISSUE


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2 AMUSEMENT TODAY GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS September 2007

All about the BUSINESS of FUN!

Gary Slade

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief [email protected]

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Amusement Today is an independent newspaper, published monthly by Amus Today Inc., P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas 76005. Presort Standard Postage (No. 2069) pre -paid at Fort Worth, Texas. The entire contents of this newspaperrelated Web sites are copyrighted by Amusement Today 2007, with all rights res

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AMUSEME NT TODAY STAFF

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AWARD WINNER1997 • 1999 • 2000 • 2002 • 2004

Tim Baldwin

The passion of the enthusiast

Baldwin

EDITORIAL

Promotion & competition

—Gary Slade

A common question arises each year about the Gold-en Ticket Awards balloting. How do I get my park to wina Golden Ticket?

Ask any of the winning parks and they will be therst to tell you it’s through hard work, dedication to whatthey do, and promotion. They promote to their own staff how important theGT Award is to the park and promote their park to thepublic that they are the Best of the Best. They also pro-mote their facility to the various enthusiasts’ clubs andorganizations, who are in many cases, the word-of-mouthfor this industry. Check out any Web-based newsgroup orchat room and you’ll quickly see how fast word-of-mouth

via the Web can spread. Competition is a good thing also. Amusement Todaysees many parks coming on strong in several categorieswhich will force even more competition among the parksin our industry. Win or lose, the park guest is the ulti-mate winner. Observations by the AT staff and calls made to the

AT ofces on 2006 parks indicate these facilities may bepoised for striking Gold very soon: •Cleanest Park: look for Morey’s Piers and Michi-gan’s Adventure to challenge. •Friendliest Park: Six Flags Great Adventure hasmade a huge turnaround here. •Best Landscaping in an Amusement Park; BuschGardens Europe has had a lock on this for years, but

don’t rule out sister park SeaWorld San Antonio fromchallenging from within. •Best Shows: Dollywood is getting ever closer to un-seating reigning champ Six Flags Fiesta Texas. •Best Wooden Coaster: Don’t be surprised to see SixFlags Great Adventure’s Intamin-built El Toro to continueto climb in the rankings. The bottom line is don’t rest on your past success,push your staff to continue to be the Best of the Best.

Both celebrated and tolerated bythe amusement industry, the passionof the park enthusiast is as deep asany hobbiest-type organization, butsomehow has its own special quali-ties. Not just a pastime of gatheringcollectibles around the house, thedrive behind amusement park fansnds them traveling to the furthestcorners of our great planet to nd and cher -ish everything the industry has to offer. I’mproud to be among this elite group of people. As a whole, enthusiasts contribute muchto the industry. Nowhere will you nd a

group of people with an assemblage of his-torical data, photos, artifacts, and park col-lections, often with the intent of preservingwhat we so dearly treasure within this in-dustry. Quite often it is easy to forget all thememories and accomplishments of our pastas we strive to move forward. Thankfully, theenthusiasts are there to remind us what hasmade this industry so special for more than acentury. In many respects, no one knows this in-dustry better. They see it all and are quite

often the biggest untapped sourinformation of what’s out there iworld of amusement parks - the and the bad. Lucky for Amusemeday , hundreds of dedicated fanwilling to share their opinions weach year. The Golden Ticket Aw just couldn’t happen without theand money invested by parks’ gr

fans. This publication will remain indebthem for their insight and expertise. It’s impossible for every enthusiast tit every park every year. If it were, I’d don my career to be on the bus, plane

each roller coaster right along with themwith our panel of experts residing all ovnation and in the countries beyond, I as I tabulate each point that we are sl but surely, seeing the Best of the Best. Wcontenders gain new exposure each sewaiting to be noticed. Take heart, the enasts will nd you. I know I can’t wait to each and every park myself. On behalf of park fans everywherethank the industry for making life bette


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September 2007 GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS AMUSEMENT TODA

A new category added to 2007 park winnerSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk joins Cedar Point, Schlitterbahn, Legoland and SeaWorld Orlando as Best Pa

Tim Baldwin Amusement Today

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, celebrating its 100th anniversary this sea-

son, is top pick in our newest category, Best Seaside Park.

PHOTO COURTESY SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK

Schlitterbahn’s unmatchable mix of attractions and riverside se

keep it the favorite among Golden Ticket voters.

PHOTO COURTESY SCHLITT

Legoland features coasters, exhibits, and attractions suited to the young-

er set and their families. It is voted Best Children’s Park.

PHOTO COURTESY LEGOLAND

The No. 1 Marine Life Park, SeaWorld Orlando, offers guests water rides

er coasters, beautiful landscaping, shows, animals, and of course, Sham

PHOTO COURTESY SEA

4See PARKS, pa

Santa Cruz Beach Board-walk has not only captured

the nostalgic ambience of atraditional seaside amuse-ment park, but they have alsotaken grasp of AT’s newestcategory, Best Seaside Park. Charles Caneld, presi-dent of the Beach Boardwalk beams of taking this inauguralaccolade, “We’re very honoredto be recognized as the BestSeaside Amusement Park. TheGolden Ticket Award is reallya great tribute to all of our

dedicated employees, pastand present, especially duringour centennial year.” Santa Cruz Beach Board-walk celebrates its 100th an-

niversary this season. In thesame year that Henry Fordcreated his rst Model T andcolor photography was in-vented, so also did Fred Swan-ton of the newly formed SantaCruz Beach Company startconstruction on a new casinoin 1907. One hundred yearslater, the Boardwalk is teem-ing with families enjoying aday on the colorful rides, the bright sand, or on a scenic sky

ride above the shore.Other nalists in this

category are Pleasure BeachBlackpool in England: Mo-rey’s Piers in New Jersey: Bel-mont Park at Mission Beach,California; and Kemah Board-walk in Texas. Belmont Park shares simi-lar qualities with its Californiacousin as both boast a 1920sPrior and Church wooden

coaster named Giant Dipper.Morey’s Piers is in the devel-oping stage of adding anoth-er wooden coaster in futureyears and Kemah Boardwalk

was nishing testing on itsnew Boardwalk Bullet wood-en coaster as this issue wentto press. Blackpool relocateda suspended looping coaster by Vekoma this season to in-crease their coaster count totwelve. Cedar Point makes a cleansweep, pulling in a tenth-year-in-a-row nab of Best Park. Theresort boasts numerous hotelproperties, a waterpark, and

the largest collection ofin one of the biggest parkerating on Planet Earth. John Hildebrandt, president and general

ager of Cedar Point exc“Ten years makes a ment. We’re very proud award, especially sincvoted on by people whknowledgeable about amment parks, people whothe midways and riderides.” Hildebrandt con“I have the Golden TAward for Best Park in mce. I look at it every da


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THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN! THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGA

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS AGAIN!

THANKS, AMUSEMENT TODAY, FOR NAMING US

#1 KIDS PARK FOUR YEARS IN A ROW.

LEGOLAND® California with more than 50 rides, shows and attractions is located in Carlsbad, 30 minutes north of San Diego. LEGO, LEGOLAND, the LEGO and LEGOLAND logos and the brick configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2007 The LEGO Group. LEGOLAND IS A PART OF THE MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS G

THANKS AGAIN!


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� � � � � � � �

�

� � �

Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Waterparks • Wildwood, NJ • 609-522-3900 • www.MoreysPiers.com

CongratulationsSanta Cruz andHoliday World.

We want a rematch.

Congratulations to our colleagues on being voted the best by Amusement Today.

They deserve recognition for a job well done.

In the spirit of American competition, we have a bold statement to make for 2008:

Visit us and we’re betting we’ll earn your vote f or Best Seaside Park and Cleanest Park.

Seeing is believing, so we invite y ou to take advantage of a special invitation.

Check out our website early next year for details.

www.MoreysPiers.com


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PARKSContinued from page 3

PHOTO COURTESY MOREY’S PIERS/DAN FEICHT

Morey’s invested a quarter-million dollars to update light-

ing on the Ferris wheel to help make the night special.

PHOTO BY MARK ROSE

Idlewild’s unique setting and kid-friendly rides make

great place for family visits and our No. 2 Children’s P

right next to the picture of mywife and sons. My plan is tokeep looking at it for a longtime to come.”

In addition to Cedar Point,Best Park nalists includeKnoebels, Pennsylvania; Is-lands of Adventure, Orlando;

Holiday World, Indiana; whileDisneyland, California, andPleasure Beach Blackpool, tiefor fth. Terri Adams, Chief Oper-ating Ofcer of SchlitterbahnWaterparks, responds to win-ning Best Waterpark for the10th year, “Every August wecross our ngers, hold our breath, and wait for the Gold-en Ticket results. Our teamgoes to great lengths to makesure we are offering the bestschlitterifc experience imag-inable and we take great pridein earning the Golden Ticketdistinction.” Adams beams,“We love sharing the newswith our park team, our com-munity and our guests, espe-cially this year since we’veachieved this honor for tenconsecutive years.” Other nalists include

Splashin’ Safari, Indiana insecond; Blizzard Beach, Orlan-do, in third; and a tie betweenTyphoon Lagoon, Orlando,and Noah’s Ark, Wisconsin, atfourth. SeaWorld Orlando nabsthe award for Best Marine LifePark, a category introducedlast year. The Orlando parkfeatures three roller coasters,numerous shows, a sky tower,a heavily themed water ume,gorgeous gardens, many ani-mals, and of course, the amaz-ing Shamu. On the heels of the Orlan-

do property are the two sisterSeaWorld parks located inSan Antonio and San Diego.The Texas facility makes an11 percent gain on its Orlando brethren this year. The newlynamed Six Flags DiscoveryKingdom takes fourth, andMarineland in Canada takesfth. Best Children’s Park istaken again by Legoland Cali-fornia. This beautifully land-scaped park is bustling withfamilies enjoying attractionsgeared toward a youngerage. Family style coasters,

Lego exhibits and interactiveattractions have made this apopular spot with those 12and under and our young-at-heart voters.

The second place nalistin this category is Idlewild,tucked away in Pennsylvania.Attractions such as Mr. RogersTrolley and the many larger-than-life storybook scenes allcomplement the mix of rides,activities and fun suitable forfamilies with younger chil-dren.

Farup Sommerland inDenmark is a new player in

this category. Many ovoters recently travelethis European treasureto be delighted by cou bouncy, jumpy, crawlinggle-inducing activities. Tin some family coasterster rides, and uniquerides, and Farup Sommemakes a great spot for ain Denmark to becomeagain.

Tied with Farup Somland for third is Pennsnia’s Sesame Place. MemKiddie Park in the Clevarea nishes the top ve


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September 2007 GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS AMUSEMENT TODAY

Park and Ride WinnersRanked by percentage of votes cast

Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 33%

Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 10%

Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 9%

Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 7%

Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. (tie) 6%

Pleasure Beach Blackpool Blackpool, England (tie) 6%

Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 5%

Busch Gardens Europe Williamsburg, Va. 4.5%

Europa Park Rust, Germany 4%

Magic Kingdom Orlando, Fla. (tie) 3%

Tokyo DisneySea Tokyo, Japan (tie) 3%

BEST PARK

BEST WATERPARK

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 45%Splashin’ Safari Santa Claus, Ind. 23%

Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla. 9%

Noah’s Ark Wisconsin Dells, Wis. (tie) 4%

Typhoon Lagoon Orlando, Fla. (tie) 4%

Legoland California Carlsbad, Calif. 51%

Idlewild Ligonier, Pa. 15%

Farup Sommerland Saltum, Denmark (tie) 7%

Sesame Place Langhorne, Pa. (tie) 7%

Memphis Kiddie Park Cleveland, Ohio 5%

BEST CHILDREN’S PARK

BEST MARINE LIFE PARK

SeaWorld Orlando Orlando, Fla. 57%

SeaWorld San Antonio San Antonio, Texas 26%

SeaWorld San Diego San Diego, Calif. 8%

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Vallejo, Calif. 6%

Marineland Ontario, Canada 3%

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Santa Cruz, Calif. 49%

Pleasure Beach Blackpool Blackpool, England 21%

Morey’s Piers Wildwood, N.J. 12%

Belmont Park San Diego, Calif. 4%

Kemah Boardwalk Kemah, Texas 3%

BEST SEASIDE PARK


Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 20%

Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 5%

Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 4%


Beech Bend Bowling Green, Ky. (tie) 3%

FRIENDLIEST PARK


Busch Gardens Europe Williamsburg, Va. 14%


Magic Kingdom Orlando, Fla. (tie) 6%


CLEANEST PARK

BEST SHOWS

Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa.

Epcot Orlando, Fla.

Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Busch Gardens Europe Williamsburg, Va.

Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo.

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls Islands of Adventure

Valhalla Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Splash Mountain Magic Kingdom

Popeye and Bluto’s...Barges Islands of Adventure

Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando

Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 29%


Busch Gardens Europe Williamsburg, Va. (tie) 8%

Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. (tie) 8%

Disney-MGM Orlando, Fla. 6%

BEST FOOD

BEST WATER RIDE (Park)

BEST WATERPARK RIDE

Master Blaster Schlitterbahn

Deluge Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Zoombabwe Splashin’ Safari

Bakuli Splashin’ Safari (t

Summit Plummet Blizzard Beach (t

BEST KIDS’ AREA

Kings Island Kings Mills, Ohio

Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla.

Carowinds Charlotte, N.C.

Idlewild Ligonier, Pa. (ti

Knott’s Berry Farm Buena Park, Calif. (ti

BEST LANDSCAPING (Park)

Busch Gardens Europe Williamsburg, Va.

Gilroy Gardens Gilroy, Calif.

Efteling Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands Epcot Orlando, Fla. (t

Busch Gardens Africa Tampa, Fla. (t

BEST LANDSCAPING (Waterpark)

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas

Typhoon Lagoon Orlando, Fla.

Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla.

Splashin’ Safari Santa Claus, Ind.

Dollywood’s Splash Country Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

BEST OUTDOOR NIGHT PRODUCTION

Epcot Orlando, Fla.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas

Disneyland Anaheim, Calif.

Disney-MGM Orlando, Fla.

Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio

BEST DARK RIDE

Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man Islands of Adventure

Haunted Mansion Knoebels Amusement Resort

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Disney-MGM

Indiana Jones...Forbidden Eye Disneyland

Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland

BEST HALLOWEEN EVENT

Knott’s Berry Farm Buena Park, Calif.

Universal Orlando Orlando, Fla.

Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa.

Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa.

Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio

BEST NEW RIDE FOR 2007 (Amusement Park)

Maverick Cedar Point 42%

Mystery Mine Dollywood 23%

Griffon Busch Gardens Europe 17%

Renegade Valleyfair! 5%

Troy Toverland 3%

BEST NEW RIDE FOR 2007 (Waterpark)

Bakuli Splashin’ Safari 4

Deluge Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom 3

Brainwash Wet’n Wild Orlando 1

East Coast Waterworks Hersheypark/Boardwalk

Poseidon’s Rage Mt. Olympus


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Courteous staff, landscaping and food add to guest experienHoliday World, Busch Gardens Europe, Schlitterbahn, Knoebels all repeat winners


Visitors to Busch Gardens Europe are always taken back by the park’s

beautiful landscaping.

PHOTO COURTESY BUSCH GARDENS

Value, flavor and satisfaction is a Knoebels winning

mula for Best Food.

PHOTO COURTESY KN

Friendly faces and smiles are shared between Ho

World staff and their visitors.

PHOTO COURTESY HOLIDAY

A commitment to cleanliness has become well-known to

Holiday World’s employees and guests.

PHOTO COURTESY HOLIDAY WORLD

It’s certainly debatablethat a park experience is allabout the rides. But withfurther examination, it takesmore on the part of the parkto truly create a day that sur-passes the expectations of theguest. Courteous employeescan help bring the messageof “welcome” home to eachguest and family. HolidayWorld has had a long lock on

this category. AT asked WillKoch, president and generalmanager, what the park doesto get their hosts and host-esses to be so friendly. “Wesend Pat Koch into the park,”he smiles. “We also respect them,listen to them, give them thetools they need to do their jobs, ask them to perform ata high level and expect themto perform at a high level,”Koch continues. “Lead byexample.” Those nal wordsmay just be the key to Holi-day World’s winning formula.

All these attributes can easilytransfer to the park’s win ofCleanest, along with Friendli-est. Other nalists in the

Friendliest Park category areDollywood in a strong secondplace, along with Knoebels,Silver Dollar City, Disney-land, and Beech Bend. For Cleanest Park, BuschGardens Europe, Disneyland,Magic Kingdom, and Dolly-wood, take second throughfth respectively. Beautiful foliage can beappreciated by every age.Two Busch properties are -nalists, with Williamsburg being top pick again. Othersinclude Gilroy Gardens, Eftel-

ing, and Epcot. Making their waterparkslook beautiful, Schlitterbahn,Typhoon Lagoon, BlizzardBeach, Splashin’ Safari, and

Dollywood’s Splash Countryget top nods from our voters. A day in a park can’t beaccomplished without stop-ping to eat. Often this is atreat, while at some parks it’sa chore, usually due to slowlines or high cost. Knoebels has long foundfavor with park visitors for both taste, price, and quality.The Best Food Golden Ticketstays rmly in their hands. Other nalists includethe vast offerings by Epcot’sWorld Showcase, Dollywood’s

and Silver Dollar City’s homecookin’, and Busch GardensEurope’s quality meals. All these ingredients helpmake each visit more special.

Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels treats tubers to a beautiful and sh

atmosphere.

PHOTO COURTESY SCHLITT


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It takes 4,500 cubic yards of

mulch (enough to cover 35

football fields), 150,000 annuals

80,000 tulips, 4,000 chrysanthemum

and 700 “container” gardens. Not t

mention more than two dozen

landscape artists who spend six hou

every day pruning, planting and

weeding (all by hand). And did we

mention the tens of thousands of

beneficial bugs, like ladybugs, that

are released into the park every year

to help keep our gardens pristine?

As you can tell, we’re quite proud o

our landscaping excellence. And

we’re honored that you recognized

our efforts.


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It’s Showtime!Six Flags Fiesta Texas takes Best Show category; Epcot’s Illumination wins

Best Outdoor Night Show Production; Knott’s Berry Farm takes back Best Halloween EveTim Baldwin

Amusement Today

Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ dedication for outstanding show talent takes the Golden Tic

PHOTO COURTESY SIX FLAGS FIEST

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is a must-see for every Epcot visitor.

PHOTO COURTESY WDWEverybody scream!! Knott’s Scary Farm has been giving

fun-lovers the shivers for 35 years.

PHOTO COURTESY KNOTT’S BERRY FARM

In a hard fought duel with

Dollywood, Six Flags FiestaTexas retains its grasp on theGolden Ticket for Best Shows. Many people know thatFiesta Texas was built in 1992 by Opryland folk with an em-phasis on shows. Over theyears and through the chang-ing hands of ownership, thepark struck a balance of livelyshows, thrilling rides, and wa-terpark fun. It became clear tothe new owners that the his-tory of show quality neededto be maintained. Our votersagree that it has.

“To retain this prestigiousaccomplishment for nine yearsis obviously quite a feat!” saysMartin Bozer, park presidentand general manager. “I amconstantly amazed that eachyear our entertainment castseems to outperform pro-ductions from even the prioryear.” In acknowledging thepark’s commitment to shows,Bozer adds, “We’re well awareour guests visit us not only forthrilling rides, but the best,most innovative, cutting-edgeshow product...and we intendto continue that tradition.”

One of Fiesta Texas’ new-est bragging rights is theirmajor Halloween production,Monster Mash Bash. For thosespecial nights, close to 30 mu-sicians, singers, and dancerscaptivate audiences of be-tween four and ve thousandpeople with an elaborate,rocking concert production.It is the highlight of any guestwho visits during the park’sannual Fright Fest. Dollywood came in at aclose second to Fiesta Texasthis year. Shared with DollyParton’s love for performing,a full day’s line up of showsduring a visit to Dollywoodawaits each guest. Pete Ow-

ens, public relations manag-er for Dollywood, explains,“When Dolly Parton is theowner of your theme park,the commitment to high qual-ity show product is extremelyimportant. Large productionshows are who we are andwhat we’re about.” That commitment to showquality is shared by sister parkSilver Dollar City in Branson,which holds the number fourspot with our panel, withBusch Gardens Europe andDisney-MGM completingour top ve nalists for Best

Shows. If ducking into a showcan rejuvenate the soul fromthe summer heat or miles ofwalking, a nighttime showproduction can be the pro-verbial icing on the cake to a

great day in the park. Epcot’s Illuminationscontinues to dazzle our panel.Filled with lasers, lights, re,projections, and more, this -nale completes a day at Epcotand remains a must-see forany visitor.

Fiesta Texas’ long-lovedLone Star Spectacular comesin second, while Disney on both coasts take the third andfourth place spot with Fantas-mic!, and Cedar Point’s Hot

Summer Lights complettop ve. Halloween is big bufor parks these days. In ing tug-of-war, Knott’s Farm and Universal goit again, with Knott’s “eing out the win for 2007 Kennywood’s PhaFright Nights takes with its park-wide Hallomakeover, and KnoebelCedar Point round out tnalists with their festiva


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That’s hot! That rocks!

We just can’t make up our minds what to say

about winning two Golden Ticket Awards.

B OUD NH SH PDU

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at Epcot ®

B ID RLL C

Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster ® Starring Aerosmith at Disney-MGM Studios

anks, Amusement Today !

©Disney


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Go for a ride!Universal’s IOA takes top honors in Dark Ride and Water Ride; Schlitterbahn boast

Best Waterpark Ride; Kings Island keeps record with Best Kids’ Area

Like the movies, Spider-Man brings in thousands of thrill-seekers for the

top-rated Best Dark Ride.

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO

Dudley-Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls keeps Islands of Adventure guests la

ing, screaming, and cooled off.

Schlitterbahn’s Master Blaster maintains a top rating for Best Waterpark

Ride for 2007.

PHOTO COURTESY SCHLITTERBAHN

Kentucky Kingdom’s new Deluge features brand new magnetic tec

ogy to propel riders uphill and the new ride into second place.

PHOTO COURTESY SFKK/DAN

4See RIDES, pa

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS O

Outside of roller coasters, the two favorite categoriesfor our panel to vote for are Best Water Ride and BestDark Ride. These two categories list more nomineesthan any other category in our Park and Ride Winnerlist. Such rides are so ingrained into a classic park experi-ence, it is no wonder that our experts have found favor-ites around the world. Maintaining its dominance of Best Dark Ride is Is-lands of Adventure’s Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. This multi-sensory ride takes riders through a breathless escapade that involves physical stunts withinthe vehicle, three-dimensional visuals, pyrotechnics,and illusory effects such as a disorienting multi-story fallfrom a sky scraper. Spider-Man has captured this billingevery year Amusement Today has featured the category inthe Golden Ticket Awards.

Another fan favorite is Knoebels’ Haunted Mansion.More of a traditional dark ride, Knoebels keeps their ver-sion in top form with classic and newer stunts to keepguests laughing and screaming.

Other favorites include Disney’s Twilight Zone

Tower of Terror in Orlando and the adventurouana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye aneyland in California. Disneyland’s Pirates of the bean rounds out the top ve for 2007. These three Dattractions are known for their elaborate sets and ing theming. Ironically, as dark rides go, this Disnranges from its most thrilling to the rather genteel Once again, IOA also nds Dudely Do-Rightsaw Falls taking Best Water Ride. Built by Mack anurated with tongue-in-cheek theming, corny jokesplashy effects, Universal has a real crowd pleaserit comes to cooling people off with this attraction. Gmight nd simply listening to the comical soundrounding the ride to be totally entertaining. Ride joy a humorous storyline as their log travels thro


20/48


RIDESContinued from page 19

Kings Islands’ No. 1 Kids’ area features three coaster

numerous rides for kids and families.

AT PHOTO/TIM B

The whimsical world of Dr. Seuss comes to life in the chil-

dren-friendly area at Islands of Adventure.

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO

cartoon-inspired landscape.

Other nalists includeBlackpool’s Valhalla, also built by Mack. Valhalla takes ridersthrough a dark thematic expe-rience indoors which includesnumerous effects and a wet out-come. (Rain capes are for saleprior to boarding.)

Rounding out the top ve -nalists are three attractions fromOrlando - Splash Mountainat the Magic Kingdom, IOA’s Jurrasic Park River Adventure,and SeaWorld’s Journey to At-lantis. All three of these attrac-tions boast extensive themingand numerous visuals, not tomention thrilling drops locatedfor park guests to enjoy beingspectators. In the waterpark division,Best Waterpark Ride sees a newplayer making a charge againstlong-standing champion MasterBlaster, Schlitterbahn’s massive

uphill water coaster. Comingin second to Master Blaster thisyear is the new-for-2007 Delugeat Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.Deluge’s unique electro-mag-netic uphill sections make thiswater coaster unique to any-thing else ever built. Jay Thomas, president ofKentucky Kingdom says, “Del-uge has become a crowd favor-ite. Our park guests have repeat-edly remarked how much theyenjoy this family water ride. It’sthe perfect blend of thrills andchills and we could not be hap-pier with this innovative water

coaster designed specically forus by ProSlide.” Still, remaining at the top ofthe list is Schlitterbahn’s MasterBlaster, the park’s signature at-traction.

Scott Connor, enthusiastand frequent visitor to Schlit-terbahn says, “Master Blasterhas such an imposing pres-ence when you enter the park.Sometimes it’s fun to just watchpeople riding it, listening tothem scream.” Connor adds,“It’s always where I start when Ivisit Schlitterbahn. It’s the wild-est kick-in-the pants waterslide

you’ll ever ride. And the wettest,too! A total blast!” Finishing up the category isSplashin’s Safari’s multi-persondark mammoth slide Zoomba- bwe, built by ProSlide, in third;as well as Splashin’ Safari’s newBakuli tying with Disney’s Sum-mit Plummet at Blizzard Beachin fourth place. Kings Island has maintainedits proven formula for Best Kids’Area. Fueled by Nickelodeoncharacters and Hanna-Barberaclassics, the area features threecoasters that parents can ridewith their children, as well as a

log ume themed to TheThornberrys and many rilections scaled down just fyounger ones. Dr. Seuss comes to Islands of Adventure. Thidren’s area based on the wacky books of this belovthor rates second with our treasured for its creativity.

Completing the top our Golden Ticket categoCarowinds in third and a fourth between IdlewildKnott’s Berry Farm. —Tim Bal


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Certain Golden Ticket Awards get a rotating form Each year, a few categories go into a rotationwhile newer ones are introduced. The 2007 edi-tion sees the return of three categories not seensince 2004.

It is often said that if the roller coasteris the King of the Midway, then a carousel isits heart. Carousels are treasured for variousaspects including nostalgia, beauty, and creativ-ity. Our finalists for Best Carousel exemplify

these attributes. Knoebels and Santa Cruz bothoffer guests the opportunity to reach out andgrab the brass ring in a throwback to yester-year. Knoebels takes top prize in this category.Atlanta’s gorgeous preservation of Riverview’smajestic carousel brings it in third, Islands ofAdventure showcases a touch of whimsy withtheir Car-o-Suessel in fourth place, and Six FlagsGreat America’s double decker rounds out thetop five.

Roller coasters are always the favorite cat-

egory for our voters. This year, indoor favreceive their own category and it was away battle for top billing. Just edging first place win was Disney-MGM’s Aeroscharged Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. Barely bthat ranking was a tie for second with Reof the Mummy on the Florida coast and Mountain on the California coast. Florida’s Mountain follows and Kennywood’s rat-th

Exterminator rounds out the five finalists.One of our more challenging categor

one of the industry’s fastest growing pro- indoor waterparks. West Edmonton famous World Waterpark rises to the tthis category. The new Schlitterbahn Galvcomes in second with its convertible capabMany ties for third and fifth showcase prties in Sandusky, Ohio; Wisconsin DellsEngland.

—Tim Bal

Golden Ticket survey ballots defined by region

1

23

4

5 – International Surveys

From its inception in

1998, Amusement Today hascontinued to seek out thewell-traveled enthusiast andpark afficianado. In an effortto keep the Golden TicketAward survey balanced andas fair as possible, the UnitedStates is divided into fourgeographical regions and anequal number of survey bal-lots were sent to each region.In addition, several interna-tional participants also tookthe survey. Amusement Today isextremely indebted to thehundreds of kind people

who took the time, effort, andthought into completing thesurvey and returning it to AT .Their expertise is not onlyappreciated, but also theirkindness. Any well-traveled enthu-siasts who wish to be consid-ered for the 2008 survey cancontact us by email at [email protected] by postal mail. AmusementToday is eagerly interested inexpanding our internationalparticipants.

Three-year format awardsBEST CAROUSELKnoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 40%Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Santa Cruz, Calif. 18%Six Flags Over Georgia Atlanta, Ga. 8%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 5%Six Flags Great America Gurnee, Ill. 4%

BEST INDOOR ROLLER COASTERRock ’n’ Roller Coaster Disney-MGM 17%Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios Florida (tie) 16%

Space Mountain Disneyland (tie) 16%Space Mountain Magic Kingdom 13%Exterminator Kennywood 8%

BEST INDOOR WATERPARKWorld Waterpark West Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 18%Schlitterbahn Galveston Galveston, Texas 12%Castaway Bay Sandusky, Ohio (tie) 10%Kalahari Sandusky, Ohio (tie) 10%Great Wolf Lodge Sandusky, Ohio (tie) 6%Kalahari Wisconsin Dells, Wis. (tie) 6%Splash Landings/Alton Towers Staffordshire, England (tie) 6%

PHOTO COURTESY KNOEBELS

Knoebels’ Grand Carousel allows guests to grab

for the brass ring.

PHOTO COURTESY WDW RESORT

Fueled by an Aerosmith soundtrack, Disney’s Rock ‘n’

Roller Coaster creates a concert atmosphere indoors.

AT PHOTO/TIM B

World Waterpark at West Edmonton Mall d

ers splashy fun year round.


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westedmontonmall.com

I l


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2007 Best New Rides go to Cedar Point, Splashin’ SafaTim Baldwin

Amusement Today

PHOTO COURTESY DAN FEICHT

Cedar Point’s new Maverick takes thrill-seekers on a 70

mph launched and looping wild ride.

PHOTO COURTESY HOLIDAY WORLD/DA

Groups of four at a time swirl down Bakuli, a massive

ride, new at Splashin’ Safari.

4See NEW RIDES, pag

Forrec is proud to have

played a key role in thedesign of Mystery Mine®,Dollywood’s® stunning

new dark ride attraction.

CONGRATULATIONSDOLLYWOOD®& HERSCHENDFAMILY ENTERTAINMENT®!

2007 Golden Ticket Award WinnerSilver Award, Best New Ride for:

MYSTERY MINE®

Even before the year of-cially begins, a “buzz” centersaround what new rides areopening for the upcoming sea-son. Once announcements are

made, mental plans are madeto travel to the must-get-to at-tractions debuting ahead. The sought-after ridesusually have a unique edge tothem. It may be height, nov-elty, theming, or the rst of itskind.

Roller coasters are the big-gest draw for an amusementpark. Guests immediatelyidentify with what a coasteris and what thrills they mightexperience. Our top two con-tenders this year are Maverickat Cedar Point and MysteryMine at Dollywood.

Contrary to Cedar Point’sprotocol of building the tallestand fastest of whichever typethey’ve purchased, 2007 sawthe park going in a whole newdirection. Maverick scarcelytops out over 100 feet, but ifthat sounds rather tame, thinkagain. An LSM-powered lift

whisks short trains to its apexonly to have riders plunged ata beyond-vertical 95-degreeangle. What follows is chaoson rails as Maverick darts anddashes close to the ground on

a runaway excursion completewith negative-g hills, smoothinversions, and enough direc-tional changes to make any-one lost. Midway through theride, buckaroos are blasted at70 mph from a railroad tunnelto complete a second half ofwild maneuvers.

Mystery Mine, Dolly-wood’s thematic masterpiecewas the rst U.S. Euroghterstyle coaster from Gerstlauer.Not to be content with sucha simple bragging right, the

Tennessee themer investedover $10 million in theming,making it a stunning work ofart even to those guests not brave enough to dare a spin.

Pete Owens, public re-lations manager, says, “It’sour own version of Tower ofTerror!” While journeying

through the involved story-line, coaster riders climb twovertical lifts, are surprised bytwo 95-degree drops, and zipthrough some wild acrobat-ics.

Our other coaster nal-ists include Busch Gardens’new Griffon, which brings theoorless aspect to its amazingten-across seating. Griffon isa 200 feet diving coaster fromB&M. Great Coasters Interna-tional round out the top vewith Valleyfair’s Renegade,

featuring an S-shapeddrop and Troy, their laproject to date tucked over in The Netherlands In the waterpark Holiday World’s captu

enthusiasts let them eence the new Bakuli, a mafour-person behemoth from ProSlide. Bakuli foHoliday World’s trenadding attractions that a high capacity, therefoducing their guests’ wai


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NEW RIDESContinued from page 26

AT PHOTO/SCOTT RUTHERFORD

Dollywood’s new Mystery Mine allows guests to experi-

ence several surprises during its storyline.

PHOTO COURTESY SFKK/DA

Deluge at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom uses LIM tec

ogy to give a roller coaster style ride.

in line. Cleverly, Bakuli has

an observation platform builtright above the bowl to allowfriends and family to waveand take pictures. Six Flags Kentucky King-dom’s Deluge wowed thosewho had a chance to ride itwith its unique technology.Almost by mysterious force,electromagnetic power tookriders up and down overwaterslide hills. The color-ful new attraction offers bigdrops, high capacity, and fourperson in-line seating thatgives the back rider pops of

airtime. Coming in third place isWet’n Wild’s new Brain Wash,a ProSlide Tornado with atwist. Totally unique is its en-closure of the funnel, packedwith sound and visual imagesto make a signature experi-

ence compared with similarinstallations.

Fourth place goes to EastCoast Waterworks, part ofHersheypark’s new section,The Boardwalk. This giant in-teractive playstructure has acapacity for 1,000 people.

Mt. Olympus Water andTheme Park rounds out thetop ve with Poseidon’sRage, their new wave pooldesigned to generate nine-foot waves. Built by White-water, Poseidon’s Rage is thesecond wave pool Mt. Olym-

pus offers its guests, coin at a price tag of $7 mThe park has the capabiadjusting the wave heigcreate actual surng cotition when swimmers been cleared. Radical du4MORE FINALISTS, pa


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ENTERTAINMENT VALUE CAPACITY LEADERSHIPSAFETY PERFORMANCEINNOVATION

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All Top 3 "BEST NEW WATERPARK RIDES"from the same company!

ProSlide Technology Inc.(Another waterpark industry-first.)

Congratulations to

Holiday World

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

and Wet’n Wild Orlando

on your Golden Ticket Awards

And, thank you from ProSlide

for your continued support

We pour on the

www.ProSlide.com

NNOOTT A A LLLL WW A A TTEERR RRIIDDEESS A A RREE CCRREE A A TTEEDD EEQQUU A A LL TT MM . . . . . . ..(It bears repeating...) ProSlide is the trusted forerunner in innovative water ride developmen

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30/48


AT PHOTO/GARY SLADE

Griffon combined two aspects of B&M’s catalog

- the diving machine and the floorless coaster,

all within a 200-ft. drop.

PHOTO COURTESY WET’N WILD

While ProSlide’s Tornado funnels are seen

throughout the industry, no one matches Wet’n

Wild for their high-tech visuals placed inside.

PHOTO COURTESY TERRY LIND

GCII’s Renegade sports an S-shaped first drop

not seen in any of their previous designs. The

coaster debuted at Valleyfair this season.

PHOTO COURTESY HERSHEYPARK

East Coast Waterworks is one of the most dra-

matic new components to Hersheypark’s new

Boardwalk section.

PHOTO COURTESY RENE SE

Troy, built at Toverland in the Netherlan

GCII’s biggest project to date. Its July ope

still attracted voters under the wire.

PHOTO COURTESY MT. O

Poseidon’s Rage, Mt. Olympus’ new wave

is the second largest wave pool in the na

capable of generating nine-foot waves.


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Park, individual, supplier each recipients of 2007 Publisher’s Pi

PHOTO COURTESY DOLLYWOOD

Natural landscaping aids in the beauty that is

Dollywood, a theme park that steps back in

time to themes without cartoons or movies.

PHOTO COURTESY HERSHEYPARK

The Milton Hershey School is a private, coeduca-

tional home and school for children from fami-

lies in financial and social need.

National Ticket Company celebrates its 1

anniversary this year thanks to the hard

and dedication of its entire staff, shown he

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONA

Carefully thought

out theming makesDollywood special

Milton S. Hershey, the

man behind a town, park and school

100 years strong,

National Ticket Co.not slowing down

Dolly

PartonMilton

Hershey

Since 1986, visitors fromaround the world have becomewell acquainted with the Dol-lywood name and experience.However, the entertainmentpark actually traces its roots back to 1961 when Rebel Rail-road rst opened on the sitethat, over time, expanded andgrew into Dollywood. Rebel Railroad was asmall-scale attraction operated by the Robbins Brothers from neighboring NorthCarolina. The ve-mile long Rebel Railroad featureda coal-red steam train named Klondike Katie, a gen-eral store, a blacksmith shop and a saloon for visitorsto enjoy. The Robbins Brothers had created a winningformula. That formula led to ownerships by Art Modellof the Celevland Browns, then to Jack and Pete Her-schend of Silver Dollar City fame. In 1986, the Her -schend brothers soon welcomed a much-loved andrecognizable East Tennessee superstar to the parkwhen Dolly Parton joined the family in the themepark business, lending not only her childhood mem-ories for future ride development, but her name aswell, for the park’s rebranding into Dollywood. Today, Dollywood’s carefully thought out them-ing of everything from rides to it’s buildings and

shops make this theme park a special park to visit.No cartoon or movie themes are needed here to tella story or entertain its guests. After all, isn’t that thepurpose of the theme park, to entertain its gueststhrough theming? Dollywood does it right, and forthat, they are selected as AT’s Park of the Year.

From the moment he laidout his community, Milton S.Hershey planned to build apark, making an early commit-ment to create a more pleasantenvironment for workers andresidents than the typical fac-tory town of the time. Even though Hershey’sMennonite mother thoughthis idea was frivolous, he pro-ceeded to survey a site alongSpring Creek in 1903. On April 24, 1907, HersheyPark opened; a baseball game was played on theathletic eld. Milton Hershey and his wife, Cath-erine, watched the game from the grandstand. Hershey Park’s original appeal was its simplic-ity. An ideal spot for picnicking, boating and canoe-ing, the park was landscaped with graceful treesand wooded groves that provided a shady retreatfor thousands of people without being crowed. Thepark’s rst ride, a merry-go-round opened on July 4,1908. His vision for the town did not stop with thepark. Unable to have children of his own, MiltonHershey established the Milton Hershey SchoolTrust, whose sole beneciary is the 1909-foundedMilton Hershey School, a private, coeducationalhome and school for 1,600 children from families

in nancial and social need. All expenses for thechildren are provided free of charge to enrolled stu-dents. Today, as Hersheypark and the Hershey’sChocolate Kiss celebrates its 100th anniversaries, AT salutes our Person of the Year , Milton S. Hershey.

After 100 years,paper tickets are stillselling strong. But that’s notkeeping NationalTicket Companyfrom sitting still asthe company celebrates its 100th anniversaryyear. The company is in the early stages of ginto the radio frequency identication techncalled RFID. They are already offering wristband soon will be offering paper and plastic ca Still yet, the tradition and achievements restrong in a company that was founded in 19 brothers Alphonsus E., William A. and John J.way along with a local clothing merchant NicR. Ludes in Shamokin, Pa. The four were equalners in the company. Today, offspring of the orfounders still work for the company. In 1938, National Ticket became the rstpany in the area to provide life insurance covfor its workers. Five years later it added healthaccident coverage. The company has also rewed employees for their loyalty and hard work benets, competitive wages and annual celebrwhich started in the mid-1930s. With a worldwide customer base in exc5,000 customers, National Ticket Company co

ues to meet the needs of its long time amuseand entertainment customers, and new onwell. Congratulations to National Ticket Comon 100 years of outstanding ticketing servicechoice for Supplier of the Year.


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Hold On!Six Flags New England’s Superman repeats as Best Steel Coaste


Superman Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England shows its

strength by holding on to the No. 1 position on our charts.

PHOTO COURTESY SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

AT PHOTO/TIM BALDWIN AT PHOTO/TIM BAT PH OTO/GARY SLAD E P HOTO COURTESY BUS CH G ARDEN S EUROPE

The top five features Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure, Apollo’s Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe, and Magnu

Cedar Point. Intamin and B&M both boast two coasters in the top five, as well as a historical favorite by Arrow.

There was a time whensteel coasters were a rarity. To-

day, they outnumber woodencoasters almost ten-to-one. Returning as our top per-former, Superman Ride ofSteel at Six Flags New Eng-land soars to the top of the list.Built by Intamin and knownfor an amazing amount ofnegative-g’s, Superman ismany a thrill-seeker’s truehero. Also by Intamin, CedarPoint’s famous MillenniumForce, the rst coaster to top300 feet, easily takes the number two spot. Climbing a notch, SixFlags Great Adventure ndsNitro moving upward into thethird place position this year.Built by B&M, Nitro climbs toa height of 230 feet. Nitro’s cousin, Apollo’sChariot, also built by B&M,raises a notch on our charts,as well. Coming in at fourthplace, Busch Gardens Eu-rope’s hyper coaster is a fanfavorite at this wonderfullythemed park. Magnum XL-200 com-pletes our top ve. Magnumhas enjoyed an immense pop-

ularity since its debut in 1989, breaking the 200-foot barrierfor the rst time. Its creationcaused American CoasterEnthusiasts to coin the term,“hyper coaster” for a rideof this statistical dimension.Magnum started a wave ofsuch coasters built through-out the world in the 1990s. Expedition GeForce is thehighest rated coaster in all ofEurope. Built by Intamin andcherished for its deliciousairtime, Expedition GeForcends its home at Holiday Parkin Germany. Featured in our top tenare Phantom’s Revenge atKennywood, Goliath at SixFlags over Georgia, Top ThrillDragster from Cedar Point,and Montu at Busch GardensAfrica. Three new-for-2007 coast-ers fought their way onto thecharts this year. The high-est performer is Maverick,Intamin’s launched 95-degreecoaster at Cedar Point. Oper-ating with six trains, Maver-ick makes for a scenic “wow”

for spectators as ridersover a lagoon between sing geysers. Maverick’pressive debut is at nu14. Griffon, the new o

coaster from B&M chanumber 27 for Busch GaEurope, and Mystery Dollywood’s amazing stlauer coaster paired Forrec’s outstanding theappears at the number 4sition. Seven international ers nd places on our cthis year. Along with dition GeForce in theten, the lists include: Tower’s Nemesis (NoEngland; Walabi’s G(No. 29) Belgium; La RoGoliath (No. 37), CaBlackpool’s Big One (NoEngland; Galaxyland’s M bender (No. 48), CanadaMiribilandia’s Katun (NItaly. The oldest coasters osteel list are a pair of Schzkopfs built in 1978. Bender at Six Flags Georgia and Shock WaSix Flags Over Texas havlost their fan base, spoting that excellence nevergoes out of style. Bothebrate 30th anniversari2008.


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PARK YEAR POINTS

Superman Ride of Steel

Millennium Force

Nitro

Apollo’s Chariot

Magnum XL-200

Expedition Ge-Force

Phantom’s Revenge

Goliath

Top Thrill Dragster

Montu

Ride of Steel

Raging Bull

Maverick

Nemesis

Superman Ride of Steel

SheiKra

X

Alpengeist

Raptor

Steel Force

Kumba

Mind Bender

Dueling Dragons

Goliath

Xcelerator

2000

2000

2001

1999

1989

2001

2001

2006

2003

1996

1999

1999

2007

1994

2000

2005

2002

1997

1994

1997

1993

1978

1999

2000

2002

Six Flags New England

Cedar Point

Six Flags Great Adventure

Busch Gardens Europe

Cedar Point

Holiday Park

Kennywood

Six Flags Over Georgia

Cedar Point

Busch Gardens Africa

Darien Lake

Six Flags Great America

Cedar Point

Alton Towers

Six Flags America


Six Flags Magic Mountain


Cedar Point

Dorney Park



Islands of Adventure


Knott’s Berry Farm

1181

1083

733

616

589

542

439

392

372

309

255

249

220

219

219

208

198

183

170

167

165

149

140

130

130

LOCATION

Agawam, Mass.

Sandusky, Ohio

Jackson, N.J.

Williamsburg, Va.

Sandusky, Ohio

Hassloch, Germany

West Mifflin, Pa.

Atlanta, Ga.

Sandusky, Ohio

Tampa, Fla.

Darien Center, N.Y.

Gurnee, Ill.

Sandusky, Ohio

Staffordshire, England

Largo, Md.

Tampa, Fla.

Valencia, Calif.

Williamsburg, Va.

Sandusky, Ohio

Allentown, Pa.

Tampa, Fla.

Atlanta, Ga.

Orlando, Fla.

Valencia, Calif.

Buena Park, Calif.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14 (tie)

14 (tie)

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24 (tie)

24 (tie)

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

Intamin

Intamin

B & M

B & M

Arrow

Intamin

Morgan/Arrow

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Arrow

B & M

B & M

Morgan

B & M

Schwarzkopf

B & M

Giovanola

Intamin

The List2007 TOP 50 STEEL ROLLER COASTERS


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PARK YEAR POINT

Titan

Griffon

Volcano

Goliath

Incredible Hulk Coaster

Kingda Ka

Big Bad Wolf

Expedition Everest

PowderKeg

Shock Wave

Superman Krypton Coaster

Goliath

Storm Runner

Mamba

Kraken

Tatsu

Top Gun the Jet Coaster

Medusa

The Big One

Revenge of the Mummy

Steel Eel

Mystery Mine

Mindbender

California Screamin’

Katun

2001

2007

1998

2002

1999

2005

1984

2006

2005

1978

2000

2006

2004

1998

2000

2006

1999

1999

1994

2004

1999

2007

1985

2001

2000

Six Flags Over Texas


Kings Dominion

Walabi World

Islands of Adventure



Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Silver Dollar City


Six Flags Fiesta Texas

La Ronde

Hersheypark

Worlds of Fun

SeaWorld Orlando


Carowinds


Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Universal Studios Florida

SeaWorld San Antonio

Dollywood

Galaxyland

Disney’s California Adventure

Mirabilandia

119

106

104

95

89

87

84

84

84

81

80

76

75

66

64

63

63

57

56

49

47

45

43

42

41

LOCATION

Arlington, Texas

Williamsburg, Va.

Doswell, Va.

Flevo, The Netherlands

Orlando, Fla.

Jackson, N.J.

Williamsburg, Va.

Orlando, Fla.

Branson, Mo.

Arlington, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Hershey, Pa.

Kansas City, Mo.

Orlando, Fla.

Valencia, Calif.

Charlotte, N.C.

Jackson, N.J.

Blackpool, England

Orlando, Fla.

San Antonio, Texas

Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Anaheim, Calif.

Savio, Italy

26

27

28

29

30

31

32 (tie)

32 (tie)

32 (tie)

35

36

37

38

39

40

41 (tie)

41 (tie)

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

Giovanola

B & M

Intamin

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

Arrow

Vekoma/WED Imag.

S & S

Schwarzkopf

B & M

B & M

Intamin

Morgan

B & M

B & M

B & M

B & M

Arrow

Premier/Universal

Morgan

Gerstlauer/Forrec

Schwarzkopf

Intamin

B & M

The List2007 TOP 50 STEEL ROLLER COASTERS

Corporate Graphics, Inc.

Proud designers of the

Golden Ticket Awards

2016 E. Randol Mill, Suite 402 • Arlington, TX 76011 • 817-265-4651

Posters • Flyers • POP Materials • Ads • Publications • 3-D and traditional illustration • Logos

CORPORATEGRAPHICSINC


38/48


The tradition of wood!Holiday World’s Voyage takes over new spot as Best Wooden Coaster

The Voyage at Holiday World sets an Amusement Today record for the most points ever

cast for a roller coaster.

AT PHOTO/TIM BALDWIN

PHOTO COURTESY JOEL STYER PHOTO COURTESY KNOEBELS PHOTO COURTESY LAKE COMPOUNCE AT PHOTO/GAR

Left to right, holding positions in the list of top five wooden coasters are Thunderhead at Dollywood, Phoenix at Knoebels, Boulder Dash at L

Compounce, and Hades at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park.

4See WOOD, pa

According to the onlinecensus of American Coaster

Enthusiasts this summer, therewere 180 wooden coasters inthe world. To make it onto ourchart of top 50 can sometimes be an aggressive struggle, par-ticularly at the lower end where just a matter of points, or even asingle point, can help a coaster jockey for position. Points were not a problemfor the new number one wood-en roller coaster. The Voyage atHoliday World triggers an up-set in our entire top ve listing.Ironically, Dollywood’s vener-able Thunderhead garneredeven more points this year thanit did last year in the numberone spot, but The Voyage cameon by storm, setting a recordfor the number of points evertabulated for a roller coaster inGolden Ticket history. Paula Werne, HolidayWorld’s director of public rela-tions, recalls General ManagerWill Koch’s impression on theVoyage project. “Will had sucha gleam in his eye during theentire design and construction.Once in a while he’d whisperto me, ‘I really think this will

be the greatest wooden coasterever built.’ Over the monthsWill’s whisper grew a littlelouder,” Werne jokes. “Afterhe took his rst ride, he wrotefor the HoliBlog: ‘It was every-thing I’d dreamed of. The Grav-ity Group outdid themselves inmaximizing every moment. I

think it’s safe to say that a newera in wooden roller coastershas begun.’ “We knew the coaster en-thusiasts would love it, butwondered if The Voyage might be ‘too much’ for the generalpublic,” states Werne. “Onopening day last year, we knew

beyond a shadow of a doubtthat The Voyage was a greatt for our park and our familyaudience.” As the anchor to thepark’s new Thanksgiving sec-tion, Werne says, “All it tookwas spending a bit of time in theThanksgiving plaza, watchingthe children dashing off The

Voyage and queuing up shouting ‘That was great In a strong second poThunderhead, built by Coasters International, highly among coaster fan buting its opening year oin the top ten, Thundehas held the top two posevery year since. Knoebels’ Phoenixconsistently held a topposition in the Golden TThis year, it climbs to nuthree, its highest placeever. What makes this angreater achievement is thwoodie could have easilylost to the wrecking ballpark had not stepped insaved it from Playland iAntonio in the 1980s. The nix stands as one of the grpreservation stories withindustry. BoulderDash, nestledthe rocky slopes of Lake pounce races into the nufour slot. Many of our vcommented to AT staff a



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WOODContinued from page 38

PHOTO COURTESY JO

Lightning Racer is the top rated racing coaster, stil

forming wonderfully in the top ten.


The ultra-smooth El Toro at Great Adventure lays claim to

wild drops, extreme air time, and twisting curves.4See WOOD, page 44

much smoother the ride is run-ning this year with some sig-

nicant track work in place.BoulderDash could just nditself climbing back higher onthe chart in the years ahead. The top ve is closed outwith Hades, rated as The BestNew Ride in 2005. Known forits riotous underground tun-nels, Mt. Olympus’ GravityGroup creation maintains itsplacement rmly at the top ofthe charts. Charging into the top ten isSix Flags Great Adventure’s ElToro. With a late June debut in2006, the monumental woodiemade it to the AT charts last

year in the top twenty. Thisyear, the Intamin-built coastermore than doubled its points,landing at the number nineposition. This coaster is one towatch. Of all the racing coasters


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The List2007 TOP 50 WOODEN ROLLER COASTERS

PARK YEAR POINT

The Voyage

Thunderhead

Phoenix

BoulderDash

Hades

Shivering Timbers

Raven

The Beast

El Toro

Lightning Racer

The Legend

Avalanche

Kentucky Rumbler

Cyclone

Balder

Tremors

GhostRider

Ozark Wildcat

Comet

Texas Giant

Thunderbolt

Giant Dipper

Colossos

Cornball Express

Megafobia

2006

2004

1985

2000

2005

1998

1995

1979

2006

2000

2000

2004

2006

1927

2003

1999

1998

2003

1994

1990

1968

1924

2001

2001

1996

Holiday World

Dollywood

Knoebels Amusement Resort

Lake Compounce

Mt. Olympus Theme Park

Michigan’s Adventure

Holiday World

Kings Island


Hersheypark

Holiday World

Timber Falls

Beech Bend Amusement Park

Astroland (Coney Island)

Liseberg

Silverwood

Knott’s Berry Farm

Celebration City

The Great Escape


Kennywood

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Heide Park

Indiana Beach

Oakwood Leisure Park

1240

932

844

740

702

550

548

506

494

402

358

313

308

257

193

188

176

170

169

164

149

137

136

134

121

LOCATION

Santa Claus, Ind.

Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Elysburg, Pa.

Bristol, Conn.

Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Muskegon, Mich.

Santa Claus, Ind.

Kings Mills, Ohio

Jackson, N.J.

Hershey, Pa.

Santa Claus, Ind.

Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Bowling Green, Ky.

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Gothenburg, Sweden

Athol, Idaho

Buena Park, Calif.

Branson, Mo.

Lake George, N.Y.

Arlington, Texas

West Mifflin, Pa.

Santa Cruz, Calif.

Soltau, Germany

Monticello, Ind.

Pembrookeshire, Wales

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

Gravity Group

GCII

Dinn/PTC-Schmeck

CCI

Gravity Group

CCI

CCI

KECO

Intamin

GCII

CCI

S & S

GCII

Keenan/Baker

Intamin

CCI

CCI

GCII

Schmeck/PTC

Dinn/Summers

Vettel/Miller

Prior & Church/Looff

Intamin

CCI

CCI


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PARK YEAR POINT

Tonnerre de Zeus

Rampage

Grand National

Coaster

Twister

Thunderbird

The Boss

Jack Rabbit

Aska

New Mexico Rattler

Timber Terror

Viper

Wildcat

Mean Streak

Gwazi

Hurricane

Roar

Georgia Cyclone

Great Am. Scream Machine

Racer

Big Dipper

Roar

Blue Streak

Racer

Thunder Coaster

1997

1998

1935

1958

1999

2006

2000

1921

1998

2002

1996

1995

1996

1991

1999

2000

1998

1990

1973

1972

1925

1999

1964

1927

2001

Parc Asterix

Alabama Adventure

Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Playland

Knoebels Amusement Resort

PowerPark

Six Flags St. Louis

Kennywood

Nara Dreamland

Cliff’s Amusement Park

Silverwood

Six Flags Great America

Hersheypark

Cedar Point


Boomers

Six Flags America



Kings Island

Geauga Lake

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Cedar Point

Kennywood

Tusenfryd

112

93

88

87

86

76

74

71

68

64

61

58

57

54

51

51

47

46

45

44

42

38

35

34

34

LOCATION

Plailly, France

Bossemer, Ala.

Blackpool, England

Vancouver, British Columbia

Elysburg, Pa.

Alaharma, Finland

Eureka, Mo.

West Mifflin, Pa.

Nara, Japan

Albuquerque, N.M.

Athol, Idaho

Gurnee, Ill.

Hershey, Pa.

Sandusky, Ohio

Tampa, Fla.

Dania Beach, Fla.

Largo, Md.

Atlanta, Ga.

Atlanta, Ga.

Kings Mills, Ohio

Aurora, Ohio

Vallejo, Calif.

Sandusky, Ohio

West Mifflin, Pa.

Vintebro, Norway

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40 (tie)

40 (tie)

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49 (tie)

49 (tie)

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

CCI

CCI

Paige

Phare

Fetterman/Knoebels

GCII

CCI

Miller/PTC

Intamin

Cliff’s

CCI

Starkey/Six Flags

GCII

Dinn/Summers

GCII

Coaster Works

GCII

Dinn/Summers

Allen/PTC

Allen/PTC

Miller

GCII

Hoover/PTC

Miller/PTC

Vekoma

The List2007 TOP 50 WOODEN ROLLER COASTERS


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80 years old and still going!

Two big climbers on the charts are Liseberg’s Ba

jumping up an amazing 12 positions, and Beech B

Kentucky Rumbler, which inches its way toward th

10.


WOOD Continued from page 40

PHOTO COURTESY JOEConey Island’s classic 1927 Cyclone is the oldest roller

coaster appearing on our charts. As Coney Island faces

an uncertain future of redevelopment, the ride’s land-

mark status helps keep it running for years to come.

in the world, the highest ratedone is Hersheypark’s LightningRacer. Built by GCII, this engi-neering masterpiece dazzlesriders with its neck-and-neckrace to the nish. LightningRacer still resides in the topten. Of our list of 50, it is a tes-timonial to our panel that ninecountries outside the U.S. arerepresented on the charts: Bald-er (No. 15), Sweden; Colossos(No. 23) Germany; Megafobia(No. 25), Wales; Tonnerre deZeus (No. 26), France; GrandNational (No. 28), England;

Coaster (No. 29), Canada;Thunderbird (No. 31), Finland;Aska, currently silent, (No. 34), Japan; and Thunder Coaster(No. 49), Norway. Of note,currently Aska is not operat-ing awaiting an uncertain fate.Many of its fans didn’t give upon it.

AT PHOTO/TIM B

Bristol, Connecticut

www.lakecompounce.com

Boulder Dashis proud to be voted

one of the bestwooden coastersin the world!

ThanksAmusement Today!


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Seen here, award winners are shown at the 2006 Golden Ticket Awards, hoste

Holiday World. In total Amusement Today presented 26 Golden Tickets to 15 parks

two individuals.

PHOTO COURTESY S. MADONNA H

Did you forget who won Golden Tickets in 2006? In all, 26 Gold-en Tickets were awarded to 15 parks and two different individuals. Here is a quick recap: •Busch Gardens Europe: Best Landscaping (Amusement Park) •Cedar Point: Best Park, Best Capacity

•Dollywood:Best Wooden Coaster •Epcot - Walt Disney World: Best Outdoor Night ShowProduction

•Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari: Friendliest Park, Cleanest Park, Best New Ride in 2006 (Amusement Park), Best New Ride in 2006 (Waterpark) •Knoebels Amusement Resort: Best Food •Legoland California: Best Children’s Park •Paramount’s Kings Island: Best Kid’s Area, Best Concert

Venue •Schlierbahn Waterpark: Best Waterpark, Best Waterpark

Ride, Best Landscaping (Waterpark) •SeaWorld Orlando: Best Marine Life Park •Six Flags Fiesta Texas: Best Shows •Six Flags New England: Best Steel Coaster •State Fair of Texas: Publisher’s Pick (Park of the Year) •Pat Thomson, Western Playland: Publisher’s Pick, (Person

of the Year) •Universal’s Islands of Adventure: Best Water Ride, Best

Dark Ride, Best Theming of an Attraction •Universal Orlando: Best Halloween Event •WHR Inc/Bill Robinson: Publisher’s Pick (Supplier of

the Year). — Gary Slade

Class of 2006 A look back at last year’s Golden Ticket Award winners


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Marine Life Park category. •Pleasure Beach Black-pool, England, for being a toppark, seaside park, and water

rides. •Tokyo DisneySea, Japan,and its beautiful park settingand attractions as a top park. •Toverland, The Nether-lands with its new-for-2007coaster. •World Waterpark, Can-

International parks and coasters make impact on surve

Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland showcases GCII’s

designs from around the world.


Expedition GeForce is Europe’s highest rated roller co

and continues to be a top ten contender.

AT PHOTO/GAR


It’s a fact that the major-ity of our panel of experts is based in the U.S. Thankfully,Golden Ticket participants docome from around the world, but even more important is thefact that our hundreds of vot-ers also travel the globe. Theirexpertise is shown in the recog-nition of parks in 13 differentcountries outside of the U.S. onour international poll. Often, parks around theworld experience additionalexposure to our voters when

international tours of parksare sponsored by enthusiastorganizations and thrill-seeker businesses. In addition to the ninecountries mentioned on ourwooden coasters and ve coun-tries mentioned on the steel

lists, voters have paid notice tothese parks around the globe: •Efteling, The Nether-lands, for beautiful landscap-

ing. •Europa Park, Germany,for its excellence as a top park. •Farup Sommerland, Den-mark, for its family accom-plishments as a kids’ park.

•Marineland, Canada, for being a nalist in the Best

ada, rating as our top pick onindoor waterparks. These international parkshave coasters that appear on

our lists:•Alton Towers, England, •Galaxyland, Canada, •Heide Park, Germany, •Holiday Park,

Germany, •La Ronde, Canada, •Liseberg, Sweden,

•Mirabilandia, Italy •Nara Dreamland,

Japan, •Oakwood Leisure

Wales, •Parc Asterix, Franc •Playland, Canada, •Pleasure Beach

Blackpool, Engla •PowerPark, Finlan •Tusenfryd, Norwa •Walabi World, Bel

CONGRATULATIONS TO

DOLLYWOOD’STHUNDERHEAD

MAJOR

IMPACT AT A

BARGAIN

PRICEGreat Coasters International, Inc. • P.O. Box 119 • Sunbury, PA 17801

570.286.9330 • www.greatcoasters.com


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Congratulates All of the2007 Golden Ticket

Nominees and Winners!It was a very special honor for all of us at Dollywood to host the2007 Golden Tickets. We sincerely appreciate being named thePublisher’s Pick for Park of the Year and share the honor withall of our hosts who spend everyday providing true Southern

hospitality and unique experiences for our guests.

www.dollywood.com

Pigeon Forge • Tennessee

2007 golden ticket awards theme park

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