They’ve got a (golden) ticket to ride
They’ve got a (golden) ticket to ride
Annual industry awards announced
Be it the Oscars, the Emmys, or really any awards, it can be a fool’s errand to determine who or what merits a trophy for being the “best.” That hasn’t stopped folks in the parks and attractions industry from putting their own spins on the tradition. Among the longest-running and most popular industry awards programs is The Golden Tickets, which the trade publication, Amusement Today, launched in 1998. The magazine presented its annual awards gala on September 7 at Kennywood in Pennsylvania. Let’s dive into some of the results. (Disclosure: I am among the industry journalists who cast a ballot for The Golden Tickets.)
Germany’s Europa-Park took home the top prize as the best amusement park. It also nabbed gold in the best new roller coaster category for Voltron Nevera. The ride (which I have yet to experience) looks tremendous and certainly has a wild theme. Dedicated to to inventor Nikola Tesla, the stylized attraction (fittingly) features two linear synchronous motor launches and includes a turntable that reverses the direction of its trains for both forwards and backwards action. Europa-Park is high on my bucket list.
Silver Dollar City took home the prize for the year’s best new family attraction with Fire in the Hole. “New” is a bit misleading; while the coaster/dark ride is entirely new, it is a re-imagining of a beloved, 52-year-old attraction. I adore it and am happy to see it get acknowledged.
The Golden Tickets introduced a new category this year, “best new theme concept,” and bestowed it on Holiday World for its Good Gravy! family coaster. With its oversized cranberry sauce can and other props along with a kitschy Thanksgiving vibe, the award is well-deserved.
The best new show award went to Dollywood for “From The Heart - The Life and Music of Dolly Parton.” The limited-time retrospective showcased highlights from the icon’s long and illustrious career. Tennessee’s Dollywood picked up a total of five awards, the most of any park. In addition to recognizing new attractions and other developments that roll out in the current year, The Golden Tickets also recognize the best achievements in a number of categories, regardless of their age. Dollywood, for example, scored an award for the best family coaster, Big Bear Mountain, which debuted in 2023. The park was also recognized as being the most beautiful, offering the best guest experience, and having the best kids’ area.
When awards are perennially given to the same recipients, The Golden Tickets designates them as legends and retires the category. Such was the case this year for Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas, which has been cited 15 times for delivering the best holiday event. Likewise, 15-time winner, Universal Studio Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights, will forever be known as the Golden Ticket’s pick for best Halloween event.
In addition to naming the best wooden and steel coasters, The Golden Tickets publishes a list of the top 50 rides in each of the categories. Leading the way this year was Fury 325 at the Carolinas’ Carowinds for steel coaster and Phoenix at Knoebels in Pennsylvania for best wooden coaster. Looking farther down the list, it’s hard to argue with Universal Orlando’s Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, and Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa landing in the top five for best steel coasters. But I have to question Cedar Point’s Millennium Force coming in at number four on the list. I find it surprisingly devoid of airtime and just not worthy of the hype. Also, shouldn’t Steel Vengeance and Iron Gwazi more appropriately belong in a separate category, hybrid wooden-steel coasters?
Likewise, I’m down with The Voyage at Holiday World, Thunderhead at Dollywood, El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure, and GhostRider at Knott’s Berry Farm taking their rightful spots among the top 10 best wooden coasters. But The Beast at Kings Island, which lands at number three, has always been a head-scratcher for me. I find it to be a largely boring, rickety ride through the woods.
Such is the merry chase of attempting to cite the best of anything, including parks and attractions. One person’s wowsa is another person’s meh. See the complete 2024 rundown of The Golden Ticket Awards.
What’s your take on this year’s awards? Do you think I’m nuts for my thoughts about Millennium Force and The Beast?
Not a lot of surprises for me this year. When it comes to "best non-new <fill in the blank>, we've seemed to settle into a bit of stasis the past few years with the winners being somewhat predictable. I tend to focus more on the "best new ride" categories, as they at least change from year to year. Probably the biggest downside to the Golden Tickets for me is that because major groundbreaking rides are rarely a yearly occurrence, the list can feel a bit stagnant for long stretches.
As far as Millennium Force and The Beast go, I've only ridden them a handful of times each so I'll defer to your veteran expertise. :) I enjoyed both of them but I'm certainly not in a position to say how they rank compared to the many on the list I've never ridden before.
As with pretty much all awards, I think the Golden Tickets are more valuable as a discussion tool than as a definitive statement on what rides are the best. It's always fun to see the reactions to the list when it comes out.
Arthur, what is your opinion of Phoenix? I have only ridden it once about 7 years ago. I don't really remember it much at all. I remember my rides on Twister and Flying Turns, but not Phoenix.
I totally respect your opinions on Millennium Force and The Beast. Since I have lived near both parks for my whole life, I have so many good memories of riding both coasters that a lot of nostalgia probably clouds my judgement a little. I've ridden both in fog, with full moons, in the rain, when it was hot or cold, and on school trips. If someone loves tight twists and turns and lateral forces, then these coasters are not for you. I could throw Magnum in here as well for me - I rode it so much in the 90's.
I also have only ridden about 200 different coasters so far, so there are a number of great ones I can't even consider in my top lists since I haven't ridden them yet.