Park and ride winners Page 3B Top 25 wooden roller coasters Page 6B Top 25 steel roller coasters BONUS Page 7B SECTION BONUS SECTION AUGUST 1998 1B Winners named in 14 categories Amusement Today bestows Golden Ticket Awards Conducting a survey of any kind produces a certain amount of chal - lenges. One strives to be thorough, but at the same time wishes to be fair and BEST PARK BEST WOODEN COASTER balanced. That said, Amusement Today set some ground rules for its 1998 sur - CEDAR POINT vey of parks and rides. SANDUSKY, OHIO Park employees, suppliers, and ride manufacturers were not allowed to participate. Survey participants were selected at random from various sources of park patrons with experience at many different parks. An equal number of TEXAS GIANT names was selected from four geo - SIX FLAGS graphic regions of the United States. OVER TEXAS Completed surveys were to be postmarked by June 26, with results tabulated July 2. Two roller coaster charts on pages 6B and 7B list the 25 highest-ranked BEST WATERPARK BEST STEEL COASTER wooden coasters and the 25 highest- ranked steel roller coasters. First-place picks received 10 points, second-place choices received nine points, and so on, with the 10th choice receiving one point. Total point values determined winners, and those point totals are included on each chart. Park and ride categories, listed on page 3B, rank the top parks and rides SCHLITTERBAHN by vote percentages. Only the highest- MAGNUM XL-200 NEW BRAUNFELS, ranking parks and rides were included CEDAR POINT TEXAS in this listing. Survey overview Fuego at La Feria in Mexico City; Top performers were Worlds of Island’s Cyclone, the 1927 benchmark The core group selected to complete Tonnerre de Zues at Parc Asterix in Fun’s Mamba, ranked the No. 7 steel for all wooden coasters, rides comfort - the survey certainly could boast some Plailly, France; and Dragon Khan at coaster; and Shivering Timbers at ably in the top 10. well-traveled experience. A greater Port Aventura in Tarragona, Spain. Michigan’s Adventure, rising to an Relocation has proven to be quite familiarity with the North American To the surprise of Amusement impressive No. 6 on the wood chart. the success story for some rides, as the coasters is apparent among those cho - Today staff members, even coasters of Both coasters are new this season. No. 4, No. 10 and No. 15 wooden sen, but the wood and steel coaster lists mixed regard could claim fans out Other new coasters to rank highly roller coasters — Comet at Great each landed an overseas entry. there. All in all, 75 wooden coasters were VisionLand’s Rampage; Six Flags Escape, Phoenix at Knoebel’s Grove Nemesis at Alton Towers in and 91 steel coasters garnered votes. Over Texas’ Mr. Freeze; and Taz’s and Wild One at Adventure World, Staffordshire, England placed at No. Texas Tornado, the legendary Thriller respectively — had been moved from 10 on the steel list; and Megafobia at New for 1998 relocated from Germany to Six Flags their former homes, only to be reborn Oakwood Park in Pembrookshire, Because the surveys had to be sent AstroWorld in Houston, Texas. winners at their new parks. Wales was among the top five wooden back to Amusement Today by late June, coasters. new-for-’98 installations had a chal - Something old... See AWARDS, page 2B Votes were cast for coasters from lenge to work their way into the ranks But modern coasters didn’t neces - far reaches, including Serpiente de in such a short time. sarily have total control. Coney 2B August 1998 respectable vote share in this rides, a few categories exam - AWARDS category. ined what the industry is Continued from page 1B The category Cleanest doing right. Some simply Park garnered mentions of 25 voted for Disney or Busch for Of greater importance is parks, so it would appear the ride theming, but three rides the uncertain future of industry is looking pretty tied for best theming. Playland’s wooden Coaster spruced. Almost one-fourth of Sharing accolades for first (No. 22) in Vancouver, B.C., the votes were cast in favor of place are Nemesis at Alton Canada. The relocation of the Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Towers, Batman The Ride in Pacific National Exhibition A Disney stronghold was evi - several Six Flags Theme may sadly doom this out - dent, with the California park Parks, and Alpengeist at standing classic to the wreck - beating out Walt Disney Busch Gardens Williamsburg. ing ball. Hopefully, a method World in Orlando, Fla. for the A mere fraction of a percent - of salvation will materialize to second-place spot. age behind these three is Walt preserve this historic ride. The most dramatic lead of Disney World’s Twilight Zone Photos courtesy of Busch Gardens/Holiday World the survey was in the Best Tower of Terror. Above, a young guest enjoys some of the highly touted Park categories Landscaping category, with Among the waterparks, food at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Below, a rider Over one-third of the sur - Busch Gardens Williamsburg only two attractions took a gets pointers on enjoying the bumper boats at Holiday vey participants voted Cedar collecting over 10 times the significant lead: World, voted Friendliest Park. Point in Sandusky, Ohio as the votes of anyone behind them. Schlitterbahn’s towering best park to visit. Renowned Tying for a distant second Master Blaster, gathering 29 for its sheer number of rides place were Disneyland; Walt percent of the votes; and the and record-setting collection Disney World; and the first- highly themed Journey to the of roller coasters, Cedar Point place winner’s Florida sister Center of the Earth at Hyland continues to be among the top park, Busch Gardens Tampa. Hills Water World in Denver, regional destination parks. Busch Gardens Colo. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also took the In the category of Best Williamsburg in Virginia was spotlight in Best Shows. Six Simulator/Interactive a prominent player in most Flags Fiesta Texas in San Attraction, Universal’s Back categories, and stands proud - Antonio and Walt Disney to the Future is tops. Disney’s ly at second position in the World in Orlando, Fla. were Star Tours rides into second Best Amusement Park cate - voted solid performers in this place, with Universal’s gory. category as well. Terminator 2 close behind in Celebrating its 100th In the topic of Best Food, third. Iwerk’s Dino Island anniversary this season, 19 parks caught attention with gained an honorable mention Kennywood Park outside something good to eat, all the with a solid 11 percent. Pittsburgh, Pa. demonstrates way down to Hoffman’s Favorite rides (noncoast - its longevity by rounding out Playland in Albany, N.Y. Top er) are Intamin’s Giant Drops, the three most popular spot again went to Busch such as Kennywood’s Pittfall. amusement parks. Gardens Williamsburg, with S&S Towers, such as World’s Of the 19 waterparks rec - Kennywood Park taking sec - of Fun’s Detonator and Cedar ognized by the survey, ond place. EPCOT in Orlando, Point’s Power Tower, are sec - Schlitterbahn in New Fla. and Knoebel’s Grove in ond in popularity; and Braunfels, Texas takes its one- Elysburg, Pa. tied for third. ThrillTime Entertainment’s of-a-kind mix of attractions prevalent Sky Coasters placed and splashes to the top of the Ride categories third. list for Best Waterpark. In sec - Among the individual — Tim Baldwin ond place is Blizzard Beach at Orlando, Fla., the only other contender to receive a solid portion of votes. Survey participants had several categories in which to applaud the outstanding achievements of their favorite (817) 460-7220 Fax (817) 265-6397 parks. Holiday World in Santa The Golden Ticket Awards Bonus Section was produced by Claus, Ind. took top honors in the staff of Amusement Today. the Friendliest Park category; Golden Ticket Awards were bestowed upon all first-place finishers in with Six Flags Over Texas in each category. Amusement Today congratulates the many fine parks Arlington and Busch Gardens that won or placed in this year’s categories. Williamsburg completing the Amusement Today would like to thank Ted Davidson and Corporate top three. Graphics in Arlington, Texas for the design of the Golden Ticket Award Cedar Point clearly was logos. We could not have done it without the help of his staff. the best at moving lines, as 38 We would also like to thank the many people who took the time to percent claimed it had Best return our survey forms and participate in the polling process. If you Capacity. In fact, only one were not selected to vote, and would like your name added to the other park, Disneyland in selection list, please drop us a postcard and we’ll be glad to add it to next year’s list of names. Remember, industry employees are ineligible to vote. Anaheim, Calif., could claim a August 1998 3B Park and ride winners Ranked by percentage of votes cast Best Amusement/Theme Park Cleanest Park Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 37% Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 24% Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 16% Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 14% Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 9% Walt Disney World Orlando, Fla. 11% Best Waterpark Best Capacity (fastest-moving lines) Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 28% Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 38% Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla. 12% Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 15% Friendliest Park Best-Themed Ride Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 22% Nemesis Alton Towers 11% Six Flags Over Texas Arlington, Texas 17% Batman The Ride Six Flags Theme Parks 11% Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 10% Alpengeist Busch Gardens Williamsburg 11% Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Disney MGM Studios 10% Best Landscaping Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va.