BONUSSECTION B

www.amusementtoday.com AUGUST 2001

Park andride winners

Page 2B

Top 25 woodenroller coasters

Pages 6B

Top 25 steelroller coasters

Page 7B

Amusement Today’s 2001 Golden Ticket AwardsFeaturing three new categories

V.I.

P.2001GOLDEN TICKET

AWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

V.I.

P. 2001SCHLITTERBAHNBEST WATERPARK

V.I.

P. 2001CEDAR POINTBEST PARK

V.I.

P. 2001MILLENNIUM FORCEBEST STEEL

COASTER

V.I.

P. 2001RAVENBEST WOODEN

COASTER

Clockwise from top left,

Cedar Point and its

record-setting coaster

Millennium Force,

Holiday World and The

Raven as well as

Schlitterbahn and its

world-famous Master

Blaster were all big win-

ners in AT’s Golden Ticket

Awards.Photos courtesy Cedar Point,

Schlitterbahn and AT

Once again, Amusement Today

has selected a core group of experi-enced enthusiasts considered to bewell-traveled park guests to ride, eat,observe, and enjoy the Best of theBest. As always, the findings areinteresting as the tabulated resultsprovide this year’s Golden TicketAwards.

Awards Overview

In 1998, the original Amusement

Today survey was designed to divideparticipants evenly in geographicregions providing the most balancedpoll possible. This year, more than400 surveys were mailed. With ourbiggest response ever, 25 percentcame from the Northeastern portionof the United States, both theSouthern United States and northcentral states provided 23 percent ofthe votes, and the west coast talliedin at 22 percent. The remaining 7percent were mailed in from interna-tional correspondents. Keeping the survey fresh, AT ispleased to introduce a few new cate-gories this year, adding a broaderperspective to the Golden Tickets.Best Carousel, Best Kid’s Area andBest Water Ride in an amusementpark offer up a new set of entertain-ing opinions.

New for 2001

Due to our early July postmarkdeadline, parks are always chal-lenged to see their newest attractionsmake our list. While a few new facesare landing in the charts this year,only three have managed to placeafter being open a few short months.Nitro and Titan in the Six Flags chainshare boasting rights along withKennywood’s reworked Phantom’sRevenge as being the only 2001coasters on our list. New performerson AT’s Top 25 are Six FlagsAmerica’s Superman Ride of Steel(2000) and Volcano (1998) on ourSteel list. The Boss (2000) garneredthrongs of fans climbing all the wayto the number 15 spot on our woodlist. As predicted last year, Tremorsat Silverwood landed firmly in theTop 20 and Hersheypark’s master-

piece, Lightning Racer, stormed allthe way to 13th place.

Trends

A notable trend this year iscoasters that have become morecomfortable. The Texas Cyclone andFlight of Fear coasters started devel-oping votes again this year. A perfectexample appears on the list withKennywood’s revamped Phantom’sRevenge moving into the number 15position in just a few weeks, scoringmuch higher than Steel Phantom didin the past.

Gold Stars

Three coasters in particularmade spectacular strides over thepast year. While appearing as a newentry on the 2000 Awards, CedarPoint’s Millennium Force came closeto doubling its points from the previ-ous year to take stronghold asFavorite Steel Coaster. Perhaps evenmore impressive is the rise of twoother coasters that debuted in the2000 season. Boulder Dash at LakeCompounce leaps into the Top 10 bylanding dramatically as the numberthree wooden coaster. Likewise,Superman Ride of Steel at Six FlagsNew England became powerfullycompetitive battling its way all theway to the number two position onthe steel list.

An international glance

Enthusiasts traveling abroad inthat quest for the ultimate coastercontinue to broaden their expertise.With more and more internationaltours planned each year, AT predictseven more European coasters mak-ing a presence in the upcomingyears. Holding their own again thisyear are Alton Tower’s Nemesis,Parc Asterix’s Tonerre de Zeus andOakwood’s Megafobia, with the lat-ter maintaining a strong reputationas a Top 10 place holder. Alreadynewer installations across Europeare gathering rave reviews andbuilding momentum when pointswere counted. Look for some strong

competition from across the Atlanticduring the next two years.

Tim BaldwinAmusement Today

See WINNERS, page 2B

2B AMUSEMENT TODAY August 2001

www.amusementtoday.com(817) 460-7220 Fax (817) 265-6397

Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards were bestowedupon all first-place finishers in each category. Amusement Today con-gratulates the many fine parks that won or placed in this year’s cat-egories. We also would like to thank the many people who took thetime to return our survey forms and participate in the pollingprocess. If you were not selected to vote, and would like your nameadded to the selection list, please drop us a postcard and we’ll beglad to add your name to next year’s ballot list. Remember, industryemployees are ineligible to vote. AT also would like to thank ouradvertisers for their help in making this Bonus Section possible.

Thanks also go to Tim Baldwin for his countless hours in tabu-lating the poll results and to Ted Davidson and his staff at CorporateGraphics in Arlington, Texas, for the design and printing of theGolden Ticket Awards.

Amusement Today is an independent newspaper, publishedmonthly by Amusement Today Inc., P.O. Box 5427, Arlington, Texas76005-5427. For subscription information, or to order extra copiescall: (817) 460-7220.

Park and ride winnersRanked by percentage of votes.

Best ParkCedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 21%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 12% Knoebel’s Grove Elysburg, Pa. 11%Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 10%

Best WaterparkSchlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 50%Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla. 7%Splashin’ Safari Santa Claus, Ind. 6%

Friendliest Park StaffHoliday World Santa Claus, Ind. 60%Knoebel’s Grove Elysburg, Pa. 5%

Capacity (fastest moving lines)Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 51%Walt Disney World Orlando, Fla. 12%Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 7%

Cleanest ParkHoliday World Santa Claus, Ind. 46%Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 16%Walt Disney World Orlando, Fla. 15%

Best LandscapingBusch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 52%Walt Disney World Orlando, Fla. 8%Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 6%

Best ShowsFiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 23%Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 14%Walt Disney World Orlando, Fla. 8%

Best FoodKnoebel’s Grove Elysburg, Pa. 23%Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 21% Kennywood West Mifflin, Pa. 10%

Best Dark RideAmazing Advs. Spiderman Islands of Adventure 31%Haunted Mansion Knoebel’s Grove 23%Indiana Jones...Forbidden Eye Disneyland 8%

Best Water Ride (Amusement Park)Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls Islands of Adventure 35%Perilous Plunge Knott’s Berry Farm 9%Escape from Pompeii Busch Williamsburg 8%Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando 7%

Best CarouselKnoebel’s Grove Elysburg, Pa. 39%Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Santa Cruz, Calif. 13%Six Flags Over Georgia Atlanta, Ga. 12%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 6%

Best Kid’s AreaParamount’s Kings Island Kings Mills, Ohio 24%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 9%Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Aurora, Ohio 7%

Best Waterpark RideMaster Blaster Schlitterbahn 42%Raging River Schlitterbahn 9%Summit Plummit Blizzard Beach 7%

The accolade of Best Park isonce again bestowed to CedarPoint, a destination famous forproviding a wide variety of enter-tainment, huge thrills and theworld’s largest lineup of coastersand beautiful resort accommoda-tions. Coming in second,Universal’s Islands of Adventuredemonstrates what happens whenbeauty, theming and quality ridesall combine into a package thatexceeds guest expectations.Honest value and a collection ofoutstanding rides in a traditionalatmosphere allow Knoebel’sGrove to round out the top three. To no one’s surprise, Schlitter-bahn once again takes half thevotes earning them the BestWaterpark award. With a seeming-ly eternal lock on the award, theNew Braunfels summer oasis mayjust find its most formidable com-petition in its sister park,Schlitterbahn Beach, as it contin-ues to develop in south Texas inthe next few years. If theming in apark is what you like, thenDisney’s Blizzard Beach serves itup bigtime. The snowy, whimsicalenvironment helps bring thewaterpark in at second place.Escaping the day’s heat while vis-iting Holiday World has allowedSplashin’ Safari to rate as the thirdfavorite. And speaking of locks, whenwell over half the participants voteHoliday World as having theFriendliest Staff, any park wouldstruggle to even place at all.Knoebel’s Grove is the only parkthat could even claim 5 percent ofthe vote making them secondplace. Standing in line is one of thelowest points to any park visit.Moving people through lines asquickly as possible is a hot topic inthe industry today. Cedar Point,with 51 percent of votes, rises tothe top of the Best Capacity cate-gory. Disney also seems to havematters well in hand with WaltDisney World taking second place

and Disneyland holding a closethird. Naturally, any park would bepleased with an award bestowedupon it, but Holiday World takesparticular pride in its goal toremain the Cleanest Park. Asguests leave, one look is all it takesto see the continual effort put forthby this park. Likewise, apparentdedication is witnessed at bothBusch Gardens Williamsburg andWalt Disney World, our secondand third place recipients. When 52 percent of votes castgo to a park for superior landscap-ing, people certainly take notice.Busch Gardens Williamsburg hasgarnered itself the perennial repu-tation of Best Landscaping. Thebeautiful and lush areas through-out Walt Disney World bring itinto second place, and the old-fashioned charm of Silver DollarCity is accented by its landscapingplacing them at third place. Termed the “Year ofEntertainment,” Fiesta Texas con-tinues its heritage of creating out-standing shows for its guests withperhaps its strongest line up of tal-ent in years. While many parksmay be content to produce a goodshow or two, Fiesta Texas can trulyboast an expansive scope of 11shows featuring live bands andstrong vocal performers, interna-tional diversity, a broad range ofmusical styles and crowd pleaserssuch as Rockin’ at Rockville High,the amazing Lone Star Spectacularand the new dynamic CircoMagnifico. In a similar vein, SilverDollar City presents a commit-ment to talent and variety in itsfestivals throughout the year.Finally, Walt Disney World pres-ents a quandary as many voterswanted to lump all four parkstogether, while others wanted tovote for a specific park as ATintended. In so doing, the resultstabulate as 8 percent one way and18 percent when tabulating all theparks. Judging by some of the com-ments received at AT, eating at apark is not always a pleasure.However, many parks are famousfor providing great eating experi-ences. Knoebel’s tops the BestFood category by offering a vari-ety of tasty food at a reasonable

price. The home cooking anddelicious offerings of Silver DollarCity bring it in at second place,and Kennywood, led by its worldfamous fries, rounds out the topthree.

Ride Categories Remaining consistent withlast year’s winners, IOA’sSpiderman webs in first place asBest Dark Ride, Knoebel’sHaunted Mansion demonstrateswhat a great classic dark ride canstill be by taking second place,and Disneyland’s Indiana Jonesdelivers a breathtaking experi-ence into the third place spot. One of our newest cate-gories, Best Water Ride (in anamusement park), allowed votersto highlight a great selection ofterrific attractions within theindustry. Dudley Do-Right’sRipsaw Falls takes the top spotwith its humorous theming,lengthy ride experience andbreathtaking steep drop. Steeperyet is the second place winner,Knott’s Perilous Plunge, whichtook splashwater rides through awhole new thrill barrier when itdebuted in 2000. What Plunge didfor thrills, Escape from Pompeii atBusch Williamsburg did fortheming. The effects-heavy, scenicadventure comes in at third place.A close contender is SeaWorldOrlando’s Journey to Atlantis,which takes all of the previouslymentioned elements and pack-ages them into one terrific attrac-tion. Even amongst big thrills,there is always a place for themild side. For Best Carousel,Knoebel’s Grand Carousel takesthe brass ring, just as riders at thepark can still do while enjoyingthis classic ride. This glimmer ofnostalgia also can be enjoyed atSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalk, oursecond place winner. Six FlagsOver Georgia’s placement of thebeautiful Riverview Carousel onthe hillside showcases the truetreasure it is, and it rates as thirdbest. Paramount’s Kings Islandbeams at the honor of beingawarded Best Kid’s Area for ourfirst year with this category. Theexpanded area actually includestwo sections for kids,Nickelodeon Central and HannaBarbera Land. Boasting theworld’s biggest collection ofcoasters for kids (four), thematicelements, life-size characters,numerous scaled down rides andattractions and the incorporationof the newly remodeled flumeinto their family area makes thepark an ideal place for familieswith small children. Islands ofAdventure’s Seuss Landingscored big with our participantsbringing it into second place, andgoing Looney at Six Flags Worldsof Adventure brings that park inat third. In the world of waterparks,Schlitterbahn’s Master Blasterkeeps impressing with its cutting-edge technology. Although a dis-tant second, the park also placeswith its 30-minute “low-tech”Raging River tube chute. BlizzardBeach’s outlandish SummitPlummet slides into third.

WINNERSContinued from page 1B

Fiesta Texas’ Circo

Magnifico is one

of a broad range of

shows that voters

rate the best.

Photo courtesy Fiesta Texas

August 2001 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3B

Dudley Do Right by AT; Hanna Barbera Land courtesy PKI

As two of our newest categories, IOA’s Dudley Do-

Right’s Ripsaw Falls rates as Best Water Ride and

Paramount’s Island is voted as having Best Kids Area.

4B AMUSEMENT TODAY August 2001

August 2001 AMUSEMENT TODAY 5B

WE’RE HONORED FOR THE HIGH RANKINGS!

(513) 755-0626

1. Raven, Holiday World2. Shivering Timbers, Michigan’s Adventure

3. Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce

5. Legend, Holiday World6. GhostRider, Knott’s Berry Farm

7. Rampage, VisionLand10. Megafobia, Oakwood Park

15. The Boss, SF St. Louis17. The Villain,

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure18. Tonerre de Zeus, Parc Asterix

19. Tremors, Silverwood

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GOLDEN TICKETAWARDS

BEST OF THE BEST!

PHILADELPHIA TOBOGGAN COASTERS INC.

Proud train supplier for 9 out of 10

Best Wooden Roller Coasters

in the World!

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2001GOLDEN TICKETAWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

6B AMUSEMENT TODAY August 2001

The ListTop 25 wood roller coasters

NAME PARKYEAR POINTS

Raven

Shivering Timbers

Boulder Dash

Phoenix

Legend

GhostRider

Rampage

Texas Giant

Comet

Megafobia

Cyclone

Beast

Lightning Racer

Thunderbolt

The Boss

Georgia Cyclone

Villain

Tonnerre de Zeus

Tremors

Twister

Giant Dipper

Wildcat

Coaster

Timber WolfCyclone

1995

1998

2000

1985

2000

1998

1998

1990

1994

1996

1927

1979

2000

1968

2000

1990

2000

1997

1999

1999

1924

1996

1958

1989

1983

RANK

Holiday World

Michigan’s Adventure

Lake Compounce

Knoebel’s Grove

Holiday World

Knott’s Berry Farm

VisionLand

Six Flags Over Texas

Great Escape

Oakwood

Astroland (Coney Island)

Paramount’s Kings Island

Hersheypark

Kennywood

Six Flags St. Louis

Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure

Parc Asterix

Silverwood

Knoebel’s Grove

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Hersheypark

PNE Playland

Worlds of Fun

Six Flags New England

688

615

554

533

431

424

369

363

336

295

283

271

269

192

186

185

165

142

137

130

129

125

115

97

73

LOCATION

Santa Claus, Ind.

Muskegon, Mich.

Bristol, Conn.

Elysburg, Pa.

Santa Claus, Ind.

Buena Park, Calif.

Bessemer, Ala.

Arlington, Texas

Lake George, N.Y.

Pembrookshire, Wales

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kings Mills, Ohio

Hershey, Pa.

West Mifflin, Pa.

St. Louis, Mo.

Atlanta, Ga.

Aurora, Ohio

Plailly, France

Athol, Idaho

Elysburg, Pa

Santa Cruz, Calif.

Hershey, Pa.

Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Kansas City, Mo.

Agawam, Mass.Amusement Today also presents the next 25 wooden coasters as determined by points.26: Grizzly (PKD), 27: Roar (SFMW), 28: Screamin’ Eagle (SFStL), 29: MegaZeph (Jazzland), 30: Colossos (Heide Park), 31: Roar (SFA), 32 tie: Grand National (BPB), Timber Terror(Silverwood); 34 tie: Mean Streak (Cedar Point), Thunder Run (SFKK); 36 (tie): Jack Rabbit (Kennywood), Viper (SFGAm); 38: Stampida (Port Aventura), 39: Giant Dipper (Belmont), 40tie: Excalibur (Funtown), Thunder Coaster (Tusenfryd); 42 tie: Great American Scream Machine (SFOG), Racer (Kennywood), Rebel Yell (PKD); 45: Big Dipper (SFWoA), 46: Son of Beast(PKI), 47: Colossus (SFMM), 48: Blue Streak (Cedar Point), 49 tie: Cyclone (Lakeside), Wild One (SFA)

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

Amusement Today also presents the next 25 steel coasters as determined by points.26: Big Bad Wolf (BGW), 27: Shock Wave (SFOT), 28: Wildfire (SDC), 29: Batman Knight Flight (SFWoA), 30: Talon (Dorney), 31: Dragon Kahn (Port Aventura), 32: Superman the Escape(SFMM), 33: Texas Tornado (AstroWorld), 34: Top Gun (PC), 35: Riddler’s Revenge (SFMM), 36: Suprman Krypton Coaster (Fiesta Texas), 37: The Big One (BPB), 38: Batman the Ride(SFGAm), 39 tie: Mantis (Cedar Point), Space Mountain (Disneyland); 41: Matterhorn Bobsleds (Disneyland), 42 tie: Great Bear (Hersheypark), Hypersonic XLC (PKD); 44: Loch NessMonster (BGW), 45: Fujiyama (Fujikyu Highland), 46: Batman The Ride (SFMM), 47 tie: California Screamin’ (DCA), Georgia Scorcher (SFOG), Medusa (SFMW); 50: Kraken (SeaWorld

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2001GOLDEN TICKETAWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

August 2001 AMUSEMENT TODAY 7B

The ListTop 25 steel roller coastersNAME PARKYEAR POINTS

Millennium Force

Superman Ride of Steel

Magnum XL-200

Steel Force

Montu

Superman Ride of Steel

Apollo’s Chariot

Raptor

Incredible Hulk

Alpengiest

Raging Bull

Dueling Dragons

Kumba

Goliath

Phantom’s Revenge

Nitro

Mindbender

Mamba

Nemesis

Superman Ride of Steel

Titan

Medusa

Superman Ultimate Escape

DesperadoVolcano

2000

2000

1989

1997

1996

1999

1999

1994

1999

1997

1999

1999

1993

2000

2001/1991

2001

1978

1998

1994

2000

2001

1999

2000

1994

1998

RANK

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

Cedar Point

Six Flags New England

Cedar Point

Dorney Park

Busch Gardens Tampa

Six Flags Darien Lake

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Cedar Point

Islands of Adventure

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Six Flags Great America

Islands of Adventure

Busch Gardens Tampa

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Kennywood

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Over Georgia

Worlds of Fun

Alton Towers

Six Flags America

Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure

Buffalo Bill’s Casino

Paramount’s Kings Dominion

758

682

661

399

336

305

298

266

261

252

220

210

201

196

168

164

163

158

148

146

126

125

100

99

93

LOCATION

Sandusky, Ohio

Agawam, Mass.

Sandusky, Ohio

Allentown, Pa.

Tampa, Fla.

Darien Center, N.Y.

Williamsburg, Va. .

Sandusky, Ohio

Orlando, Fla.

Williamsburg, Va.

Gurnee, Ill.

Orlando, Fla.

Tampa, Fla.

Valencia, Calif.

West Mifflin, Pa.

Jackson, N.J.

Atlanta, Ga.

Kansas City, Mo.

Staffordshire, England

Largo, Md.

Arlington, Texas

Jackson, N.J.

Aurora, Ohio

Primm, Nev.

Doswell, Va.

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2001GOLDEN TICKETAWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

V.I.

P.

2001GOLDEN TICKETAWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

What a Great Year!2 Golden Tickets

2 Top 20 Coasters

Thank you readers of Amusement Today!