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P.O. BOX 5427 Arlington, Texas 760052012 East Randol Mill Rd. #203 Arlington, Texas 76011

(817)460-7220 Fax: (817) 265-6397

NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS—Among amusement and water parks, the best of the best are truly Golden. During aceremony today at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, Amusement Today, the leading amusement trade monthly,announced its annual Golden Ticket Awards with a few surprising new winners among traditional repeaters.

The awards, based on surveys submitted by well-traveled park enthusiasts around the world, honor the top parksand rides as well as cleanest, friendliest and most efficient operations.

New this year was the Publisher’s Pick chosen by Amusement Today Publisher Gary Slade. Winning the first-everPublisher’s Pick is Gary and Linda Hays, owners of Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque, N.M., who last year tookover construction of their wooden roller coaster, the New Mexico Rattler, after the manufacturer went bankrupt. TheHays’ therefore were able to keep the construction crew employed, pay suppliers and provide New Mexico it’s firstmajor thrill ride as promised.

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, repeated as the Best Park, and Schlitterbahn repeated as the Best Waterpark.Both parks have won these Golden Tickets in all six years of the awards. Other repeat winners were Holiday World &Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Ind., as Friendliest Park and as Cleanest Park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Va., forBest Landscaping, Fiesta Texas in San Antonio for Best Shows, Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pa., forBest Food, Paramount’s Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio, for Best Kid’s Area and Cedar Point for Capacity.

In two new categories, Busch Gardens Williamsburg was chosen the Most Beautiful Park, and Schlitterbahn theMost Beautiful Waterpark.

Among rides, competition was much more fierce resulting in some new winners and surprising showings.Superman Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Mass., supplanted Cedar Point’s Millennium Force astop steel roller coaster ending Cedar Point’s five year reign atop that list, by Millennium Force the past two years andMagnum XL-200 before that. Magnum dropped to fourth this year behind Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park inHassloch, Germany, the strongest showing so far by a non U.S. coaster.

Another non-U.S. ride topped the Best Water Ride (amusement park) category, Valhalla at Blackpool PleasureBeach in England. The Best Waterpark Ride also saw a new winner this year, Zinga at Holiday World & Splashin’Safari.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando won Best Dark Ride, andRaven at Holiday World won Best Wood Coaster, both repeats. Dueling Dragons, the twin steel coasters at Islands ofAdventure, won for Best Theming of an Attraction, and the Giant Drops from Intamin/Ride Trade won Best Non-Coaster Ride.

For a complete list winners, including the top 50 coasters and the top three of all other categories, visitwww.amusementtoday.com.

For Immediate ReleaseAugust 23, 2003

Contact: Gary Slade, Publisher, (817) 460-7220Eric Minton, West Coast Bureau (520) 514-2254

and pa r tne r ing w i th ge t the loop .com

ANNUAL AWARDS FOR AMUSEMENT, THEME AND WATERPARKS ANNOUNCED FOR 2003

PRESTIGIOUS POLL REVEALS THE “BEST OF THE BEST” IN THE AMUSEMENT INDUSTRY

All about the BUSINESS of FUN!

SEPTEMBER2003

B

Amusement Today’s 2003 Golden Ticket Awards

Tim BaldwinAmusement Today

The biggest surveyresponse ever offersour 2003 winners

��See AWARDS, page 2B

11 Golden Ticket22 Top 25 Coasters AWARD WINNER

AA NN OO TT HH EE RRGREAT YEAR!

KNOEBELS

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2003

BEST FOOD

Thank you readers ofAmusement Today!

Photos courtesy Schlitterbahn and Fiesta TexasThe 2003 Golden Ticket Awards ceremony did a Texas two-step this year by showcasing Schlitterbahn, left, as theBest Waterpark and Fiesta Texas as the park with the Best Shows. Both parks are repeat winners.

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2003FIESTA TEXAS BEST SHOWSV.

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2003SCHLITTERBAHN BEST WATERPARK

As with any survey, itsresults are always moreinformative with a larger num-ber of participants. This year,Amusement Today received itsbiggest response ever. From itsinception in 1998, GoldenTicket Awards surveys are sentto experienced enthusiastsfrom around the globe. TheUnited States is divided intofour geographical regions, andan equal number of surveyssent to each of these regions.International participantsmake up for the remainder ofour well-traveled panel.

New for 2003The final years of the 1990s

and the turn of the millenniumproduced a huge influx of newcoasters. The past two yearshave seen a slower trend ofnew major installations, in par-ticular dictated by economictimes. However, new greatcoasters continue to surface.Cedar Point’s Top ThrillDragster makes a charging runat the Top Ten, a feat very diffi-cult for a first-year coaster. Dueto some operational difficulties,Dragster’s performance mighthave been slightly hindered.Six Flags Magic Mountain suf-fered a similar fate when theirnew X experienced its share ofquirks during its debut lastyear. This year, it saw anincrease in the ratings, and TopThrill Dragster can very wellrace for the sky in 2004.

On the wooden front, thenew Ozark Wildcat, at theequally new Celebration City,landed just outside our top 25standings, but has opened torave reviews to the participantsthat have made it back toBranson.

Holiday World’s Zingamakes a spectacular debut asthis year’s top-rated waterparkride as well.

Rising StarsThe biggest climbers on

our coaster charts are a testa-ment to the expertise of ourselected panel. Coasters thathave made the most significantleaps will be found across theworld. Expedition GeForcemade a major leap to the num-ber three position, making itthe top rated internationalcoaster to appear on our lists.

Nemesis and Air at AltonTowers, Grand National atBlackpool Pleasure Beach,Goliath at Six Flags Holland,and Euro-Mir at Europa Parkall saw a rise in standings inthis year’s results. Of course,the most notable climb justmight be Superman Ride ofSteel at Six Flags New England,making a strong enough pushto take Amusement Today’sGolden Ticket for Best SteelCoaster for the first time.

Best of the BestThe biggest challenge

asked of our survey partici-pants is to narrow their parkchoices down to a single pick.It should be noted that manyparks do (and should!) receivehigh marks for the jobs they do.Still, voters get one choice inthe park and ride categories.

Taking top honors in thepark divisions, two long-stand-ing favorites snag their awardsfor best parks for the sixth yearin a row. Cedar Point’s hugeassortment of rides, resortaccommodations, and record-breaking roller coasters easilyrated as Best Amusement Parkin the 2003 survey. Waterparkafficionados also continue toaward Schlitterbahn as theworld’s Best Waterpark, againfor the sixth year. Coming insecond in each of the two cate-gories is Islands of Adventurefor amusement park andSplashin’ Safari for waterpark.England’s Blackpool PleasureBeach, known for an amazingamount of rides and coasterspacked into a compact spaceplaces third in the amusementpark category, and Wildwater

Kingdom in Allentown, Pa.,rounds out the top three inwaterparks.

A common criticismvoiced not only on our surveys,but on myriad Internet chat-rooms is the inefficiency, orpoor attitude of a park’semployees. Thankfully, manyparks do a superb job of train-ing employees to be friendly tovisiting guests. In somewhat ofa sweep of this category,Holiday World of Santa Claus,Ind., continues to impress, tak-ing top honors with a whop-ping 61 percent of the votes.Likewise, their reputation ofletting guests see the park justas clean as they depart as whenthey arrive places them num-ber one in the Cleanest Park

2B AMUSEMENT TODAY September 2003

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

Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards werebestowed upon all first-place finishers in each category. AmusementToday congratulates the many fine parks that won or placed in thisyear’s categories. We also would like to thank the many people whotook the time to return our survey forms and participate in thepolling process. If you were not selected to vote, and would likeyour name added to the selection list, please drop us a postcard andwe’ll be glad to add your name to next year’s ballot list. Remember,industry employees are ineligible to vote. AT also would like tothank our advertisers for their help in making this Bonus Sectionpossible.

Thanks also go to Tim Baldwin for his countless hours in tabu-lating the poll results and to Ted Davidson and his staff atCorporate Graphics in Arlington, Texas, for the design and printingof the Golden Ticket Awards.

Amusement Today also would like to thank the staffs atSchlitterbahn and Fiesta Texas for their help in hosting the 2003Golden Ticket Awards ceremony. Our thanks also go to all awardwinners who were in attendance to accept their Golden Ticket.

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 or visit: www.amusementtoday.com.

AWARDSContinued from page 1B

One of the tightest racesever tabulated by the GoldenTicket survey took place in theBest Waterpark Ride category.As mentioned, Splashin’Safari’s new Zinga took tophonors as Schlitterbahn’sMaster Blaster valiantly camein second trailing by hardly atrickle. Zoombabwe, Splashin’Safari’s 2002 attraction came inthird.

Natural BeautyPart of the enjoyment of a

park visit is enjoying the beau-ty that is presented throughoutthe day. Once again, BuschGardens Williamsburg hasimpressed our panel, takingfirst place in Best Landscaping.Likewise, a new category, MostBeautiful Park, was taken byBusch as well. In the landscap-ing category, Efteling of theNetherlands, makes a strongcharge at second place, whilethird is shared betweenBonfante Gardens in Gilroy,Calif., and Alton Towers inEngland. Efteling also placedsecond as most beautiful, andEuropa Park of Germanyrounded out the three.

Rotating CategoriesIn an effort to always keep

the survey fresh, AmusementToday has a selection of cate-gories that will appear in athree-year rotating format. Inthis year’s awards, BestCapacity goes to Cedar Pointfor keeping their lines movingthe best. In second,Disneyland, utilizing their freeFast Pass system, ranked sec-ond. The same system helpsthe Magic Kingdom in

Orlando take third.In the Best Dark Ride cate-

gory, the Amazing Adventuresof Spider-man, a long-runningfavorite, webs up the top spot.Knoebels’ popular HauntedMansion, demonstrating aquality performance at a tradi-tional park level, takes secondplace. The elaborate fantasytheming of Efteling’s DreamFlight complete the top three.

When it comes to theming,the “big boys” make for toughcompetition. Islands ofAdventure’s Universal touchrolls out an elaborate queuehouse, trains, and station thatgive it’s Dueling Dragons tophonors in the category. Disneyhas a double play for secondand third place. California’sIndiana Jones and the Templeof the Forbidden Eye andFlorida’s Twilight Zone Towerof Terror garner high marks.

In Best Non-Coaster Ride,our survey participants had awide open slate to pick theirfavorite, a broad challenge tobe sure. The Giant Drops byIntamin/Ride Trade receivedthe most votes, with specificnods to the new Drop Zone atParamount’s Kings Dominionand the variety of riding posi-tions of Apocalypse at DraytonManor. The afore-mentionedSpider-man and Indiana Jonesscore highly in this category aswell taking second and thirdrespectively.

Opinions, pleaseWhile Amusement Today

had an audience, also, we

category as well. Knoebels andParamount’s Kings Dominiontake second and third placesrespectively for FriendliestPark, while Disneyland andBusch Gardens Williamsburgshare the Cleanest Park spot-light in silver and bronze slots.

Fiesta Texas, tucked awaydown south in San Antonio,manages to maintain its solidreputation of presenting top-notch show entertainment fortheir guests. Amazing summerpresentations such as an

updated Lone Star Spectacularand a visually wow version ofChinese acrobats as only FiestaTexas can do it, complimentthe already marvelous live tal-ent performing all season long.Fiesta Texas once again claimsBest Shows for the fifth year.Busch Gardens Williamsburgtakes second place with astrong line-up of live perform-ers, and third place is sharedby sister parks Silver DollarCity and Dollywood, long hav-ing a reputation of givingcrowd pleasing shows.

Expensive food is a fre-quent complaint of manyparks, but Knoebels in

Elysburg, Pa., continues todelight their guests with tastysnacks and great food ataccommodating prices for fam-ilies who visit. Silver DollarCity’s wide range of interna-tional and down-home cook-ing rates them as second, andBusch Gardens Williamsburgtakes third in the Best Foodcategory.

Best Kids Area once againgoes to Paramount’s KingsIsland. Their collection ofwater and interactive activi-ties, four junior coasters, andvarious flat rides just for kidsmake for a delightful section.Jurrasic Park and SeussLanding areas for kids earnhigh marks with our panel,bringing Islands of Adventureinto second place. Paramount’sKings Dominion’s many kidsattractions round out the topthree.

Just Add WaterThe amusement industry

is evidence alone that peopleenjoy fun in the water. Our twowater categories brought fortha list of amazing water attrac-tions to tabulate. New at thetop of the charts this year isBlackpool Pleasure Beach’sValhalla as Best Water Ride. Asa blend of water attraction anddark ride, Valhalla excels onmany levels, and this yearjumps into first place. Thecampy and cartoonish fun ofDudley Do-Right’s RipsawFalls gives second place toIslands of Adventure, as doesthird place, Popeye and Bluto’sBilge-rat Barges, a wild androllicking rapids ride. ��See AWARDS, page 3B

September 2003 AMUSEMENT TODAY 3B

Survey questionsRanked by frequency of mention

Best Types of Merchandise•T-shirts•Magnets•PostcardsBiggest Turn Off In a Park•Long Lines/Crowds•Line Jumping•Poor Employee AttitudeFavorite Flat Rides•Carousels•Bumper Cars•Flying Scooters

solicited the opinions of oursurvey panel. As avid collec-tors and buyers, our votersreported the No. 1 item theybuy is T-shirts, followed byrefrigerator magnets, and post-cards. Pins and caps/hats werenext in line.

Everyone’s a critic, andwhen asked their biggest turn-off when visiting a park, ourgroup reported crowds andlong lines were the biggestturn-off of their park visits.Not far behind was line jump-ing, a recurring problem nomatter where patrons visit.Equally tied for third werepoor employee attitude andlow capacity, with a strong dis-dain for operating coasterswith only one train. Trash anda park being unclean followed.

When asked to list theirfavorite flat rides, a virtualfloodgate was opened withpractically every ride ever cre-ated mentioned. Top pickswere carousels, particularly ifthey were unique or beautiful.Bumper cars and flying scoot-ers tabulated at second andthird. Huss’ Frisbee placed

next followed by inward facingswinging rides such as theChance/KMG Afterburner,and the Fireball. Of note, if allswinging rotating rides werecombined, this sum wouldhave been greater than anyother flat ride. It’s popular,folks.

The Power of a VoteAmusement Today wishes

to thank its hundreds of par-ticipants this year. For anyonewho has heard “Every vote isimportant,” they need look nofurther than some of our closeraces in the final results toknow that each and every sur-vey had weight and value.Our gratitude goes out forsharing your expertise withthe industry.

AWARDSContinued from page 2B

NEW ENGLAND

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2003

GOLDENTICKETAWARD

BESTSTEEL

ROLLERCOASTER

Thanks, AMUSEMENT TODAYfor honoring

as the top ratedsteel roller coaster on the planet!

SUPERMAN RIDE of STEEL

"SIX FLAGS and all related indicia are trademarks of Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. ®,™ and ©2003. LOONEY TUNES,characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and ©Warner Bros. BATMAN, SUPERMAN and all relatedcharacters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. (s03)."

Gary & Linda Hays recipients of first Publisher’s Pick

For the last several years I watched amazingfeats, milestones and other gestures of good willaccomplished in our amusement industry.Although our annual Golden Ticket Awards rec-ognize many of those it seems like each year onewould slip though without recognition becausetheir simply wasn’t a category that best fit theachievement, until now.

With the 2003 edi-tion of the Golden TicketAwards, AT has createdthe Publisher’s Pick, aGolden Ticket to beawarded annually to aindustry professional, orcompany who havemade an impact on ourindustry.

This year’s inaugural winners are a team thatovercame a difficult situation during their 2002operating season, met the challenge head on, andare now seeing the results of a job well done, withrecord attendance at thier park for the 2003 sea-son.

The recipients are Gary and Linda Hays,owners and operators of the Cliffs AmusementPark in Albuquerque, N.M.

For the 2002 season, Cliff’s moved aheadwith a project most parks with an annual atten-dance of less than 250,000 guests wouldn’t under-

take, to add a $2 million full-size custom woodenroller coaster.

The announcement for the New MexicoRattler, the state’s first super coaster, created abuzz throughout the entire state. Everythingseems to be going to plan, until the ride’s builderdecided to call it quits, and closed the companyovernight, just as the project was well-underway.

Not wanting to miss an entire day of con-struction time, Gary and Linda put the construc-tion crew on the Cliff’s payroll, located and

ordered all the materialsand equipment them-selves in order to seethat the coaster wouldbe completed to theoriginal specificationsand design plan. Suredelays would followand despite having threerides closed during the

2002 season due to the coaster construction, thepark managed to have an excellent season.

The in-house constructed New MexicoRattler did open near the end of the 2002 season,but now, in its first full operating season, hasbrought guests to Cliff’s at record numbers. Thebuzz in Albuquerque is once again centeredaround Cliffs and their new coaster.

For this, Amusement Today is proud to presentthe first-ever Publisher’s Pick to Gary and LindaHays of Cliff’s Amusement Park for their perse-verance and a job well done.

Gary SladePublisher, Amusement Today


Park and Ride Winners Ranked by percentage of votes cast

Best Park

Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 30%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 15%Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool, England 12%

Best Waterpark

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 47%Splashin’ Safari Santa Claus, Ind. 23%Wildwater Kingdom Allentown, Pa. 6%

Friendliest Park Staff

Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 61%Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 10%Paramount’s Kings Dominion Doswell, Va. 3%

Cleanest Park

Holiday World Santa Claus, Ind. 45%Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 10%Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 7%

Best Shows

Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 32%Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 13%Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 8%Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 8%

Best Food

Knoebels Amusement Resort Elysburg, Pa. 30%Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 13%Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 10%

Best Landscaping

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 37%Efteling Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands 23%Bonfante Gardens Gilroy, Calif. 7%Alton Towers Staffordshire, England 7%

Best Water Ride

Valhalla Blackpool Pleasure Beach 23%Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls Islands of Adventure 14%Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-rat Barges Islands of Adventure 6%

Best Kid’s Area

Paramount’s Kings Island Kings Mills, Ohio 47%Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 8%Paramount’s Kings Dominion Doswell, Va. 7%

Best Waterpark RideZinga Splashin’ Safari 27%Master Blaster Schlitterbahn 26%Zoombabwe Splashin’ Safari 16%

Most Beautiful Park

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Williamsburg, Va. 38%Efteling Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands 22%Europa Park Rust, Germany 8%

Most Beautiful Waterpark

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Texas 24%Typhoon Lagoon Orlando, Fla. 18%Blizzard Beach Orlando, Fla. 17%

In an effort to continuethe introduction of newGolden Ticket categories eachyear, Amusement Today haselected to place some awardson a three-year rotation forvoting.

Last year, AT introducedBest Souvenirs, Best GamesArea, Best Themed orBackground Music and MostClassic or Distinctive CoasterStation as new categories.They will not be voted onagain until 2005.

This year, AT debuted the

Certain awards get three-year format

Three-year format awardsRanked by percentage of votes.

CapacityCedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 53%Disneyland Anaheim, Calif. 8% Magic Kingdom, WDW Resort Orlando, Fla. 6%

Best Dark RideAmazing Adventures...Spider-man Islands of Adventure 34%Haunted Mansion Knoebels Amusement Resort 20%Dream Flight (Droom Vulcht) Efteling 8%

Best Non-Coaster RideGiant Drops Intamin/Ride Trade 20%Amazing Adventures...Spider-man Islands of Adventure 14%Tower of Terror Disney-MGM 8%

Best Theming of an AttractionDueling Dragons Islands of Adventure 27%Indiana Jones...Forbidden Eye Disneyland 14%Tower of Terror Disney-MGM 10%

winner for Best Non-CoasterRide. Three yearly categorieswere moved to the three-yearformat: Best Park Capacity;Best Dark Ride and BestTheming of an Attraction.These categories will not bevoted on again until 2005.

Three new yearly cate-gories were introduced thisyear: Most Beautiful Park,Most Beautiful Waterparkand Publisher’s Pick, a spe-cial Golden Ticket Awardselected by Amusement TodayPublisher Gary Slade.

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2003GOLDEN TICKETAWARDSBEST OF THE BEST!

The ListTop 50 wooden roller coasters

PARK YEAR POINTS

Raven

Shivering Timbers

Boulder Dash

Phoenix

Legend

GhostRider

Lightning Racer

Beast

Megafobia

Texas Giant

Colossos

Grand National

Cornball Express

Comet

Rampage

Cyclone

The Boss

Georgia Cyclone

Thunderbolt

Tonnerre de Zeus

Twister

Tremors

Viper

Coaster

Texas Cyclone

1995

1998

2000

1985

2000

1998

2000

1979

1996

1990

2001

1935

2001

1994

1998

1927

2000

1990

1968

1997

1999

1999

1995

1958

1976

Holiday World

Michigan’s Adventure

Lake Compounce

Knoebels Amusement Resort

Holiday World

Knott’s Berry Farm

Hersheypark

Paramount’s Kings Island

Oakwood Leisure Park

Six Flags Over Texas

Heide Park

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Indiana Beach

The Great Escape

Visionland

Astroland (Coney Island)

Six Flags St. Louis

Six Flags Over Georgia

Kennywood

Parc Asterix

Knoebels Amusement Resort

Silverwood

Six Flags Great America

Playland

AstroWorld

1114

912

892

823

724

437

427

422

421

415

335

314

304

284

279

269

237

225

194

180

177

168

139

130

129

LOCATION

Santa Claus, Ind.

Muskegon, Mich.

Bristol, Conn.

Elysburg, Pa.

Santa Claus, Ind.

Buena Park, Calif.

Hershey, Pa.

Kings Mills, Ohio

Pembrokshire, Wales

Arlington, Texas

Soltau, Germany

Blackpool, England

Monticello, Ind.

Lake George, N.Y.

Bessemer, Ala.

Brooklyn, N.Y.

St. Louis, Mo.

Atlanta, Ga.

West Mifflin, Pa.

Plailly, France

Elysburg, Pa.

Athtol, Idaho

Gurnee, Ill.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Houston, Texas

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

CCI

CCI

CCI

Dinn/PTC

CCI

CCI

GCII

Dinn

CCI

Dinn

Intamin

Paige

CCI

Schmeck-PTC

CCI

Keenan/Baker

CCI

Dinn/Summers

Vettel/Miller

CCI

Fetterman/Knoebels

CCI

Starkey/Six Flags

Phare

Cobb

Thank you readers of Amusement Today for honoring our Megafobia as a Top 10 coaster!

PRESENTED TO

OAKWOOD

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2003

GOLDENTICKETAWARD

#9WOODENCOASTER

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PARK YEAR POINTS

Ozark Wildcat

Villain

Wildcat

Giant Dipper

Timberwolf

Timber Terror

Grizzly

Cylcone

Excalibur

Thunder Run

Blue Streak

Son of Beast

Wild Mouse

Roar

Screechin’ Eagle

(Loup Garou) Werewolf

Jack Rabbit

Thunder Coaster

Gwazi

Racer

Roar

Cyclops

Hurricane

Mean Streak

MegaZeph

2003

2000

1996

1924

1989

1996

1982

1983

1998

1990

1964

2000

1958

1998

1938

2001

1921

2001

1999

1927

1999

1995

2000

1991

2000

Celebration City

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure

Hersheypark

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Worlds of Fun

Silverwood

Parmount’s Kings Dominion

Six Flags New England

Funtown/Splashtown USA

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Cedar Point

Paramount’s Kings Island


Six Flags America

LeSourdsville Lake

Six Flags Belgium

Kennywood

Tusenfryd

Busch Gardens Tampa

Kennywood

Six Flags Marine World

Big Chief’s Cart & Coaster World

Boomers

Cedar Point

Six Flags New Orleans

121

112

104

97

89

78

76

69

60

54

54

49

49

48

45

45

44

42

41

41

41

37

37

36

35

LOCATION

Branson, Mo.

Aurora, Ohio

Hershey, Pa.

Santa Cruz, Calif.

Kansas City, Mo.

Athol, Idaho

Doswell, Va.

Agawam, Mass.

Saco, Maine

Louisville, Ky.

Sandusky, Ohio

Kings Mills, Ohio

Blackpool, England

Largo, Md.

Middletown, Ohio

Wavre, Belgium

West Mifflin, Pa.

Vinterbro, Norway

Tampa, Fla.

West Mifflin, Pa.

Vallejo, Calif.

Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Dania Beach, Fla.

Sandusky, Ohio

New Orleans, La.

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

GCII

CCI

GCII

Prior & Church/Looff

Dinn/Summers

CCI

Summers/KECO

Cobb

CCI

Dinn/Summers

Hoover/PTC

Stengel/Parmount

Blackpool PB

GCII

Miller

Vekoma

Miller/Baker

Vekoma

GCII

Miller/PTC

GCII

CCI

Coaster Works

Dinn

CCI

The ListTop 50 wooden roller coasters


26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35 (tie)

35 (tie)

37 (tie)

37 (tie)

39

40 (tie)

40 (tie)

42

43

44 (tie)

44 (tie)

44 (tie)

47 (tie)

47 (tie)

49

50

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Adventure Extreme JuniorCompetitive

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TTOORRNNAADDOOTT MM IInnssttaallllaattiioonnss .. .. ..ssoo ffaarr TTMM:: HOLIDAY WORLD SPLASHIN’ SAFARI, SANTA CLAUS, IN; MOUNTAIN CREEK, VERNON, NJ; SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND, AGAWAM, MA

NNOOTT AALLLL WWAATTEERR RRIIDDEESS AARREE CCRREEAATTEEDD EEQQUUAALL TT MM.... .. .. ..

History proves that ProSlide is the trusted forerunner in innovative

water ride development pioneering award-winning ProSlide® ride technologies.

Is it any wonder then that world leading waterpark operators look to us

year after year for the latest in industry-first original water ride attractions?

...Shouldn’t you?

We pour on the

www.ProSlide.com

2003 best new waterpark ride2003 best new waterpark RIDE

Rocket Coaster Halfpipe

Super Gyro TowerSuper Splash

Double Twister Impulse Gyro SwingGyro Drop

Pioneer of Amusement Rides The Art of Thri l l

Giant WheelWorld’s tallest

Accelerator

Floorless Tilting

New from and

Thanks for ranking our rides so high!

V.I.

P.

2003

GOLDENTICKETAWARD

BESTSTEEL

COASTER

Superman Ride of SteelSix Flags New England

PRESENTED TO

BLACKPOOLPLEASURE

BEACHV.I.

P.

2003

GOLDENTICKETAWARD

BESTWATER

RIDE

ValhallaBlackpool Pleasure Beach

PRESENTED TO

RIDE TRADEV.

I.P.

2003

GOLDENTICKETAWARD

BESTNON-

COASTERRIDE

Giant DropRide Trade

PRES

ENTE

D TO

SUPE

RMAN

RIDE

OF ST

EEL

SIX FL

AGS N

EW EN

GLAN

D

V.I.

P.


The ListTop 50 steel roller coasters

PARK YEAR POINTS

Superman Ride of Steel

Millennium Force

Expedition GeForce

Magnum XL-200

Apollo’s Chariot

Nitro

Nemesis

Phantom’s Revenge


Raptor

Top Thrill Dragster

Montu


Dueling Dragons

X

Steel Force

Raging Bull

Goliath

Goliath

Alpengeist

Incredible Hulk

Kumba

Euro-Mir

Air

Superman Krypton Coaster

2000

2000

2001

1989

1999

2001

1994

2001/1991

1999

1994

2003

1996

2000

1999

2002

1997

1999

2000

2001

1997

1999

1993

1997

2002

2000

Six Flags New England

Cedar Point

Holiday Park

Cedar Point

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Six Flags Great Adventure

Alton Towers

Kennywood

Six Flags Darien Lake

Cedar Point

Cedar Point

Busch Gardens Tampa

Six Flags America

Islands of Adventure

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Dorney Park

Six Flags Great America


Six Flags Holland


Islands of Adventure

Busch Gardens Tampa

Europa Park

Alton Towers

Fiesta Texas

1177

1093

794

789

538

527

361

353

320

315

298

278

272

257

243

242

239

184

183

183

179

148

147

140

138

LOCATION

Agawam, Mass.

Sandusky, Ohio

Hassloch, Germany

Sandusky, Ohio

Williamsburg, Va.

Jackson, N.J.

Staffordshire, England

West Mifflin, Pa.

Darien Center, N.Y.

Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky, Ohio

Tampa, Fla.

Largo, Md.

Orlando, Fla.

Valencia, Calif.

Allentown, Pa.

Gurnee, Ill.

Valencia, Calif.

Flevo, The Netherlands

Williamsburg, Va.

Orlando, Fla.

Tampa, Fla.

Rust, Germany

Staffordshire, England

San Antonio, Texas

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19 (tie)

19 (tie)

21

22

23

24

25

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

Intamin

Intamin

Intamin

Arrow

B & M

B & M

B & M

Morgan/Arrow

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Arrow

Morgan

B & M

Giovanola

Intamin

B & M

B & M

B & M

Mack

B & M

B & M


V.I.

P.


PARK YEAR POINTS

Mind Bender

Titan

Volcano

Big One

Mr. Freeze

Mamba

Colossus

Hypersonic XLC

Shock Wave

Xcelerator

Medusa

Mindbender

Superman Ultimate Flight

Top Gun

Wildfire

Riddler’s Revenge

Big Bad Wolf

California Screamin’

Magnum Force

Superman The Escape

Top Gun

Superman Ultimate Escape

Kraken

Desperado

Wicked Twister

1978

2001

1998

1994

1998

1998

2002

2001

1978

2002

1999

1985

2002

1999

2001

1998

1984

2001

2000

1997

1993

2000

2000

1993

2002



Paramount’s Kings Dominion



Worlds of Fun

Thorpe Park

Paramount’s Kings Dominion


Knott’s Berry Farm

Six Flags Great Adventure

Galaxyland


Paramount’s Carowinds

Silver Dollar City



Disney’s California Adventure

Flamingoland


Paramount’s Great America

Six Flags Worlds of Adventure

SeaWorld Orlando

Buffalo Bill’s Hotel and Casino

Cedar Point

137

131

122

111

97

95

90

87

80

79

68

67

64

60

59

56

47

43

39

37

37

35

31

30

28

LOCATION

Atlanta, Ga.

Arlington, Texas

Doswell, Va.

Blackpool, England

Arlington, Texas

Kansas City, Mo.

Chertsey, England

Doswell, Va.

Arlington, Texas

Buena Park, Calif.

Jackson, N.J.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Atlanta, Ga.

Charlotte, N.C.

Branson, Mo.

Valencia, Calif.

Williamsburg, Va.

Anaheim, Calif.

Malton, England

Valencia, Calif.

Santa Clara, Calif.

Aurora, Ohio

Orlando, Fla.

Primm, Nev.

Sandusky, Ohio

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45 (tie)

45 (tie)

47

48

49

50

RANK NAME SUPPLIER

Schwarzkopf

Giovanola

Intamin

Arrow

Premier Rides

Morgan

Intamin

S & S

Schwarzkopf

Intamin

B & M

Schwarzkopf

B & M

B & M

B & M

B & M

Arrow

Intamin

Schwarzkopf

Intamin

B & M

Intamin

B & M

Arrow

Intamin

The ListTop 50 steel roller coasters


Thank you to the staff and readers of Amusement Today for honoring uswith four Golden Ticket Awards for 2003. This is the fourth consecutive yearthe Raven has received your highest award as the Best Wooden Coaster.As the recipient of the Cleanliest Park award for the fourth consecutive yearand the Friendliest Staff award for the sixth consecutive year, we would liketo thank all of our employees for a job well done. We are also honored foryour high ranking of Zinga as Best Waterpark Ride, ZOOMbabwe as thirdBest Waterpark ride and Splashin’ Safari as the second Best Waterpark andthe 5th Best Wooden Coaster award for The Legend.

THANK YOUFOR FOUR!

2003 Golden Ticket Awards

theme park water park

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