2018 GTA Winners – The Golden Ticket Awards | Presented by Amusement Today

The 2018 Golden Ticket Awards were hosted at Silver Dollar City, The Showboat Branson Belle (Missouri).

CATEGORY	WINNER
Best Amusement Park	Europa-Park, Rust, Germany
Best Water Park	Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas
Best Children’s Park	Idlewild & SoakZone, Ligonier, Pa.
Best Marine Life Park	SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Seaside Park	Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Best Wooden Coaster	Phoenix at Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.
Best Steel Coaster	Fury 325, Carowinds, Charlotte, N.C.
Best Kids’ Area	Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio
Friendliest Park	Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Cleanest Park	Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.
Best Halloween Event	Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Landscaping	Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.
Best Christmas Event	Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best Food	Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.
Best Shows	Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Best Water Ride	Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Best Water Park Ride	Wildebeest at Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.
Best Dark Ride	Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Orlando, Fla.
Best New Ride of 2018 – Amusement Park	Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
Best New Ride of 2018 – Water Park	Ray Rush at Aquatica in Orlando, Fla.
Best Carousel	Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.
Best Indoor Roller Coaster	Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando, Orlando, Fla.
Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction	Noah’s Ark at Kennywood, West Mifflin, Pa.

Personally chosen by Gary Slade, publisher and editor-in-chief of Amusement Today, this year’s Publisher’s Pick Awards were presented in the following categories:

Innovation of the Year – Chance Rides, Wichita, Kan., for its green initiatives specifically involving the all-electric C.P. Huntington train. This attraction has changed the way the industry is evolving in terms of environment reliability, operator satisfaction and guest experience.
Turnstile Award – Silver Dollar City, Branson, Mo., for its commitment to excellence, willingness to push themselves and take risks. These characteristics are proof in the park’s Time Traveler attraction introduced this year, which has helped create jobs, increase attendance and define a new area of the park.

2018’s Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters

Rank	Name	Park	Location	Supplier	Year	Total
1	Fury 325	Carowinds	Charlotte, N.C.	B&M	2015	1222
2	Millennium Force	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	Intamin	2000	1156
3	Steel Vengeance	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	Rocky Mountain	2018	829
4	Expedition GeForce	Holiday Park	Hassloch, Germany	Intamin	2001	540
5	Superman: The Ride	Six Flags New England	Agawam, Mass.	Intamin	2000	535
6	Apollo’s Chariot	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Williamsburg, Va.	B&M	1999	522
7	Iron Rattler	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	San Antonio, Texas	Rocky Mountain	2013	483
8	Leviathan	Canada’s Wonderland	Vaughan, Ontario, Canada	B&M	2012	410
9	Maverick	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	Intamin	2007	390
10	Diamondback	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio	B&M	2009	347
11	Nitro	Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson, N.J.	B&M	2001	345
12	Intimidator 305	Kings Dominion	Doswell, Va.	Intamin	2010	344
13	Phantom’s Revenge	Kennywood	West Mifflin, Pa.	Morgan/Arrow	2001	324
14	Magnum XL-200	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	Arrow	1989	300
15	Taron	Phantasialand	Brühl, Germany	Intamin	2016	283
16	Top Thrill Dragster	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	Intamin	2003	278
17	Mako	SeaWorld Orlando	Orlando, Fla.	B&M	2016	251
18	Time Traveler	Silver Dollar City	Branson, Mo.	Mack	2018	248
19	Blue Fire	Europa-Park	Rust, Germany	Mack	2009	244
20	Nemesis	Alton Towers	Staffordshire, England	B&M	1994	238
21	Helix	Liseberg	Gothenburg, Sweden	Mack	2014	234
22	Intimidator	Carowinds	Charlotte, N.C.	B&M	2010	233
23	New Texas Giant	Six Flags Over Texas	Arlington, Texas	Rocky Mountain	2011	222
24	Twisted Colossus	Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, Calif.	Rocky Mountain	2015	212
25	Mind Bender	Six Flags Over Georgia	Austell, Ga.	Schwarzkopf	1978	211
26	Goliath	Six Flags Over Georgia	Austell, Ga.	B&M	2006	201
27	Behemoth	Canada’s Wonderland	Vaughan, Ontario, Canada	B&M	2008	187
28	Montu	Busch Gardens Tampa	Tampa, Fla.	B&M	1996	186
29	Banshee	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio	B&M	2014	175
30	Skyrush	Hersheypark	Hershey, Pa.	Intamin	2012	173
31	X2	Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, Calif.	Arrow	2001	162
32	Alpengeist	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Williamsburg, Va.	B&M	1997	160
33	Wicked Cyclone	Six Flags New England	Agawam, Mass.	Rocky Mountain	2015	158
34	Black Mamba	Phantasialand	Brühl, Germany	B&M	2006	137
35	Cheetah Hunt	Busch Gardens Tampa	Tampa, Fla.	Intamin	2011	132
36	Verbolten	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Williamsburg, Va.	Zierer	2012	116
37	Kumba	Busch Gardens Tampa	Tampa, Fla.	B&M	1993	115
38	Twisted Timbers	Kings Dominion	Doswell, Va.	Rocky Mountain	2018	109
39 – tie	Jetline	Gröna Lund	Stockholm, Sweden	Schwarzkopf	1988	99
39 – tie	Superman Ride of Steel	Six Flags America	Upper Marlsboro, Md.	Intamin	2000	99
41	Goliath	La Ronde	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	B&M	2006	97
42	Lisebergbanan	Liseberg	Gothemburg, Sweden	Schwarzkopf	1987	96
43	Griffon	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	Williamsburg, Va.	B&M	2007	93
44	Cannibal	Lagoon	Farmington, Utah	Lagoon	2015	92
45	Shambhala	PortAventura	Salou, Spain	B&M	2012	89
46	Expedition Everest	Disney’s Animal Kingdom	Orlando, Fla.	Vekoma	2006	82
47	Storm Chaser	Kentucky Kingdom	Louisville, Ky.	Rocky Mountain	2016	81
48	Raging Bull	Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, Ill.	B&M	1999	78
49	Thunderbird	Holiday World	Santa Claus, Ind.	B&M	2015	72
50	Whizzer	Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, Ill.	Schwarzkopf	1976	70

2018’s Top 50 Wooden Roller Coasters

Rank	Name	Park	Location	Supplier	Year	Total
1	Phoenix	Knoebels Amusement Resort	Elysburg, Pa.	PTC/Schmeck-Dinn	1985	1330
2	El Toro	Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson, N.J.	Intamin	2006	1197
3	Voyage	Holiday World	Santa Claus, Ind.	Gravity Group	2006	1086
4	BoulderDash	Lake Compounce	Bristol, Conn.	Custom Coasters	2000	982
5	Beast	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio	KECO	1979	781
6	Lightning Rod	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tenn.	Rocky Mountain	2016	691
7	Outlaw Run	Silver Dollar City	Branson, Mo.	Rocky Mountain	2013	573
8	Ravine Flyer II	Waldameer	Erie, Pa.	Gravity Group	2008	560
9	Gold Striker	Califoria’s Great America	Santa Clara, Calif.	Great Coasters Int.	2013	497
10	Thunderhead	Dollywood	Pigeon Forge, Tenn.	Great Coasters Int.	2004	477
11	Mystic Timbers	Kings Island	Mason, Ohio	Great Coasters Int.	2017	465
12	Lightning Racer	Hersheypark	Hershey, Pa.	Great Coasters Int.	2000	329
13	GhostRider	Knott’s Berry Farm	Buena Park, Calif.	Custom Coasters	1998	307
14	Balder	Liseberg	Gothenburg, Sweden	Intamin	2003	289
15	Thunderbolt	Kennywood	West Mifflin, Pa.	Vettel/Miller	1968	260
16	Wodan	Europa-Park	Rust, Germany	Great Coasters Int.	2012	236
17	Wildfire	Kolmården	Norrköping, Sweden	Rocky Mountain	2016	232
18	Raven	Holiday World	Santa Claus, Ind.	Custom Coasters	1995	229
19	Goliath	Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, Ill.	Rocky Mountain	2014	215
20	Jack Rabbit	Kennywood	West Mifflin, Pa.	Miller	1920	211
21 – tie	Giant Dipper	Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk	Santa Cruz, Calif.	Prior & Church/Looff	1924	206
21 – tie	Shivering Timbers	Michigan’s Adventure	Muskegon, Mich.	Custom Coasters	1998	206
23	Legend	Holiday World	Santa Claus, Ind.	Custom Coasters	2000	201
24	White Lightning	Fun Spot	Orlando, Fla.	Great Coasters Int.	2013	196
25	Troy	Toverland	Sevenum, Netherlands	Great Coasters Int.	2007	183
26	Renegade	Valleyfair	Shakopee, Minn.	Great Coasters Int.	2007	182
27	Cú Chulainn	Tayto Park	Ashbourne, Ireland	Gravity Group	2015	177
28	Colossos	Heide Park	Soltau, Germany	Intamin	2001	171
29	Cyclone	Luna Park/Coney Island	Brooklyn, N.Y.	Keenan/Baker	1927	169
30 – tie	Prowler	Worlds of Fun	Kansas City, Mo.	Great Coasters Int.	2009	165
30 – tie	Rampage	Alabama Splash Adventure	Bessemer, Ala.	Custom Coasters	1998	165
32	Comet	The Great Escape	Lake George, N.Y.	PTC/Schmeck	1994	164
33	Boardwalk Bullet	Kemah Boardwalk	Kemah, Texas	M&V/Gravity Group	2007	157
34	Flying Turns	Knoebels Amusement Resort	Elysburg, Pa.	Knoebels	2013	148
35	Rutschebanan	Tivoli Gardens	Copenhagen, Denmark	L.A. Thompson	1914	135
36	Switchback	ZDTs	Seguin, Texas	Gravity Group	2015	130
37	Blue Streak	Conneaut Lake Park	Conneaut Lake, Pa.	Vettel/NAD	1938	118
38 – tie	American Thunder	Six Flags St. Louis	Eureka, Mo.	Great Coasters Int.	2008	117
38 – tie	Screamin’ Eagle	Six Flags St. Louis	Eureka, Mo.	Allen/PTC	1976	117
40	Grizzly	Kings Dominion	Doswell, Va.	Summers-KECO	1982	115
41	Blue Streak	Cedar Point	Sandusky, Ohio	PTC/Hoover	1964	109
42	Playland Wooden Coaster	PNE Playland	Vancouver, B.C., Canada	Phare	1959	107
43	Boss	Six Flags St. Louis	Eureka, Mo.	Custom Coasters	2000	106
44	Wild One	Six Flags America	Upper Marlboro, Md.	PTC/Miller/Dinn	1986	98
45	T Express	Everland	Yonjin-si, South Korea	Intamin	2008	87
46	Megafobia	Oakwood	Pembrookshire, Wales	Custom Coasters	1996	84
47	Hades 360	Mount Olympus	Wisconsin Dells, Wis.	Gravity Group	2005	80
48	Mine Blower	Fun Spot	Kissimmee, Fla.	Gravity Group	2017	79
49	Wooden Warrior	Quassy Amusement Park	Meddlebury, Conn.	Gravity Group	2011	77
50	Twister	Knoebels Amusement Resort	Elysburg, Pa.	Fetterman/Knoebels	1999	75