USA TODAY 10Best
Six Flags Magic Mountain named Best Amusement Park
Best Amusement Park (2018)
The United States is home to more than 400 amusement parks and attractions attracting some 375 million visitors annually, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. That's an overwhelming number of options when faced with planning that perfect family vacation.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Amusement Park are as follows:
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - Tampa
- Hersheypark - Hershey, Penn.
- Holiday World - Santa Claus, Ind.
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Williamsburg, Va.
- Dollywood - Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas - San Antonio
- Silver Dollar City - Branson, Mo.
- Six Flags Great Adventure - Jackson, N.J.
- Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio
- Six Flags Magic Mountain - Valencia, Calif.
Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
No. 10:
African-themed Busch Gardens Tampa opened in 1959, making it somewhat of a trailblazer in the Orlando theme park boom. It's since expanded to include nearly 300 acres of attractions, thrill rides and even a 12,000-animal zoo. While the park offers animal shows and interactions, as well as character encounters with the folks from Sesame Street to appeal to pint-sized park goers, the real draws are the coasters and thrill rides, including a coaster with a 70-foot vertical lift called Cobra's Curse.
No. 9:
The amusement park of every chocolate lover's dreams, Hersheypark features 121 acres with 70 rides (including 13 roller coasters), five strolling shows, six stages, three additional performance areas, a waterpark and an 11-acre wildlife park, all accessible via a single admission. Fahrenheit, one of the park's most popular thrill rides, is a vertical lift coaster with a 90-degree, 121-foot lift followed by a breathtaking 97-degree drop.
Photo courtesy of Holiday World
No. 8:
It's Christmas year-round at Holiday World in the town of Santa Claus, Ind. The park celebrated its 70th birthday in 2016 – it's one of the oldest theme parks in the country – with a major renovation of The Legend wooden roller coaster, which now a double-down and a fifth tunnel. Thunderbird steel roller coaster is another guest favorite, and Firecracker, one of the only remaining classic Calypso rides in the nation, opened summer 2017.
Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg
No. 7:
The European-themed installment of Busch Gardens in Williamsburg transports visitors to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy circa 17th century, albeit a rather exciting version of the era, with more than 50 rides and attractions spread over 100 acres. Busch Gardens Williamsburg frequently ranks among the world's most beautiful theme parks, and its thrill ride options are top notch. The guest favorite? Griffon, the world's first floorless dive coaster that plunges 205 feet at 75 miles per hour.
No. 6:
Tucked amid the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, country music-themed Dollywood has all the makings of a great theme park – thrill rides, coasters, kiddie rides and everything in between. It really shines in its other extras; live craft demonstrations, lavish stage shows and a full calendar of special events mean there's always something going on, and the Southern-inspired food offerings are a cut above the typical theme park fare.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Fiesta Texas
No. 5:
Set within a limestone quarry in San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas offers thrills and entertainment for kids and adults of all ages. Among the highlights are a number of DC Comics-themed coasters, including Superman: Krypton Coaster, Batman: The Ride, and the newly opened Wonder Woman Golden Lasso, the world's first single-rail coaster.
Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City
No. 4:
Stepping into Silver Dollar City is like stepping back to an 1880s mining town. Covering over 100 acres, the park is the largest family-owned amusement park in the nation, attracting some two million visitors annually with its combination of on-park entertainment, festivals, 100 resident craftsmen and more than 40 rides and attractions. New in 2018 is Time Traveler, the world's tallest, steepest and fastest complete-circuit spinning roller coaster.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Entertainment
No. 3:
Six Flags Great Adventure is home of the world's tallest steel roller coaster, Kinda Ka, as well as Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, the world's tallest and fastest drop ride. The park boasts around a dozen coasters in all, plus a slew of tamer rides and attractions, Looney Toons character meet-and-greets, live stage shows and a 350-acre safari park with 1,200 animal residents. The park is set to become the world's first fully solar-powered theme park.
No. 2:
Located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, Cedar Point bills itself as "the roller coaster capital of the world" with 18 thrilling coasters covering 10 miles of track (out of more than 70 total rides). The 364-acre park has a history dating back to 1870, making it the second oldest continually operated amusement park on the continent, and it's managed to maintain that classic park feel, complete with 3 miles of midway and one of the only operating D.C. Muller carousels in the world.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Magic Mountain
No. 1:
For roller coaster lovers, it doesn't get much better than Six Flags Magic Mountain. The park boasts the world's largest lineup of coasters – 19 of them – including some rather inventive offerings and record-breakers. Stars of the heart-pumping ride list include The New Revolution Galactic Attack, the first giant looping mixed reality roller coaster in the world, and Twisted Colossus, the world's longest hybrid coaster. Record-breaking CraZanity is set to debut in 2018.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Robb Alvey (ThemeParkReview.com), Doug Barnes (Season Pass Podcast), Austin Carroll (Fastpass to the Past: The Theme Park History Podcast), Monet Massa-Sena (The Theme Park Princess), Clint Novak (In the Loop), John Stevenson (Coaster101.com) and Josh Young (Theme Park University) were chosen based on their knowledge and experience of amusement parks in North America.
Congratulations to all these winning parks!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Austin Carroll
Austin Carroll is the creator and host of Fastpass... Read More
Austin Carroll is the creator and host of Fastpass to the Past: The Theme Park History Podcast, a popular podcast that explores the strange origins of the world’s most iconic theme parks and rides. As a relatively new voice in the industry, she has garnered critical acclaim for applying traditional research methodology to theme park history. A former Disneyland cast member, she is currently on a quest to visit all the Disney Theme Parks worldwide before 2020. Follow her on travels on Instagram at @fastpasstothepast.
Austin Carroll
Austin Carroll is the creator and host of Fastpass to the Past: The Theme Park History Podcast, a popular podcast that explores the strange origins of the world’s most iconic theme parks and rides. As a relatively new voice in the industry, she has garnered critical acclaim for applying traditional research methodology to theme park history. A former Disneyland cast member, she is currently on a quest to visit all the Disney Theme Parks worldwide before 2020. Follow her on travels on Instagram at @fastpasstothepast.
Clint Novak
Clint Novak has been a fan of the Amusement... Read More
Clint Novak has been a fan of the Amusement Industry for almost 20 years. Along with his close friends “The Legend” and “Drew the Intern” he has been hosting an amusement park podcast called In the Loop for 14 years and they have become mildly popular with their YouTube channel. Clint visits parks weekly and is easy to spot at on the midway with his trademark propeller beanie.
Clint Novak
Clint Novak has been a fan of the Amusement Industry for almost 20 years. Along with his close friends “The Legend” and “Drew the Intern” he has been hosting an amusement park podcast called In the Loop for 14 years and they have become mildly popular with their YouTube channel. Clint visits parks weekly and is easy to spot at on the midway with his trademark propeller beanie.
Doug Barnes
Doug Barnes is the Owner/Producer/Host of the Read More
Doug Barnes is the Owner/Producer/Host of the Season Pass Podcast. Podcasting on Themed Entertainment for over 11 years, Doug took his lifetime hobby of theme park fun and turned into the largest audio archive of creative stories, career origins, and attraction development, told by the industry creators themselves, on the Internet. Doug has interviewed 500 plus themed entertainment creatives, media, celebrities, and fans; and has moderated multiple convention panels based on themed entertainment.
Doug Barnes
Doug Barnes is the Owner/Producer/Host of the Season Pass Podcast. Podcasting on Themed Entertainment for over 11 years, Doug took his lifetime hobby of theme park fun and turned into the largest audio archive of creative stories, career origins, and attraction development, told by the industry creators themselves, on the Internet. Doug has interviewed 500 plus themed entertainment creatives, media, celebrities, and fans; and has moderated multiple convention panels based on themed entertainment.
John Stevenson
John Stevenson is the founder of Coaster101.com, a... Read More
John Stevenson is the founder of Coaster101.com, a roller coaster and amusement industry website featuring in-depth articles about the fundamentals of roller coaster design, theme park guides, roller coaster reviews, interviews with industry experts, the latest coaster news and more. In 2017, John authored Libertyland: Images of Modern America, a book detailing the history of the former Libertyland amusement park in Memphis, Tennessee, which operated from 1976 until 2005 and was home to the Zippin Pippin, Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster. John has traveled from coast to coast riding over 230 roller coasters in the US.
John Stevenson
John Stevenson is the founder of Coaster101.com, a roller coaster and amusement industry website featuring in-depth articles about the fundamentals of roller coaster design, theme park guides, roller coaster reviews, interviews with industry experts, the latest coaster news and more. In 2017, John authored Libertyland: Images of Modern America, a book detailing the history of the former Libertyland amusement park in Memphis, Tennessee, which operated from 1976 until 2005 and was home to the Zippin Pippin, Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster. John has traveled from coast to coast riding over 230 roller coasters in the US.
Josh Young
Josh Young is Editor of Theme Park University, a... Read More
Josh Young is Editor of Theme Park University, a website that covers all aspects of the themed entertainment industry. TPU is a leader in theme park news, insight and analysis.
Josh Young
Josh Young is Editor of Theme Park University, a website that covers all aspects of the themed entertainment industry. TPU is a leader in theme park news, insight and analysis.
Monet Massa-Sena
Monet Massa-Sena is the owner of The Theme Park... Read More
Monet Massa-Sena is the owner of The Theme Park Princess and The Memory Makers. She is a former Walt Disney World Cast Member who spent two semesters on the Disney College Program and one semester as a professional intern for the Disney Parks Live Entertainment team. She is currently a social media manager for NowThis.
Monet Massa-Sena
Monet Massa-Sena is the owner of The Theme Park Princess and The Memory Makers. She is a former Walt Disney World Cast Member who spent two semesters on the Disney College Program and one semester as a professional intern for the Disney Parks Live Entertainment team. She is currently a social media manager for NowThis.
Robb Alvey
Robb Alvey is the owner of ThemeParkReview.com,... Read More
Robb Alvey is the owner of ThemeParkReview.com, started in 1996 and one of the longest running and largest theme park fan sites with over 3 million followers. Robb travels to theme parks all over the world each year including Europe, Asia, Australia, and all around the Americas, has visited hundreds of different parks and ridden about 2,000 different roller coasters. His background in theme parks started as a cast member for Disneyland when he was 17 years old and has continued more than 30 years later.
Robb Alvey
Robb Alvey is the owner of ThemeParkReview.com, started in 1996 and one of the longest running and largest theme park fan sites with over 3 million followers. Robb travels to theme parks all over the world each year including Europe, Asia, Australia, and all around the Americas, has visited hundreds of different parks and ridden about 2,000 different roller coasters. His background in theme parks started as a cast member for Disneyland when he was 17 years old and has continued more than 30 years later.
