2016 Golden Ticket Awards

Just a summary of some of the more major awards:

Best Park: Europa
Best Waterpark: Schlitterbahn
Best Wooden Coaster: Boulder Dash
Best Steel Coaster: Fury 325 (Only a single vote in front of Millennium!)
Best New Ride: Lightning Rod
Best Indoor Coaster: Revenge of the Mummy
Best New Water Slide: MASSIV

You left out the Editor's Pick (sympathy award) for Cedar Point park of the year.

RMC over a couple of major new B&M attractions. Not suprised by Fury, it was amazing. I wish CP would get the best park nod again, there is so much new in the park I feel like they've really stepped their game up. Maybe next year!

The park of the year award is just a glorified second place trophy.

Also, I f anyone caught the beginning of the awards, can you update me on any other categories, such as:

Best Shows
Best Outdoor Show Production
Best Kids' Area
Cleanest Park
Friendliest Park
Best Carousel
Best Food
Best Landscaping
Best Halloween Event

Thank You!

Best Shows- Dollywood

Best Kids area- KI

Cleanest Park- Holiday World

Friendliest-Dollywood

Carousel- Knoebels

Food- Knoebels

Landscaping- BG Williamsburg

Halloween- Universal Orlando-HHN

Thank you! I missed the first hour because of internet problems. But after that, it was working real smooth.

XS NightClub said:
You left out the Editor's Pick (sympathy award) for Cedar Point park of the year.

I thought it was funny how quickly they ended it after not winning Best Park. You know people would have stuck around talking a lot longer had CP won.

Maybe they had a park to open.

It was at 8:00pm, the park has been open for 7 hours.

Oh.

Did anyone happen to see the guy in the prominent RMC jacket that Pete and the boys "did"?

;)

One of the presenters was from RMC, but so was one from Zamperla and chance and others as well

Did anyone hear about the park operator who couldn't come through customs? That story started with a jab at a candidate that wants to secure the nation's borders. Yay for politics creeping into an entertainment award ceremony!

And yes, one of the founders of RMC was there. Along with many other ride companies.

I'm a little confused. So Europa Park got "best park"; what is the "Editors Pick" for best park?

Is it the Miss Congeniality award?

It's not Miss Photogenic because Europa would get that too.

Looking at the list I'm honestly surprised CP got 2nd place. I've expanded my travels quite a bit this year and while I haven't been to Europa (bucket list) I would easily place Knoebels and Dollywood over Point. Coaster count does not a park make! Everything about Dollywood made me fall in love with it, the food, shows, rides, employees, service, cleanliness, value, everything is just how it should be done IMO.

Knoebels is just, well, Knoebels. If you haven't been, go!

In case you missed viewing it.
The whole awards 'ceremony' was really cheesy and had a high school AV club production quality to it.

It's really hard to believe some of the people are industry 'professionals' and it's easier to believe that a few had spent quite a bit of time with Pete at the Surf Lounge prior.

Watching it; I highly doubt Disney ever bothers to send someone to this event or if they'd care if they won an award, the representative from Universal clearly had a smug 'I'm much better than these parks' attitude, the Europeans (including B&M) couldn't be bothered to show up in person, and it had to be pretty embarrassing for them to tout that $180M that CF put into CP in the last 5 years and it got totally shut out.

Kevinj said:

I'm a little confused. So Europa Park got "best park"; what is the "Editors Pick" for best park?

Is it the Miss Congeniality award?

XS NightClub said:

the Europeans (including B&M) couldn't be bothered to show up in person

Actually it's very common for Walt's daughter to show up rather than him. He's not really a public person.

Maybe he's scared of you all. ;)

WolfBobs said:
Looking at the list I'm honestly surprised CP got 2nd place. I've expanded my travels quite a bit this year and while I haven't been to Europa (bucket list) I would easily place Knoebels and Dollywood over Point. Coaster count does not a park make! Everything about Dollywood made me fall in love with it, the food, shows, rides, employees, service, cleanliness, value, everything is just how it should be done IMO.

Knoebels is just, well, Knoebels. If you haven't been, go!

I personally don't think Dollywood is even close to CP but I'm sure many would disagree with me. CP beats every park I have ever been to by a wide margin, operations being the main reason. Ride lineup a close second.

I honestly think "Best New Ride" is just a joke these days. First Flying Turns wins it in 2014 over Goliath and Banshee when it had already soft opened the last week of 2013. Now Lightning Rod wins it?? It has been down for most of the season and it still rarely runs 2 trains consistantly. A ride of such poor opporations should not have even been nominated IMO.