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Amusement Today

Type	Monthly newspaper
Owner	Gary Slade
Publisher	Gary Slade
Founded	April, 1997
Language	English
Headquarters	Arlington, Texas
Official website	www.amusementtoday.com

Amusement Today is a monthly periodical about amusement parks, based in Arlington, Texas. It was founded in 1997 by Gary Slade and Virgil Moore, III. It won the 1997 IAAPA award for Best New Company, and a year later started the Golden Ticket Awards, for which it is best known. The company has won several IAAPA awards over the years. In 2007, Amusement Today celebrated its tenth anniversary, along with its tenth annual Golden Ticket Awards.

Contents 1 Golden Ticket Awards 1.1 2009 Park and Ride Winners 1.2 Top 10 Steel Coasters of 2009 1.3 Top 10 Wood Coasters of 2009 1.4 Repeat winners 2 References 3 External links

[edit] Golden Ticket Awards

The Golden Ticket Awards is an annual set of awards given out by Amusement Today, a newspaper published for the amusement industry. Each year, the magazine gives out awards based on a weighted survey given out to park enthusiasts in the US and overseas. The awards were started in 1998 and have been featured on the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel.

[edit] 2009 Park and Ride Winners

Categories	2009 Winner[1]
Best New Ride (Amusement Park)	Prowler at Worlds of Fun
Best New Ride (Waterpark)	Congo River Expedition at Schlitterbahn
Best Park	Cedar Point
Best Waterpark	Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort
Best Children’s Park	Legoland California
Best Marine Life Park	SeaWorld Orlando
Best Seaside Park	Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Best Indoor Waterpark	Schlitterbahn Galveston Island
Friendliest Park Staff	Silver Dollar City
Cleanest Park	Holiday World
Best Shows	Dollywood
Best Food	Knoebels Amusement Resort
Best Water Ride (Amusement Park)	Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure
Best Waterpark Ride	Master Blaster at Schllitterbahn Waterpark Resort
Best Kids' Area	Kings Island
Best Landscaping	Busch Gardens Europe
Best Outdoor Night Production	Epcot
Best Dark Ride	The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Islands of Adventure
Best Halloween Event	Universal Orlando
Best Christmas Event	Dollywood
Best Carousel	Knoebels Amusement Resort
Best Indoor Coaster	Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando
Best Funhouse/Walkthrough Attraction	Frankenstein’s Castle at Indiana Beach

[edit] Top 10 Steel Coasters of 2009

#	Name	Amusement Park[2]
1	Bizzaro	Six Flags New England
2	Millennium Force	Cedar Point
3	Nitro	Six Flags Great Adventure
4	Goliath	Six Flags Over Georgia
5	Apollo's Chariot	Busch Gardens
6	Expedition GeForce	Holiday Park
7	Diamondback	Kings Island
8	Phantom's Revenge	Kennywood
9	Magnum XL-200	Cedar Point
10	Top Thrill Dragster	Cedar Point

[edit] Top 10 Wood Coasters of 2009

#	Name	Amusement Park[3]
1	The Voyage	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
2	Boulder Dash	Lake Compounce
3	El Toro	Six Flags Great Adventure
4	Phoenix	Knoebels Amusement Park & Resort
5	Thunderhead	Dollywood
6	Ravine Flyer II	Waldameer Park
7	The Beast	Kings Island
8	Prowler	Worlds of Fun
9	Hades	Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
10	Shivering Timbers	Michigan's Adventure

[edit] Repeat winners

• Best Amusement Park - Cedar Point for the last 12 years.
• Best Water Park - Schlitterbahn for the last 12 years.
• Best Steel Roller Coaster - Bizarro for the last 3 years. But won in 2007 and 2008 as Superman: Ride of Steel.
• Best Landscaping - Busch Gardens Europe for the last 12 years.
• Cleanest Park - Holiday World for the last 10 years.
• Best Food - Knoebels for the past 10 years.
• Best Kids Area - Kings Island for the last 9 years.

[edit] References

1. ^ Amusement Today 2009 Park and Ride Winners
2. ^ Amusement Today - Top 10 Steel Coasters of 2008
3. ^ Amusement Today - Top 10 Wood Coasters of 2009

[edit] External links

• Current Golden Ticket Awards at Amusement Today's website

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