– As repeat award recipient for Best New Ride, Best Steel Coaster and Best Kids’ Area categories, company illustrates its commitment to delivering unmatched guest experiences
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, received three top honors in Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards (GTA). The coveted Best New Ride award went to Sandusky, Ohio’s Cedar Point for its record-breaking Steel Vengeance hyper-hybrid roller coaster. Charlotte, North Carolina-area park Carowinds‘ giga coaster Fury 325 won Best Steel Coaster for the third year in a row. And the PEANUTS™ themed children’s area at Mason, Ohio’s Kings Island won Best Kids’ Area for an extraordinary 18th consecutive year. In all, 24 rides and attractions throughout Cedar Fair’s portfolio of amusement parks received GTA recognition.
Richard Zimmerman, Cedar Fair’s president and CEO, said, “As an entertainment company, it is an honor for Cedar Fair to be recognized by industry peers and enthusiasts for being the best at what we do. Our hard-working team is both grateful and quite proud to be fan favorites and recipients of multiple Golden Ticket Awards again this year. Looking ahead to 2019, we are excited about introducing two incredible coasters as well as other entertaining thrills we trust will be favorably received by our guests. I thank everyone at Amusement Today, and congratulate all winners for their dedication in creating memorable experiences.”
GTA Best New Ride winner Steel Vengeance, whose massive wooden structure and twisted red I-beam metal track dominates Cedar Point’s FrontierTown area, broke 10 roller coaster records when it debuted in May 2018. The coaster was also recognized as one of the top steel roller coasters overall. Also placing in the Best New Ride category was hybrid coaster Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. In 2017, the company’s Mystic Timbers roller coaster at Mason, Ohio’s Kings Islandreceived the top GTA as Best New Ride.
The GTA for best steel coaster again went to Fury 325 at Carowinds. With a towering teal green track piercing the sky above the North and South Carolina state lines, the coaster has won top honors for best new ride and steel coaster since its debut in 2015. Recognition for other Cedar Fair steel coasters went to Cedar Point’s Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Magnum XL-200 coasters; Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario; Diamondback at Kings Island; Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion; and Intimidator, also at Carowinds.
Racking up an impressive 18-year winning streak, Kings Island has won the top Best Kids’ Area GTA more than any other park in history. Its Planet Snoopy boasts an elaborate collection of PEANUTS-themed rides and attractions, including more kids’ roller coasters than any other amusement park in the world. Kings Dominion also placed for its Planet Snoopy kids’ area.
In the category for Best Wood Coaster, several Cedar Fair coasters received recognition – The Beast and Mystic Timbers at Kings Island; Gold Striker at California’s Great America in Santa Clara; Ghost Rider at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California; and Shivering Timbers at Michigan’s Adventure in Muskegon.
The company’s parks also earned a range of spots in other categories – Cedar Point in the Best Park category, Kings Island in the Best Christmas Event and Best Halloween Event categories, Knott’s Berry Farm in the Best Halloween Event category, and Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, California in the Best Landscaping category.
The prestigious Golden Ticket Awards are presented annually to recognize excellence in the amusement park industry. The awards are calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, an Arlington, Texas-based publication that covers amusement and water park news and trends.
