Afternoon Thrill Seekers,
If you were an actor you’d want an Oscar… in the World of theme 
Parks the Oscar equivalent is a Golden Ticket. On the 7th September the great and good of the Theme Park industry gathered for the 15th annual awards ceremony with some of our favourite friends rightfully up for awards.
The Golden Ticket Awards (GTA) relies on a panel of voters from all over the world consisting of experienced park enthusiasts. The U.S. ballots are divided into four geographical regions, with approximately the same number of voters in each region. In addition to the American voters, Amusement Today invites a number of international voters to participate.
Voters are asked to submit one choice in each of the categories (except best coaster). The results are tallied and the park or attraction with the most votes is awarded the Golden Ticket for that category. For roller coasters, we ask that each voter submit a list of their top ten coasters — wood and steel — in order from one to ten, taking into consideration the overall experience including capacity, operations, reliability and re-rideability.
So without anymore delay the winners are;
| CATEGORY | WINNER |
| Best Amusement Park | Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio |
| Best Waterpark | Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas |
| Best Children’s Park | Idlewild and SoakZone, Ligonier, Pa. |
| Best Marine Life Park | SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla. |
| Best Seaside Park | Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif. |
| Best Wooden Coaster | Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn. |
| Best Steel Coaster | Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio |
| 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 | TIE! Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa. |
| Best Shows | Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn. |
| Best Outdoor Night Show Production | IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Orlando, Fla. |
| Best Water Ride | Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla. |
| Best Waterpark Ride | Wildebeest at Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind. |
| Best Dark Ride | Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla. |
| Best New Ride of 2013 – Amusement Park | Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City, Branson, Mo. |
| Best New Ride of 2013 – Waterpark | River Rush at Dollywood’s Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, Tenn. |
| 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 Indoor Waterpark | Schlitterbahn Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas |
| Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction | Noah’s Ark at Kennywood, West Mifflin, Pa. |
Orlando based winners were
- SeaWorld Orlando, best marine-life park.
- Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, best Halloween event.
- IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at Epcot, best outdoor night show production.
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure, best water ride.
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Islands of Adventure, best dark ride.
- Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando, best indoor roller coaster.
Congratulations to all the winners.
Smiles included…
Jamie
