Golden Tickets, 2008.

And the yearly fun begins...

Words cannot express how passionately indifferent I am about the Golden Tickets.

Every ride may technically be nominated in that you can write-in candidates, but that's like voting for Ron Paul... ;)I got in my ballot this year, and made sure all the TGG rides made my personal top-10. RF2 featured prominently. In no way do the GT ballots attempt to replicate what Mitch's poll does, but the ballots do come from "well-travelled enthusiasts" and are representative of regions from around the country. Rigorous methodology? No. Worthy of ridicule? I wouldn't go that far...oh, and Fahrenheit isn't even the best inverting Intamin at HP.... ;)

Wow the majority of the awards are the same as last year.

Cedar Point takes the win again!

Vater said:
Words cannot express how passionately indifferent I am about the Golden Tickets.

Right?

How long until Mitch's poll? You know - the fun one that is more than a marketing tool for everyone involved. ;)

I am surprised, of all things, that Cedar Point won again considering the heavy ACE presence within Amusement Today, and the uncertain fate of Big Dipper.

^It's almost like...nobody cares.

Have I mentioned that the Golden Tickets are just a way to sell ads to companies that ordinarily would never buy ads? The amusement industry seems to be the only one left that plays into this scam.

The probably just need to add another category to the best park list, best "theme park" so Disneyworld could win it every year. :)

I do think its funny that Knoebels continues to win best food. I guess its varied, but none of it is extraordinary. Busch Gardens Europe is the clear winner for me in that category. But then again, thats just my opinion. :)

Mitch should add parks and food and this other BS. :)

Mitch should sell advertising to the winners.

Then release a publication so that the parks can cite it for advertising purposes.

Then people will think it means something and seek out said publication out of curiousity.

The circle of life. :)

I feel it's safe to assume that most people don't vote for things if they hadn't yet ridden them.

See, that's funny, I'd bet a week's pay on just the opposite.

I guess it's just me then. This was the second year I got to participate. They ask you for your top 10 steel and wood. Last year I didn't have El Toro in my list because I hadn't ridden it yet. Where as this year I have it as my #2 behind The Voyage.

How exactly is El Toro not the number 1 wood coaster, or even number 2 for that matter? With almost everyone who goes on it getting off saying its the best wooden in the US, I really don't get the results at all. The same goes for S:ROS at SFNE...great ride yes, best ride, close, but no.

In 2006, it's inaugural year, it was voted 3rd best new ride behind Voyage and Expedition Everest and was voted the 13th best wooden coaster. In 2007, it was voted the 9th best coaster and this year it was voted the 4th best coaster. I know people don't agree with me, but I still think most people don't vote for things they haven't ridden. So as more people have gotten to ride El Toro, the higher in the ranks it's gotten. The rides that are high on the list that may not seem like as great of a coaster, have more than likely been ridden by many more people and therefor are getting more consideration. In the same regard, coasters that have past their prime probably take longer to get off the list because people are voting on something they rode years ago and maybe don't know how it's evolved over the years. Not every person who votes gets to go to every park and ride every coaster every year. This is a very subjective poll based a lot on Past experiences.

You know that it's been a slow year for water parks when Rock & Roll Island at Water Country ranked as the #4 best new attraction. They took out 5 slides from the old area, put in 3 crappy ones that are just as rough on the back as the old ones, slapped on some new paint and a few musical-themed floats, and called it a brand new attraction.

Also, am I the first one to notice that Kennywood got the #4 Best Christmas Event? All they've done is put some strands of lights on the Pittfall, and I'm not even sure if they did that last year.

Jason Hammond said:
Not every person who votes gets to go to every park and ride every coaster every year. This is a very subjective poll based a lot on Past experiences.

True, but I don't see how that makes this any more based on past experiences than other polls.

I don't vote for anything I haven't ridden (or seen/experienced for certain categories). Toro was way up in my rankings as well, but I believe there are some people who critique the ride as "not feeling like a wooden coaster". That's their right. I vote with my own ballot, LOL.

The thing that has always bothered me about these is that for the most part in each category you have a blowout for the first place winner, maybe even the second place, and then everyone else shares a pretty level percentage of the vote. Hardly seems worth creating a ranking out of the results to me.

But yeah, the overarching ad angle isn't lost on me either.

Jason Hammond said:
I know people don't agree with me, but I still think most people don't vote for things they haven't ridden.

I should have been clearer. Just guessing, but I do not believe "most" people, as in more than 50% of voters vote for stuff they haven't ridden which I see now is what you meant. On the other hand, I still bet it's very common. Given there are ballots submitted every year to Mitch's poll which seem to be suspect in assorted ways and I've even seen people discuss online voting for certain coasters without having ridden them, I don't see why the Golden Tickets would be any different. In fact I'd be more wary of voting shenanigans concerning the Golden Tickets than I would Mitch's poll but it seems like every year we rehash the reasons the Golden Tickets are a bit of a sham anyway. That poor dead horse! :)

Goliath Freak said:
How exactly is El Toro not the number 1 wood coaster, or even number 2 for that matter?

Because there's still an ongoing debate about the purity of the ride when comparing it to traditional wood coasters.