Travel Advisor announces top 10 parks outside of Orlando.

I have to say, it's a pretty good list.

Click here.

I have been to 1-4 but I am kind of confused about some of the later parks in survey. I guess they were based on family stuff and not thrill rides.

Ober Gatlinburg over Dollywood? Please...

How up to date can this survey be? it has a 2007 copyright at the bottom, but yet it mentions 2 "Paramount's" Parks.

Great American Scream Machine and SuperduperLooper were named, I havent ridden GASM yet but have heard reviews but why not name coasters like lets say El toro, Kingda Ka (it only being the tallest Coaster in the world), Medusa, Nitro, Great Bear, Lightning Racers, and possibly Wildcat.

Plus the Paramount thing, and I found so grammar problems, I think whoever wrote this didnt do enough research.

Geez people. It's just another popularity poll. No reason to get all bent out of shape over the park's name or why "this or that" isn't included.

Also They said paramount because The Paramount name can be seen everywhere you look in the parks. The Cedar Fair name isn't as prominent as in Cedar Point. I use to live in Raleigh, NC, and Carowinds will always be Paramount, CF couldn't take that away.

As for the list, those are all popular parks. When I wasn't as avid with coasters back in early high school, I could believe this list, and added a few others. Also notice it's based in Mass. and owned by CNN. East Side parks, and the Media controls how the public thinks.

^I think they said Paramount because it's basically a stock article that hasn't been updated in a few years. Carowinds was just plain "Carowinds" for a longer period of time than it was "Paramount's Carowinds." It's not like the Paramount name was ever synonymous with amusement parks the way Six Flags is. People in the South (particularly Missouri, Texas, and Georgia) talk about going to "Six Flags."

Yeah... odd choices to include in the list and glaring omissions.

Cedar Point should be #1.

Olsor- What do you mean by stock article? The list seems pretty recent to me.

Also I remember going to Carowinds before it was Paramount, and then, even though I wasn't tall enough. It had nothing but a roller coaster or 2, and a ton of flats. Once Paramount took it over, Carolinians flocked. Use to go once every few years, then ended up going every year.

Cedar Point isn't as family oriented as Hershey. CP is full of coasters, younger members have the small kids area, but there isn't much compared to the vast amount of space available to the taller crowds.

Busch Gardens has a good kid area, some coasters, and a massive Zoo.

I wonder how many polls they had to initiate in order to get a response from their readers/members. I'd like to see the poll they sent out. I can't stop laughing at the responses!

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Olsor said:
People in the South (particularly Missouri, Texas, and Georgia) talk about going to "Six Flags."

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Yeah, and people from NJ don't call it Six Flags, they call it Great Adventure!

*** Edited 8/4/2007 2:51:17 PM UTC by jshorerzd***

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BANDandDCI said:
...and the Media controls how the public thinks.

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That's a very interesting point to make within the context of this thread. It's always on my mind when we have threads about lists, but I never say anything about it for fear of starting a great big debate on how totally insane I am.

I never heard of Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park so i checked it out online. Did you know that this AMAZING amusement park has a playground for toddlers (that you could go to for free in any schoolyard) and and incredible 2 amusement rides, one of which is a fun house? (To be fair, they also have a few water slides and an Alpine Slide.)

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jshorerzd said:
I wonder how many polls they had to initiate in order to get a response from their readers/members. I'd like to see the poll they sent out. I can't stop laughing at the responses!

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They didn't send polls. Trip Advisor is a site where people voluntarily visit and rate/review. (hotels, destinations, etc - travel related stuff)

For this list, the editors chose some of the higher rated amusement parks, put them in an order that seemed to make sense to them, and sent out a press release.

The comments are comments users left in their reviews on the site.

I love sites like this because it gives you real world opinions of what people think about these parks. (and it's a must check site if you need to know about a hotel you've never been to before)

^ Thanks Gonch (may I call you that?) I didn't realize that was one of the best sources for particular travel info... After seeing this top 10 list, I don't think I will vacation based off of any others from Trip Advisor, however I will give them a look-see for any hotels I am considering staying at.

^^ Dexter, where else can you go Ice Skating in the summer time in the south but Ober Gatlinberg? They have more than 2 rides too... I think 5 (all kiddie of course) and you didn't mention the bear exhibit... Ahh, the fresh smell of bear squat baking in the hot sun! All kidding aside, the Gondola ride has great views and you can walk about the cabin and look from different angles (can't do that on a ski lift). This is a ski resort, plain and simple, that wanted to make money during the off season by adding a few attractions.

*** Edited 8/4/2007 5:48:24 PM UTC by jshorerzd***

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jshorerzd said:
^ Thanks Gonch (may I call you that?) I didn't realize that was one of the best sources for particular travel info... After seeing this top 10 list, I don't think I will vacation based off of any others from Trip Advisor, however I will give them a look-see for any hotels I am considering staying at.

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That's Mr. Gonch to you! ;)

Like I said, it is a great resource for real-world opinions. In terms of parks and such, I'm not sure that will be as helpful as the enthusiast opinion, but it sure is a fascinating read in many cases.

As far as hotels go - it's usually a good indicator of the quality of any given property. Just look at the bigger trends in the reviews and you should have a good idea of what to expect from any given property.

Seeing Carowinds on a list like this makes me dislike it even more.

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jshorerzd said:
the Gondola ride has great views and you can walk about the cabin and look from different angles (can't do that on a ski lift). This is a ski resort, plain and simple, that wanted to make money during the off season by adding a few attractions.

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The Gondola Ride sounds very nice, but to me it isn't an amusement park attraction. Why would they list a Ski Resort on a top 10 Amusement Park list? Sure, they have a few rides, but the Carousel in my Mall doesn't make my Mall an Amusement Park at all.

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dexter said:

That's a very interesting point to make within the context of this thread. It's always on my mind when we have threads about lists, but I never say anything about it for fear of starting a great big debate on how totally insane I am.

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Pretty much, those who disagree with my statement, live under a rock. The media can make the public believe whatever it wants. The media is corrupted, and becoming even more so as long as "The head man in charge" is making his money.