USA Today 10 Best Theme Parks

Indeed.

I've never been simultaneously amused and frustrated before. Is there a word for that emotion?

If not, I suggest it be referred to as CoasterBuzzed.

What Pete said is right on target, and why the USA poll has little or no credibility. On the other hand, I think that roller coaster polls tend to be more honest b/c there is no inducement to vote for monetary gain or any other advantage. I also think that those who vote tend to be better informed. I vote in Mitch Hawker's poll every year b/c I like to see outstanding coasters get the recognition they deserve - and b/c my own choices tend to correspond with the top ten lists, I have come to the conclusion that most of those who vote are true coaster enthusiasts with a solid basis on which to make their selections.

This thread borders on satire.

For some people it does. For others, its a totally serious discussion about an important issue. Which itself is the issue.

It's like two separate threads in one. For some of us. For the others, I feel like half the responses are invisible.

Why aren't there any replies in this thread?

Lord Gonchar said:

I've never been simultaneously amused and frustrated before. Is there a word for that emotion?

If not, I suggest it be referred to as CoasterBuzzed.

I was going to suggest framustrated, but CoasterBuzzed works just fine.

I checked back to see which group I fall into.

Now I'm sad.

It's alright. There's a certain degree of enjoyment from being able to say you 'buzzed Gonch.

I've been very busy this year and haven't read through most of the posts, so forgive me if I'm being redundant. I just wanted to say that Six Flags was smart to use this poll to their advantage, and they clearly played this game the hardest, so congrats to them for the wins.

I was at Great Adventure last month while this poll was in progress. I was looking all around the park, making jokes about the ads everywhere, and then I noticed these very amateurish-looking signs posted all over the park, in the queues, and taped to posts and signs. From a distance, it looked as if a sad child lost their cat, and they were determined to find it.

Upon closer inspection, they were just mass-printed pieces of paper from a standard printer that said something like "Vote Six Flags Great Adventure the best park for your chance to win free tickets by scanning this QR code!" The rest of the sheet of paper was just a giant QR code to scan. Having read about this poll before I left, I knew exactly what was going on, and I found it clever.

Standing in queue lines, people were bored and just looking for something to do on their phones. With a quick scan from a phone, Great Adventure presumably had another vote. Brilliant. I was very curious if their strategy would work in getting them toward the top of the list, and it looks like it was a success. The increased positive exposure and business from this poll will certainly outweigh the cost of a ream of computer paper, a toner cartridge, tape, and a little labor.