“While exchanging opinions about favorite amusement parks and rides is fun for enthusiasts,” noted NAPHA’s Survey Coordinator, Marlowe McClasky Futrell, “Parks also are interested in the survey findings, and many incorporate the results into their publicity materials.”
Some of the attractions seizing the top ratings in the 2017 NAPHA survey include:
* Favorite Traditional Amusement Park: Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, PA), for six consecutive years.
* Favorite Theme Parks: Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) and Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, FL)
* Most Beautiful Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA) for the 28th consecutive year.
* Favorite Wood Coaster: Phoenix, Knoebels Amusement Resort, for seven years running.
* Favorite Steel Coasters: Millennium Force, Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) and Phantom’s Revenge, Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA).
NAPHA members are typically experienced riders who have visited countless amusement parks and have ridden a diverse assortment of roller coasters and other rides. The average member has been to more than 113 different amusement parks and has ridden about 290 roller coasters.
FAVORITE TRADITIONAL PARKS
For the fifth straight year, NAPHA members voted Knoebels Amusement Resort as their Favorite Traditional Park and Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA) as their second favorite park. The two parks have been neck and neck in the standings since 1996 with each holding one of the top two positions in this category.
FAVORITE TRADITIONAL PARKS
1 Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, PA)
2 Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA)
FAVORITE THEME PARKS
Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) and Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, FL) tied for Favorite Theme Park. These theme parks are perennial favorites, occupying the top spots virtually every year since the survey was first fielded in 1986.
FAVORITE THEME PARKS
1-tie Disneyland (Anaheim, CA)
1-tie Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, FL)
3 Dollywood (Pidgeon Forge, TN)
MOST BEAUTIFUL PARK
For the twenty-eighth consecutive year, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA, was voted by members as the World’s Most Beautiful Amusement Park. Dollywood was again named the second most beautiful, a position it has held since 2013.
FAVORITE POST-SUMMER SEASON AMUSEMENT PARK EVENTS
NAPHA members’ favorite Halloween, Fall or Christmas amusement park-related seasonal events are Dollywood’s Smokey Mountain Christmas and Knoebels’ Hallo-Fun, which is kicked off by their Phall Phunfest.
FAVORITE WOOD ROLLER COASTER
For the seventh consecutive year, Phoenix was voted by NAPHA members as Favorite Wood Roller Coaster. A survey regular from the late 1990’s, Kennywood’s Thunderbolt, voted as the second favorite. It nabbed the top spot in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
FAVORITE WOOD COASTER
1 Phoenix, Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, PA)
2 Thunderbolt, Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA)
FAVORITE STEEL ROLLER COASTER
Cedar Point’s Millennium Force tied with Phantom’s Revenge at Kennywood as Favorite Steel Roller Coaster. Millennium Force has been the top ranked or tied for the favorite steel coaster since 2002. Phantom’s Revenge has been the second place coaster since 2011.
FAVORITE STEEL COASTER
1 Millennium Force, Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
2 Phantom’s Revenge, Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA)
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The National Amusement Park Historical Association, founded in 1978, is an international, educational and enthusiast’s organization dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of the amusement park industry, past, present and future.