Going for the (Theme Park) Gold

The Olympics may be in full swing, but a different kind of gold was awarded today. The folks at Amusement Today, a respected industry trade publication, presented their annual Golden Ticket awards in a ceremony at Ohio's Cedar Point. Not coincidentally, the Point nabbed top honors for Best Park. The original Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas took the prize for best waterpark. In other categories, the wonderful Boulder Dash at Connecticut's Lake Compounce earned a Golden Ticket as the best wooden roller coaster. (The unique ride gets my vote as the world's best wooden coaster also.) A few of the coveted prizes went to Indiana's Holiday World and Splashin' Safari: Friendliest Park, Cleanest Park, and a Publisher's Pick for Customer Service. Congratulations to all of the well-deserved winners.