4. Europa-Park

Since the inception of Amusement Today, there was a vote as reliable as death and taxes. In the category of Best Amusement Park, one company stood above the rest. It wasn’t Disney or Universal, either. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, dominated the landscape. It won the category f15 consecutive years from 1998 to 2013. Imagine a team winning the Super Bowl every during that timeframe, and you’ll understand the impressiveness of the achievement.

Then, something shocking happened in 2014. Europa-Park, the pride of Rust, Germany, upset the 15-time defending champion to become THE Best Amusement Park in the world according to Amusement Today voters. In 2015, history repeated itself when Europa-Park followed its surprising victory by repeating as the champion in the category of Best Amusement Park.

While its 12 roller coasters receive most of the credit for this feat, I suspect that voters are secretly voting for Europa-Park due to its sublime roller coaster restaurant, Food Loop. Whatever the explanation, you should add this park to your theme park tourist bucket list. At current pricing of 42,50 EUR (around $50 USD, depending on the strength of the dollar to the Euro at a given time), it’s also an economical place to visit.

5. Dollywood

Southern hospitality as a concept hasn’t outlived its usefulness, at least not based on the continued popularity of Dollywood. In 2015, the crown jewel of East Tennessee tourism once again proved competitive in several major categories. This time, it won three of them: Friendliest Park, Best Shows, and Best Christmas Event. Dollywood actually has a lock on of these categories, winning Friendliest Park four consecutive years, Best Shows seven straight times and Best Christmas Event all eight times since the category’s inception.

Dollywood also has a foothold in several other major categories, finishing in the top five in seven other categories. As one of the cheapest parks to visit on the list, Dollywood is a perfect selection for a quick vacation getaway. A daily ticket to Dollywood currently costs about $65, which is a bit higher than some of the other options here but well worth it for the panoramic scenery of the Smoky Mountains.

6. Schlitterbahn

Water parks are at an all-time high in popularity, yet there is only one alpha in the industry. Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas, delivered one of the dominant showings of this year’s awards, earning 52 percent of all votes in the category of Best Water Park. It also claimed the title of Best Indoor Waterpark at its Galveston, Texas facility.

Schlitterbahn is so renowned among Amusement Today contributors for its water rides that its popularity caused a split vote in a key category. With people unable to choose between excellent splashdown attractions such as Congo River Expedition, Master Blaster, and Dragon’s Revenge, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari’s Wildebeest was able to eke out a victory in the category of Best Waterpark Ride. Its 34 percent of the vote was 10 percent better than second place finisher Master Blaster, but 11 percent lower than the three Schlitterbahn rides combined. If the park offered only one exceptional attraction, it would counterintuitively have a better chance of winning this category each year. That’s how to define theme park excellence in action. A single day’s visit to a Schlitterbahn park costs about $60, and they even throw in a souvenir bottle for you to take home afterward.

And the loser is…Disney

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." Trying to explain the continued failure of Disney theme parks at the Golden Ticket Awards probably comes down to that quote. Voters must believe that Disney’s domination of the entire industry is its own reward. That’s the only conclusion I can draw from the fact that the company won only one award this year, Best Outdoor Show Production for Illuminations.

Notably, this is the only category Disney has won over the past several years. So, if they do replace Illuminations in coming years, they risk getting completely shut out in the Golden Ticket Awards, although it’s not a huge risk since they take the top four spots in this particular category. I would maintain Disney’s continued exclusion by Amusement Today participants says more about the awards themselves (and the way they’re tabulated) than about Disney. Then again, I’m a huge Disney fan.

Whatever the reason, Disney doesn’t even win a silver medal very often. Over the past five years, the only times they’ve even finished in second place in voting beyond the Best Outdoor Show Production are: Space Mountain (Disneyland) for Best Indoor Roller Coaster, Disneyland for Best Christmas Event, and Radiator Springs Racers for Best New Ride in 2012. Their last major category win was for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as Best Indoor Coaster in 2007 (!). For whatever reason, Disney gets absolutely no love at the Golden Ticket Awards.