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And the 2009 winners are....
We would like to thank everyone who participated in our 3rd Annual GreatAdventureHistory.com Warner Awards. For the first time this year we limited voting to just register members of our site and we had the best voter turnout in the three years that we have been celebrating Great Adventure's "Bests". Now on to the results according to our members ....
Starting with the rides, taking first place for the Best Ride (Non Coaster) with 29% of the votes was the Skyride, followed closely by the Log Flume at 27%, with Twister coming in third at 21%. The Skyride dethroned the Log Flume from the number one spot in 2008.
In the Best Coaster wars, El Toro, Nitro, and Kindga Ka have taken the first, second, and third spots for the third year in a row- at least GA fans are consistent! At 46% El Toro took in more than twice the number of votes as Nitro (at 19%), and three times the number of votes as Ka at 15%. This year's coaster re-do, Medusa ala Bizarro, tied Skull Mountain for 5th place coming in just behind Rolling Thunder.
While Bizarro didn't fair too well in the coaster races its huge sign nabbed the top Best Sign spot with 54% of the votes, forcing Kingda Ka's sign to drop to number two this year. Not going unnoticed, the new Twister sign was recognized with the third place trophy having secured 12% of the votes.
The Dark Knight won the Best Theming award for the second season since its debut with 31% of the vote. However, even with all its new bells and whistles, Bizarro only took in about half the number of votes placing it in a tie with El Toro for second place.
Landing the largest number of votes in any of the ride categories was the Big Wheel's runaway win in the Best Lighting competition. The new LED light package pulled in 83% of the votes allowing it to retain its top spot and glow even brighter (with less energy!). And speaking of lights (or lack of), Nitro took top honors in the Best Ride at Night category with 40% of the votes followed by the Skyride with 15% and Kingda Ka at 12%.
Great Adventure's Best Original Ride from 1974 award was the Sky Ride with 40% of the votes with the Log Flume and Runaway Train ranked second and third. Lastly, in the Best Upcharge category, Dare Devil Dive retained its winning status with 63% of the votes followed by Eruption at 21%.
In the Entertainment and Shows department the new Saturday Night Lights fireworks was a smash hit with 58% of the Best Show votes. It displaced the Glow in the Park parade which slipped from number one to number two with 19% of the votes, down from 57% last year. Over 50% of guests elected Mr. Six's new 2009 ride as Best GITP Float blowing out the Cape Crusader's number two showing with 25% of the votes for the Batman float.
Not surprising, Fright Fest was picked as the Best Event for 2009 for the third year. The limited return of Houdini's Great Escape ranked as the Best Part of Fright Fest with 42% of our voters, surpassing the casted ballots for both The AWAKEning and Dead Man's Party combined.
Theming played a large part in how our members voted on their favorite sections of the park. Once again Great Adventure's Golden Kingdom ranked the highest with almost half of the voters taking Best Themed Section. However, Balin's Jungleland only tied this year with Bugs Bunny National Park for Best Children's Area honors. Last year it had a 12 point lead over second place. Balin's seemed to take a hit with the unfortunate removal of several of its children's rides.
When it comes to food, Best of the West Barbeque was the clear winner with 48% of votes being cast for it in the Best Restaurant Food category and 66% of guests voting it the nicest in the Best Restaurant Facility category. For the Best Food/Snack Stand award, the most votes were given to the Conestoga Wagon (25%) with the new for 2009 Cyber Café coming in second place with 17%. Nathans was picked as the Best Name-brand Food establishment with 29% followed closely by Johnny Rockets at 27%. Cold Stone Creamery came in third with 18% of the votes.
The Boardwalk area rounded up the largest number of votes as Best Games center with 56% followed by Movie Land's Studio 28 Arcade pulling in 25% of the votes. In the Best Games of Skill slot, the Ladder Game climbed to the top with more than a third of the votes followed by Water Gun games and Miniature Golf.
With 19%, Main Street Market cashed in as the #1 shopping location for the third year in a row as Best Shop. Balin's Bazaar came in second with 17% and the Justice League and Looney Tunes Shoppe tied for third with 15%.
Over in Hurricane Harbor, The Falls speed slides and Lazy River took the Best HH Attraction spots with 35% and 21% of votes, respectively. The same two attractions were voted one and two in 2008. It should be interesting to see if 2010's Tornado will rock the votes next year.
This year mirrored 2008 for the Wild Animal Safari Park. The African Plains section took the Best Safari Attraction award with 31% of the voters followed by Bear Country with 19%. The Tiger's Lair section, with 13%, tied the Lion Kingdom for the third most popular area.
And that brings us to our top award – the Best New Attraction/Feature for 2009:
- With just over 19% of the votes third place went to the reintroduction of Houdini's Great Escape. Not bad considering that this ride was open for only a month during Fright Fest! This clearly shows that park patrons view this ride as an important component of their Six Flags experience.
- Coming in second was 2009's "new" ride Bizarro with 25% of the votes. Usually a major "new" attraction, especially when it is a roller coaster, blows out the competition. However this year the top winner was a force to be reckoned with which filled a void in the park's entertainment offerings.... (drum roll please)......
- We are proud to recognize Saturday Night Lights as Great Adventure's Best New Attraction/Feature for 2009! The show easily speaks for itself and we are thrilled that it will be returning for 2010. It definitely is a world-class winner!
And before we wrap up, as is tradition, let's take a look back at those attractions that we have lost for the 2009 season. They will be missed.
Click HERE for the "In Memoriam" tribute video.
Once again, thanks for voting and making your opinions known. We will see you in 2011 as we celebrate Great Adventure's Bests at the 4th Annual GreatAdventureHistory.com Warner Awards!
