Robert Niles
Editor
Robert Niles

The 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament schedule

March 17, 2010, 11:52 AM · Here is the schedule for the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction Tournament. Match-ups are in two-hour windows, starting at the times indicated below. If you click the tournament link just above, you can download a PDF of the bracket (which included the start times), if you find it easier to see that way.

Times given are Eastern and Pacific. Everyone else has to do the math.

I've mixed up the four brackets, instead of doing one bracket per day. That was a coin flip - so I'll justify it after the fact by saying this helps emphasize the variety of the tournament. Really, though, I have no idea if that's going to be a good idea. If it isn't, then I'll change for the second round, which begins Wednesday, March 24.

It's GOTV (get out the vote) time, folks. Pick the match-ups where you really, really want to see a particular winner, and get out the vote for that time. Just send people to the Theme Park Insider home page. All match-ups will be posted here, to the Blog Flume.

It'll be fun, folks. I hope everyone's looking forward to it!

[Crosses fingers. Hopes for the best.]

*Update: We've extended the voting window to four hours, starting with Monday's match-ups. New times noted below.

Thursday, March 18

Friday, March 19

Monday, March 22*

Tuesday, March 23*

Replies (22)

Brooks4587
Brooks Serigne
March 17, 2010 at 12:03 PM · Do we get to pick the top 4 for a chance to win something like last year?
tstover
Tyler Stover
March 17, 2010 at 12:10 PM · Good, it looks like there are a number of match-ups where I have experienced both attractions. At least for the first round I'll have a number of opportunities to make an informed vote. I won't vote if I haven't experienced both.
robert
Editor
Robert Niles
March 17, 2010 at 12:11 PM · I'm not running the contest this year, but folks are welcomed, and encouraged, to make their picks here for the right to lord it over everyone else for the next year if they're right.

Idiot Robert picks to win:
Themed Ride - Tower of Terror
Roller Coaster - The Voyage
Live Show- Finding Nemo (huge upset!)
Movie or Animated Show - Mickey's PhilharMagic

dacheeze247
luis gonzalez
March 17, 2010 at 12:20 PM · the person who picks the final four will win a trip for 2 to the grand opening of the wizarding world of harry potter, and get to ride the new forbidden journey ride first with maggie smith. the winner will also recieve accomodations in the lock out portion of maggie smith's suite, along with a signed photo of maggie smith and her king charles spaniel "otto."

word!

anonymous
65.12.173.131
March 17, 2010 at 12:46 PM · what about the ones of us in school or at work? we won't be able to vote on some of the polls. why not make them all run twelve hours (like 12 to 12 or 6 to 6 or something like)? or 24 hours? I find this very unfair for some of us because that doesn't let some participate. but thanks for setting up a fun tournament again.
JoshC.
Joshua Counsil
March 17, 2010 at 1:22 PM · Can the winner have the right to Luis' signature quote, "Word to your mother!"?

Appreciate this effort, Robert, and I am excited, but then I read through some of the past years' votes and realized how many fights this caused. I recall Anthony even receiving hate mail for his pro-Disney stance.

For that reason, can we PLEASE limit comments, not votes, to registered users?

coasterdude
Writer
Anthony Murphy
March 17, 2010 at 1:30 PM · Fair enough!

Its going to be exciting!

SC121
Sylvain Comeau
March 17, 2010 at 2:22 PM · Some of my favorites are up against each other...thanks a lot, Robert. Plenty of tough choices.
danielsmith
Daniel Smith
March 17, 2010 at 2:29 PM · Sounds fantastic and can't wait to see all the results!! Alas, unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to vote this year as most of the times are in the middle of the night here down under in Australia (or in Europe or Asia also). Perhaps for next year, the 24-hour votes could make a comeback? :) Looking forward to seeing this nail-biting competition!!!
robert
Editor
Robert Niles
March 17, 2010 at 4:31 PM · Each vote will have its own thread this year, which should cut down on the cross-talk. Also, I'll be holding a tighter leash on the anonymous comments. Positive and/or analytical comments will get through. Dupes of previous sentiments and personal attacks won't.
ESLAng
Eric Ang
March 17, 2010 at 5:22 PM · Tower of Terror Disney's Hollywood Studios vs. Amazing Spider Man would be a fantastic match up if that were to happen.
MrMike
Mike N
March 17, 2010 at 5:28 PM · I like the setup and interested to see how many people continue to visit the site continually throughout the day to vote.
JamesGillies
Writer
James Koehl
March 17, 2010 at 7:15 PM · Robert, I can't vote for the attractions that I'm most interested in. I will be at work during those times, and can't access the internet. I love the idea, but the short time periods is a problem. Can we possibly send you our votes privately and have them entered at TPI Central? I'm disappointed, and frankly a little bit miffed. I'll get over it, but still feel like many of us are being excluded due to jobs, school, etc.
JoshC.
Joshua Counsil
March 17, 2010 at 7:36 PM · I agree, Robert. Although the short windows allow for truer voting, many are stuck at work, school, or bed during those times.
kirbster23
David Kirby
March 17, 2010 at 11:31 PM · I have to echo the thoughts of others...the 2 hour window to vote for attractions seems like a poor decision. In order to vote in all of the match-ups, I'll have to log on about what, 4-5 times a day? It's just incredibly inconvenient for many of us, especially since I'm assuming many of us here work full time. How many of the loyal members will even remember to do that? Sure, I can get on the site during work but I'm technically breaking company policy to do so. And to go on so many times in one day? I'm sorry but to only have a poll open for such a limited time, you're not giving a fair chance to all the site's members to vote.I know you made the argument before that the March Madness games happen at a certain time but we certainly can't change the outcome of a game by watching whereas the ability to participate in voting here greatly affects the outcome.
Bigwig30
Writer
James Rao
March 18, 2010 at 3:34 AM · So, who IS running the tournament, Robert?

I like the format and the short time frames (which are consistent with the current need for instant gratification that plagues our society). Most everyone has access via their phones these days, so voting should not be a problem. Sadly, I will be out of commission most of this weekend and unable to post venomous comments and inane blatherings, but I will make every attempt to vote.

Go Spider-Man!

ErinB
Erin B
March 18, 2010 at 5:56 AM · I also won't be able to partake in much voting. I'll be gone all day today & tomorrow, then working all weekend at a job with no internet access. It's a disappointment, but oh well. Can't win 'em all. I'm excited to see how the tournament plays out this year, as it's what brought me to this site last year!
j32805pk
jay white
March 18, 2010 at 6:18 AM · there needs to be a write in section. there are a few shows that did not make it but had the same rank. like at BGT katonga made it with a rank of 8 and critter castaways was also an 8. we need to have a write in section.
bluesrider
Writer
Derek Potter
March 18, 2010 at 7:32 AM · As much as the Voyage deserves to at least be in the finals, I don't think it will make it past Millennium Force. There are still a lot of people who haven't ridden it, and an army of Cedar Point fans who will show up to vote for Millennium Force, although there are also some who will vote against Cedar Point for various reasons as well. Some pretty good rides will be out early. The Kraken/Apollo's Chariot is a tough one, as is The Beast/Maverick.

It's hard to tell with the themed ride. Tower of Terror, Spiderman, The Mummy among others, any one of them could win. I'll be voting in those matchups too. As for the live show and movie brackets, I'll be staying out of many of those matchups as I'm not familiar with some of those attractions. Also quite frankly, the winner of this tournament will come from either the coaster or themed ride brackets. It's great to give love to other attractions in the park, but it should be a squash when the final four comes around.

ryanstrat
Ryan S
March 18, 2010 at 2:06 PM · Why are there only 2 hour time slots? I'm at school most of the day where TPI is blocked, this is a disappointment as many of my favorite rides were to be voted on during the day.

so then i thought about the positives, at least i can vote when i get home. Then i looked and that would only allow me to vote in 3 match-ups, 2 of which i will not vote in due to the fact that i have not ridden both. Why aren't there any match-ups starting at 5 or 6, that is a bummer,

12 or 24 hour voting would be much better. Even a 6 hour window would be pretty good.

Ryan

JamesGillies
Writer
James Koehl
March 18, 2010 at 6:09 PM · Sorry, James, but I DO NOT have access via my phone to vote during work. I am there to work, not to vote on-line. I cannot access the site while at work on my employer's computer without getting written-up and possibly terminated. Robert is running the tournament, and I have not made any rude or inappropriate comments about him or how he is running the voting. I have expressed my displeasure with how it is set-up - that is all. I think it might be interesting to hear how many people would have voted if they could have voted in absentia, or if the voting times were longer. And I am watching the results- as an uninvolved bystander.
Bigwig30
Writer
James Rao
March 19, 2010 at 4:03 AM · I did say "most everyone" and not "all", James. But as far as I understand, only the first round has the two hour window. And most (not all) of those contests are no-brainers.

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