The Best Attraction in America Tournament

From March 18, 2010 through April 5, 2010, Theme Park Insider voted in the Best Theme Park Attraction in America Tournament, voting each day in a single-elimination tournament featuring 64 of the best rides and shows the theme and amusement park industry offers. These attractions were selected and seeded based on ratings submitted by Theme Park Insider readers over the past year.

Here are this year's winners: [2010 Tournament bracket (PDF file)]

Best Theme Park Attraction
Best Theme Park Ride
Best Roller Coaster
The Voyage at Holiday World

Best Theme Park Show
Best Theme Park Live Show
Fantasmic! at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland

>Fantasmic!

Best Themed Ride
Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Haunted Mansion

Best Theme Park Movie or Animated Show
Mickey's PhilharMagic at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Each weekday leading up to the tournament's start, we featured on the Theme Park Insider home page one of the 64 nominated attractions. Click the links below to read about the attractions, listed by their tournament seeding:

Best Theme Park Ride - Best Themed Ride Bracket

1. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Universal's Islands of Adventure
2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios
3. Universal Studios Florida's Revenge of the Mummy
4. Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom
5. Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean
6. Disneyland's Haunted Mansion
7. Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure
8. Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
9. Disneyland's Space Mountain
10. Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney's California Adventure
11. Universal Studios Florida's Men in Black Alien Attack
12. Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom
13. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Curse of DarKastle
14. Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges at Universal's Islands of Adventure
15. Soarin' Over California at Disney's California Adventure
16. SeaWorld Orlando's Journey to Atlantis

Best Theme Park Ride - Best Roller Coaster Bracket
Only the top-rated installation of each coaster model was included in the tournament. The model an installation represents is noted after its name.

1. Cedar Point's Millennium Force [Intamin Giga/Mega]
2. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Apollo's Chariot [Bolliger & Mabillard Mega Coaster]
3. Six Flags Great Adventure's El Toro [Intamin Wooden]
4. Dollywood's Thunderhead [Great Coasters International]
5. Holiday World's The Voyage [The Gravity Group]
6. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Griffon [Bolliger & Mabillard Dive]
7. Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure [Bolliger & Mabillard Sitting (Launch)]
8. Kings Island's The Beast [Charlie Dinn Wooden]
9. Cedar Point's Maverick [Intamin AG Custom]
10. Six Flags Magic Mountain's X2 [Arrow 4D]
11. SeaWorld Orlando's Manta [Bolliger & Mabillard Flying]
12. Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster [Intamin AG Accelerator]
13. Dollywood's Mystery Mine [Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter]
14. Six Flags Magic Mountain's Goliath [Giovanola Mega]
15. SeaWorld Orlando's Kraken [Bolliger & Mabillard Floorless]
16. Cedar Point's Raptor [Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted]

Best Theme Park Show - Best Live Show Bracket

1. Fantasmic! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
2. Aladdin at Disney's California Adventure
3. Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom
4. SeaWorld San Diego's Pets Rule
5. SeaWorld Orlando's Sea Lions Tonight 6. Dollywood's Sha-Kon-O-Hey
7. Busch Gardens Tampa's Katonga
8. SeaWorld San Diego's Cirque de la Mer
9. SeaWorld Orlando's Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island
10. Universal Studios Hollywood's Waterworld
11. Universal Studios Florida's Universal Horror Make-up Show
12. SeaWorld Orlando's Blue Horizons
13. Finding Nemo - The Musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom
14. SeaWorld Orlando's Believe
15. Lights! Motors! Action! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
16. Universal Studios Florida's Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue*
(*Added to the tournament after Busch Gardens closed "Emerald Beat," which would have been the second seed. All lower seeds moved up one spot, as a result.)

Best Theme Park Show - Best Movie or Animated Show Bracket

1. Mickey's PhilharMagic at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
2. Epcot's Impressions de France
3. Universal Studios Hollywood's Terminator 2: 3D
4. Epcot's American Adventure
5. Walt Disney: One Man's Dream at Disney's Hollywood Studios
6. MuppetVision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios
7. It's Tough to be a Bug! at Disney's Animal Kingdom
8. Mystery Lodge at Knott's Berry Farm
9. Epcot's Reflections of China
10. Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
11. Universal Studios Florida's Shrek 4-D
12. Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room
13. Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
14. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
15. Epcot's O Canada!
16. Epcot's Circle of Life

Here are the parks with the most nominees in this year's tournament:
1. SeaWorld Orlando - 7
2. Disney's Animal Kingdom - 5
    Disney's Hollywood Studios - 5
    Disneyland - 5
    Epcot - 5
    Universal Studios Florida - 5
    Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom - 5
8. Cedar Point - 4
9. Busch Gardens Williamsburg - 3
    Disney's California Adventure - 3
    Dollywood - 3
    Universal's Islands of Adventure - 3
13. SeaWorld San Diego - 2
     Six Flags Magic Mountain - 2
     Universal Studios Hollywood - 2
16. Busch Gardens Tampa - 1
     Holiday World - 1
     Kings Island - 1
     Knott's Berry Farm - 1
     Six Flags Great Adventure - 1

Previous tournaments

In 2008 and 2009, Theme Park Insider conducted annual 'Best Ride in America' tournaments.

In the 2009 tournament, readers selected Revenge of the Mummy from Universal Studios Florida as the 2009 tournament champion.

In the 2008 tournament, readers selected Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World as the best ride in America.

Park tickets

Weekly newsletter

New attraction reviews

News archive