With last week's release of the TEA Global Experience Report, we have a new Top 20 theme parks in North America. [Here is the link to our coverage: Disney continues to lead attendance in 2024, as Universal slips.]
Obviously, these parks made the top 20 for reasons. Some parks might be known for roller coasters and others for family attractions. But all of them offer enough quality and value that people continue to visit them in large enough numbers for them to make this list.
But here is my question for today. What other U.S. theme parks deserve to be considered among the best in the nation, even if they did not crack this list? And for the sake of this discussion, let's leave out Universal Orlando's Epic Universe, which almost certainly will make the 2025 list when it comes out next year.
Here are my "next four best parks" nominees, moving from west to east:
Six Flags Fiesta Texas: This San Antonio park offers one of the best experiences in the Six Flags chain, with nice attention to detail and decoration. And the thrills are there, too, including Iron Rattler, which made our top coasters list.
Silver Dollar City: Herschend's original theme park is a more intimate (and hillier) version of sister park Dollywood, with the added attraction of Marvel Cave underneath. But it's the hospitality and theming that make this one of the best parks in the country.
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari: Another family-owned park, Holiday World offers a great coaster line-up complemented by the world's best line-up of water coasters in the water park that is included with park admission. The free parking, soft drinks and sunscreen help make this the best value in the business.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Nestled in the woods around a lake near the James River, this is United Parks' most beautiful park, with a great selection of coasters, including classics such as Loch Ness Monsters and newcomers such as Pantheon.
What other theme parks would you like to recommend to your fellow theme park fans?
I suppose it depends how broadly we're defining top tier, but particularly if we're using a broader definition (aka parks worthy of a detour to visit) I'd definitely agree with everything mentioned thus far (and would even kick a few of the most popular parks in America out of that group...sorry USH). In addition, I'd nominate (in no particular order)...
-Dorney Park, Six Flags Over Georgia, and Six Flags Over Texas: These are the other Six Flags properties I generally consider to have the best attraction selection and provide the best experience. OT and OG are the originals, with a different feel from most of the other legacy Six Flags properties, and Dorney is perhaps the best mid-size corporate park in the country despite lacking anything travel-worthy.
-Adventureland: A quirky park in the middle of Iowa with a lot of charm. If you take the idea of "Disneyland at home" and cross it with an old-school amusement park, that's more or less what you'll find at this place.
-SeaWorld San Antonio: It may be the lesser SeaWorld, but it's still worth checking out and pairs extremely well with Fiesta Texas just across town.
-Knoebels: Not so much a "theme park" as a randomly assembled collection of rides in the woods, but somewhere that absolutely must be experienced by fans of the industry. Many attractions here are either rare models or custom creations, but they're all taken care of with love and the park is extremely affordable compared to the big players.
EPIC....
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I would agree with the 4 parks Robert has highlighted, but would also add:
1. Kings Dominion - The efforts the park has made in recent years to improve their theming, particular with the new Jungle X area, has been well received. Also, this park has a top tier lineup of coasters that I would argue can go head to head with the best regional parks in the country.
2. Lagoon - Perhaps it's a bit of recency bias, but I was really impressed with the Salt Lake City park. Sure, it has a bit of a carnival atmosphere in places, but it's really charming and has some of the most unique (can't experience them anywhere else) kind of attractions. When it comes to truly independent parks, Hersheypark and Holiday World usually get all of the attention, and deservedly so, but given our experience at Lagoon last month, I would consider this to be neck and neck with Holiday World (and a touch below Hersheypark) as the best independent park in the US.
3. Kennywood - This park gets ignored a lot because it draws from the same region as Cedar Point and Kings Island, but the Pittsburgh park has carved out a nice niche for itself by offering a much more traditional amusement park atmosphere and experience. With the return of Steel Curtain this season, Kennywood has a solid coaster lineup that is better than most similarly sized regional parks. Kennywood is now under the Herschend umbrella, so it will be interesting to see how the park evolves over the next few years, but I have faith that any changes will be gradual, and that Kennywood will maintain its traditional feel, which is what makes it a great change of pace compared to its bigger regional neighbors.