News Tripadvisor: Travelers' Choice Awards for Best Theme Parks in the United States

[Baloo124]

Dinosaur World in Plant City, FL didn't even make the list??

This election is rigged.

 

[flynnibus]

There’s no indication who made this list or how it was done.

It does say it’s tied somehow to TripAdvisor reviews. Knoebels had a 4.7 based on 1,200 reviews and MK I think had a 4.4 based on nearly 70,000 reviews.

As far as I can tell this doesn’t mean much.

In the era of 'every visit deserves a 5 star review' - the entire premise of using said reviews in any sort of comparison of product is inherently flawed.

They might as well just call it "parks with the least online complaints according to tripadvisor"

But hey, people recirculated the story.. so mission accomplished

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

This thread is a good example of confirmation bias.


I haven't been to Knoebel's in a few years, but I can easily see why people would vote for it. It has many of the features I generally want a theme/amusement park to have:

1. Exceptionally reasonable pricing. I didn't feel like I was being ripped off.
2. Solid quality amusement park food, like really good kettle corn. That's what I want when I visit an amusement park: food that is fun, tasty, not full of chemicals, and pairs well with being flipped upside down.
3. Rides that make me smile
4. Reasonable lines, mostly 20 min or less. (ideally no upcharge)
5. Predictability: consistency, no surprise upcharges, sneaky fees, or absurdly overpriced merch.
6. A high % of rides that aren't too extreme. Knoebel's has a Whip. that is my all-time favorite flat ride!
7. Reasonably clean

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I like DCA more than most. I especially like to stack my LL while I rope drop DL and get there around noon and via taking advantage of fast queue rides, LL and SRL essentially do that park in 4 hours.

My dad is that way. He spends so much of his time in DCA. Meanwhile I'm like, uh, no, I'm done here, I'm going to Disneyland.

I really think a large part of my issue was after I went to Knott's, I was like "oh boy, they really did just copy didn't they?" Especially when I saw Calico River Rapids...I was like, oh, seriously Disney?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

This thread is a good example of confirmation bias.


I haven't been to Knoebel's in a few years, but I can easily see why people would vote for it. It has many of the features I generally want a theme/amusement park to have:

1. Exceptionally reasonable pricing. I didn't feel like I was being ripped off.
2. Solid quality amusement park food, like really good kettle corn. That's what I want when I visit an amusement park: food that is fun, tasty, not full of chemicals, and pairs well with being flipped upside down.
3. Rides that make me smile
4. Reasonable lines, mostly 20 min or less. (ideally no upcharge)
5. Predictability: consistency, no surprise upcharges, sneaky fees, or absurdly overpriced merch.
6. A high % of rides that aren't too extreme. Knoebel's has a Whip. that is my all-time favorite flat ride!
7. Reasonably clean

Yeah, I need to make it there one of these days. It's 2.5 hours from my house. My grandma is up over the line in PA; she wouldn't care if I wanted to come back and stay with her overnight as long as I spent the next day with her, haha. Hershey is only 1.5 hours away, so I usually end up there (I have a season pass; haven't been this year yet, but after I get back from Disneyland, I'll make it up).

 

[Touchdown]

GRR>>>CRR. It’s not even close, other than the recent vertical lift raft rides at SWO and SDC GRR is my favorite raft ride and I’m not a KBF hater, I love going there (want controversy ask me which log ride I prefer Splash DL, TBA, or CLR, cause I think Snoopy wins hands down.)

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Yeah, I need to make it there one of these days. It's 2.5 hours from my house. My grandma is up over the line in PA; she wouldn't care if I wanted to come back and stay with her overnight as long as I spent the next day with her, haha. Hershey is only 1.5 hours away, so I usually end up there (I have a season pass; haven't been this year yet, but after I get back from Disneyland, I'll make it up).

One challenge of Knoebel's is indeed getting there.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

One challenge of Knoebel's is indeed getting there.

Unless you live in Pennsylvania.

But that means living in Pennsylvania.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Unless you live in Pennsylvania.

Well yes.

I more meant there's no easy way to fly there, as compared to Orlando which has MCO.

It is100% a fun retro park.

If you are near PA, another amusement park you should know about is Lakemont Park in Altoona. It is home to Leap the Dip, which is a coaster of historic importance. Unfortunately, the park has not been open for several years. It is just a tiny place, but it is a neat experience to ride the world's oldest coaster.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Well yes.

I more meant there's no easy way to fly there, as compared to Orlando which has MCO.

It is100% a fun retro park.

I know what you meant; I'm a Marylander who takes every opportunity to take a dig at Pennsylvania...

 

[Chef Mickey]

What a ridiculous list.

 

[parksandtravel]

This thread is a good example of confirmation bias.


I haven't been to Knoebel's in a few years, but I can easily see why people would vote for it. It has many of the features I generally want a theme/amusement park to have:

1. Exceptionally reasonable pricing. I didn't feel like I was being ripped off.
2. Solid quality amusement park food, like really good kettle corn. That's what I want when I visit an amusement park: food that is fun, tasty, not full of chemicals, and pairs well with being flipped upside down.
3. Rides that make me smile
4. Reasonable lines, mostly 20 min or less. (ideally no upcharge)
5. Predictability: consistency, no surprise upcharges, sneaky fees, or absurdly overpriced merch.
6. A high % of rides that aren't too extreme. Knoebel's has a Whip. that is my all-time favorite flat ride!
7. Reasonably clean

I agree. This list is from the general public perspective.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

GRR>>>CRR. It’s not even close, other than the recent vertical lift raft rides at SWO and SDC GRR is my favorite raft ride and I’m not a KBF hater, I love going there (want controversy ask me which log ride I prefer Splash DL, TBA, or CLR, cause I think Snoopy wins hands down.)

I have no opinion since I hate getting wet. But my point was they basically took the same theme and made a different ride. It's like copying someone's homework and changing the wording a bit...

 

[danlb_2000]

In the era of 'every visit deserves a 5 star review' - the entire premise of using said reviews in any sort of comparison of product is inherently flawed.

They might as well just call it "parks with the least online complaints according to tripadvisor"

But hey, people recirculated the story.. so mission accomplished

Price is also going to have an impact on reviews. Someone is much more likely to point out flaws when they are paying Disney prices, as opposed to Knobels prices.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Price is also going to have an impact on reviews. Someone is much more likely to point out flaws when they are paying Disney prices, as opposed to Knobels prices.

Exactly. The TripAdvisor ranking is basically how satisfied someone is with their purchase and did it meet their expectations?

Disney offers a far more substantial and sophisticated theme park experience, but the stress and expense of going absolutely impacts how regular people (not self described Disney fans) feel about them.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Exactly. The TripAdvisor ranking is basically how satisfied someone is with their purchase and did it meet their expectations?

Disney offers a far more substantial and sophisticated theme park experience, but the stress and expense of going absolutely impacts how regular people (not self described Disney fans) feel about them.

Stress and expense is a big factor.

Folks don't mind paying a premium price for a premium experience.

Just my opinion, Disney's at a premium price for a hit and miss experience.

Just my opinion, folks have to put work in to try to get a premium experience to match the premium price at Disney.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

These polls and rankings are really not meaningful.

All you need in order to see that is the fact that Disney's Hollywood Studios keeps getting ranked higher than Disneyland.

They have a lot to do with how things compare to people's relatively high or low expectations, for instance (just as @WorldExplorer noted with regard to the ranking of food at Knoebels).

 

[Ztonyg]

I like DCA more than most. I especially like to stack my LL while I rope drop DL and get there around noon and via taking advantage of fast queue rides, LL and SRL essentially do that park in 4 hours.

DCA basically forces me to purchase park hoppers every time I go to DL.

To me I treat it as an extension of DL versus a separate entity, and for that purpose it does well.

I like Guardians, Soarin', Cars Land, the Incredicoaster and TSMM. Anything else is just filler.

As a theme park I much prefer DHS. DHS is actually my 3rd favorite domestic park (behind Disneyland and Magic Kingdom). It feels complete to me. DCA just feels like a bunch of random stuff that doesn't quite fit in Disneyland but had to go somewhere.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I have been to all of these except that Legoland and Knoebel's. Let me just say that Dollywood and Silver Dollar City are justified to be on this list.

 

[Heppenheimer]

One challenge of Knoebel's is indeed getting there.

If my mom's family wasn't from the coal region, I would have never been in the area, and likely would never have visited Knoebels. It really is kind of off the beaten track, and was surprisingly never advertised in the Philadelphia area when I was growing up.