2024’s best theme parks and water parks, as voted by readers
With summer just around the corner, we wanted to find the best amusement parks and water parks, as well as the best theme park hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. So, we invited theme park experts and travel writers to join our editors in selecting the nominees for the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. For four weeks, readers voted for their favorites, and the results are in.
Click on each category below to see the full winners list:
Best Indoor Water Park: Kalahari Resorts – Multiple locations
Kalahari Resorts wins Best Indoor Water Park for second year in a row — Photo courtesy of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions
Kalahari Resorts is an African-themed water park resort chain with four locations throughout the United States. The resorts’ water parks include uphill water coasters, surfing simulators, waterslides, and a unique virtual reality waterslide.
Full list of winners: Best Indoor Water Park »
Best Outdoor Water Park: Splashway Waterpark in Sheridan, Texas
Splashway Waterpark takes the no. 1 spot for Best Outdoor Water Park — Photo courtesy of Splashway Waterpark
From slides that thrill to areas where visitors can chill, Splashway Waterpark has something for everyone. The park’s winding lazy river takes visitors through the park and under waterfalls, while Midnight Storm twists and turns in total darkness and Tubular Tornado blasts riders into a giant funnel.
Full list of winners: Best Outdoor Water Park »
Best Roller Coaster: Phoenix at Knoebels in Elysburg, Pennsylvania
Phoenix at Knoebels is our readers’ favorite roller coaster of 2024 — Photo courtesy of Knoebels Amusement Resort
This classic wooden roller coaster at Knoebels proves that newer, taller, and faster aren’t always better. Phoenix offers panoramic views of the surrounding hills, as well as thrills in the form of a double out-and-back layout and speeds of 45 miles per hour.
Full list of winners: Best Roller Coaster »
Best Theme Park: Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri
Silver Dollar City wins Best Theme Park for second consecutive year — Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City Company
Silver Dollar City, with its 1880s mining town theme, attracts some 2 million visitors annually with its combination of entertainment, festivals, 100 resident craftsmen, and more than 40 rides and attractions. The park is also home to Time Traveler, the world’s fastest, steepest, and tallest spinning coaster.
Full list of winners: Best Theme Park »
Best Theme Park Entertainment: Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia
Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens Williamsburg claims its eighth win for Best Theme Park Entertainment — Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Celebrate the Celtic tradition of storytelling through dance at Celtic Fyre, an incredibly popular, high-energy show at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that will have you laughing and clapping to the beat of festive music. Guests leave the performance with a newfound or rekindled love for all things Irish.
Full list of winners: Best Theme Park Entertainment »
Best Theme Park Hotel: The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania
The Hotel Hershey wins Best Theme Park Hotel for second year in a row — Photo courtesy of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts
The Hotel Hershey is a sweet spot to lay your head, whether you’re in town to take the Hershey’s Chocolate factory tour, check out Hersheypark, or you’re just in the mood for a little pampering with a cocoa-infused spa treatment.
A member of Historic Hotels of America, the four-star Hotel Hershey is an elegant retreat that references its chocolate town roots without drowning guests in cloying fudge. Best of all, the hotel has a wide range of sports and recreation facilities where you can work off all those tasty treats, including a fitness center, golf, tennis, hiking trails, and a pool with waterslides.
Full list of winners: Best Theme Park Hotel »
Best Theme Park Restaurant: The Alamo at Knoebels in Elysburg, Pennsylvania
The Alamo at Knoebels wins Best Theme Park Restaurant for second consecutive year — Photo courtesy of Knoebels Amusement Resort
While some parks jack up food prices and treat their captive audience as a big profit center, The Alamo is as friendly to the pocketbook as it is to families, with burgers and hot dogs still priced at or under $5. The menu at this eatery located on the park’s main boulevard also includes heartier options, like deep-fried crab cakes, chicken and waffles, and spaghetti and meatballs.
Full list of winners: Best Theme Park Restaurant »
Congratulations to all these winners! Remember to visit 10best.usatoday.com daily to vote in more of our Readers’ Choice Awards.
