You can only pick one, which one would you pick? And why? Convince other Americans that your pick is the best. Only caveat I have with the answer is anybody who chooses a whole resort in order to cheat. You can pick a certain park if your favorite park is part of a resort, but you can’t choose the entire resort.
What are you going with?
12 comments
I want to choose Cedar Point…but I’ve never been. Most of the awards it has received have been pretty consistent, I think, so IMO I still think I can make an educated guess on how good it is. Some of the best roller coasters EVER created, excellent service, a really solid collection of unpretentious thrill rides…I’d put it number one.
As for the parks I have more direct experience…its cliched but The Magic Kingdom would probably be my pick. Its the most archetypal and well rounded theme park in the US, and definitely the most iconic.
It’s small and really for kids but Camden Park was the only theme park my family could drive to without waking up at the asshole of dawn so I respect it.
I don’t care I have fun at Universal Studios! But Cedar point is fun too!
Best themed park is Animal Kingdom imo, the Asia and Africa areas of the park are top notch and the Pandora section at night is phenomenal. I think it provides the best overall consistent theming and no area of the park feels really dated as compared to Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland. All areas feel at least somewhat related compared to Hollywood Studios which has a super futuristic Star Wars section in the same park as a 1950s sunset boulevard area. It also isn’t just a mishmash of random IPs like Universal is.
Best raw thrills park is Cedar Point, no question. It is the coaster capital of the US.
Best overall and my pick is Knott’s Berry Farm, it has pretty great theming (though not as detailed as Disney or Orlando) and still a great selection of thrill rides and coasters (although it never had the amazing [Disaster Transport](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWEdlLwvKOM) like Cedar Point).
Honorable mentions include Silver Dollar City and Dollywood.
Islands of Adventure, Dollywood or Cedar Point
I’ve been to a LOT of amusement parks, mostly in and around the Midwest, and it really depends on how you define “best”.
Kings Island is my hometown park, the one I’ve spent more time at than all the other theme parks combined, and my hands-down personal favorite.
Of the other parks I’ve been to: Cedar Point is best raw thrills, Dollywood is best “something for everyone” park, Universal Studios Orlando is best overall theming, Splashin’ Safari at Holiday World is best water park.
Honorable mention to Darien Lake in 2014ish; the park was just OK… But that summer they had an INCREDIBLE variety show headlined by Nik Wallenda featuring acrobats, daredevils, magic, and bunch of other stuff that was my favorite show at an amusement park and one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, period.
Disney World.
But that is solely because I can’t time travel back to 1970’s [Action Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park), or as we liked to call it, Traction Park. If you weren’t bleeding, you weren’t having the Action Park experience.
The put a brewery next to the go-karts. It’s a wonder more people did not die there.
Congress. The ride is so crazy you don’t even know where it’s going.
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Lots of roller coasters – wooden and steel, if you prefer one over the other – and among them some of the best, most famous ones! And location, right on the side of Lake Erie (one of the great lakes for international people who don’t know American geography as well) at the top of rides you have a great view all around you. Prices are fairly standard, at least as far as amusement parks go, from what I can remember (although it has been several years since I have last been).
For coasters and other rides I would have to say Cedar Point.
There is something really magical about Disneyland though. The rides aren’t as awesome but the whole vibe is really fun even though I’m usually pretty cynical about something like Disney where it is heavily engineered and kind of saccharine.
Bias because it’s local, but I’ve been to theme parks all over the midwest/south but I haven’t been to one that tops Silver Dollar City.
I enjoy Busch Gardens.