I'm not quite done with my park visits this year, but a ton have piled up since the last time I updated this list so I wanted to get an update out of the way sooner rather than later.
Parks that are new to me since I put the last iteration of this list together will include a "
(NEW)" next to their name. Parks that I have altered my opinion of (often due to new additions or the like) will feature an "
(UPDATED)" next to their name.
Like previous iterations, parks will be color-coded
green,
orange, and
red based on my opinion of their lineup. Coasters I highlight at each of the parks are coasters I consider to be not only great, but also in some way unique and hence,
worth visiting the park for. If a coaster is good but undeserving of the highlights listing, I'll list it under honorable mentions.
Unlike with previous versions, I have opted to remove parks that I don't feel are worth mentioning (Disney, Universal, FECs, etc). If you're visiting the big theme parks, it shouldn't be for the coasters. If you're credit whoring at FECs (like me), you don't care about the quality—only that there are new credits there to be collected.
Likewise, I have also removed parks that have changed enough since my last visit that I no longer feel comfortable evaluating them (Knoebels and Kentucky Kingdom both fall here
for now).
Since this is no longer an exhaustive list of the parks I've visited, you can check them all out
here. If there is a park on that list you want to know my opinion on that I've omitted from this list, feel free to ask.
Busch Gardens Tampa
The wide variety of really solid coasters make this park worth your time. Highlights here are Cheetah Hunt and Kumba. Honorable mentions go to Cobra's Curse, Montu, Scorpion, and SheiKra.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg (UPDATED)
Great park with a stellar collection. Don't really need to defend it much to this audience, but the highlights here are Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, and Verbolten. Additionally, I'd put Loch Ness Monster, Griffon, and InvadR into the honorable mentions category.
California's Great America (NEW)
Maybe it is because my expectations were low, but I was very pleasantly surprised by California's Great America. That said, their coaster collection isn't quite as nice as the park itself was. The only highlight I have for CGA is Gold Striker, which may very well be the best GCI I've ever ridden. Only honorable mention goes to Flight Deck. The good news is that with an RMC Raptor project on its way, next time I visit the Bay Area, I'm pretty sure there will be a new highlight for this park.
Carowinds
The worst Cedar Fair park I've ever visited. Unfortunately, it is also home to Fury 325- one of the greatest coasters I've ever ridden. Fairly mediocre collection otherwise. Highlights here are Fury 325 and Afterburn (RIP Thunder Road). Honorable mentions? Only
Intrimidator Intimidator.
Cedar Point (UPDATED)
In contrast to Carowinds, this is the best Cedar Fair park I've ever visited. Is this the holy grail of amusement parks? No. Is it a really good park? Yes. Highlights here are Maverick and Millennium Force. Only honorable mentions I have for this park are Blue Streak and GateKeeper. I have yet to ride Valravn, but I suspect it will get an honorable mention when I do. With Steel Vengeance added to their lineup in 2018 though, I think it's easy to say that this park will be gaining another highlight as well.
Dollywood (UPDATED)
I wasn't always the biggest Dollywood fan, but after four trips out to the park, Dollywood managed to work its magic. Highlights go to Lighting Rod (obviously), Thunderhead, Mystery Mine, and,
alarmingly, FireChaser Express. An honorable mention goes to Tennessee Tornado.
Dorney Park
Dorney is a great park that's lacking a crown jewel attraction. It manages charm in the same league as Cedar Point but doesn't have the headliner it needs to put it on the map. This is the park I wish Fury had gone to. Highlights here are Hydra The Revenge and Talon. Honorable mentions are Steel Force and Thunderhawk.
Fun Spot America (Kissimmee) (UPDATED)
In my opinion, this is the objectively inferior Fun Spot park. It lacks the charm of its Orlando sister and has what I consider to be a much weaker coaster lineup as well. The highlight here is, undoubtedly, Mine Blower. It is really good, but I do have to say it didn't come close to my expectations. I don't have any honorable mentions.
Fun Spot America (Orlando) (UPDATED)
This is actually a neat, charming little park. White Lightning is the only highlight here, but it is well deserving of that title. I've also decided to give an honorable mention to Freedom Flyer. It seems like an odd choice, but its location partnered with its incredibly smooth ride and best-in-class trains all comes together to make a coaster worth trying. I also have to give Fun Spot credit for making Freedom Flyer the best VR coaster I've ridden. It was so good that I actually rode with VR more than once. Great experience overall!
Gilroy Gardens (NEW)
Out of complete obscurity, Gilroy Gardens is now one of my favorite parks in the country. This is not a coaster park, but it is an amazing theme park. I don't have any highlights, but an honorable mention goes to Quicksilver Express for its better than anticipated ride experience and incredible use of terrain.
HersheyPark
Ah, my favorite amusement park in the country. A must-visit in my honest opinion. Highlights here are Comet, both sides of Lighting Racer, Skyrush, and Storm Runner. Honorable mentions go to Fahrenheit, Great Bear, and Superdooperlooper. I'm pretty sure Laff Trak belongs on the honorable mentions list as well, but I haven't gotten a chance to ride it myself just yet.
Holiday World
Another of my favorite parks and definitely the woodie capital of the world. It's also worth noting that Splashin' Safari is the best water park I've ever experienced. The highlight here is The Voyage. Simply a masterpiece. Honorable mentions go to The Legend and The Raven. Though I haven't experienced it personally yet, Thunderbird looks like it belongs on the honorable mentions list as well.
Idlewild
I love that Idlewild exists and I think it's an incredibly neat park to visit- just not for their coasters. That said, I'm going to give an honorable mention to both Rollo Coaster and Wild Mouse for being two little coasters that actually took me by surprise.
Kennywood
Another unique (and incredible) Pennsylvania classic. Like Dorney, it has a great base collection, but it needs that one big headliner to really put it on the map. That said, I prefer Kennywood to Dorney. Highlights here are Jack Rabbit, Phantom's Revenge, and Skyrocket. Honorable mentions go to Exterminator, Racer, and Thunderbolt.
Kings Dominion (UPDATED)
GASP! Did I just list Kings Dominion as orange? Yeah, I did. I (of course) love the park, but it feels like there are large holes in its collection. The only highlight I have to give here is Intimidator 305. Honorable mentions go out to Avalanche, Dominator, Flight of Fear, Rebel Yell, and Volcano. Look for this park to get an upgrade to green next year if Twisted Timbers is as good as it looks!
Kings Island (UPDATED)
Kings Island is in the same place as Kings Dominion in my book collection-wise. I wholeheartedly believe Kings Dominion to be the better park though. Kings Island has a solid collection, but not a
great one. I don't actually have a single coaster here that I consider a highlight-worthy ride. I do however give honorable mentions go to Banshee, Beast, Bat, Diamondback, Flight of Fear, and Racer. I suspect that Mystic Timbers could be the first coaster at this park that I'd throw into the highlight category, but unfortunately I haven't gotten my ride on it yet.
Legoland Florida
Legoland Florida is a neat family park, but, like Idlewild, you're not going to visit for its collection. I wouldn't say there's a highlight here, but I'll give honorable mentions to Coastersaurus and Dragon.
Morey's Piers
I was blown away by this park. Sadly though, coasters aren't its strength. That said, there is a ride here well worthy of highlighting: Great White. No one talks about this coaster so I wasn't expecting much, but my rides on it were brilliant. It is actually a top ten woodie for me now. Also, sidenote: Nor'Easter was down for its huge renovation. Might it make its way into the highlighted category next year?
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (NEW)
Another incredible seaside amusement pier that stole my heart. I think I'm developing a type...
Anyway, I don't have any highlights here, but both of the park's adult coasters, Giant Dipper and Undertow, get honorable mentions. Giant Dipper is an incredibly well-preserved classic and Undertow is one of the best spinning coasters I've ever ridden.
SeaWorld Orlando
Ignoring variety for a moment (which isn't actually that lacking to be honest!), I believe SeaWorld Orlando has the most consistently high quality coaster collection of any park I've ever visited. Journey to Atlantis, Kraken, Manta, and Mako are all highlights. If you can only stop at one park in Florida and coasters are the name of the game, SeaWorld Orlando wins.
Six Flags America (UPDATED)
My expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised by SFA. Their collection (or even any of their coasters individually) isn't going to win any awards, but that doesn't mean there aren't coasters worth visiting for. Superman: Ride of Steel gets a highlight here. Also, honorable mentions go out to Roar, Wild One, and Batwing.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (NEW)
Well this was unexpected. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the nicest Six Flags park I've visited. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for their collection. It is far from the worst in the Six Flags chain, but it's also far from the best. The highlight here is Joker (which yes, is mind-blowingly good). Honorable mentions go to Medusa and Superman Ultimate Flight (yes, it is vastly superior to Tempesto for the record).
Six Flags Great Adventure (UPDATED)
This may be the quintessential American amusement park (there's a lot of good and bad in that statement). The big thing to take away here is that quality is generally medium to high, but the coaster variety is one of the greatest I've ever experienced. Anyway, I'm just going to jump right into the coasters because there's a lot of them. Highlights: El Toro and Nitro. Honorable mentions go to Batman The Ride, Bizarro, Dark Knight, Green Lantern, Joker, Kingda Ka, and Superman Ultimate Flight.
Six Flags Over Georgia (UPDATED)
I was really disappointed in this park. I had heard rumors of charm and quality but, on my visit just a few weeks into the season, that couldn't be further from the truth. Anyway, coasters. Highlights: Goliath and Mind Bender. Honorable mentions? Dare Devil Dive and Superman Ultimate Flight. The good news is that come next year, Twisted Cyclone will likely make it onto the highlights list and, quite possibly, upgrade this park to green.
Six Flags St. Louis
Not a great park and certainly not a great collection. I don't have a single coaster to highlight for Six Flags St. Louis, but I'll give out a few honorable mentions: American Thunder, Batman The Ride, Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast, and Pandemonium. Mr. Freeze could have been a highlight for me, but unfortunately, it's basically a clone. It's a great ride, but I'd rather go to Six Flags over Texas and ride theirs.
