The 2013 Seventh Annual Warner Awards Results

[29yrswithaGApass]

PLEASE NOTE: The awarding of ribbons above and the official summary below represents the voting results as of the official close of voting at midnight on March 23, 2014. The actual data above may include votes cast after the official close.

 

The 7th Annual 2013 Warner Awards Results

First off, a big thanks to everyone who participated in our 7th Annual GreatAdventureHistory.com Warner Awards. And the 2013 winners are....

 

For its second year in a row the Best Ride (Non Roller Coaster) was won by 2012's headliner attraction SkyScreamer with 30% of the votes, followed by the Saw Mill Log Flume (28%) and Edwards AFB Jump Tower (parachutes) with 10% of the votes.

 

In the Best Roller Coaster race, El Toro and Nitro have now taken the first and second spots for seven straight years in a row with 30% and 25% of the votes, respectively. Possibly with a bump of sympathy from the ride's removal, Rolling Thunder came in third with 20% of the votes - a big leap from its 7% take last year.

 

The Best Upcharge Ride or Attraction award went to Dare Devil Dive with 53% of the tally. In a shake-up from last season when the Slingshot ride raked in 33% of the votes fell to last place with 13%. The Great American Road Race came in second with 20% followed by the new Eagles Flight zip line with 15%.

 

Great Adventure's Best Remaining Original Attraction from 1974 was the Runaway Mine Train with 38%. It dethroned last years winner the Log Flume with 35% of the votes. The Skride came in third with 15%.

 

Once again Houdini was voted the Best Themed Attraction after being awarded 33% of the ballots. The enclosed Dark Knight Coaster landed 25% of the votes for second place followed by Bizarro with 10%.

For the fifth year in row Bizarro's themed sign was the top winner with voters giving it the Best Attraction Sign honors with a huge 53% of the votes. The new Safari Off Road Adventure sign pulled in 13% followed by Kingda Ka's 10%. Sadly, many of the rides such as SkyScreamer and Deja Vu aren't eligible for this category because they lack signs.

 

The Best Attraction to Ride at Night was the same as previous years with the winner being Nitro followed by the Skyride with 38% and 13% of the ballots respectively. With 10% of the votes, the Big Wheel rounded out the top three.

 

A new category this year, Best Children's Ride top honors were awarded to the Road Runner Railway (28%), Air Safari (15%), and Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster (10%).

 

The Best Show trophy goes to the park's biggest show Fish Factor with 38% of the votes followed by its sister water production You Otter Know with 20%. Six Flags Dance Party was elected to third place with 18%.

 

Dead Man's Party was chosen once again as the Best Fright Fest Attraction with 25%. Two of the park's terror trails, Voodoo Island and the new Total Darkness, took second place (18%) and third place (15%) respectively.

 

The Golden Kingdom was tops again with 28% of the votes taking Best Themed Section, although that was a drop from its 44% haul in 2012. Second and third were won by Frontier Adventures (23%) and Plaza del Carnaval (15%). The Best Children's Section was awarded to Bugs Bunny National Park with 48% of all the votes, followed by Looney Tunes Seaport with 40% and Safari Kids third with only 13% of the votes. This was the same order as last season.

 

Growing even greater in popularity, Best of the West Barbeque was tops with 73% (up from 56%) of votes being cast for it in the Best Restaurant Food category. Two new winners this year, Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs (8%) and the Great Character Cafe (5%), round out the top three. All three winners were part of the park's new Season Pass Dining Plan. Proving the old adage that "they don't build them like they use to," the Best Restaurant Facility category was won by Great Adventure's three original restaurants Best of the West Barbaque (53%), Great Character Cafe (28%), and Granny's Country Kitchen (8%). In the Best Food/Snack Stand award, the Cyber Cafe, La Cocina, and Johnny Rockets near the fountain had 30%, 18%, and 15% of the pot. Best Name Brand Food honors went to newcomer Rita's Ice Custard (30%), Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs (18%), and Panda Express with 15%. Last year's winner, Johnny Rockets, came in fourth with 10% of the votes.

 

Best Games was awarded to the Boardwalk Games (48%). Studio 28 (38%) and Dream Street Tents (10%) took second and third places. Kingpin Bowl-a-Rama (25%), Ladder Climb (20%), and Three Point Challenge (18%) were the Best Games of Skill.

 

Main Street Market had 35% of the votes making it the Best Shop, followed by the Looney Tunes Shoppe (20%) and the Justice League Headquarters winning third place with 13%.

 

Hurricane Harbor's "The Falls" slide complex was voted Best Hurricane Harbor Attraction with 23% of the votes. The new Big Wave Racer came in second with 18% of votes and Taak It Ee Zee Creek lazy river won third place with 13%. Longtime winner Tornado came in fourth place.

 

After its conversion from the Wild Animal Safari Park to the Safari Off Road Adventure in 2013, the Camp Aventura area of the attraction came in first with 38% of the votes in the Best Safari Off Road Adventure Attraction award. The Wilds Plains (formerly African Plains) ranked second with 20% of the casted ballots and Tigris Asiana (formerly Tigers Lair) rounded out the top three with 13% of the votes.

 

With a wide array of new offerings and enhancements last season, the 2013 Best New Feature or Improvement was its new signature attraction the Safari Off Road Adventure (23%). Voters (20%) really like the extended season of opening in March and remaining open daily Labor Day week. Season Pass Dining Plan also proved popular with 15% of the votes, taking third place.

 

Looking forward, the Best Opportunity for Reopening/Redevelopment was awarded to having the now closed Old Country area reintroduced into the park selected by a whopping 70% of voters. Reintroducing the Balin's Jungleland area and Xploatorium attractions were second and third choices with 15% and 10%.

 

As for the Most Like to See in 2015 (Ride/Attraction) category, a dark ride was at the top of most people's wish list (23%), followed by a 4D-style coaster (18%), and a wooden coaster (15%). Lastly, in the Most Like to See in 2015 (Show/Entertainment) category, the top requested shows were daily fireworks (38%), a stage show in the Showcase Theatre (18%), and a stunt show in the Stunt Arena (15%).

 

And there you have them, the results of our 7th Annual Warner Awards for the best of Great Adventure's 2013 season as voted by our members at GreatAdventureHistory.com. As always, we applaud this year's winners but would like to take a moment to reflect back on the attractions we lost this past season. (Click the placard below)

 

[29yrswithaGApass]

The results are in!
Check out all the winners above!

[gasmspiritblue]

Im so happy Rolling Thunder won 3rd place on it's last chance!

[jdc12192]

Yay fish factor!

[Yoshi]

Looks like there were a lot of categories where the votes were close. I'm glad to see dark ride won for most wanted attraction in 2015.

[Yoshi]

Very nice video. Even though I know Rolling Thunder is gone, seeing it in this video makes me think I'm still going to look at the spot where the ride was on my 1st trip to the park this year and feel like it doesn't look right with the ride not there.

[29yrswithaGApass]

^ The dark ride winning didn't surprise me but nightly fireworks did.

[jollyroger]

As usual Old country won the best area for reopening, Great Adventure definitely needs a dark ride. I'm also surprised too that fireworks won, it is a good show but there is a chance they could have fireworks than a show in the showcase.

Edited April 4, 2014 by jollyroger