The 2015 Ninth 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 5, 2016. For categories where a voter selected "N/A - I don't have an opinion on this category," the results are based upon those votes actually cast for the given nominees. The pictorial data above may include votes cast after the official close.

The 9th Annual 2015 Warner Awards Results

 

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 9th Annual GreatAdventureHistory.com Warner Awards. We had a record high number of voters turn out this year making the results even more interesting. And now, on to the 2015 winners!....

 

For the second year in a row, Zumanjaro Drop of Doom takes the Best Ride (Non Roller Coaster) award with 48% of the votes. The Safari Off Road Adventure came in second place with 16% followed by the classic Sky Ride with 10% of the tally. The new El Diablo, which we included as a "non roller coaster" even though the park advertises otherwise, brought in 3% of the votes.

 

El Toro and Nitro proved once again to have staying power, taking in the first and second place honors for the ninth straight year in a row with 52% and 34% in the Best Roller Coaster race. Third place was secured by the world's tallest coaster Kingda Ka with 9% of voters.

 

The Best Upcharge Ride or Attraction was Dare Devil Dive with 54%, followed by the Great American Road Race with 20%, and the Sling Shot with 15%.

 

Great Adventure's Best Remaining Original Attraction from 1974 was the unique dual Sky Ride with 42%, trailed by the Log Flume (28%) and Runaway Mine Train (16%).

Houdini with 26% of the votes was dethroned by The Dark Knight (31%) for the Best Themed Attraction. The Safari Off Road Adventure was third with 24%.

 

Bizarro's themed sign was the top winner for the seventh consecutive year in the Best Attraction Sign category with 47% of the votes followed by the new El Diablo with 21% and Kingda Ka with 12%.

 

After the sun goes down, the Best Attraction to Ride at Night was once again Nitro with 42% - the long running favorite of voters. SkyScreamer with its dazzling lights spun up enough votes for second place with 14%, and the Sky Ride (12%) came in third.

 

For the third year, Best Children's Ride top honor was awarded to the Road Runner Railway with an astounding 60% of the littlest patrons, once again followed by Air Safari (19%), and Bugaboo with 12%.

 

Best Themed Section was the longtime favorite Golden Kingdom with 34%. The newly revitalized Plaza del Carnaval with its newest additions of El Diablo and Macho Nachos rocketed the area to second place with 25%, while Frontier Adventures slipped to third place with 20%. This year the children's sections were incorporated into the overall themed sections category. Bugs Bunny National Park ranked the highest of the kiddie sections with 11% but didn't crack the top three.

 

With the introduction of an indoor show at the Showcase Theatre during the regular season, the Best Show was easily won by Brad Ross' Unbelievable Magic Show with 68% of voters - not bad for a show that only ran a couple of weeks. Underwater Adventures/Trainer Talks and Paw & disOrder took second and third place with 20% and 5% respectively.

In recent years, Fright Fest was excluded from the Best Event category because it was always the hands down winner by a long shot. With the introduction of Holiday in the Park, both it and Fright Fest were included in the possible nominees. The overwhelming popular and well received Holiday in the Park topped the events lineup with 75% of the votes. Fright Fest was reduced to 21%, and Coasters After Dark finished a distant third place with 4%.

 

According to voters, the Best Holiday in the Park Attraction was having the rides and coasters open (34%), something that Great Adventure dared to do to a greater extent than any other local holiday event at other parks. This was followed by all the decorations that made the event so special. While the decorations in general ranked #3 with 17% of the votes, the signature piece of holiday decor, the impressive Celebration of the Season tree in the park's fountain was favored by 19% of voting participants. Polar Point (49%), A Main Street Christmas (15%), and the North Pole (13%) were voted the Best Holiday in the Park Section.

Dead Man's Party was chosen once again as the Best Fright Fest Attraction with 45% of the votes. The new indoor Big Top Terror: Forgotten Carnival 3D terror trail conjured up 16% of the ballots followed by the Asylum with 11%.

 

For yet another year Best of the West reigned supreme with 57% of votes being cast for it in the Best Restaurant Food category. An unexpected new favorite, Panda Express (19%), and the Garden State Grill (8%), took the second and third spots. The Best Food/Snack Stand award was secured by the new Macho Nachos (50%) near the new El Diablo ride. Johnny Rockets (near the Fountain) had 19% of the votes and the newly renamed G.A. Cafe (formerly Cyber Cafe) had 13% of the votes. Best Name Brand Food winner in 2014, Johnny Rockets, slipped from first to third place with 25% of the tally, surpassed by Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs in first place with 29%, followed closely by Panda Express at 27% in second. According to fans of the new Dining Plan, the top Best Season Pass Dining Plan Facility was the new Macho Nachos facility with 36%, followed by Best of the West with 31%, and Yum Yum Cafe with 10%.

 

Best Games Facility was won by the Boardwalk Games area with 49%. Last year's winner, Studio 28 Arcade, was bumped to second with 40% and the arcade in the Dream Street Tent came in third with 11%. The Best Game of Skill was won by Three Point Challenge with 35%, trailed by The Heist with 21% and the Ladder Climb with 16%.

Best Shop went once again to Main Street Market (46%) with the Looney Tunes Shoppe and the Justice League store taking 17% and 13%.

 

Hurricane Harbor's results saw Tornado winning first place once again with 29%, the Big Wave Racer coming in second with 22%, followed by The Falls with 20% in the Best Hurricane Harbor Attraction honors.

Camp Aventura came in first yet once again with 34% of the votes in the Best Safari Off Road Adventure Attraction award followed by 28% of the votes going to Wilds Plains and 11% to Black Bear Ridge.

The 2015 Best New Feature or Improvement nominee listing was extensive thanks to all the new things around the park this past season. While the new El Diablo ride received only 5% of the votes, it was surpassed by the new unlimited refill sports bottles with 7% of the votes (third place), and the refurbishment of the Twister ride with 9% (second place). The most popular new improvement was the introduction of Holiday in the Park voted on by 57% of participants.

 

And lastly, with an eye towards the future, our Most Like to See in 2017 category once again has the addition of a dark ride on top with 30% of the votes. This was followed by a launch style coaster (16%) and a wooden thrill/RMC style coaster (12%). Also noted was 9% of the votes going for a repaved/reconfigured parking lot.

 

And so there they are, the results of our 9th Annual Warner Awards for the best of Great Adventure's 2015 season as voted by our members at GreatAdventureHistory.com. Congratulations to all the winners!

 

And before we finish up, let's spend a brief moment to reflect back on all the attractions and features we lost for the 2015 season at Six Flags Great Adventure;

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y-i5evZdT8

 

[29yrswithaGApass]

The Results Are In!

Check out the summary above

to see if your favorites won our

9th Annual 2015 Warner Awards!

[29yrswithaGApass]

What's with the sudden admiration for Panda Express? It hardly received any votes in the past.

[scott]

Now I feel like I should eat there.

[jollyroger]

It is sad what happened to the Grandstands and Fort Independence, Joker isn't that huge of a ride, and it could of went somewhere else, Great Adventure has a lot of room compared to many other parks, they were just done maintaining the buildings. Kings Dominion removing Shockwave for Delirium is the same way, Shockwave's area is now mostly a grassy field.

What's with the sudden admiration for Panda Express? It hardly received any votes in the past.

Some people must suddenly like it because Chop Six may take it's place, however I would love to see Chop Six go in it's location, never ate at Panda Express at Great Adventure and probably never will, I will stick to the Dining Pass locations.

 

I hope to see a show in the Showcase again this year, and a dark ride in 2017.

Edited March 21, 2016 by jollyroger

[RC98]

^ I agree with the Grandstand's removal but Fort Independence could have stayed, they could have just put Joker in the grandstand's spot and left the fort alone.

 

Count me in on Chop Six, since I have the dining pass for the first time this year I will only be getting from dining pass locations. Plus if it's anything like Macho Nacho in quality it should be pretty good.

[jdc12192]

As much as majority of us didn't want either venue to leave, it sadly was their time to go. Both were not in the best of condition and it was only a matter of time before they left us.

[scott]

Well the grandstand was only used for fireworks as know. I miss the water skiing shows they had there but the stands served no real purpose anymore. Its sad to it go but I think the open space on the lake will look great.

 

I enjoyed the dolphin shows of the past but the shows at the fort weren't as fun anymore. Its sad to see the fort go too but like jdc said, it was time. I wanted to see a dive show revival but that wasn't happening.

[Yoshi]

Interesting results, I'm glad to see Holiday In The Park do so well in the voting with how great of an event it was.

 

I also am glad to see people like the Sky Ride. With so many parks removing their Sky Rides, it's becoming a rare ride and a nice way to get an aerial view of the park and save some time to walking when the line isn't long.