Each new year brings highly anticipated new attractions to amusement parks across North America. 10Best teamed up with a panel of amusement park experts to nominate the 20 best attractions to debut in 2016. We then asked USA TODAY and 10Best readers to vote for their favorites, and after four weeks of voting, the results are in.
The top 10 winners in the category Best New Amusement Park Attraction are as follows:
- Valravn - Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
- Storm Chaser - Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville
- Lightning Rod - Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
- Phobia Phear Coaster - Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn.
- Cobra's Curse - Busch Gardens in Tampa
- Mass Effect: New Earth - California's Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.
- Mako - SeaWorld Orlando
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles
- The Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster - Islands of Adventure in Orlando
- The Monster - Adventureland Park in Des Moines
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Joel Bullock (TheCoasterCritic.com) and Robert Niles (ThemeParkInsider.com) were chosen based on their expertise of the amusement park world.
Congratulations to all these winning attractions, and remember to keep this list handy when planning your 2017 amusement park travels.
License the 10Best Readers' Choice Award Logo
The Experts
Robert Niles
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of Read More
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers' guide to the world's leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
Robert Niles

Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers' guide to the world's leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
Joel Bullock
Joel Bullock has been delivering opinionated
Joel Bullock has been delivering opinionated roller coaster reviews, theme park reviews and giving coaster enthusiast's take on all of the latest theme park news for almost 9 years. He's a sought after expert on all things theme park, appearing on numerous news programs to share his experiences and give advice.
Joel Bullock

Joel Bullock has been delivering opinionated roller coaster reviews, theme park reviews and giving coaster enthusiast's take on all of the latest theme park news for almost 9 years. He's a sought after expert on all things theme park, appearing on numerous news programs to share his experiences and give advice.