Let me set the scene: It’s a Saturday night, I’m scrolling through TripAdvisor trying to figure out if I should be a responsible parent and take the family to a world-class amusement park this summer, or just let my kids keep riding their bikes down the hill in our backyard and calling it a “thrill ride.”
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Then I stumbled across TripAdvisor’s “Best of the Best” Amusement Parks in the US for 2025. I figured this would be a slam dunk, right? Surely the folks who’ve spent 4 hours in line for a $12 churro have figured out which parks stand head and shoulders above the rest.
WRONG.
What I found is a list that is so chaotic, so illogical, and so head-scratching that you’d think it was made by a committee of people who have never actually ridden a roller coaster. Or maybe they just got stuck on “It’s a Small World” for six hours and decided to rank that as the pinnacle of thrill.
Now, to be clear: this isn’t TripAdvisor corporate making these decisions in some boardroom. These rankings come from the reviews and opinions of actual travelers on the platform, which somehow makes it even more baffling. But let’s roast this thing, one park at a time, counting down from 20 to the #1 spot.
(Buckle up, and keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times. I can’t promise you won’t want to get off early.)
20. Six Flags Magic Mountain (Santa Clarita, CA)
Six Flags Magic Mountain has more roller coasters than I have pairs of socks. Some of the fastest, tallest, and loopiest rides on Earth. And it barely sneaks in at #20. I want to say this is a crime, but honestly, at this point, I’m just glad it made the list and didn’t get replaced by a Chuck E. Cheese in Topeka.
19. Carowinds (Charlotte, NC)
Carowinds straddles the North and South Carolina border, so you can get whiplash in two states at once. It’s a solid park with some legit coasters, but it doesn’t really have a national reputation. The fact that it’s even on the list is a win for Carolinians everywhere.
18. Hersheypark (Hershey, PA)
Hersheypark is the only park where you can get a sugar high and a G-force headache in the same afternoon. It’s fun, it’s family-friendly, and it smells like chocolate. It’s a classic, but—again—we’ve still got some questionable choices ahead, so this list is basically chocolate-covered anarchy.
17. LEGOLAND New York Resort (Goshen, NY)
LEGOLAND New York is kind of like LEGOLAND California, but colder, newer, and with slightly more confused parents. It’s fun if you’re 7. For everyone else, it’s about as exciting as stepping on a LEGO barefoot in the middle of the night.
16. Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
And here it is—the roller coaster capital of the world, the Mecca for thrill-seekers, the park that has literally defined the modern roller coaster… at #16.
Let me repeat: Sixteen. I don’t know who hurt the TripAdvisor reviewers, but when you put Cedar Point behind a waterpark in New Hampshire and a Go-Kart track in Kissimmee, you’ve officially lost the plot. If you’re into world records, legendary rides, and white-knuckle thrills, there’s Cedar Point… and then there’s everyone else. The fact that it’s this low makes me want to send every reviewer on the Top Thrill Dragster until they come to their senses.
15. Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort (Erie, PA)
Splash Lagoon: Because nothing says “family getaway” like spending your vacation in Erie, Pennsylvania. If you want to ride a water slide while the snow piles up outside, this is your place. But “Best of the Best” in America? Only if you’re rating parks by proximity to Lake Erie.
14. Universal Studios Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)
This is the park where you can ride a tram through movie sets and pretend you’re being chased by a shark, then stand in line for 90 minutes to get a selfie with a cardboard Minion. It’s fun, but if you’re hoping for coaster thrills, you’re going to wish you’d driven to Six Flags instead.
13. Noah’s Ark Water Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
Wisconsin Dells is the “waterpark capital of the world,” and Noah’s Ark is their flagship. The only place where you’ll see more cheese than water. It’s big and it’s fun, but if you’re not wearing water shoes, you’ll need new feet—the pavement is roughly the temperature of the sun.
12. Busch Gardens (Tampa, FL)
Busch Gardens is where you can see a lion, drink a craft beer, and then get tossed upside down by a coaster named after a snake. It’s basically a zoo with ADD. It deserves some love, but I’m not sure it belongs above some of the true heavy hitters still waiting to be called up from the TripAdvisor minor leagues.
11. Disneyland Park (Anaheim, CA)
The OG Disney. The park that started it all. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out on an American classic—and the chance to spend $25 on a churro. Did I mention Walt himself walked these grounds? For it to barely crack the top 10 is like ranking Michael Jordan as the 11th best basketball player of all time. Blasphemy.
10. Whale’s Tale Waterpark (Lincoln, NH)
At #10, we have a waterpark in New Hampshire. I had to Google this one to make sure it wasn’t just a clever name for a lobster shack. Apparently, it’s got a wave pool and some water slides. Neat. But top 10 in America? Was the voting limited to people within a 10-mile radius of Lincoln?
9. Silver Dollar City (Branson, MO)
Silver Dollar City is where you can ride a record-breaking coaster, then watch someone make a butter churn, all in the same afternoon. It’s like if your grandma’s front porch suddenly sprouted a 300-foot drop. It’s charming, I’ll give it that, but whoever ranked this above Cedar Point is probably still using a flip phone.
8. Universal Studios Florida (Orlando, FL)
Universal Studios Florida is where you go to get motion sickness and have your picture taken with a guy sweating buckets in a Shrek costume. Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express are world-class, but #8 feels low for a park that basically invented the 4D stomach churn. At least it beat Fun Spot, I guess?
7. LEGOLAND California (Carlsbad, CA)
LEGOLAND is a fever dream built out of plastic bricks and the tears of parents who just stepped on a minifig barefoot. It’s whimsical, it’s fun for the under-10 crowd, but let’s not pretend you’re flying across the country for the “adrenaline” of Emmet’s Flying Adventure. If your kid is obsessed with LEGO, you’re already here. If not, you’re in the wrong place.
6. Fun Spot America (Kissimmee, FL)
Fun Spot is the king of “hey kids, we’re not paying $150 to ride the teacups, so here’s a wristband and a go-kart.” It’s affordable, and you can get a season pass for less than a single day at Disney. But #6 in America? That’s like saying your local bowling alley is one of the top sports arenas in the country. Fun Spot is fine, but this is a little much.
5. Universal Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL)
Finally, a park with some teeth. Velocicoaster, Hagrid’s Motorbike, and Hulk—these are the rides that make grown men scream and reconsider lunch. If you’re a coaster junkie, this is where you want to be. But fifth? Sure. I’ll give the reviewers this one… barely.
4. Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Orlando, FL)
Hollywood Studios has Star Wars, Tower of Terror, and an Aerosmith coaster that will blow your eardrums out. It’s a solid park, but it’s also home to the world’s longest lines for a cup of blue milk. I’ll allow it in the top 10, but it’s kind of the middle child of Disney parks—always trying, never quite Magic Kingdom.
3. Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, PA)
Knoebels at #3 is the plot twist nobody saw coming. It’s free admission, which is honestly amazing, but let’s be honest—most people outside of Pennsylvania think Knoebels is that thing you catch from drinking out of the wrong creek. They’ve got a haunted mansion and a mining museum, which is great if you’re 87 or your idea of a thrill is playing skee-ball. But top 3 in America? Did Knoebels’ extended family flood TripAdvisor with reviews?
2. Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL)
This one I get. It’s the Most Magical Place on Earth, and the only park where you can spend $100 on matching t-shirts and still feel like you got a deal. There’s Space Mountain, fireworks, and enough strollers to cause a traffic jam in Nebraska. It’s a classic, but it’s also less “adrenaline” and more “please take my wallet.”
1. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, TN)
Look, I’m a fan of Dolly as much as the next guy. She’s a national treasure, and if you don’t get cinnamon bread at Dollywood, you should probably be on a watchlist. But #1 amusement park in America? I mean, it’s got charm, but when your biggest thrill is “watching glass blowing” and “the howl of the Dollywood train,” I’m not sure the adrenaline crowd is exactly losing sleep over being left out. I guess if you want your theme park to feel like Cracker Barrel on steroids, this is your spot.
The Final Verdict
So what did we learn? Apparently, if you’re a small, family-owned park in Pennsylvania, or you have a water slide within walking distance of a scenic overlook, you’re going to crush it with TripAdvisor reviewers. If you’re the literal “Roller Coaster Capital of the World,” you’ll be lucky to beat out a LEGO park and a place called Whale’s Tale.
These rankings are based on actual traveler reviews and ratings from TripAdvisor users over a 12-month period, which somehow makes the results even more puzzling. It’s not corporate executives making these decisions—it’s real people who visited these parks and shared their honest opinions.
If you’re planning your next epic amusement park adventure, maybe take these rankings with a grain of salt—and a healthy dose of cinnamon bread. Ask a local, phone a friend, or just use the ancient wisdom of “which park has the most people screaming?”
And if you’re a true coaster junkie, I’ll see you at Cedar Point—where the only thing more thrilling than the rides is the injustice of this list.
What’s your favorite amusement park? Did TripAdvisor reviewers get it right, or is this the worst ranking since they put pineapple on pizza? Let me know below—bonus points if you can convince me Whale’s Tale belongs anywhere near the top 10.
