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Reminder Assistant Editor AGAWAM Last week, Amusement Today, a trade publication, announced the winners of the 2008 Golden Ticket Awards the Oscars of the theme park industry. For the third year in a row, Six Flags New England's Superman Ride of Steel was named as the Best Steel Coaster in the world. "Superman Ride of Steel is simply an amazing machine," Tim Baldwin, communications coordinator for Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, said. "There is no steel coaster anywhere on the planet that delivers great drops, massive negative Gs and wild directional changes to the scale Superman does. It's the ultimate package." Since 1998, Amusement Today, a monthly newspaper headquartered in Arlington, TX, has granted theme parks around the world with Golden Ticket Awards in over 25 categories, including Best Steel Coaster, Best Wooden Coaster, Best Amusement Park, Best Water Park and Best Carousel. This is the fourth overall win for the Superman Ride of Steel since being built in 2000. The ride beat out nine other notable coasters through a voting system by a panel of coaster enthusiasts who travel the world to ride and rate coasters every year. The Superman earned 1,363 points in 2008 to earn the top spot followed by the Millennium Force coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, which earned 1,107 points and the Nitro coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, which earned 838 points to take third place. "[The award] speaks to what an incredible ride it is even though it's eight years old," Larry Litton, park president of Six Flags New England, said. He added that receiving so many Golden Ticket Awards is "almost unprecedented in the coaster world because each year [entertainment companies] try to build something bigger, faster and more thrilling." Litton noted that Six Flags New England welcomed three coaster enthusiast groups this season, including judges from 28 different states and two countries. "They were clearly all there to ride Superman the flagship of Six Flags New England," he said. "Certainly, Superman continues to keep us on the map as a destination for families, coaster enthusiasts and thrill seekers. We have the greatest coaster in the world." Other 2008 Golden Ticket Award Winners include Cedar Point for Best Park, Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas for Best Water Park, Legoland California in Carlsbad, Calif., for Best Children's Park, SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Fla., for Best Marine Life Park, Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park for Best New Ride of 2008 (Amusement Park) and Dragon's Revenge at Schlitterbahn for Best New Ride of 2008 (Waterpark). | ||||||
