Dollywood wins four Golden Tickets; Fury 325 takes steel coaster award
The 2026 results recognize Dollywood’s guest experience, setting and family attractions, alongside Carowinds’ Fury 325. Here is what the poll measures.
Dollywood won four categories at the 2026 Golden Ticket Awards, while Carowinds’ Fury 325 took Best Steel Roller Coaster for the tenth time. Organizer Amusement Today announced the results September 13, following the September 12 ceremony at COTALand in Austin, Texas.
Dollywood’s wins were Best Guest Experience, Most Beautiful Park, Best Kids’ Area and Best Family Coaster. Andrew Stilwell’s September 13 results list for Coaster101 identifies Wildwood Grove as the winning children’s area and Big Bear Mountain as the family coaster.
Those are distinct categories: the overall Best Park award went to Germany’s Europa-Park. Dollywood’s four wins do not give it that title.
What the awards measure
Amusement Today says it distributed more than 500 ballots among experienced park travelers, industry journalists and ride suppliers. That is the number of ballots sent, not a reported count of completed responses. The organizer also distinguishes voted categories from staff-selected Publisher’s Picks and Legend awards.
The results reflect that voting process. They are not a survey of every visitor or an ATP assessment of current operations, prices or queue lengths.
For a fall visit, our regional calendar explains Dollywood and Carowinds’ event dates and separate admission requirements. It also covers Dollywood’s September 19 early-ride event, whose listed attractions include Big Bear Mountain; event-ticket availability remains unverified.