Best Amusement Parks in America, Ranked by Visitors

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• Discovery Cove in Florida is America’s highest-rated theme park, with 85.29% of reviews rating it 5 stars. 
• Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania came second with 83.30%, while Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster in Tennessee came third with 80.74%. 
• Universal Islands of Adventure and Disney California Adventure ranked fourth and fifth. 

Keeping the kids entertained during the summer vacation isn’t always easy, especially with so many theme parks to choose from. To make things simpler, the team at Chicks Gold looked at visitor reviews to find the highest-rated theme parks in America. Topping the list is Discovery Cove in Florida, where 85.29% of visitors gave it a perfect 5-star rating. 

Parks with 10,000 or more combined reviews were considered across Google and Tripadvisor to uncover which have the highest percentage of 5-star reviews.

Discovery Cove in Florida ranked first with 85.29% of reviews (25,317 out of 29,685), rating it five stars. It received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google and 5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.

Discovery Cove offers several marine attractions, including swimming with dolphins, snorkeling with eagle rays, and crossing a shark-filled lagoon. It is also a sister park of SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando.

Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania ranked second with 83.3% of reviews (25,720 out of 30,875) rating it five stars. It scored an average Google rating of 4.8 out of 5 and 4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.

The family-owned amusement resort is considered the largest free-admission park in America. It has over 60 rides, including three wooden roller coasters, three steel roller coasters, a 1913 carousel, and two ghost trains.

Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster in Tennessee came third with 80.74% of reviews (15,583 out of 19,301) rating it five stars. It received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google and 4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.

Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster is a mountain coaster in Pigeon Forge’s mountain resort city. It was the first mountain coaster built in the Smoky Mountains and is the second-longest downhill track in the United States, taking 7-8 minutes to ride.

Universal Islands of Adventure in Florida ranked fourth, with 80.13% of reviews (118,633 of 148,042) rating it five stars. It received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google and 4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.

Universal Islands of Adventure features many rides and attractions across various themed islands, such as Jurassic Park, Marvel Superheroes, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Disney California Adventure ranked fifth with 78.99% of reviews (66,532 out of 84,231) rating it five stars. It received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google and 4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor.

Operated by The Walt Disney Company, Disney California Adventure is themed after Disney’s interpretation of California and features Disney, Pixar and Marvel properties. It is also the second theme park built at the Disneyland Resort complex after Disneyland.

Other theme parks in the top ten include Magic Kingdom, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios Florida, and Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari.

Al Alof, CEO of Chicks Gold commented on the findings:

“As summer begins, families across the U.S. will be looking at plans to make to enjoy the season to its fullest. Amusement parks make the ideal day out.

“Our findings reveal Florida parks dominate the rankings, solidifying the state’s place as the best for amusement park fun. Not only does the state have so many iconic parks, but the weather and wealth of nearby beaches make it a perfect summer vacation spot this year.”

   Top 50 highest-rated theme parks in America:

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