This. Is. March. You know what March means? It’s that time of year at Coaster101 where we fill out a college basketball bracket, have it bust after the first two days of the college basketball tournament, and shift our focus to what some (no one) call “The most important bracket in March.”
This year, we’ve brought back our annual bracket event called Park Mania! (cleverly named in an effort not to get a cease and desist letter!) with a few twists.
Just like the “real” bracket, we’ve included 68 parks from across North America to vie for the coveted Park Mania trophy. However, this year, at the suggestion of our twitter followers, there are no rankings and no geographic regions. With the exception of the “vote-in” rounds, the parks were randomly selected for their match-ups. Just like the basketball tournament, we’ve created a “Vote-In” round where 8 parks will have the chance to be voted into the final 64-park field. This year, “vote-in” rounds work a little differently, as several multi-property parks have been split up to determine who will advance into the main bracket. Each region is named for RMC Tracks!
Instead of the parks facing off against each other on the hardwood, we’re going to let you, the readers of Coaster101.com, decide your pick for your favorite park in North America!
We have updated our voting process slightly and are closely monitoring spikes in votes. We will not be reporting exact results on social media during this year’s Park Mania, and voting percentages will be hidden this year. We reserve the right to remove any potentially fraudulent votes from the results, which kind of defeats the purpose of this being fun. Bottom Line: Don’t cheat and ruin this for your favorite park and everyone else legitimately voting for them!
Each voting round will take place over several days, and the schedule will be as follows. We’ll create a post each day with new polls for voting. All voting will be done right here on Coaster101.com, and will end at approximately 8:00pm Eastern time on the specified date.
Vote In Round Voting: Monday, March 14-Wednesday, March 16
Round One Voting: Thursday, March 17-Sunday, March 20
Round Two Voting: Monday, March 21-Wednesday, March 23
Regional Semi-Final Voting: Thursday, March 24-Sunday, March 27
Regional Final Voting: Monday, March 28-Wednesday, March 30
National Semi-Final Voting: Thursday, March 31-Saturday, April 2
Championship Voting: Sunday, April 3-Tuesday, April 5
Winner Announced: Wednesday, April 7
Second Round Voting
Round Two Voting Is Complete! Come back 3/24 to find out who advanced!
Polls close at 8:00pm Eastern on Wednesday! Round 3 Begins Thursday.
Be sure to join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #C101ParkMania!
Have been to many of these parks and such a good time. Indiana Beach in Indiana is a smaller family oriented park. Great for all ages and can do everything in 1-2 days.
Indiana Beach is the Fenway Park or the Lambeau Field of amusement parks
It’s the grandaddy of them all
How is Worlds of Fun beating out SFMM?!? I’ve only been to Worlds of Fun, and it was an ok park, but SFMM has a way better coaster lineup. Like MILES better. Something isn’t adding up… seems like a no-brainer.
I’ve been to a good handful of the parks on this list. My favorites are Indiana Beach (love the family vibe and the traditional “Boardwalk” style), Holiday World (man, that park went from a ‘nothing’ to a ‘something’ in just about 10 years), and the classic Kings Island.
I loved the Universal Islands of Adventure in Florida as well. All great parks, ALL worth the time to check out if you’re ever in their areas!
Keep Coastin’ Folks!
how is knotts beating holiday world?!?!?!
Indiana Beach is such a classic park – they’ve managed updates while honoring the classic elements of a great boardwalk amusement park. It was perilously close to closing a few years ago when it was saved by a local enthusiast and the community (and park lovers) have been rallying to it since. Even if you don’t know it, vote for it! It means something to this park in a way it doesn’t for the bigger parks.
Indiana Beach is such a classic park – they’ve managed updates while honoring the classic elements of a great boardwalk amusement park. It was perilously close to closing a few years ago when it was saved by a local enthusiast and the community (and park lovers) have been rallying to it since. Even if you don’t know it, vote for it! It means something to this park in a way it doesn’t for the bigger parks.
I began going to Indiana Beach with my parents when it was called Ideal Beach. In my teen years, it was THE place to meet friends and dance to the music of popular entertainers. Now our kids and our grandkids come to enjoy the rides. Pronto pups are still our favorite treat for lunch. Indiana Beach is a treasure!
Indiana Beach is an iconic Family Amusement park that is not corporate owned. It has great rides for all ages, including those seeking thrills and those young at heart. Other parks may have a waterpark but Indiana Beach’s is unique as it is part of a lake and there is a ski show, which I would dare to say most (if not all) the other parks do not have! A vote for Indiana Beach means so much more to Indiana Beach than it would to a corporate park.
Busch Gardens Tampa – A zoo wit with world -class coasters and awesome shows? You can not beat it!