Five Florida attractions made the top 10 of Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best awards for U.S. amusement parks, but the top slot goes to Dollywood of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World finished second and third in the rankings, respectively.
Universal Studios Florida in Orlando was third, the Kissimmee location of Fun Spot America was eighth and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay landed in 10th.
The Best of the Best award factors in quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings, and ranks the best in categories including attractions, beaches, destinations, airlines, restaurants and experiences. Winners are among the top 1% of listings on Tripadvisor, the site says.
Other top 10 finishers were Universal Studios Hollywood (fourth), Silver Dollar City of Branson, Missouri (sixth), Funland in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (seventh) and Santa’s Village of Jefferson, New Hampshire (ninth).
Florida attractions in the top 25 included Disney’s Hollywood Studios (12th), Blizzard Beach (13th), Typhoon Lagoon (18th) and Legoland Florida (25th).
Silver Dollar City became Dollywood in 1986 after singer Dolly Parton bought into the east Tennessee attraction.
“When I started dreaming up Dollywood all those years ago, I hoped it would be somewhere folks were excited to come visit and enjoy time together,” Parton said in a news release. “To hear that they are leaving so many positive comments about their time here really shows what we’re doing is working. In the current world, I want Dollywood to be a place where the light shines every day.”
Siam Park in Adeje, Spain, was named tops in the world in the Tripadvisor rankings. Dollywood was eighth, with IOA in ninth and Magic Kingdom in 21st. Disneyland Paris is in the No. 15 spot of the worldwide list.
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