Applause Award | |
---|---|
Awarded for | The finest in amusement parks |
Country | Worldwide |
Presented by | Liseberg |
First awarded | 1980 |
Website | Official website |
The Applause Award is an international award given out by Liseberg, a theme park in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is given out every two years to the amusement park whose "management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with their foresight, originality and sound business development." [1] The award is a bronze statue of two clapping hands. It was designed by Astri Taube, a Swedish sculptor. [2] The winner is chosen by a board of governors with Liseberg's CEO, Andreas Andersen, being the chairman. [3]
It is considered by many to be the Academy Award of the amusement park industry. [4] In summer of 2020, it was announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming award ceremony would be postponed until 2021. However, a year later it was again announced that the award had been postponed again, and would resume normally in 2022.
The Applause Award Board of Governors 2018 | |
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Chairman | |
Andreas Andersen | Liseberg |
Members | |
Chris Herschend | Herschend Family Entertainment |
Sascha N. Czibulka | Intamin |
Tim O´Brien | Author & Journalist |
Jim Pattison Jr | Ripley Entertainment |
Amanda Thompson O.B.E. | Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
Steven C Rhys | FORREC Ltd. |
John Wood | Sally Corp. |
Michael Mack | Europa Park |
Tina Resch | Liseberg |
Year | Park | Award Finalists | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Magic Kingdom | ||
1982 | Opryland USA | ||
1986 | Epcot | ||
1988 | Knott's Berry Farm | ||
1990 | Europa Park | • Busch Gardens Williamsburg | |
1992 | Efteling | ||
1994 | Universal Studios Florida | ||
1996 | Cedar Point | • Busch Gardens Williamsburg | |
1998 | Silver Dollar City | ||
2000 | Hersheypark | ||
2002 | Busch Gardens Williamsburg | ||
2004 | Holiday World & Splashin' Safari | ||
2006 | Islands of Adventure | ||
2008 | Xetutul Theme Park | ||
2010 | Dollywood | ||
2012 | Ocean Park Hong Kong | ||
2014 | Puy du Fou | ||
2016 | Busch Gardens Tampa | ||
2018 | Xcaret Park | ||
2022 | Tokyo DisneySea |
Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, that opened in 1923. It is one of the most visited amusement parks in Scandinavia, attracting about three million visitors annually. Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roller coaster Balder, twice voted as the Best Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster in the world in a major international poll. The park itself has also been chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by Forbes magazine.
Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly known simply as Fiesta Texas, is a theme park located in Northwest San Antonio. It opened on March 14, 1992, in the La Cantera master-planned development and district as the first business in that development. Spanning 200 acres (81 ha), the park was originally built to become a destination musical show park with its focus on the musical culture of the state of Texas. The park was purchased by Time Warner in 1995, and branded as a Six Flags park for the 1996 season.
Enchanted Kingdom, is a theme park in the Philippines. It is located in Santa Rosa, Laguna. It has a land area of 25 hectares. The park is managed and operated by Enchanted Kingdom Inc.
Meli Park was a theme park which was opened in 1935 in Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne on the Belgian coast.
Calaway Park is an amusement park and campground in Springbank, Alberta, Canada. The park occupies approximately 160 acres (65 ha) of land, although the amusement park only occupies 90 acres (36 ha) of it. The park is western Canada's largest amusement park, and is situated approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Calgary's city limits.
Dollywood's Splash Country is a 35-acre (14 ha) water park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, adjacent to the Dollywood theme park. The park's central theme rests around entertainer Dolly Parton's childhood swimming in the rivers of the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood's Splash Country operates from May through September.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a 3D motion simulator and dark ride located at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it was originally built for Islands of Adventure's grand opening in 1999. A second installation called The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2004. The attractions have a hybrid configuration that combines motion vehicles with 3D projection and elaborate physical sets.
Iron Rattler is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. Originally opening as a wooden coaster called Rattler in 1992, it was converted to steel and renamed Iron Rattler in 2013. Designed by Alan Schilke and built by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the ride features a zero-g-roll inversion, which was a first among hybrid coasters made of wood and steel.
Bob Rogers is an American designer, producer, and director, most known for his work in themed entertainment. Rogers is founder and chairman of BRC Imagination Arts, a strategic design and production agency. Rogers oversees the creative elements of all BRC projects, serving clients like Coca-Cola, NASA, Disney, Johnnie Walker, Universal Studios, Ford, General Motors, China Mobile, China Telecom, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl slides. ProSlide has received attention for being the first water slide manufacturer to build a water slide using linear induction motors and for designing the Mammoth watercoaster which was named the world's longest watercoaster by Guinness World Records in 2016. Since 1986, ProSlide has developed and designed water rides for water parks in over 40 countries around the world.
Kongeparken is an amusement park in the village of Ålgård, near Stavanger in Norway. Kongeparken is the biggest amusement park in the south-west of Norway, and the main tourist destination in the county of Rogaland. The park has more than 50 different rides and attractions. and has won multiple awards.
Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park located at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It features six adult rides and 16 kiddie rides, including a dozen family rides that parents and children can ride together. The park is named for its main attraction, the Wonder Wheel, a 150-foot (46 m) eccentric wheel built in 1920.
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida, is recognized as the world's largest attractions trade show in the number of attendees and exhibitors and providing members insight into current amusement trends, laws, operations and industry methodology. IAAPA also helps to promote guest-safety and ride-safety guidelines in conjunction with ASTM International and assists its members to uphold the highest amusement-industry safety and professional standards.
Polercoaster was a type of amusement ride offered by US Thrill Rides and Intamin. An installation consists of a large tower structure which features glass elevators to an observation deck, as well as a steel roller coaster wrapping around the tower. The model was first introduced in 2012, and in 2013, four were proposed for construction. However, none have been constructed as of 2023.
Fun Spot America Theme Parks is a group of amusement parks. Since 1979, the group has owned and operated a number of small amusement parks over the years and currently has three locations in Orlando, Florida, Kissimmee, Florida, and Fayetteville, Georgia.
Thomas Wagner is a German video game designer, entrepreneur and professor. He is best known for his influence on the theme park industry as inventor of Virtual Reality equipped ride attractions like roller coasters. For his work in creating VR experiences on ride facilities, he is also considered a relevant personality of the VR Industry.
Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is an apex body representing the interests of Amusement Parks, Theme Parks, Water Parks and Indoor Amusement Centres in India. IAAPI is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in the development of this sector. Founded in 1999, IAAPI is India's premier business association having more than 461 members from the private sectors including small and medium enterprises consisting of park operators and equipment manufacturers. IAAPI is also recognized and affiliated by various international trade bodies operating in the amusement sector.