Best New Attraction: Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure, Shanghai Disneyland
The world's newest major theme park wins our award this year for Best New Attraction. Shanghai Disneyland's version of Pirates of the Caribbean refreshes the wildly popular franchise with a new ride system and aggressive use of projection mapping and screens with the traditional animatronics to create a jaw-dropping adventure.
Previous winners: Justice League Battle for Metropolis [2015], Banshee [2014], Mystic Manor [2013], Transformers The Ride [2012], Star Tours The Adventures Continue [2011], Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey [2010], Manta [2009], The Simpsons Ride [2008], Mystery Mine [2007], Expedition Everest [2006]
Best New Show: Frozen Live at the Hyperion, Disney California Adventure
Filled with visually stunning moments that accentuate the animated hit's beloved score, this version of Frozen already has become a must-see at the Disneyland Resort.
Best New Roller Coaster: Mako, SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld's latest Bolliger & Mabillard masterpiece is now Orlando's tallest and fastest roller coaster. The B&M hyper might be Theme Park Insider's favorite roller coaster model, and Mako's well on its way to the top of our coaster rankings.
Previous winner: Thunderbird [2015]
Best Quick-service Restaurant: The Three Broomsticks, Universal Studios Hollywood
Our winner in this category is a new restaurant this year — the dining hall in Universal Studios Hollywood's recently opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Featuring not only favorites from Orlando's original but also some meals from last year's winner, The Leaky Cauldron, Hollywood's The Three Broomsticks offers more than enough great options to keep wizards and witches coming back again and again.
Previous winners: The Leaky Cauldron [2015], Miss Lillian's Chicken House [2014]
Best Table-service Restaurant: Magellan's, Tokyo DisneySea
This Tokyo DisneySea restaurant wins its first Theme Park Insider Award, after years of knocking on the door. Located in the heart of the Mysterious Island Citadel, Magellan's is the headquarters of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers — a favorite franchise of Theme Park Insider readers.
Previous winners: Monsieur Paul [2015], S.S. Columbia Dining Room [2013-2014], Bistro De Paris [2010-2012], Les Chefs de France [2009], Mythos Restaurant [2003-2008], Blue Bayou Restaurant [2002]
Best Hotel Restaurant: Victoria and Albert's, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World's most acclaimed restaurant wins this honor for the second year in a row.
Previous winner: Victoria and Albert's [2015]
Best Hotel: Universal's Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando's flagship hotel captures our Theme Park Insider Award for the fourth year in row and the sixth overall. The exemplary service and accommodations would place the Portofino Bay near the top of our rankings by themselves, but the location and free Universal Express service for guests pushes the hotel to the very top.
Previous winners: Universal's Portofino Bay Hotel [2002, 2009, 2013-2015], Disney's Grand Californian Hotel [2003-2004, 2011-2012], Disney's Wilderness Lodge [2010], Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge [2005-2006, 2008], Disney's Polynesian Resort [2007]
Best Theme Park: Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea wins our top honor for the fifth year in a row and the sixth time overall. But Disney's new Shanghai park is off to a strong start and continued expansion at the Universal Orlando Resort mean that theme park fans around the world are enjoying a resurgence of high quality in the theme park business. That's great news for fans, and something to look forward to seeing more of in the years to come.
Previous winners: Tokyo DisneySea [2005, 2012-2015], Universal's Islands of Adventure [2002-2004, 2010-2011], Disneyland [2008-2009], Busch Gardens Williamsburg [2006-2007]
Congratulations to all the winners!
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Actually I think Lightning Rod is a better contender for best new roller coaster.
I look at Magellan's and that one picture makes it look interesting, much more than the recently opened Tiffins at Animal Kingdom, which is like an art gallery in a restaurant, but I wouldn't call that an immersive experience, it's just like nice decorations. I expect a theme park restaurant to be immersive.
So which is the best ride in the world? Pirates, Spiderman or Forbidden Journey?
I've said it before, I question the legitimacy of these awards when so many overseas attractions, restaurants, etc. win all the time. I think people just read the glowing reviews or watch YouTube videos and vote without ever experiencing it for themselves. In five years of reading this site, I'm pretty sure Robert is the only person who ever mentioned eating at Magellan's and somehow that's the winner?
The love for Portofino Bay has always perplexed me. It is by far the priciest of the UO resorts, and is a 20+ minute walk/boat ride from the parks/CityWalk (about as far by foot as Cabana Bay). It's certainly a pretty hotel, but the Hard Rock is superior in so many ways. If you're judging by looks alone, all of the Disney Deluxe Resorts top Portofino.
Maybe these awards would work best if not tied to the ratings, but instead just open polling each year as they approach? I quite enjoyed the tournament format Robert did for attractions a few years back, not necessarily tied to have you actually experienced this but instead on your general thoughts and perception of it. I'm also curious what the minimum requirements are and how many "ratings" each attraction, restaurant, hotel actually receive.
At the end of the day though, it's all in good fun and makes for good debate. I'm also just playfully bitter that things I enjoy (like San Angel Inn and The Palm) get ignored while things I find lackluster (Mythos, Le Cellier, Impressions de France) get, in my opinion, unwarranted praise. Ironically, I think the reason why certain things I prefer get ignored is because not enough people have tried them, which makes the over-voting tied to Editor bias so maddening.
As for the integrity of the awards, there's no perfect way to do user-based awards without making it so complicated that nobody will vote. Personally, I think it's mostly fine the way it is. The only thing I would suggest (and this may already be done) would be to purge all ratings older than two years as opinions can change over time. If the rating guidelines say not to rate anything you haven't experienced in the past two years, then no ratings older than two years should factor into awards decisions.
I'm always concerned that we not have too many awards, as I don't want this to become overkill. I kinda like the idea of focusing more on the new stuff, but if there's a groundswell of support for adding the category overall awards, I'll throw those into the mix for next year.
Last time I was in a park there might have been a gift shop or two.
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