The Best Amusement Parks In The US That Aren't Disney World, According To Redditors

There are plenty of reasons to love a Walt Disney World vacation, like Disney's notorious attention to detail, rider swaps that make traveling with babies easier than ever, and some of the most lovingly crafted food you'll ever pick up at a kiosk. But while the magic of a Disney vacation remains unmatched, the United States has plenty of excellent amusement parks to be enjoyed that don't bear the mark of the mouse. And there are just as many reasons for theme park lovers to head for adventure elsewhere.

No matter how much we love our mouse-infused magic, those Disney Dollars can add up — especially when you're a completionist who has to visit all four Disney parks, even the worst-rated park at Walt Disney World. Maybe you've got a passion for face-flattening roller coasters that Disney just can't fulfill, or perhaps you're in the market for a theme park adventure that's a little bit closer to home and lighter in terms of crowd density. To find out which Disney-deficient parks are the cream of the crop, we left our mouse ears behind and took a deep dive into Reddit's amusement park rabbit hole. As usual, we found our favorite hive mind teeming with insights on everything from mouth-watering amusement park eats to theme park entertainment. 

The official theme park of one of the world's most likable human beings, Dolly Parton, Dollywood is located in some of the most beautiful countryside in the United States near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains. Themed after Dolly Parton's life with a focus on Southern Appalachian customs and culture, the 160-acre park features more than 50 rides and attractions and even won the 2023 Golden Ticket Awards for Best Amusement Park, Best Kids' Area, Best Guest Experience, and Best Family Coaster for its Big Bear Mountain Ride.

Writing on r/rollercoasters, one theme park lover praised, "Dollywood is something really special. In short, this is a park with zero blind spots. No issues that could be solved easily with more effort or investment." The Redditor went on to review the park in detail, emphasizing the long list of quality thrill rides, family coasters, cleanliness, staffing, and entertainment. When it comes to food, they added, "This category is one where Dollywood soars above the rest."

Many Redditors praised the visual appeal and charm of the park, emphasizing the winding trails and specialty shops make the park a fun destination for guests who aren't necessarily thrill seekers. While not dramatically less costly than Walt Disney World tickets, Dollywood tickets do tend to run a little lower — savings that could really add up across a bigger family or travel group. And if you play your cards right, it's easy to visit Dollywood when crowds are on the lighter side.

This Six Flags-owned park has an awfully lot going for it — not the least of which is its claim to fame as the nation's second-oldest amusement park (the park opened in 1870). "This park is a vibe," one Redditor wrote. "Blue skies. Low crowds. CP crushed it with staffing ... The vibe was a chill, 'go at your own pace' kind of day." At $80 for gate tickets and around $50 when purchased online, Cedar Point is dramatically cheaper than Walt Disney World parks. The countryside here is also spectacular — as another Redditor put it, "Cedar Point is also in a beautiful location. Being on a peninsula reaching out into Lake Erie, you feel like you're at the ocean."

More importantly for thrill-seekers, the park is home to some outstanding thrill rides, including four roller coasters from the Golden Ticket Awards 2023 Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters list. The number two coaster on the steel coasters list, Millennium Force, held the GTA Awards top spot for years before it was finally supplanted by Carowinds' Fury 325 in 2016. To many fans, like one roller coaster-loving Reddit user, it remains untouchable. Writing on r/rollercoasters, the Redditor praised the ride, "The lift and drop next to the lake make it seem like the tallest coaster in existence. It's all about perspective. Millennium Force will never not be epic." Rides like Steel Vengeance and the heart-stopping Corkscrew are at the top of many Cedar Point adrenaline junkies' lists. The park also features a classic coaster, the Blue Streak, that's been in service since 1964.

The cool story behind Knott's Berry Farm, one of California's staple amusement parks for nearly a century, depending on who is telling it, is just one of the reasons to fall in love with this classic theme park. The tale begins in December 1920, when the Knott family hopped in their Model T and followed their berry farmer cousin to California's State Route 39. Within a few years, they were selling berries and tasty treats like pies and preserves, an operation that quickly expanded to include a tea room. The enterprising family soon added some shops and a ghost town meant to serve as a tribute to early pioneers like Walter Knott's parents, who traveled west in 1868 with a very young Walter in tow.

Redditors with a love of amusement parks can't say enough good things about this less-crowded Disneyland neighbor. Take it from u/Mooco2, who wrote in r/rollercoasters, "Knott's is such a phenomenal jewel for Cedar Fair and arguably has just as fascinating and rich a history as the mouse park down the street." They went on to praise the park's lineup of rides, particularly the Calico Mine Ride, a dark ride dedicated to mining. "The whole Ghost Town section (and I'd argue Fiesta Village as well) are absolutely dripping with character and charm, and how do you beat boysenberry soft serve ice cream?!" For younger children, Camp Snoopy will be the icing on the cake. 

If you like the vibe of parks like Dollywood and Knott's Berry Farm, you're probably going to fall in love with Silver Dollar City. Built in Missouri's breathtaking Ozark Mountains near Table Rock Lake, the 1880s-themed park winds up and down through the stunning countryside and is especially remarkable to visit during the autumn months as the leaves are beginning to turn. The park, which began as a tribute to an Ozark frontier town built at the site of Marvel Cave, features a special emphasis on craftsmanship and artisanship. Visitors are given a chance to view demonstrations of crafts like glassblowing, woodcarving, pottery, candle making, and blacksmithery, just to name a few.

"Silver Dollar City is an ABSOLUTE GEM," one Reddit user raved on r/Themepark. Praising the park for its well-executed theming and affordability at $89 for two-day passes, the park-going dad added, "Other theme parks plow over every tree in sight, but SDC went to great pains to keep the native trees everywhere." As the Redditor noted, this added up to cooler temps in the midsummer heat — which can get pretty high in Missouri otherwise — as well as an unexpected bonus on coasters. As he put it, "when you get up high on the roller coasters you are treated to incredible views of the Ozarks." The park also features several baby care centers, a rather large children's area called the Half Dollar Holler, and many family rides.

If you've ever experienced the disappointment of watching a once-splendid theme park gradually decline from its glory days, you can appreciate the Golden Ticket Awards' Renaissance Award, which recognizes parks making serious strides toward revitalization. In 2023, Kennywood was the recipient of this Publisher's Pick award from the Amusement Today Editor-In-Chief Gary Slade. Kennywood started as a trolley park — an amusement and recreation zone along a streetcar route — back in 1898. The park still features two of its original rides made in 1924, Kenny's Karousel and the Wacky Wheel, and bears the designation of a United States National Historic Landmark. Better still, tickets can be purchased for as little as $29.99 online in advance.

This isn't the best park for thrill seekers, but it certainly has its charm and even something of a cult following. As one Reddit user wrote on r/pittsburgh, "You don't go to Kennywood for the thrill (Although The Phantom's Revenge and The Black Widow are great rides). You go for the history and environment." Many fans of the park praised its wooden roller coasters and Kennywood's old-school amusement park vibe. And generally speaking, many found it less overwhelming. Another Reddit user wrote in the same subreddit, "Kennywood has a better signal-to-noise ratio for good attractions compared to other parks. It doesn't have 14 coasters like others, but all six of its major coasters are quality rides – something that is different from the others."

Six Flags Magic Mountain isn't one of the cheaper amusement parks around. But as is the case with most Six Flags parks, it's fairly easy to get hooked up on a deep discount ticket if you purchase ahead at the right time of year, and even at full price, it still comes in at a lower cost than some of its local competitors. The park also boasts a whopping 20 roller coasters — the Guinness World Record holder for most coasters in a park — making it a prime destination for thrill seekers in search of a serious adrenaline kick. Two of those coasters, X2 and Twisted Colossus, even made the top 28 Golden Ticket Awards for 2023.

"The coasters were fantastic," wrote one Reddit user on r/SixFlagsMagicMountain, adding, "The park was beautiful, spacious, and well-kept." They went on to praise the value of the park tickets compared with other Southern California parks and advise guests to consider the meal package for savings. But many parkgoers are quick to warn that the park's genuinely unhinged thrill ride lineup is the only reason to visit Magic Mountain, with a few Redditors going into detail about problems with park operations and crowding. Still, many will say the excellent rides far exceed the park's shortcomings. Encapsulating the sentiment, another Redditor mused in the subreddit, "As on person once said, 'Six Flags sucks and I love it.'"

Similar to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, the park that's currently at risk of losing Dinoland USA, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is an animal-themed park where living creatures and roller coasters reside as neighbors. Guests can get up close and personal with the likes of lions, cheetahs, giraffes, cougars, sharks, sea lions, seals, and penguins or take a stroll down a tropical bird trail. "The zoo exhibits added a nice charm to the park, and it was fun to see the animals, which all seemed much more active and in-view than animals at the typical zoo," recounted one Reddit user in r/rollercoasters.

Many Redditors consider this park underrated, particularly when it comes to Discovery Kingdom's thrill-ride lineup. Roller coaster fans particularly praised Twisted Colossus and Joker, "Joker alone makes it worth it, wrote one Reddit user in r/rollercoasters. "If you haven't been on Joker, definitely go for that." In a ride review recap in the same subreddit, another Redditor echoed the sentiment, advising, "The top 3 coasters were great. The park layout is pretty easy to navigate. Even though they were slow ... most of the ride operators were interactive and having a good time." Family rides like the family coaster Road Runner Express and opportunities for animal encounters make the park a friendly place for traveling with younger kiddos. There's even a Looney Tunes dance party where kids can commune with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

If you've never had a chance to squeeze in a trip to Universal Studios on your Walt Disney World vacation, you're missing out — especially since many theme park fans say Universal's second theme park, Islands of Adventure, is one of the best in the country, if not the world. One of the highlights is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Hogsmeade Village, which feels exactly like stepping into a Harry Potter book. Guests can grab a butterbeer with fish and chips at the Three Broomsticks, purchase chocolate frogs at Honeydukes, or pick up a wand of their own at Ollivander's. When they're done shopping, Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure is a roller coaster that tells a story, whipping guests through the Forbidden Forest on Hagrid's motorcycle on one of the most magical thrill rides they'll ever experience. And then there's the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which has bragging rights as Florida's tallest and fastest launch roller coaster.

"Every land is done beautifully, and every queue is exciting," wrote u/MrDarSwag in r/rollercoasters. "From Hogsmeade to Jurassic Park to Seuss Landing, every land's theming fits perfectly with the IP it is portraying." Emphasizing the park's butter-smooth operations, attractive scenery, and food quality, he concluded, "Universal is expensive, but you really do get what you pay for."

Originally developed by the same folks who gave the world Budweiser, Busch Gardens is the popular theme park about 60 miles up the coast from Virginia Beach, with the distinction of winning the Golden Ticket Award for Most Beautiful Park in 2023. The park also won 11th in the nation in the Steel Roller Coasters category for its ambitious Apollo's Chariot, a hypercoaster with a 210-foot drop and elevated seats meant to create the sensation of flight. Busch Gardens' Alpengeist and Pantheon also made the top 50 steel coasters list, with the wooden coaster InvadR tying for 45th on the wooden coasters list. At a mind-blowing 73 miles per hour, Pantheon also holds the record for the world's fastest multi-launch coaster.

One Reddit user raved in r/rollercoasters, "This park's coaster lineup exceeded my expectations when I went." Besides boasting a fairly solid roller coaster lineup and plenty of flat rides for those who prefer their entertainment less adrenaline-infused, the park regularly draws praise for its cleanliness and generally smooth operations. As another Redditor in the subreddit observed, "The park was beautiful. The landscaping was well maintained, the park was extremely clean, the staff was friendly, and the ride [opportunities] were some of the best I've experienced."

Another big winner on the Golden Ticket Awards list for its coasters, Kings Island is especially popular among Redditors with a need for theme park speed. The park took the 26th and 27th spots for steel coasters for Diamondback — the first-ever hypercoaster to include a splashdown — and Orion, a "giga" coaster with a 300-foot drop and a top speed of 91 mph. Banshee, which holds the record for the world's longest inverted roller coaster, also made the list. The park also holds the sixth and seventh spot on the 2023 Golden Ticket wooden coasters list for Beast and the abandoned logging site-themed Mystic Timbers. Located just a short drive from Cincinnati, Kings Island is also the largest theme park in the Midwest.

For those who prefer dark rides or food truck delights over thrill rides, Kings Island is still a fantastic destination. The park features a large section for younger children, and many Redditors said they found it more family-friendly than other parks in its class. As one Redditor observed in the subreddit r/rollercoasters, "Kings Island just has more of the details, big and small." Citing the park's overall beauty, smooth operations, and excellent food offerings, the Redditor concluded, "It's just a park that fires on all cylinders and really doesn't have that many flaws."

To find out which theme parks Redditors can't get enough of, we searched Reddit using a long list of keywords like "favorite theme parks," "best theme parks," "best theme park food," and "best rides," keeping an eye out for the theme parks that kept coming up repeatedly. We searched through Reddit to make sure the favorite parks a few years ago are still just as popular today, and we checked out sites like Tripadvisor and Google to see what everyone else was saying. After gathering a list of popular theme parks, we took a closer look to find out what makes each park the best of the best.