Europa-Park has once again been named the world's best theme park, taking the top prize at the 2026 Golden Ticket Awards for a remarkable 11th time.
The German theme park secured the Best Park award at this year's ceremony in Austin, Texas, continuing an extraordinary run of success at one of the theme park industry's most established annual awards.
Europa-Park faced international competition from some of the world's biggest theme park destinations, including resorts operated by Disney and Universal.
And it wasn't the only success for the wider Europa-Park Resort, with Rulantica and Voltron Nevera also earning impressive positions in their respective global rankings.
Europa-Park wins Best Park for the 11th time
The 2026 Golden Ticket Awards were presented on 12 September at COTALand in Austin, Texas, bringing together around 300 professionals from across the attractions industry.
Organised by industry publication Amusement Today, the Golden Ticket Awards have been running since 1998, with winners across the main categories determined through an international poll of experienced theme park travellers and industry figures.
More than 500 ballots were distributed for the 2026 awards.
Europa-Park ultimately came out on top in the headline Best Park category, marking the 11th time the family-owned German destination has secured the award.
According to Europa-Park, judges particularly recognised the park's variety of attractions, high standard of operations and combination of tradition and innovation, alongside its entertainment, restaurants and accommodation.
Beating some of the world's biggest theme parks
What makes Europa-Park's continued success particularly notable is the competition.
The park in Rust, Germany competes on an international stage populated by considerably larger entertainment companies and destinations, including Disney and Universal.
Yet Europa-Park has repeatedly managed to take the Golden Ticket Awards' top park honour.
Unlike resorts built predominantly around established entertainment franchises, Europa-Park's identity remains heavily centred around its European themed areas, original attractions and the Mack family's long history within the amusement industry.
The park now features more than 100 attractions across 17 European themed areas, with its coaster line-up including Silver Star, blue fire Megacoaster and the more recent Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac.
Voltron Nevera ranks among the world's best steel coasters
Europa-Park's latest major roller coaster also performed strongly in the 2026 awards.
Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac secured a position inside the top 10 steel roller coasters worldwide.
The Mack Rides multi-launch coaster opened in 2024 as the headline attraction of Europa-Park's Croatian themed area.
Featuring multiple launches, inversions and an unusual beyond-vertical launch, Voltron has quickly become one of the park's signature thrill attractions.
Its latest Golden Ticket ranking puts it among an enormous field, with Europa-Park noting that the category encompasses almost 6,000 steel roller coasters worldwide.
The overall Best Steel Coaster award went to Fury 325 at Carowinds for the tenth time.
Rulantica named fourth-best water park
There was further success elsewhere at Europa-Park Resort.
Rulantica ranked fourth among the world's water parks, giving the resort another top-five international result.
The Nordic-themed water world sits close to Europa-Park and has grown considerably since first opening in 2019, becoming an increasingly important part of the wider resort rather than simply an add-on to the theme park.
Europa-Park itself also finished fourth in the Golden Ticket Awards' Most Beautiful Park category.
It was additionally named the best theme park in Europe for guest experience.
MACK Rides celebrates more Golden Ticket success
The awards extended beyond Europa-Park itself, with parent company MACK Rides represented across several categories.
Ride to Happiness at Plopsaland Belgium finished fifth in the Best Steel Coaster ranking, while Stardust Racers at Universal Epic Universe took tenth.
Futuroscope's Mission Bermudes, which uses MACK Rides' Rocking Boat ride system, also finished second in the Best Water Ride category.
It's an impressive spread of results for the German manufacturer, particularly as those attractions are located at completely separate parks across Europe and the United States.
Who else won at the 2026 Golden Ticket Awards?
Europa-Park may have taken the headline park award, but there were several other notable winners this year.
Dollywood collected four Golden Tickets, including Best Guest Experience, Best Kid's Area, Best Family Coaster and Most Beautiful Park.
Universal Epic Universe's Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment was named Best Dark Ride, while Six Flags Qiddiya City's record-breaking Falcons Flight took both Best New Roller Coaster and Best New Attraction Installation.
Holiday World's Splashin' Safari became a first-time winner of Best Water Park, while The Voyage returned to the top of the Best Wooden Roller Coaster category.
Vekoma was also named Supplier of the Year as the Dutch ride manufacturer celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Eleven wins and counting
Theme park awards are inevitably subjective. What one guest considers the world's best park can be completely different from another person's choice.
But Europa-Park's consistency is difficult to ignore.
Winning the Golden Ticket Award once would be a major achievement. Taking the top prize 11 times while competing against some of the biggest names in the global theme park industry demonstrates just how highly Europa-Park continues to be regarded.
And with Voltron Nevera establishing itself among the world's leading steel coasters, Rulantica continuing to grow and further investment across the resort, Europa-Park doesn't appear interested in standing still.
For a family-owned theme park in southern Germany competing against global entertainment giants, an 11th world title is quite an achievement.
