Summer is officially underway, as families and thrill-seekers across the United States head to theme parks for fun in the sun.
A vacation rental marketplace for those looking to have fun and save money this summer Home To Go The annual survey ranked 42 theme parks across the country based on affordability and attractions. Theme Park IndexConsider nearby accommodations as well.
Luckily for Midwestern residents, four of the publication’s top five amusement parks are located in the region, including all of the top three.
Topping the list was Holiday World & Splash in Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, which outperformed all of the other top five parks in terms of affordability.
To determine the parks’ affordability scores, HomeToGo calculated scores for each park’s ticket prices, parking fees and nearby nightly vacation rental prices.
Each park’s attraction score was determined by the number of operating roller coasters and other operating attractions at each park.
Holiday World received an affordability score of 28.56 and an attractions score of 15.65 for an overall score of 44.21, beating out Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, which received a score of 42.67.
Coming in third with an overall score of 41.85 was Chicago-area’s Six Flags Great America, which received an affordability score of 23.50 and an attractions score of 18.35.
The only park outside the Midwest to make the top five was Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which came in fourth with 41.49 points.
Rounding out the top five is Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. Boasting dozens of attractions and seven rollercoasters, the park received a score of 41.43.
HomeToGo also ranked parks across the country based solely on affordability, for those making budget a priority on their vacations this summer.
Among them, Holiday World was the only Midwest theme park to make the top five, ranking third behind Six Flags Frontier City in Oklahoma and Fun Spot America Orlando in Florida.
Rounding out the top five for affordability were Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia, and Six Flags America in Bowie, Maryland.
For more information on the full HomeToGo ranking and our assessment methodology, please visit here.