LIGONIER, Pa., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- In an annual "Best of the Best" poll of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans worldwide, Amusement Today (http://www.amusementtoday.com/) awarded a prestigious Golden Ticket to Pennsylvania's Idlewild & SoakZone (http://www.idlewild.com/) amusement park for taking second place honors as the "best kid's park" in the world for the fourth consecutive year.

Idlewild & SoakZone placed second behind LEGOLAND(R) California (http://www.legoland.com/) and ahead of Farup Sommerland (http://www.faarupsommerland.dk/) in Saltum, Denmark; Sesame Place, (http://www.sesameplace.com/) in Langhorne, Pennsylvania which is a division of the BuschEntertainment Company; and Memphis Kiddie Park (http://www.memphiskiddiepark.com/) in Cleveland, Ohio. Idlewild also took fourth place honors in the "best kid's area" category.

"Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards are the annual 'Oscars' of our industry and it is a great achievement for Idlewild & SoakZone to be recognized as the second best kid's park in the world for a fourth consecutive year and fourth best kid's area in the world too," said General Manager Brandon Leonatti. "The Golden Ticket is a huge accomplishment for us and a credit to our team members. As America's third oldest amusement park, we appeal to people of all ages, but we are especially attractive to families with young children."

About Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards

Amusement Today is an amusement park industry trade publication based in Arlington, Texas. Introduced in 1998, the Golden Ticket Awards have become the most sought after awards by the amusement industry. Amusement park fans all over the world are asked to rate the top parks in 25 categories, such as "amusement parks," "food," "live entertainment" and "roller coasters." The survey was only the fourth for family and children appeal in the 10-year history of the annual international poll conducted by the magazine. For more information visit (http://www.amusementtoday.com/) or call 817.460.7220.

About Idlewild & SoakZone

Founded in 1878 as a simple picnic ground along the Ligonier Valley Rail Road, Idlewild & SoakZone (http://www.idlewild.com/) is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, third-oldest in America and is rated the second best kid's park in the world by Amusement Today (http://www.amusementtoday.com/). Family owned and operated by Kennywood Entertainment (http://www.kennywood.com/), the largest provider of summer fun in western Pennsylvania, Idlewild features seven fun theme areas such as SoakZone Waterpark, Story Book Forest and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Seasonal operations run from through Labor Day and "Hallowboo," a Halloween- themed event, takes place in October. For more information, call 724.238.3666 or visit http://www.idlewild.com/.