Crescent-News.com - Top 10 parks are named in states

NEEDHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Can't get the family to an Orlando theme-park this year?

That's okay. TripAdvisor has come up with a list of the 10 best parks outside Orlando, based on popularity among TripAdvisor.com users and the website's editors.

The parks are:

-- Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, which calls itself the "roller coaster capital of the world," with 17 coasters.

-- HersheyPark, Hershey, Pa., celebrating its centennial this year. When you're done riding the Storm Runner coaster, head for a tour of Hershey's Chocolate World, located nearby.

-- Busch Gardens, Tampa, Fla., which has African-themed rides and landscaping, and a zoo with 2,700 animals.

-- Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas, known for its entertaining shows in addition to rides like Scream and Poltergeist.

-- Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Myrtle Beach, S.C., a combined oceanfront water park and amusement park.

-- Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, N.J., known for thrill rides and a tiger exhibit, but with plenty for little kids to do as well.

-- Paramount's Kings Island, Kings Island, home to The Beast, the world's longest wooden roller coaster, and Face/Off, a face-to-face inverted coaster.

-- Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park, Gatlinburg, Tenn., where your visit starts with a scenic aerial tram ride up a mountain. Features include indoor skating, an alpine slide, a fun house, go-carts and a black bear habitat.

-- Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y., home to the world-famous Cyclone coaster and Wonder Wheel ferris wheel. But hurry - while the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel will survive, this is the final season for the park that is home to many of the area's other rides, Astroland.

-- Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, N.C., which has coasters along with a 25,000-square-foot wave pool, a three-story water jungle gym and other water rides.