About
Powered by Coasters, Carnivals, and Curiosity!
Co-Founded in 1997 by Gary Slade, Amusement Today is an independent, privately-owned trade news-based publication for the greater amusement, theme and water parks industries, published by Amusement Today, Inc.
Amusement Today’s primary focus is on the news side of the amusement industry, providing amusement-related editorial through its emailed PDF issue with page flip format and its daily EXTRA! EXTRA! digital format.
Amusement Today is also home to the annual Golden Ticket Awards, a two-day industry FREE event that allows for industry professionals to learn and socialize, all while honoring their own as the “Best of the Best” with the Golden Ticket Awards ceremony.
Amusement Today publishes 14 issues per year (distributed digitally); EXTRA! EXTRA! Desktop Edition (daily digital news); Amusement Today.com (information based website) and posts as needed on social media platforms. Amusement Today, Inc. conducts an industry survey, with numerous categories, and releases results during the awards ceremony and on GoldenTicketAwards.com (website for Golden Ticket Awards).
Awards and Recognition Through the Years
1997
IAAPA presents Amusement Today with covered Impact Award in the Services category for Best New Product. AT also earns an Honorable Mention at the show.
2002
Gary Slade is presented with IAAPA’s Public Affairs Award for his outstanding efforts on behalf of the industry in the area of public affairs.
Gary Slade joins the National Roller Coaster Museum & Archives as a member of the board of directors where he remains today. He served as Chairman of the Board from 2009-2017. During his chairmanship the NRCMA constructed its first storage and archive facility in Plainview, Texas and launched an ongoing fundraising effort to build the Mark Moore Memorial museum building on property located next to the current group of buildings.
2004
Amusement Today wins the IAAPA Brass Ring Award/ Class 9 for it Media Kit entry.
Gary Slade joins the Board of Directors for AIMS International. In November 2004, he launches AIMS News & Notes page in Amusement Today, a monthly safety related page that continues today. Gary served on the board till 2011, resigning to focus on the National Roller Coaster Museum building efforts.
2013
The New Jersey Amusement Association (NJAA) presents Gary Slade with and Award of Dedication for the support of NJAA during the destruction of Superstorm Sandy. Beginning with the December 2012 edition, Amusement Today launched 12 months of dedicated Sandy amusement-related editorial coverage that totaled 34 pages and included the launch of a dedicated NJAA News Page titled “Restore, Rebuild & Reopen”. For the first several months following Sandy the news page was used a link between the NJAA and it N.J. members as the page was posted on AT’s electronic outlets while power and other city services were still being restored along the Jersey shore.
City of Santa Clara, Calif. presents Gary Slade with a Mayor’s Proclamation commencing Golden Tickets Awards Weekend in the City of Santa Clara (September 6-8) during the annual Golden Ticket Awards event.
2017
The World Waterpark Association presents Gary Slade with the 2017 Al Turner Commitment to Excellence Award for his consistent business and professional excellence, providing leadership and fostering a sense of community in the world Waterpark Association membership.
2023
During its Annual Meeting, the New England Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions inducted Amusement Today Founder & Publisher Gary Slade into its prestigious Hall of Fame for his longtime service and promotion of the New England amusement parks and attractions as well as that of the greater amusement industry. NEAAPA is the nation’s oldest amusement industry association, dating back to 1913.
During its annual convention, held in New Orleans, the World Waterpark Association added Gary Slade to its Hall of Fame roster of individuals that have helped promote, innovate and push the growth of the waterpark industry. Slade has also been a supporter for the WWA’s World’s Largest Swim Lesson program that has helped teach children how ‘not’ to drown when in the water.
2024
During the 2024 Golden Ticket Awards event at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., Gary Slade is presented with an Legend Award to recognize ongoing dedication and service to the amusement industry though the publication he founded, Amusement Today.