America’s Biggest Tourist Traps, According to Tripadvisor Reviews

A new study has revealed the biggest tourist traps in America, with Arizona’s Grand Canyon West taking the top spot.

The research by custom neon signs company Neon Designs analyzed Tripadvisor reviews for the top 338 tourist attractions in the United States. From there, only the attractions that required a paid admission ticket and that had over 100 one-, two- or three-star reviews were eligible for further analysis.  

The reviews were then scanned for terms related to being overpriced, overrated and too expensive as well as other similar terms to determine the percentage of reviews that considered the attraction to be a ‘tourist trap’.  

The 15 U.S. attractions considered the biggest tourist traps, according to price and value complaints

Rank	Attraction	Location	State	Price or value complaints	Total 1-3-star reviews	Total English-language reviews	Overall percentage
1	Grand Canyon West	Hualapai Reservation	Arizona	469	720	2,131	22.01%
2	Downtown Aquarium	Houston	Texas	422	1,119	2,332	18.10%
3	Six Flags Great America	Gurnee	Illinois	423	863	2,725	15.52%
4	Shark Reef Aquarium	Las Vegas	Nevada	587	1,288	3,873	15.16%
5	Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson	New Jersey	467	1,164	3,419	13.66%
6	Universal Volcano Bay	Orlando	Florida	621	2,112	4,575	13.57%
7	Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach	Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	1,184	2,322	9,249	12.80%
8	LEGOLAND Florida Resort	Winter Haven	Florida	1,025	2,605	8,641	11.86%
9	SeaWorld San Antonio	San Antonio	Texas	530	1,318	4,532	11.69%
10	Calico Ghost Town	Yermo	California	121	365	1,049	11.53%
11	The Blowing Rock	Blowing Rock	North Carolina	159	448	1,409	11.28%
12	Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum	Winslow	Arizona	548	873	4,920	11.14%
=13	LEGOLAND California	Carlsbad	California	1,108	2,759	10,079	10.99%
=13	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	San Antonio	Texas	321	946	2,922	10.99%
14	The Buckhorn Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum	San Antonio	Texas	135	329	1,377	9.80%
15	Interna-tional Spy Museum	Washington	District of Columbia	524	1,380	5,522	9.49%

Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Reservation, Arizona, is the country’s biggest tourist trap, with 22.01% of reviews containing keywords related to being overpriced or poor value. There were a total of 469 reviews (that had a one-, two- or three-star rating) that complained about the price or value of the attraction, out of a total of 2,131 English-language reviews.

Downtown Aquarium in Houston, Texas, is the second biggest tourist trap in the country. Almost one in five reviews (18.10%) complained about its price or value, based on the analysis. Over 400 (422) lower-rated reviews contained keywords related to the aquarium being overpriced or not worth the money, out of a total of 2,332 reviews.

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, places third, with 15.52% of reviews mentioning that the theme park was overpriced or poor value. Of its 2,725 reviews, 863 received a one-, two- or three-star rating, and 423 of those complained about the price or value.

In fourth is Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time the data was collected, there were 3,873 reviews for the aquarium, out of which 1,288 received either a one-, two- or three-star rating. Of those reviews, 587 featured keywords related to the aquarium being overpriced or not worth the cost. This equated to a total of 15.16% of reviews, the fourth highest of the attractions assessed.

Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, takes fifth place, with 13.66% of reviews citing the theme park as overpriced or poor value. The park has over 3,400 reviews (3,419), 467 of which are lower-rated reviews complaining about its price or value.

Universal Volcano Bay in Orlando, Florida, ranks sixth, with 13.57% of reviews containing keywords related to the water park being overpriced or poor value. Over 600 (621) of its 2,112 lower-rated reviews complained about the price or value, out of a total of 4,575 reviews.

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, comes in seventh, with 12.80% of reviews mentioning that the aquarium was overpriced or not worth the money. Its 1,184 price or value complaints are the most of any attraction in the top 15, out of a total of 9,249 reviews.

LEGOLAND Florida Resort in Winter Haven, Florida, places eighth, with almost 12% (11.86%) of reviews complaining about the theme park’s price or value. There were a total of 1,025 reviews (that had a one-, two- or three-star rating) that featured these complaints, out of a total of 8,641 reviews.

SeaWorld San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas, ranks ninth, with 11.69% of reviews containing keywords related to being overpriced or poor value. Over 500 (530) of its 1,318 lower-rated reviews complained about the price or value, out of a total of 4,532 reviews.

Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, California, completes the top ten, with 11.53% of reviews mentioning that the former mining town was overpriced or not worth the cost. Of its 1,049 reviews, 365 received a one-, two- or three-star rating, and 121 of those complained about its price or value.

The Blowing Rock in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, takes 11th place, with 11.28% of reviews citing the attraction as overpriced or poor value. There were a total of 159 reviews (that had a one-, two- or three-star rating) that featured these complaints, out of a total of 1,409 reviews.

In 12th is Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum in Winslow, Arizona. At the time the data was collected, there were 4,920 reviews for the attraction, out of which 873 received either a one-, two- or three-star rating. Of those reviews, 548 featured keywords related to the attraction being overpriced or not worth the money, equating to 11.14% of reviews.

LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad, California, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, tie in 13th, with 10.99% of reviews complaining about the theme parks’ price or value. LEGOLAND has over 10,000 reviews (10,079), the most of any attraction in the top 15, and 1,108 of these are lower-rated reviews featuring these complaints.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, on the other hand, has over 300 (321) of its 946 lower-rated reviews complaining about the price or value, out of a total of 2,922 reviews.

The Buckhorn Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum in San Antonio, Texas, places 14th, with almost one in ten reviews (9.80%) mentioning that the museum was overpriced or not worth the money. There were a total of 135 reviews (that had a one-, two- or three-star rating) that featured these complaints, out of a total of 1,377 reviews.

Rounding out the top 15 is the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., with 9.49% of reviews mentioning that the museum was overpriced or not worth the money. Over 500 (524) of its 1,380 lower-rated reviews complained about the price or value, out of a total of 5,522 reviews.

Commenting on the study, Austin Colasanti, CEO of Neon Designs, said: “Tourists use travel forums and review sites to find out which attractions are worth a visit. When you’re paying for a whole family, even one day out can take up a considerable part of the vacation budget, so people want to know what they’re getting for their money.

“What’s particularly striking is that three of San Antonio’s most popular attractions all appear in the top 15. That concentration suggests visitors to the city may want to be especially selective about where they spend their ticket money.

“These reviews show where visitors have felt the experience didn’t justify the cost. For attractions, being clear about what the ticket includes and which parts cost extra can help people decide before they book. For tourists, it’s worth reading what the complaints actually say. Something that felt like poor value to one person might still be a highlight for someone else, but knowing what to expect makes that decision much easier.”

Sources:

Tripadvisor attraction listings and visitor reviews.

Official attraction websites, used to confirm paid admission.

Methodology:

The study screened 1,490 listings drawn from Tripadvisor’s U.S. “Things to Do” page and attraction lists for 23 U.S. destinations. Of these, 360 attractions met the study’s eligibility requirements, including paid admission and at least 100 English-language reviews rated one, two or three stars. Ticketed experiences, such as wax museums, odditoriums, scenic railways, aerial trams and immersive exhibits, were then excluded, leaving 338 attractions in the analysis.

More than 238,000 lower-rated reviews were scanned for phrases related to price and value, including “overpriced,” “rip-off,” “waste of money” and “not worth the money.” Checks excluded wording such as “not overpriced” and comments that described an attraction as expensive but worth the cost. Each qualifying review was counted once, regardless of how many matching phrases it contained.

For this release, attractions were ranked solely by price or value complaints as a percentage of all their English-language reviews, including four- and five-star reviews. Attractions shown in the ranking had at least 1,000 English-language reviews overall and at least 25 qualifying price or value complaints. Rankings use unrounded figures, with percentages displayed to two decimal places.

Data was collected on September 28 and 29, 2026, and covers reviews available at that time, rather than reviews from 2026 alone. “English-language reviews” includes reviews shown under Tripadvisor’s English-language filter, including machine-translated reviews. The findings reflect reviewers’ opinions about price and value.