The 9/11 Museum has won a top entertainment award alongside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter during a ceremony in Disneyland - angering victim's families who claim officials have made Ground Zero a theme park, not a shrine. The Themed Entertainment Association honored the $700 million National September 11 Memorial & Museum with an award for 'Extraordinary Cultural Achievement', leaving relatives complaining it was more concerned with profit than the memory of their loved ones. The black-tie award ceremony was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Disneyland Hotel on Saturday and cost $520 to attend for non-members. A shrine: Families of those who died during 9/11 have said it is deeply inappropriate for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to accept an award for 'entertainment' 'It's totally outrageous that they would participate in this,' said Jim Riches, a retired firefighter who lost his son, Jimmy on September 11. Speaking to the New York Daily News, Riches said, 'It's a moneymaking place for entertainment and they got an award for it. They've made it into an amusement park.' Furious, Riches said that Ground Zero is a place where almost 3,000 people died, not a theme park ride. 'I don't think they should have sent somebody there to accept an award for a cemetery,' Riches told CBS2's Alice Gainer. 'It's supposed to be a place that's dignified and respectful where our loved ones are to be buried. It's not the Metropolitan Museum.' Deep emotions: Two people embrace during the opening ceremony of the National September 11 Memorial in May of 2014 . Deep significance: United States President Barack Obama speaks at the dedication ceremony for the National 9/11 Memorial Museum . Sacrifice of heroes: Destroyed Ladder Truck of FDNY Ladder Co. 3 is one of many exhibits on display at the 9/11 Museum . Honor Guards comprised of members of FDNY, NYPD, and PAPD entering the stage during the opening ceremony of the 9/11 Museum last year . Before the announcement the 9/11 Museum revealed it had welcomed two million visitors since opening last May, most of whom are charged $24 to view exhibits detailing the attack and the aftermath - culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. 'The 9/11 Museum won this award alongside a Harry Potter theme park. It's time for professionals like the National Park Service to bring dignity and respect to the World Trade Center museum and get rid of the high-salaried stuffed suits who are disrespecting the dead heroes and victims at Ground Zero,' said retired NYPD Sgt. Al Regenhard in a statement to the New York Daily News. Al and his wife Sally said that they were deeply disappointed by the 9/11 Museum and want it to stop storing victim's unidentified body parts there if they want to go to California to accept entertainment awards. 'What more evidence do the grieving 9/11 families need that their loved one's precious remains are being desecrated in a freak show at Ground Zero?' they said in their statement. 'This award just shows the 9/11 Museum heads have a moral compass that points to money rather than ethics.' Closure: This uniform shirt was worn by the Navy SEAL Team 6 member who killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May, 2011,  and is on display at the museum . Theme park: This is the permanently snow-capped Hogsmeade Village at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which won the top award at the Disneyland ceremony . The museum was honored for its international impact in raising awareness for the tragic events of 9/11. 'The award recognizes the museum for extraordinary cultural achievement, and it is an honor to continue to be acknowledged around the world as an institution having a global impact,' the museum said in a statement. The 9/11 Museum emphasized that they accepted no money for the award, but this is just the latest controversy the embattled exhibition has encountered. When it opened in May, many were angered by a gift shop which sells coffee mugs and T-shirts, all themed around September 11. Indeed, when asked, visitors to the site on Monday said they did not think the museum should have accepted the award. 'If it offends families who have victims from 9/11 then they shouldn't accept the award,' said Sam Allen of Colorado to CBS.
National September 11 Memorial & Museum won an award for 'Extraordinary Cultural Achievement'
Honored at $520-a-head ceremony at Disneyland ceremony in California . Other winners included Florida's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter . Families of victims are furious and say that officials dishonor Ground Zero .