2006 Park Attendance Figures

http://www.connectingindustry.com/pdfs/TEA-ERAAttendance06.pdf

SFMM had a 10% drop. Ouch

Interesting document.

Weird, Walibi World is not even in the top 20 of European parks and Duinrell Wassenaar is (probably because of their spectacular water park). And I thougt Alton Towers would draw much more visitors then 2.4 million.

Interesting reading. Does anyone know where I can find the 2005 figures? I was also surprised by no Walibi park in the Europe top 20.

Also liked the little "Theme Park Review Approved" logo at the bottom of the Disk'O advert! Shows the weight TPRs name carries now!

Also liked the little "Theme Park Review Approved" logo at the bottom of the Disk'O advert! Shows the weight TPRs name carries now!

LOL! I knew they were going to do that, but hadn't actually seen it in print yet! That's awesome.

--Robb

Interesting report.

Canada's Wonderland was again the top seasonal park. Just ahead of Cedar Point and Kings Island.

Yikes, that's a nasty drop in attendance for Magic Mountain.

^ Honestly. If the attendance decline keeps its momentum, I really don't see any reason why the park should stay open. 2.5 million visitors for Magic Mountain is probably a new low. I remember a time when the park was capable of raking in 3.6 million guests.

but what's the reason behind the drop? any ideas? i mean... they got a pretty good collection of coasters etc. too expensive? i have no idea...

but what's the reason behind the drop? any ideas? i mean... they got a pretty good collection of coasters etc. too expensive? i have no idea...

Raise in ticket/parking prices, wetter than normal spring, lots of media coverage around the park possibly getting shut down.

Everland 10th!! Well that's unexpected. I guess South Korea's high population adds to that though. I'm not really surprised that Australia has no parks up there.

No Terra Encadata or Beto Carrero in the South America listings is a little bit surprising. Unless one of them has changed there name to Parque De Monica, which i can't find on RCDB.

Typhoon Lagoon scored higher than Blizzard beach, which i can't yet see a reasonable explanation to, apart from prehaps the surfing lessons that Typhoon Lagoon has.

but what's the reason behind the drop? any ideas? i mean... they got a pretty good collection of coasters etc. too expensive? i have no idea...

Shapiro attributes the 12% drop in the key June - August months due to the potential sale of the park (unsure future).

I say it has to do with huge increases in park admission, parking fees, and continued unsatisfactory guest service, poor park operations and just an overall bad reputation.

A huge chunk of annual attendance figures for a lot of these regional/local parks come from repeat customers in the area. So you have people coming to the park, having a terrible experience and pretty much have no desire to return (and in large numbers too).

The possible bad experience is a valid reason, but you are thinking too much like critics and not enough like families.

For those of use who are enamored with rollerc oasters our experience revolves around that, but families require more than just that.

It was/is a huge transition that Shapiro is trying to undertake, think about if Disney dropped all that stuff they do and went after nothing but hardcore roller coaster fans. It was all a growing, well shrinking, pains.

That's off topic, but the amount of disposable income for most families dropped last year, and amusement parks are disposable income driven. If gas was below $2.00 and inflation of necessary good like food did not rise as much as it did last year, the numbers would have been better.

It's all trying to fight the 800 lb gorilla that is Disney Land and trying to grab the huge market share they have. It will take time and a lot of effort, and maybe selling of another park like SFStL to Anheuser (sp?) Bush, for them to make themselves competitive with them, and siphon off some of the attendance.

I still don't understand why Canada's Wonderland pulls more visitors than Cedar Point. Is it just because of the population base? Cedar Point is always building big new rides and advertising like crazy. I see more commercials for Cedar Point (4 hours away) than for Canada's Wonderland (90 minutes away). Canada's Wonderland just seems to sit back and do nothing.

^Maybe Canada's Wonderland uses a different measurement for attendance, much like a different currency and the metric system.

It's probably because of it's proximity to Toronto, as well as being one of the only parks in Canada, meaning little competition. It will attract people from all over Ontario much quicker than any US park will because people won't have the hassle of Border crossing.

Cedar Point, on the other hand, has lots of competition.

I still don't understand why Canada's Wonderland pulls more visitors than Cedar Point. Is it just because of the population base? Cedar Point is always building big new rides and advertising like crazy. I see more commercials for Cedar Point (4 hours away) than for Canada's Wonderland (90 minutes away). Canada's Wonderland just seems to sit back and do nothing.

Thats the problem. Canada's Wonderland relies on the 3+ million people who live in the surrounding area plus the lack of competition, they could put in another craptacular coaster and everyone would flock to it because most peple know nothing about the big rides just south of the border. I think that's the reason our coasters are so bad...Paramount never felt the need to put in anything decent, since it would be a hit regardless of it's crapiness.

The majority of the people who go to the park are season pass holders though. If you go on the Season Pass Preview Nite, it's more crowded than the official opening day!

Thats the problem. Canada's Wonderland relies on the 3+ million people who live in the surrounding area plus the lack of competition, they could put in another craptacular coaster and everyone would flock to it because most peple know nothing about the big rides just south of the border. I think that's the reason our coasters are so bad...Paramount never felt the need to put in anything decent, since it would be a hit regardless of it's crapiness.

Canada's Wonderland population base is probably closer to 5 million when you take into account the entire GTA and surrounding cities.

It's simple really. The park has a 5 million population base and zero competition. The only "competition" is Darien Lake and Marineland. Of which one park was neglected, and the other is so poorly run that it takes 3 years to setup a flat ride.

Cedar Point on the other hand has a fraction of the popuation base, and that population base is shared with a handful of parks that are close to as good.

Canadas Wonderland doesn't need to build a roller coaster because it would not make any difference. The attendance spike on a major ride is extremely small compared to the parks down south.

The park is just one massive cash cow.

My biggest surprises are:

1. Kings Island pulls in about the same amount of people as CP. Never would have guess that even though KI is in a much bigger market. CP always seems so popular and has the entire northern half of Ohio and Detroit markets to pull from.

2. Huge attendance decreases for SFMM and SFGAdv during years in which they had major new rides. Granted, I'm sure it was probably difficult for SFGAdv after opening the tallest and fastest coaster in the world, even if they opened a record breaking woodie.

3. DCA has such crappy attendance compared to Disneyland. That's probably not a secret, but I've just now found it out.

^ Honestly. If the attendance decline keeps its momentum, I really don't see any reason why the park should stay open. 2.5 million visitors for Magic Mountain is probably a new low. I remember a time when the park was capable of raking in 3.6 million guests.

It's all about the bottom line. I don't think SFI would care if only 10 guests came through the turnstiles as long as they made money. Could this downward attendance spiral be a huge problem? Absolutely. But attendance isn't the only indicator of how well a park is doing. If they can't hit their goals of increasing in-park spending, and attendance continues to drop...then there's trouble. But no need to panick yet.

Case in point: Universal Orlando reported a profit with a 3.6% drop in total attendance for the resort.

Weird, Walibi World is not even in the top 20 of European parks

I am not suprised, Walibi World's attendance is only around 900,000 a year which is pretty bad considering the amount of coasters and rides they have.

And I cant see the attendance results because when I click on the link only a blank page comes up with a small square in the top left hand corner.

Where did Port Aventura come in Europes top 20 list? And what was Europes top 20?

Wow, pretty much the only parks that increased were in the Orlando area, and considering the additions to SFMM and SFGADV, that big of an attendance drop is really surprising. The 8% drop at SFGAM was really noticeable this year as it was nowhere near as crowded as the park was in 2005.(the line for HH would go all the way to Whizzer in 05) Maybe SFI will realize that they are too expensive and lower prices(not likely), but maybe with 07 being the first year with a big focus on families, things will change.

I think it's too simplistic to just say that Wonderland has no competition and that's why attendance is so strong. True enough that there is no other major theme park competition, but if you speak to their marketing and sales folks, they will list off at least ten major competitors in the GTA (from the zoo - one of the largest in North America - to Ontario Place, etc.).

Remember that family attendance and group sales is a major priority, and Wonderland does very well on both counts. They have a massive assortment of kids rides, two kids waterpark areas, solid shows, etc. They have kept pricing very affordable for both season passholders and day guests (with Web pricing and discounting). The new food options for this year only boost the park's family appeal (can you see a bunch of local Vaughan teens opting for the buffet over cheap pizza?).

For a family like ours to spend a day, or half day, out, Wonderland is a great choice. We went nearly a dozen times last year, and rarely did we hit any coasters - mostly the same routine of Nick Jr. rides, Kidsville, Dora show, etc. And you can tell that there are lots of others like us. In fact, I think one of Wonderland's main challenges going forward is adding new attractions that entice people to come, but not ones that will only draw more teens and local kids. Cedar Point has a comparatively small local market, so there really aren't a lot of local teens that will overwhelm the park's thrill rides like Wonderland.

I am sure there are other parks in markets similar to Toronto (SF Great America, for example) that have a similar situation in terms of competition (or lack thereof) but don't draw the same numbers. Face it, like it or hate it, Wonderland does what they do very well, and the numbers back that up.

^That was a great post. And you're totally right. It's different looking at the park from a standpoint of only caring about thrill rides, versus having a family and trying to entertain them. Heck, my parents took me to Canada's Wonderland every year from when I was about three years old, to about fifteen. I loved it then, and I still love it now.

And the Toronto Zoo totally rocks too. Heck, I love Toronto in general. I always say... if it was in the US, I would so move there!

Thanks niiicolaaah - I love Buffalo too. One of the most underrated cities out there, (along with Cleveland)! Not just for shopping, of course...

3. DCA has such crappy attendance compared to Disneyland. That's probably not a secret, but I've just now found it out.

~6 million is crappy? When you consider that California Adventure has far less attractions, hasn't been around that long, and hasn't had any major new attractions for years that figure seems pretty reasonable.

Disney has invested far less into DCA than they have into Disneyland, but DCA still gets more than 1/3rd the attendance that Disneyland gets. I bet they haven't invested 1/3rd the money into DCA that they have into Disneyland.

DCA got nearly as many guests as SFMM and Knott's Berry Farm combined!

You can bet, of course, that DCA wouldn't get nearly as many guests without Disneyland next door.

Is it strange that I found myself more amused by the advertisements than by the information itself.... such a pretty ride, that disk-o. And the vekoma splash coaster. Than again I'm not so sure I liike the idea of giving vekoma water...