2009 Theme Park Attendance Report

[knottslover77]

The Top 25 Theme Parks in the world for 2009:

 

1. MAGIC KINGDOM at Walt Disney World

2. DISNEYLAND

3. TOKYO DISNEYLAND

4. DISNEYLAND PARK at Disneyland Paris

5. TOKYO DISNEY SEA

6. EPCOT at Walt Disney World

7. DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS at Walt Disney World

8. DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM at Walt Disney World

9. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

10. EVERLAND

11. DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

12. SEAWORLD FLORIDA

13 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS at Universal Orlando

14. OCEAN PARK

15. NAGASHIMA SPA LAND

16. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

17. YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SPA PARADISE

18. ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE at Universal Orlando

19. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

20. LOTTE WORLD

21. EUROPA PARK

22. SEAWORLD CALIFORNIA

23. BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY

24. DE EFTELING

25. TIVOLI GARDENS

 

More info:

http://www.teaconnect.org/etea/2009ThemeIndex.pdf

 

Or download the link below.

 

Disney had a Great year! Congrats to DCA first year over 6 million. Universal not so good

 

 

--Jay

2009ThemeIndex.pdf

Edited April 27, 2010 by knottslover77

[the ghost]

Damn,attendance wise Disney kicks everyones ass!

[thrillrider]

I think everyone is waiting for harry pothead at universal. This years numbers will be up quite a bit.

[gforce532]

Wow Six Flags had higher attendance than both Busch or Universal. I know SF has more properties but dang.

[robbalvey]

Wow Six Flags had higher attendance than both Busch or Universal. I know SF has more properties but dang.

Right, but I would think that this might be a case of quantity over quality.

 

Universal has 4 parks in the top 25 in the world

Busch has 3 parks in the top 25 in the world

 

Six Flags...not a single one!

 

Six Flags only beat out Universal by 400,000 visitors and they have 16 more properties than Universal!

Six Flags only beat out Busch by 300,000 visitors and they have double the amount of properties than Busch.

 

Personally I think that speaks volumes for Universal and Busch.

 

--Robb "You have to know how to read those reports!" Alvey

[cmpunk771]

There is so many UK parks its hard to count

[robbalvey]

I wish they would post the botton 25. I wonder where Freestyle Music Park ranked?

[thrillrider]

Right next to six flags Kentucky kingdom.

[knottslover77]

Universal Orlando dropped a lot! Harry Potter won't bring them that much higher then 2008's numbers, But I guess spending and on-site hotels will see a much larger increase. It makes me sad to see such an amazing park as IOA pulling in only around 4.5 million people.

 

--Jay

[southpuddle]

Wow, Cedar Point didn't hit 3 million visitors for the first time in how long???? Canada's Wonderland and King Island beat out the Point in 2009.

[Jew]

Disney had a Great year! Congrats to DCA first year over 6 million. Universal not so good

 

How many of those 6 million people do you think were there on 2fers? Pretty easy to inflate your attendance numbers when you are giving away the gate.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Jew

[gforce532]

^It would be cool to know how much did the free admission on your b-day helped in that increase for both DCA and DL.

[knottslover77]

Disney had a Great year! Congrats to DCA first year over 6 million. Universal not so good

 

How many of those 6 million people do you think were there on 2fers? Pretty easy to inflate your attendance numbers when you are giving away the gate.

 

5.9 million probably.

 

--Jay

[bgroodog]

Wow, Cedar Point didn't hit 3 million visitors for the first time in how long???? Canada's Wonderland and King Island beat out the Point in 2009.

I would say that in their defense they had a lot of bad luck this year weather wise. I can only remember only a few good weather Saturdays all season. I can also only remember only one or two good Halloweekend Saturdays. I'm not saying weather was the only problem, but I'm sure that they would have at least had 3 million if the weather was less crappy on the weekends in 2009.

[CoasterPrince]

Did you all know that HALF of the 2.6 million people that visted Great Adventure last year rode Nitro? Well they did....and Nitro had the most riders of ANY SF Coaster in the US for the 2009 season. Just thought you should know that.

[CoasterBoyJosh]

Wow, Cedar Point didn't hit 3 million visitors for the first time in how long???? Canada's Wonderland and King Island beat out the Point in 2009.

 

I would say that in their defense they had a lot of bad luck this year weather wise. I can only remember only a few good weather Saturdays all season. I can also only remember only one or two good Halloweekend Saturdays. I'm not saying weather was the only problem, but I'm sure that they would have at least had 3 million if the weather was less crappy on the weekends in 2009.

I'm guessing the absence of a significant investment, along with the awful Michigan/Ohio economies were the main factors

 

Also, why the bump for Busch Gardens Williamsburg?? BBW closure??

[Airtime&Gravity]

I was also surprised that Cedar Point didn't hit 3 million, but the economy and weather reason for it makes sense. The huge increases in attendance at the Disneyland Resort parks and the huge decrease in attendance for Universal Orlando and the Sea World parks was pretty surprising too. Other than that, not many surprises. It's still a little sad to see Six Flags Great America back at 2.5 million, but hopefully when the economy improves attendance will begin to get up to where it was around 2005.

 

I didn't know Thorpe Park and Parc Asterix both pulled in under 2 million visitors either, and wow, Efteling had a huge attendance increase.

[sam06pr]

Ok...let's wait for SEA parks people to start b!tch!ng about the wrong numbers lol

[Rastuso]

I don't know. Each year these numbers come out, I feel they are very misleading. How do they count park hoppers? I mean, I would think half of the people, or more, that visit Epcot, the Studios, and AK, visit another park that day. Are both entries counted? My family visited 3 parks in one day, were all three counted? Does MNSSHP attendance count? Hell, that's a lot of people right there. Do idiots staying in Disney resorts with LOS passes, that don't even visit a park one day still count as an entry? I just don't buy that Epcot out performs Universal that much on paid entries.

 

 

After visiting the Tokyo Disney parks, I find it hard to beleive that they are #3. And the tickets are such that I doubt many folks park hop at TDR. And seeing the crowds in TDL, there is no way the MK draws more folks.

 

-RO

[cfc]

Also, why the bump for Busch Gardens Williamsburg?? BBW closure??

 

I doubt that would account for such a large increase all by itself. I imagine the first year of Christmas Town may have been a factor, too. 2009 was the first year that the park has offerered anything after October.

[taytig]

I noticed that CW was the highest of the seasonal parks. No suprise though as it pulls a large number from the Greater Toronto Area. It would interesting to see the difference between paid admissions and season pass admissions.

 

It also appears that a lot of the seasonal parks showed a decrease in attendance, even though many had longer operating seasons last year. I guess this recession thing has some truth to it.

[Homeboy23]

^ The recession has lots to do with it. People I talk to who I tell where I am going tell me I am crazy for spending my money on going to theme parks. They keep telling me to save my money for more important things. And most of these people love going to our local parks but they say they won't be going until they get more financially stable. For a lot of people theme parks are their least priority.

[Hercules]

Also, why the bump for Busch Gardens Williamsburg?? BBW closure??

 

I doubt that would account for such a large increase all by itself. I imagine the first year of Christmas Town may have been a factor, too. 2009 was the first year that the park has offerered anything after October.

 

Also the possibility of people looking for a lower budget vacation, and the Williamsburg area kind of fits that bill. Though, Christmas Town may have had something to do with it also.

[cfc]

^Yep--that too. BGW is often part of a vacation to the "Historic Triangle" (Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown), Virginia Beach, and even the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

 

That being said, this is a pretty remarkable performance for the park, considering that the locat tourist industry has been crying in its beer as of late.

Edited April 27, 2010 by cfc

[knottslover77]

I don't know. Each year these numbers come out, I feel they are very misleading. How do they count park hoppers? I mean, I would think half of the people, or more, that visit Epcot, the Studios, and AK, visit another park that day. Are both entries counted? My family visited 3 parks in one day, were all three counted? Does MNSSHP attendance count? Hell, that's a lot of people right there. Do idiots staying in Disney resorts with LOS passes, that don't even visit a park one day still count as an entry? I just don't buy that Epcot out performs Universal that much on paid entries.

 

 

After visiting the Tokyo Disney parks, I find it hard to beleive that they are #3. And the tickets are such that I doubt many folks park hop at TDR. And seeing the crowds in TDL, there is no way the MK draws more folks.

 

-RO

 

I believe they only count the first gate they go to.

 

--Jay