CNN has published a list of the top amusment parks in America based on attendance.

[WDWHound]

Disney takes the first 5 slots, with Universal right behind them.
The CNN story can be found here:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/summer.trips/top30.html

I am amazed that Adventuredome did so well (#11). I didn't realize that Circus Circus had so much success with this itty bitty indoor park.

Here is the list:
1. The Magic Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
2. Disneyland (Anaheim, California)
3. Epcot (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
4. Disney MGM Studios (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)
6. Universal Studios (Orlando, Florida)
7. Islands of Adventures (Orlando, Florida)
8. Universal Studios Hollywood (Hollywood, California)
9. Seaworld Florida (Orlando, Florida)
10. Disney's California Adventure (Anaheim, California)
11. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (Tampa, Florida) (tie)
11. Adventuredome (Las Vegas, Nevada)
12. Seaworld California (San Diego, California)
13. Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, California)
14. Morey's Piers (Wildwood, New Jersey)
15. Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey) (tie)
15. Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio)
16. Paramount's Kings Island (Kings Island, Ohio)
17. Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California)
18. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Santa Cruz, California)
19. Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois)
20. Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas)
21. Hersheypark (Hershey, Pennsylvania)
22. Busch Gardens The Old Country (Williamsburg, Virginia)
23. Camp Snoopy (Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota)
24. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
25. Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
26. Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (Aurora, Ohio)
27. Paramount's Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia)
28. Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri

[Bob O]

I was surprised that Six Flags magic Mountain wasnt higher as it is open most of the year while parks like Cedar point/Paramounts kings Island are only seasonal and much more dependant on weather.
Im surprised my local park Six Flags Great America isnt a few noches higher as it is almost always very busy and has a large season pass base with kids who seem to be their almost every day.
As for Paramounts Kings Dominion/Busch Gardens Williamsburg, i just got back from each park a week ago and was surprised how slow they were!!!!! Much slower than my local park with most rides little to no wait at midday, but im sure the rain they have gotten has hurt attendance.

[Peter Pirate]

That Univesal & IOA are only 1/2 day Parks...After all, that auful 1/2 day Animal Kingdom Park is STILL ahead of them. Will 2003 be the breakhrough year for that state of the art, completely built albatross...I mean park, called IOA?

Note: This is a tongue in cheek post in homage to all of those silly 1/2 day park arguments we always seem to have around here...Anybody want to have another? ;)

DCA outperformed Busch Gardens???

[FriendsOfEeyore]

Ok, I know that AK is included in our Park Hoppers and APs, but I never would have expected that the attendance would be higher than that of UF or IOA.

The way that some talk around here, you would think that no one goes to WDW anymore. That Universal is the stop of choice.

I wonder how the attendance at the water parks ranks? I am assuming close to the top also.

[pheneix]

For the record, that is the list that AB put out last year, so take it however you want to.

However, it should be noted that IOA is outdrawing USF, and that doesn't look like it will change anytime soon before The Mummy opens.

This summer is going to be really busy at IOA. The number of AP holder is growing, and the 2 park/1 day pass is going to be out in full force.

And once again, just to start conversation (and to provide a balance to all the "Disney wins!" posts that are about to be reposted), I'm going to put out this statement:

There is simply no way in hell that AK is outdrawing Islands of Adventure anymore.

[EUROPA]

I wonder what the chances of say...Disney fudging numbers? After all do they even release attendance numbers? Pirate what if IOA and Universal were ahead of AK and Epcot in real visitors? What would that mean in your world?

[wdwguide]

I thought Disney didn't release official attendance figures any more, and that the published numbers are third-party estimates. Am I mistaken?

[raidermatt]

They are third party estimates.

The way that some talk around here, you would think that no one goes to WDW anymore. That Universal is the stop of choice. Yes, some do give this impression, but for most, its just a question of direction. Also, many want Disney to do what Disney has always done, instead of using other parks as a standard for comparison.

Heck, if Disney really did pad numbers, then they sure would have done so with DCA. What makes you think they didn't?;)

[Planogirl]

I wonder how many people go to Animal Kingdom because it's included in the hoppers and other ticket media? Also, how many people make a special trip to see Universal/IOA? I'm not sure what (if anything) these numbers indicate as far as park value is concerned.

The way that some talk around here, you would think that no one goes to WDW anymore.
Even Disney themselves infer that when it's useful. ;)

[ChristmasRadio]

I'm surprised USF ranked that high. I just got back from my first visit there, and it was not a nice as Hershey Park, never mind WDW, IMHO.

Then again, I'm from Mass., so what do I know. ;)

[stanley]

I am surprised at Six Flags/Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. I live in Jersey and refuse to go there as it is a dog of a park - expensive, dirty and generally unkempt .

[Lesley]

I think Great Adventure draws off of NYC alot....which most likely gives them high numbers. Face it, those in NYC don't have too many options for a day trip...its there or the Six Flag New England which from what I've heard is even worse than Great Adventure. A rather depressing situation.

Most probably don't realize that Dorney Park in Allentown PA isn't really any farther...is accessible by bus (there's a bus that runs from right down the street from Dorney to the PABT in Manhattan)...and much nicer than any Six Flags park. Dorney is run by Cedar Fair, who owns Cedar Point in Ohio....and its a nice park.

I guess it shows that I grew up a "Dorney brat" LOL....

[Bob O]

If not for the park hopper you would see much less attendance at AK. The park benefits because of being only a half day park people will go there for a few hours and then hit the other disney parks. Now if epople had to pay the full admission price it would likely have less attendance than many SF parks.

[Peter Pirate]

If not for the Park Hopper...
What the heck kind of criteria is this? Disney DOES have the Park Hopper, because they have many Parks. You can't arbitrarily throw it out and rationalize that AK couldn't stand on its own because that isn't and never will be the case. AK is part of the WDW package. Period. None of the other Parks could seriously stand on their own either (other than MK & DL as they're the main draw) but as additions, for the benefit of the guest that offer a huge selection of alternative entertainment. Some things may appeal to lesser (in number) groups than others (i.e. Epcot heretofore was always known as the 'adult' park) but the parks entotale is what is important...

[pheneix]

I think the "park hopper" excuse is just a simplified way of saying that "if AK did not have the rest of WDW to leech off of its overall performance would be even more of a disaster."

And I also remember a voice somewhere whispering about how many internal studies at Disney have shown that AK would barely draw more of a crowd than the average zoo were it not in theme park heaven.

[Peter Pirate]

Secret reports, whispered rumors, implied inuendo...Damn it man, don't type it, you might bring the tall tales to life...Too late. ;)

Even if this were true, so what? It's part of a package. It isn't and wasn't meant to stand alone. But since you bring it up, if it wasn't for IOA would US even be open today? Aside from MIB, there is virtually no reason to go to tha joke of a park is there?

[raidermatt]

I refuse to get duped into another pointless WDW vs. Universal debate, but I am easily duped into other pointless debates...

For example:

Even if this were true, so what? It's part of a package. It isn't and wasn't meant to stand alone. I still cannot understand how one can be a Disney fan and not have a serious problem with this whole concept.

[Peter Pirate]

I still cannot understand how one can be a Disney fan and not have a problem with this whole concept.
Come on Matt, Walt's dead. He did what he did in great fashion. Then he would have abandoned the whole theme park agenda as anything other than a cash cow to finance his new plans (long, long ago).

The theme park industry lives on Walt's model but was pushed by Roy, Mike, Busch & now Vivendi. Walt had NO DESIRE to duplicate anything unless it served the greater good...OK? So now that that's out of the way, let's examine the "Destination Resort" concept...Do I really need to? I didn't think so.

WDW is not Walt Disney..It is a theme Park destination like no other. It's model is like a pyramid, parks built on top of a solid base thinning towards the top. It is unreasonable to assume that the parts built surrounding the big, strong base could be as grand as the foundation. There is no point and it would serve no purpose (think true cannibalization). If and when USF or even TDL achieve the level of expansion of WDW there may be room for discusion. But not until then.

AK is exactly what it was inteded to be...A building block in the Resort of WDW. This does not exclude shoddy management decisions or poor operational procedures but it does add quite nicely to the over all picture of WDW.

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate

WDW is not Walt Disney..It is a theme Park destination like no other. It's model is like a pyramid, parks built on top of a solid base thinning towards the top. It is unreasonable to assume that the parts built surrounding the big, strong base could be as grand as the foundation. There is no point and it would serve no purpose (think true cannibalization).

Truly grand. We can't build anything a good as DL or MK so why even try. What a great business philosophy.

[Peter Pirate]

Sarcasam eh? Well...I like sarcasam!

I never said that they couldn't, wouldn't or shouldn't build anything as grand as DL or MK...I merely implied that it wouldn't happen in Anaheim or Orlando.

[Planogirl]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Secret reports, whispered rumors, implied inuendo...Damn it man, don't type it, you might bring the tall tales to life...Too late. ;)

Even if this were true, so what? It's part of a package. It isn't and wasn't meant to stand alone. But since you bring it up, if it wasn't for IOA would US even be open today? Aside from MIB, there is virtually no reason to go to tha joke of a park is there?
We really enjoyed US even more so than IOA in our case. We found plenty of fun things to do there and spent a total of 2 days playing and that's without the newer attractions being open. Remember that this is only YOUR opinion.

As for Animal Kingdom, I don't know if we'd bother to go there during each trip if weren't included in the hopper. I think it will be a good park someday but right now with so much to do in the Orlando area, I'm not sure if we'd bother. But that's just OUR opinion.

To bring up another (sore) subject, I know that we wouldn't go to DCA if it weren't a part of our ticket.

[DisneyKidds]

Originally posted by Bob O
If not for the park hopper you would see much less attendance at AK. The park benefits because of being only a half day park people will go there for a few hours and then hit the other disney parks. Now if epople had to pay the full admission price it would likely have less attendance than many SF parks.
Why gee, Bob, I'm so glad you said that - for if you said it it must be true ;). Really, other than the heretofore unseen "internal studies" AV likes to tell us about, what proof is there that this is true? If AK were the 1/2 day park that people hit first before they hop elsewhere that you claim it to be, wouldn't the place be empty by noon? In my experience it just isn't. Truth is, we probably will never know just how AK would ever have done on it's own. The Pirate makes good points about the dynamics of having a resort with 4 gates. A resort the size of WDW is uncharted territory and you can't plug it into any model to spit out the be all, end all answer regarding success or failure. AK is a unique park, and in a way that kind of hurts it. Sure, Disney could throw a couple E-tickets, a few B's and C's, and a nightime event and it would do a lot for the park, but it wouldn't remain true to the concept. Perhaps Disney made a misjudgement with the concept, but they didn't do a bad job with the park, and even with the miss on the concept all your talk of half day parks is just that - talk.

[airlarry!]

None of the other Parks could seriously stand on their own either (other than MK & DL as they're the main draw) but as additions, for the benefit of the guest that offer a huge selection of alternative entertainment.

M. Pirate, your cutlass needs a good sharpening. ;) You of all people know that LandBaron is choking on his pie from 'Taste of Chicago' right now after reading this.

Epcot was built to get people to buy an additional day ticket. Most people that visited back then bought individual tickets -- there were no park-hopping tix that I can remember.

Your later statement that AK is what it is...an add-on to the resort...is correct. But it does not do what it is should do, and that is entice people to plan longer vacations. I vaguely remember some statistics that while EPCOT Center and the MGM-Disney Studios both added days to the vacationer's stay, AK did not.

And I will reiterate...I love both the concept of, and the implementation of much of AK. I don't agree with others that AK is a flawed concept. They didn't pull a DCA with this one, they pulled an early MGM with it.

And the numbers from AB don't lie in that regard. The two last parks are not hitting their spots. If AK were built out as originally planned, it would be the DisneySeas of Florida with an Animal theme.

[Peter Pirate]

Mr. Air, Landbaron needs to see reality one in awhile!;)

EPCOT was built to stand on its own but it never really worked, did it? It was always the "adult park" or the "educational park". I give them credit for realizing that they were most likely NOT going to recreate the MK magic and scope without major risk and capital expenditure. USF & TDL learned just how far they could go with a second park (boy did USF learn a lesson - as in still not profitable). But wait and see what the third park brings at each venue (if in fact they ever take that risk).

If AK were built out in such a style as TDS (instead of AK) or if AK were built to such a scope, I do agree it would have been a HUGE success, but I also believe that MGM & Epcot in their current state would draw virtually nobody. So what would the real gain be? They'd be giving the guest everything they can, to be sure. But they'd fiducially irresponsible while they were doing it as a failure would most certainly doom the Company. The world of Corporate giants isn't pretty, but it is what it is.

Orlando is saturated and any new venues from attractions to parks will be vey carefully evaluated on a cost basis. TDS will never be built in Orlando.

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
USF & TDL learned just how far they could go with a second park (boy did USF learn a lesson - as in still not profitable).

Do you have any proof of this statement?



But wait and see what the third park brings at each venue (if in fact they ever take that risk).



So does the quality of a park evercome into the picture or are you saying that USF could plunk down a park filled with Spinners and it be a sucess as long as its a third park?

[Peter Pirate]

I have no proof as to IOA's unprofitability at hand, but I recall reading the problems still existed earlier this year and that they were hopefuly going to become profitable next year...But as the economy is still suffering, who knows...

Of course quality of a park is relevent. It is always relevent but it always relative, as well. Disney blew it for the short term with DCA and now must wait years for changes to bring it into its own. The same can be said for the Dinorama additions. They were hoping for acceptance (for peanuts) and got ridicule (they blew it) and will have to pay for it not only by funnelling more into the park (E:E) but by not maximizing potential profits from the attendance figures now. This isn't to say that it in't a significant cog i the WDW machine, for I think it is, but could it be more significant? Certainly.

I would fully expect a terrific (high quality state of the art) park to be built in Texas, should that ever come to fruition, as the onus would be on them (Disney) to get people to travel specifcally to this park. It wasn't necessary in China as it appears virtually anything will be accepted there, though it (the complete park concept) was acceptable in Japan as they only had one park to begin with and they have a ravenous audience...Plus it wasn't Disney stockholders taking the big risk (nor reaping the big benefits, as it turns out).

As for USF, they certainly WILL NOT want to go the route of AK or DCA and hope that people accept, but they certainly WILL NOT duplicate the philosophy of IOA (a complete park) either...

[Bob O]

Universal Studios survived numerous years on its own merit and if their was no IOA the park would still be successful and draw visitors for its varied attractions. And if IOA was on its own it would draw good crowds.
And the same went for Magic Kingdom and Epcot before disney let it go to waste with little improvements.
Now MGM was built hurridly as an add on to blunt Unviersal Studios and accomplished its goal but never would have been that great as a stand alone park when initially built, thought it has grown. These 3 parks can stand on their own for a full days worth of activities and dont need to close early because few people are in the park(unless of course you believer disney propaganda that they have to close AK for the animals benefit)
As stated AK hasnt been successful it hasnt added days to visitors stays at wdw, it has been a ok diversion for a couple of hours but if anybody had access to park attendance for tickets sold as not part of a park hopper pass IMHO you would find the park way behind the others for people who may only buy a single day admission. Now maybe somwe day AK will grow up to a full day theme park but it isnt now and it would be a travesty to pay a single days admission to get into the park now in its current state. And from my visits there, the park has been nearly empty by early afternoon with NO waits!!!(which i love but its not good for disney) And it isnt talk, because if disney could make more money on AK they would keep it open longer but the attendance doesnt warrant any longer hours and they have all they can do to keep people their till closing, even offering meals deals in a attempt to do so.
As for Universal i also can easily spend 2 days at the park enjoying what it has to offer and seeing my favorites more than once.
I guess with enough pixie dust we can maybe believe AK is a full days park even if their is little evidence to the contrary!!!!( i guess we are dreaming when we see the park empty way before the park closes and that the park hours are the shortest of all wdw parks)

[Peter Pirate]

I guess with enough pixie dust we can believe AK is a full day park even if their is little evidence to the contrary!!!
OK Bob, you think AK is a half day park (pixie dust or not)...What is the term used for USF apologists? My wife and daughter found IOA to be a half day park (my daughter has gone three times in the past year) and do not feel the same about AK. I know this is just OUR personal opinion, but that is all you are throwing back at us. There is NO PROOF that supports your view. AK has always outdrawn both USF parks. That may change this year (maybe not) but from reading USF apologists opinions you'd think IOA was packed 7 days a week (this simply isn't true). In fact the very same weekend my daughter and wife visited IOA/US my youngest and I visited AK. The result? IOA was very light. They were done by noon. US was a ghost town! How was AK? Quite busy with 30 minute waits at PW & Dinosaur and 40 at KS...Quite a disparity that weekend, I'd say...

[pheneix]

>>>I have no proof as to IOA's unprofitability at hand, but I recall reading the problems still existed earlier this year and that they were hopefuly going to become profitable next year<<<

Prove it. Universal Orlando has not disscussed their performance hardly at all other than to tell the Sentinel that "attendance is up and has been increasing even higher" whenever they put out a "how this holiday stacks up against last year's" article.

>>>The result? IOA was very light. They were done by noon. US was a ghost town! How was AK? Quite busy<<<

Without even bringing up actual attendance, it should be pointed out that IOA has a significantly higher max capacity than AK, and also a significantly higher guest thoroughput. On a busy day at IOA a maxed out Dueling Dragons can push over 4,600 guests per hour (three trains per track). AK's only "coaster," PW, pushes 1,400 per hour when maxed out.

[Peter Pirate]

Prove it. Universal Orlando has not discussed their performance with hardly anyone...
Hardly? That means they have dscussed it with some, right?

Well, like I already said, I have no proof, but I read this earlier in the year, I think it was from a brokerage firm or something. I'm not interested in looking for it so if you can't conceive of it, fine...Just discount it.

As for maximum capacity, what's the point. If venue 'A' holds 5,000 and generally runs at 90% and venue "B" holds 10,000 and generally runs at 70% who is busier? The one with more folks or the one running closer to capacity?

[pheneix]

>>>If venue 'A' holds 5,000 and generally runs at 90% and venue "B" holds 10,000 and generally runs at 70% who is busier?<<<

Well, venue 'A' would be entertaining 4,500 guests, while venue 'B' would be entertaining 7,000 guests...

[Bob O]

With so little to do at AK, of course you would expect much longer lines. And of course AK will outdraw the parks at Universal Studios, its easy for a person with a park hopper to spend a couple of hours at AK when it is much busier at disney's fulldayparks and then return to the full day parks later in the day when the crowds are smaller!! Since wdw draws far more people a half day park like AK will benefit from the spinoff.
But of course if AK had attendance to support it they would be open much longer than they are, oh i forgot animals need to go sleepy.

[WebmasterPete]

Well, just for the record....

Ask anyone in the business here in Orlando, and they will tell you that IoA is outpacing AK by a good margin right now. AB's numbers are always suspect. The Orlando Business Journal released it's Best of list for 2002 back in January, and had IoA rated above AK in attendance figures. Again, these are all speculative as none of the parks releases firm numbers.

Pete

[pheneix]

I never knew the Biz Journal put out lists like that. Do you happen to have any links?

[wtg2000]

How is attendance at Disney counted? For example, if I go to MK in the morning, then EPCOT on the same evening, is that a separate admission for both parks? And if I have an AP and visit all four parks in one day (which I've done!) does count as four admissions?

If you go to Busch Gardens or Cedar Point, that's it for the day. One admission. But you could hit all four Disney parks in one day, and on one ticket, and count as four. If this is the case, I'd like to see numbers where one ticket is only counted once that day (or counted as 1/2 if you visit two parks), then see the final numbers.

[freediverdude]

I think that's why these parks don't release firm admissions numbers, because everybody would be using different rules for what constitutes "one admission", and don't want to get involved in a public "numbers game" like that. Do you count free passes given to employee's friends and family? Do you count multiple admissions on park hopper type tickets? Do you count employee admissions on their non-working days? And if we started playing that game, how easy would it be for any of the parks to have someone sit there and put a ticket through a turnstyle over and over to pad their numbers (seriously, not that any park would ever bother to do that), but this is one of those "open up a can of worms" type situations if they started playing the numbers game. According to estimates, IOA and AK have fairly similar attendance, as far as theme parks goes, and why don't we just leave it at that. I could see if this argument kept going, we would end up in a situation like the Florida 2000 election, with people counting and recounting the "valid" admissions LOL, and both sides fighting the process in court, and live telecasts of the "admissions counting" on streaming DISboards TV, could you imagine :rolleyes:

[Testtrack321]

w00t! PKD makes it! :)

[Bob O]

I recently spent several days at PKD at a roller coaster event and the park managment WENT out of their way to make it a very enjoyable experience. But i was surprised how slow the park was, but im sure the rainy/cool weather they had that week didnt help. That park does a very good job with their kids area as does PKI.

[Testtrack321]

Originally posted by Bob O
I recently spent several days at PKD at a roller coaster event and the park managment WENT out of their way to make it a very enjoyable experience. But i was surprised how slow the park was, but im sure the rainy/cool weather they had that week didnt help. That park does a very good job with their kids area as does PKI.

They can be very nice there, I'm happy they are up there. I should have gone to CoasterCon.... :(

How did you like Hypersonic?

[KNWVIKING]

From what I've read Disney never posts its numbers but does say they only count a guest once per day based on first park entry. Does US/IOA do this also ?

We were at US/IOA four days during the 3rd week in June. They weren't using the 2nd parking garage at all. In the parks,the lines were lonk for Shrek, Nuetron, Spidy & MIB, but there didn't seem to be many people on the streets. City Walk area seemed busier then either park. (Just a side note: US/IOA have the highest prices for parking,water and soda).

Dinoland: I keep reading how bad it is on this board, but we were there in May,June and just got back today. PW and TS always had lines, as did Countdown.Kids were all over the boneyard play area. And the Carny games were very busy,(as were US's). It sure seems like a very popular area.

PS: Has anyone ever heard there friends,family,co-workers,etc.... say "Hey,we're headen down to US/IOA next week for vacation". Personally I haven't. It's always "We're headen on down to WDW. We'll probably go to US or SW for a day also....if we have time".

[airlarry!]

PS: Has anyone ever heard there friends,family,co-workers,etc.... say "Hey,we're headen down to US/IOA next week for vacation". Personally I haven't. It's always "We're headen on down to WDW. We'll probably go to US or SW for a day also....if we have time".

Good point. It is very rare indeed to hear people from out of state going down to Orlando to see the Universal parks and not the Disney parks.

However, the point is blurred by your original post:

Dinoland: I keep reading how bad it is on this board, but we were there in May,June and just got back today. PW and TS always had lines, as did Countdown.Kids were all over the boneyard play area. And the Carny games were very busy,(as were US's). It sure seems like a very popular area.

I must respectfully blow the whistle and call a foul here. Two shots for the Baron (on vacation of course) for a "Subtle Approval of Carny Game and Crappy Coaster" post. ;)

We have debated this ad nauseum but I will strictly enforce the "No Kind Words Allowed about PW or The Carny Games Area" of AK. :) :)

I am anxious to see for myself how bad they ruined my beloved AK in December...

It must be a good topic for our esteemed host, Mr. Werner, to drop by and say hello...

[wtg2000]

If Disney does count one admission per day per person and count the park they visit first, this makes EPCOT's numbers more impressive since a lot of people only go there at night. I pretty much only go there later in the day and stay for Illuminations, and I do this pretty much most days I'm at WDW.

[pheneix]

>>>I hate Vivendi<<<

You won't have to worry about that much longer.

[KNWVIKING]

*** "I must respectfully blow the whistle and call a foul here. Two shots for the Baron (on vacation of course) for a "Subtle Approval of Carny Game and Crappy Coaster" post. " ***

Not trying to debate good/bad, we've all "been there,done that" so to speak. AK is probably my favorite park- runs neck-n-neck with Epcot- and I'm not thrilled with the Dino area either. But it seems the "purist" or "elitist" (for lack of a better word) have a bigger problem with it then the general masses. I go to Dinoland, I watch,observe, and scratch my head. Maybe people go there just because it is there,it's something to do. I don't know the reason for it, but the area just seems very popular with your average guest.

[Bob O]

Testtrack, I thought Hypersonic was a very good coaster!!!! I enjoyed the ride alot, but it rained on our ert morning so i didnt get too ride it as many times as i would have liked too.

[mickeyminnie]

it is FUN, especially and mostly targeted for kids.

It doesn't need an hour long wait in the que and an exit though a gift shop to be a good time ya know.

I think that is the problem for so many people with AK they have to be spoon fed their entertainment. Apparently many people do not vacation at a pace that allows watching animals or appreciating the detail on the tree of life, watching the african band, watching the parade, enjoying the pleasure of sitting in a cozy nook eating an ice cream, these aren't commando type touring ideas.

If all you want to do is run from ride to ride and don't bother to slow down and enjoy the environment then yes you could get through the park quite quickly. If you skip all the shows then you can get through even faster. Heck why not just watch the resort channel and skip the park all together, that will make it less crowded for those who do appreciate it.

[crusader]

If a park is listed as being on top simply by its attendance figures how tempting would the inclination be to manipulate such data.

No wonder this information is kept under lock and key. Universal Orlando does not have a four park strategic plan. Most guests who prefer these types of vacation destinations will buy a longer pass for WDW vs Universal because of the sheer volume in attractions. (not to mention the ticket purchase options currently available)

Say you plan a 5 day trip to FL. At Universal you may spend three days in the parks max and fit in SeaWorld but at WDW you'll be there all 5 days if at all possible. I'll approximate a 60% greater attendance variable for WDW which will always put them at the top of the charts.

Quite Frankly this type of data tells us absolutely nothing about guest favorability or venue preference - particularly given the fact that one theme park is more than twice the size of the other and takes much longer to attend.

[KMovies]

How many days to spend at Disney?

When it was one park - you did one day, two days tops.

They added Epcot.

Now it became two days, three days tops.

Then they added MGM.

Now it became three days, four days tops. Longer if you really wanted to relax.

More water parks.

Now it becomes four to seven days.

Then Animal Kingdom.

WDW wanted you to add one more day, but at this point, vacations had already extended themselves; so it was possible to just add on AK without adding days.

Like a movie theatre:

50's: one screen, one choice, 300 people per show.
60's: two screens, two choices, 500 people per showtime (but now just 250 per show)
70's: four screens, four choices, 800 people per showtime (but now dropping to 200 people per show)
80's: 16 screens, 16 choices, 1600 people per showtime (but now dropping to 100 people per show)
90's: 30 screens, 30 choices, 2500 people per showtime (but now dropping to 80 people per show)
00's: 5000 screens, 5000 choices, 5000 people per showtime (but now you are alone in your movie)

If Disney added four more parks, would vacation time double. No.

A. You just don't have that much vacation time from work.
B. you just don't have that much money to extend the vacation.
C. You would need a vacation following the vacation.
D. You would need a wheel chair from all of the walking and blisters on your feet.

[KMovies]

Remember why the two Universal parks flip flopped in attendance.

Universal Studios - lost the Halloween events - attendance down
Islands of Adventure - gained the Halloween events - attendance up

When you move your most popular event from one park to the other - the attendance moved with it.