"USA Park Attendance Results"

The Top 20 USA parks showing history to 2007. 

Every year, the attendance results are released which can be found here.
http://www.aecom.com/What+We+Do/Economics/Theme+Index+Report

Most coaster fans look at their favorite parks, then move on.     The report lists the top 20 parks in North America, but it's interesting to track each park over time to see the change in attendance results based on the ride added.     

All the parks had nice gains or stayed the same for 2014 except for Sea World Entertainment Parks.        

Magic Kingdom (MK)  
2007 - 17,000,000 (+2.5%) (Monster's Inc.)
2008 - 17,000,000 (+0.0%)
2009 - 17,200,000 (+1.0%) (New Hall of Presidents)
2010 - 16,900,000 (-1.5%) (Electrical Parade Returns)
2011 - 17,100,000 (+1.0%) (Haunted Mansion Update)
2012 - 17,500,000 (+2.3%) (Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom)
2013 - 18,588,000 (+6.0%) (A Pirate's Adventure Princess Fairytale Hall)
2014 - 19,332,000 (+4.0%) (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train)
2015 - (Construction Updates, Hub)
Broke 19 million.   Will they reach 20 Million?   The brainwashing continues.     

Disney Land (DL)
2007 - 14,800,000 (+1.0%) (Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage)
2008 - 14,700,000 (-1.0%) (Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough)
2009 - 15,900,000 (+8.0%) (New fireworks show Magical)
2010 - 15,900,000 (+0.0%)
2011 - 16,100,000 (+1.0%) (Star Tours - The Adventures Continue)
2012 - 15,900,000 (-1.1%)
2013 - 16,202,000 (+1.5%) (Fantasy Fair)
2014 - 16,769,000 (+3.5%)
2015 - (Matterhorn Bobsled Snowman Update)

Epcot (EP)
2007 - 10,900,000 (+4.5%) (The Seas with Nemo and Friends)
2008 - 10,900,000 (+0.0%) (Spaceship Earth Update)
2009 - 10,900,000 (+0.0%) (Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure)
2010 - 10,800,000 (-1.5%) (Captain EO)
2011 - 10,800,000 (+0.0%)
2012 - 11,000,000 (+2.2%) (Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, Test Track 2.0)
2013 - 11,229,000 (+1.5%)
2014 - 11,454,000 (+2.0%)
2015 - (Frozen and Soarin' Construction)

Disney's Animal Kingdom (AK)
2007 - 9,490,000 (+6.5%) (Finding Nemo)
2008 - 9,540,000 (+0.5%)
2009 - 9,590,000 (+0.5%)
2010 - 9,680,000 (+1.0%)
2011 - 9,780,000 (+1.0%) (Wild Life Animal Trek)
2012 - 9,990,000 (+2.2%)
2013 -10,198,000 (+2.0%)
2014 -10,402,000 (+2.0%) (New Festival of the Lion King Theater)
2015 - (Avatar Land Construction)

Disney's Hollywood Studios (ST)
2007 - 9,510,000 (+4.5%)
2008 - 9,600,000 (+0.5%) (Toy Story Mania)
2009 - 9,700,000 (+1.0%) (American Idol Experience)
2010 - 9,600,000 (-1.0%)
2011 - 9,690,000 (+1.0%) (Star Tours 2)
2012 - 9,910,000 (+2.2%)(The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow)
2013 -10,110,000 (+2.0%) (Disney Junior Update)
2014 -10,312,000 (+2.0%)
2015 -(Great Movie Ride Update)

Disney's California Adventure (DCA)
2007 - 5,680,000 (-4.5%)
2008 - 5,560,000 (-2.0%) (Toy Story Mania)
2009 - 6,050,000 (+9,5%) (Mickey's Fun Wheel)
2010 - 6,270,000 (+3.0%) (World of Color)
2011 - 6,340,000 (+1.0%) (The Little Mermaid)
2012 - 7,770,000 (+22.6%) (Cars Land)
2013 - 8,514,000 (+9.5%) (Disney Junior Update)
2014 - 8,769,000 (+3.0%)
2015 - (Luigi's Flying Tires Rehab)

Universal Studios Florida (USF)
2007 – 6,200,000 (+3.3%)  (Diaster)
2008 – 6,231,000 (+0.5%)  (The Simpsons)
2009 – 5,530,000 (-10.0%) (Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket)
2010 – 5,930,000 (+6.1%)
2011 – 6,044,000 (+2.0%)
2012 – 6,195,000 (+2.5%) (Despicable Me)
2013 – 7,062,000 (+14%) (Transformers)
2014 – 8,263,000 (+17%) (Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Express)
2015 -
The attendance at USF skyrocketed because people have to visit both parks to ride the Hogwarts Express Train.          

Islands Of Adventure (IOA)
2007 – 5,430,000 (+2.5%)
2008 – 5,297,000 (-2.4%)
2009 – 4,627,000 (-11%)
2010 – 5,949,000 (+30%) (Harry Potter Shopping Mall)
2011 – 7,674,000 (+29%)
2012 – 7,981,000 (+ 4.0%) (Spiderman Upgrade)
2013 – 8,141,000 (+2.0%)
2014 – 8,141,000 (+0.0%)
2015 -
To me, USF and IOA are basically one park with 2 admission fees because of the Harry Potter Shopping Mall.  

Universal Studios Hollywood (USH)
2007 - 4,700,000 (+0.0%) (House of Horrors)
2008 - 4,580,000 (-4.5%) (The Simpsons)
2009 - 4,300,000 (-6.0%) (Creature From The Black Lagoon Musical)
2010 - 5,040,000 (+26.0%) (King Kong 360 3-D)
2011 - 5,140,000 (+2.0%) (Jimmy Fallon Hosts Backlot Studio Tour)
2012 - 5,910,000 (+15.0%) (Transformers The Ride)
2013 - 6,148,000 (+4.0%)
2014 - 6,824,000 (+11.0%) (Despicable Me Minion Mayhem)
2015 - (Fast and Furious Supercharged)
 
Sea World Florida (SWF)
2007 - 5,800,000 (+1.0%) (Sea Carousel)
2008 - 5,926,000 (+2.9%) (Aquatica) (In-Bev Steals the Busch Parks)
2009 - 5,800,000 (-6.8%) (Manta) (In-Bev Spins off Parks to Blackstone)
2010 - 5,100,000 (-12.1%) (Omaka Rocka) (Tilikum kills a trainer)
2011 - 5,202,000 (+2.0%) (One Ocean Show)
2012 - 5,358,000 (+3.0%) (Turtle Trek at DC)
2013 - 5,090,000 (-5.0%) (Antarctica) (Blackfish Movie)
2014 - 4,683,000 (-8.0%) (Ihu's breakway Falls at Aquatica)
2015 - (Firings, Revamped Shows)
2016 - (Mako)
Fairly huge drop, same reasons as last year.    Protests of animal treatment (Blackfish Film), and I blame it on removing the free beer samples by In-Bev when they took over.    Letting people get a buzz on made them happy to pay the parking and high ticket prices.   With that gone, people are going elsewhere.    

Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT)
2007 - 4,400,000 (+1.0%) (Sheikra Goes Floorless)
2008 - 4,410,000 (-2.1%) (Jungala) (In-Bev Steals the Busch Parks)
2009 - 4,100,000 (-12.3%) (In-Bev Spins Off Parks to Blackstone)
2010 - 4,200,000 (+2.4%) (Air Grover)
2011 - 4,284,000 (+2.0%) (Cheetah Hunt)
2012 - 4,348,000 (+1.5%) (Iceploration)
2013 - 4,087,000 (-6.0%) (Madagascar Live) (Blackfish Movie)
2014 - 4,128,000 (+1.0%) (Falcon’s Fury)
2015 -
2016 - (Cobra’s Curse)
A slight increase over last year, but the same explanation as SWF.    No free beer samples except at the Colony house, but only for a few hours.   In other words, you have to go looking for it.      Do not drink Budweiser.    In-Bev ruined the Busch parks with their hostile take over.    They wanted nothing to do with the parks, only wanted the Budweiser brand.   Well, they got it, and now the beer is no longer "American" even if it's made in the USA.    They spun the parks off to Blackstone, and things have never been the same.   

Sea World California (SWC)
2007 - 4,260,000 (+0.0%) (Shamu Rocks)
2008 - 4,140,000 (-2.7%) (Lights Camera Imagination 4D) (In-Bev Steals the Busch Parks)
2009 - 4,200,000 (-12.6%) (In-Bev Spins Off Parks to Blackstone)
2010 - 3,800,000 (-9.5%) (Blue Horizons)
2011 - 4,290,000 (+13.0%)
2012 - 4,440,000 (+3.5%) (Manta)
2013 - 4,311,000 (-3.0%) (Madagascar Live, Aquatica) (Blackfish Movie)
2014 - 3,794,000 (-12.0%) (Explorer's Reef)
2015 -  
Looks like the Blackfish movie effected all Sea World parks.             

Knotts Berry Farm (KBF)
2007 - 3,630,000 (-1.0%) (Sierra Sidewinder)
2008 - 3,565,000 (-1.8%) (Pony Express)
2009 - 3,333,000 (-6.5%) (Pink’s)
2010 - 3,600,000 (+8.0%) (Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular)
2011 - 3,654,000 (+1.5%) (Windseeker)
2012 - 3,508,000 (-4.0%) (General Improvements, Perilous Plunge Closes)
2013 - 3,683,000 (+5.0%) (Board Walk Expansion, Coast Rider)
2014 - 3,683,000 (+0.0%) (Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer)
2015 - (Voyage To the Iron Reef)

Canadas Wonderland (CW)
2007 - 3,250,000 (+0.5%) (New Restaurants)
2008 - 3,380,000 (+4.0%) (Behemoth)
2009 - 3,160,000 (-6.5%)
2010 - 3,380,000 (+7.0%) (Boo Blasters on Boo Hill)
2011 - 3,480,000 (+3.0%) (Windseeker)
2012 - 3,650,000 (+5.0%) (Leviathian)
2013 - 3,582,000 (-2.0%)
2014 - 3,546,000 (-1.0%) (Wonder Mountain's Guardian)
2015 - (Slingshot Upcharge Ride)    

Cedar Point (CP)
1960 – 1,000,000 (reached 1 million for the first time)
1965 – 2,000,000 (reached 2 million for the first time)
1975 – 3,000,000 (reached 3 million for the first time)
1976 – 3,065,000 (New Record, Corkscrew Opened)
1977 – 2,868,000 (Witches Wheel)
1999 – 3,300,000 (Camp Snoopy)
2000 – 3,430,000   (+ 4.0%) (Millennium Force)
2001 – 3,100,000   (- 10.0%) (Vertigo, Lighthouse Point)
2002 – 3,250,000   (+ 5.0%) (Wicked Twister)
2003 – 3,300,000   (+ 2.0%) (TTD)
2004 – 3,200,000   (– 4.0%) (Splash City)
2005 – 3,100,000   (– 3.0%) (MaXair)
2006 – 3,070,000   (– 2.5%) (SkyHawk)
2007 – 3,118,000   (+ 1.5%) (Maverick)
2008 – 3,198,000   (+ 2.5%) (Planet Snoopy)
2009 – 2,942,000   (- 8.0%) (Starlight Experience)
2010 – 3,051,000   (+ 3.7%) (Shoot The Rapids)
2011 – 3,143,000   (+ 3.0%) (Wind Seeker)
2012 – 3,221,000   (+ 2.5%) (Dinosaurs)
2013 – 3,382,000  (+ 5.0%) (GateKeeper)
2014 – 3,247,000  (- 4.0%) (Pipe Scream, Lake Erie Eagles)
2015 – (Rougarou, new Maverick restraints)
A drop of 135k people in an “off year” after GateKeeper.   The average attendance the past 16 years is 3,191,000.   So why is CP stuck at the same number after adding blockbuster coasters?    Could go back to marketing.    I’ve never seen a commercial for Cedar Point down here in Florida.   Yet when I visit other parts of the country, I see ads for Disneyworld.     In May 2015, I went on a coaster trip visiting 5 parks in one week.   I didn’t see any billboards for Cedar Point in the airports.   The good news, CP now has their own Rougabrew craft beer, and they feature Yuengling, an American company.    I hope more parks feature true American beers and products.        

Kings Island (KI)
2007 - 3,050,000 (+0.0%) (Firehawk)
2008 - 3,120,000 (+2.5%) (General Improvements)
2009 - 3,000,000 (-4.0%) (Diamond Back)
2010 - 3,112,000 (+3.7%) (Planet Snoopy)
2011 - 3,143,000 (+1.0%) (Windseeker)
2012 - 3,206,000 (+2.0%) (Soak City Improvements)
2013 - 3,206,000 (+0.0%) (Dinosaurs Alive, New shows)
2014 - 3,238,000 (+1.0%) (Banshee)
2015 - (Snoopy Space Buggies, Woodstock Gliders)
A new record breaking inverted coaster only brought them a 1% gain, bummer.    Once again, I blame this on marketing. 

Hershey Park (HP)
2007 - 2,940,000 (+9.2%) (Boardwalk, Water Attractions)
2008 - 2,840,000 (-4.4%) (Fahrenheit)
2009 - 2,807,000 (-1.2%) (Boardwalk Seaquell, Water Attractions)
2010 - 2,891,000 (+3.0%)
2011 - 2,949,000 (+2.0%)
2012 - 3,140,000 (+6.5%) (Skyrush)
2013 - 3,180,000 (+1.3%) (Boardwalk Expansion)
2014 - 3,212,000 (+1.0%) (Cocoa Cruiser)
2015  (Laff Trakk)-
Now this is what other parks are looking for, a steady rise.  

Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM)
2007 - (Johnny Rockets)
2008 - (X2)
2009 - 2,500,000 (-2.5%) (Terminator Salvation)
2010 - 2,600,000 (+4.0%) (Mr. Six’s Dance Coaster and Splash Land)
2011 - 2,700,000 (+3.9%) (Green Lantern)
2012 - 2,808,000 (+4.0%) (Lex Luthor Drop of Doom)
2013 - 2,906,000 (+3.5%) (Full Throttle)
2014 - 2,848,000 (-2.0%) (Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers)
2015 - (Twisted Colossus)
Looks like Speedy Gonzales didn’t quite do it in 2014.   But they did stay in the chart and have Twisted Colossus in 2015.     At this level, the drop is only 58k people.     

Six Flags Great Adventure (SFNJ)
2007 - 2,720,000 (-.5%) (Wiggle's World)
2008 - 2,760,000 (+1.5%) (The Dark Night)
2009 - 2,630,000 (-4.6%) (Bizarro)
2010 - 2,700,000 (+2.5%) (Water park attraction Tornado)
2011 - (Green Lantern)
2012 - (Sky Screamer)
2013 - 2,800,000 (+5.7%) (Safari)
2014 - 2,800,000 (+0.0%)  (Zumanjaro)
2015 - (El Diablo)
Look who stayed on the chart in the top 20, same as last year.      They kept El Toro running in 2014.  If you remember, in 2013 it had a burned out motor.  

Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW)
2007 - 3,150,000 (+12.5%) (Griffon)
2008 - 3,090,000 (-2.0%) (In-Bev Steals the Busch Parks)
2009 - 2,900,000 (-3.7%) (Sesame Street 4D)  (In-Bev Spins Off Parks to Blackstone)
2010 - 2,800,000 (-3.4%) (Europe In The Air)
2011 - 2,740,000 (-2.0%) (Mach Tower)
2012 - 2,850,000 (+4.0%) (Verbolten)
2013 - 2,726,000 (-4.5%) (Blackfish Movie)
2014 - 2,699,000 (-1.0%)
2015 - (Tempesto)    

Six Flags Great America (SFGAm)
2007 - 2,630,000 (+.05%) (Wiggles World)
2008 - 2,660,000 (+1.5%) (The Dark Knight)
2009 - 2,500,000 (-6.3%) (Buccaneer Battle)
2010 - 2,700,000 (+10.0%) (Little Dipper)
2011 - (Riptide Bay)
2012 - (X-Flight)
2013 - (Batman Backwards)
2014 - (Goliath)
2015 - (40 Seasons Celebration)   

Six Flags Over Texas (SFoT)
2007 - (Coobrilla, Aquarman)
2008 - (Tony Hawk's Big Spin)
2009 - (Glow In The Park)
2010 - 2,600,000 (+0.0%) (Robots of Mars)
2011 - 2,600,000 (+0.0%) (New Texas Giant)
2012 - 2,670,000 (+3.0%) (Mr Freeze: Reverse Blast)
2013 - (Texas Skyscreamer) (Blackfish Movie)
2014 - (Bugs Bunny Boomtown)
2015 - (Justice League Battle For Metropolis)     

Holiday World (HW)
2007 - (Bakull & Turkey Whirl)
2008 - (Star Spangled Carousel)
2009 - 1,039,000 (+3.0%) (Pilgrims Plunge)
2010 - 1,200,000 (+14.0%) (Wildebeest)
2011 - (Safari Sam's Splashland)
2012 - (Mammoth & Sparkler)
2013 - (Hyena Falls)
2014 - (Mayflower)
2015 - (Thunderbird)     

Kentucky Kingdom (KK)
1998 - 1,300,000 (Ed Hart Sells to Premier Parks)
2014 - 600,000 (Reopens under Ed Hart after 5 year closure, Lightning Racer)
2015 - (T3, Cyclos, Enterprise, Water Attractions)

If anyone has the missing attendance figures for HW and the SF parks, please e-mail me.  

End of Report.   Thanks for reading. 

Email me at skiguy777@bellsouth.net.

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