Attendance drop and PKI takes the lead

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As the article reads, PKI was the most visted amusement park in 2004. It had 3.5 million vistors, while CP dropped to 3.2 million from the 3.3 million people in 2003. No new attraction and bad weather through the season is the reason for the drop. I'm surprised though that PKI just redid their whole waterpark and they got that much of a increase in attendance, wow! It's shocking that CP has been placed in second as the most visited seasonal park. I wonder how maXair will compete with PKI's new Italian Job: Stunt Track, in 2005. If the weather is dryier then I think CP will come back, but it'll be close. *** Edited 12/19/2004 12:43:31 AM UTC by Gomez***

You said it, the wheather. One storm ruins about 2 days of business for CP. If that's okay, numbers will be okay. But for for the record Stunt Track will beat MaXair upside the head with riders.

Yes.. with PKI being my home park I noticed very large crowds this year. Fearfest attracted an incredible amount of people. This past October, on any saturday night, the crowds were the heaviest I have ever seen at PKI. (I visit the park 15+ times each year)

Are you sure that they've been on top for a decade? Someone on coasterbuzz says elsewise.

I'm not sure about that so I deleted it from my post, but maybe someone can post how long CP had that record. I remember reading it in that Cedar Point History Book (can't remember the name of it). So they had it before 1995.

*** Edited 12/19/2004 12:51:48 AM UTC by Gomez***

Who woulda thought, PKI beating out CP.

Did you ever notice that it's open longer and usually has much better/warmer weather? *** Edited 12/19/2004 2:12:26 AM UTC by Mathew***

I think part of that attendance drop had to do with the Millennium Force issue this season. If Cedar Point changes the seats on Millennium Force; like it's rumored to happen, attendance will climb back up again. Also another reason is people might be upset over Top Thrill Dragsters problems that keep occuring. I think if Cedar Point can fix Millennium Force seats and with the addition of Maxair, attendance will climb back up there.

OK shawn, I don't think so. The reason for the attendance numbers has to do with Soak City. I know I read it somewhere (I think here) that the park attendance was up a few percent. But Soak City was down over like 10%. And yes weather has a ton to do with that. Oh well!

With the exception of a week and some bad weather days, TTD was running every day. Maybe not all day but it did run. I'm sorry that saftey on MF is a concern but I have no problem with the new seat belt policy. I'd rather have guests safe than be sorry.

Maybe it was the fact it was raining 1/3 of the days CP was open. Could that have to do with anyhting maybe?

Yeah, it was raining a lot last season (that didn't stop me).

But is it possible that PKI's schedule boosts the attendance there? PKI opens almost a month earlier and stays open for at least part of another weekend (the first weekend of November).

I was in the Cincy area on business that last weekend, and cruised by PKI with the intention of stopping and getting in some rides if it wasn't too crowded. The weather was very nice that day, and based on the number of cars in the parking lot, the park appeared to be very crowded.

So I suspect that the additional operating days, in April and the couple of days in November gave PKI the additional 300,000 or so visitors that eclipsed CP last season.

The solution seems obvious: Open CP in mid-April and close it a week later. If it's cold or snowy or whatever, I'm game.

Let the games begin!!!

As stated before, the drop probably is related to the weather, there were many rainy days in the park. Also, this summer did not see the hot (90 plus) days that are common in this region, thus Soak City was not visited as often as it usually is. Another one of my guesses would be the power surge in the begining of the season. It damaged popular rides like WT and gave them long periods of down time.

I think the biggest reason for the shift is that PKI has kept their pricing in check and Cedar Point hasn't.

PKI gate price (which includes water park) is $26. Cedar Point is $45 (no waterpark). The PKI season pass is $70 (pre-season) and that includes parking and their Joe Cool equivalent. Oh yeah, it includes admission to all other Paramount parks, parking at all other Paramount parks, and "Joe Cool" benefits at all other Paramount parks.

Cedar Point's comparable pass (pre-season) was $184 ($144 combo + $40 discounted parking + free Joe Cool). However, it doesn't include parking at other parks and doesn't include "Joe Cool" benefits (if they exist) at other parks.

What I think is happening is that Cedar Point has stumbled upon the price point which keeps the typical family of 4 away from the park. $600+ for 4 seasons passes & parking? $190 to walk in for a single day, before food and souvenirs? The typical family of 4 just won't (can't) splurge for that anymore.

There are other benefits as well. The weather is one. Another is the availability of numerous decent & inexpensive (esp with Priceline) hotels in the area.

PKI has historically had stronger attendance numbers. Until CP made it big on the national scene for amusement parks there really was no comparison. The longer season, nicer springs and early summers, lack of realistic competition all add up to PKI having the upper hand from the start. Obviously things have changed. CP has rightly earned a reputation of being one of the leaders in the industry and as such made it an even race when comparing the two parks on attendance.

Really when it comes down to it, it says more about how the two parks have been developed and are run over the past decade or two. To have the advantage that PKI has on CP, really it shouldn't be close at all.

I was just looking at PKIs 2005 operation calendar and noticed that they have lots of days where they are open 10am-12am, 14 to be exact whereas CP only has 1, July 4th. I think that perhaps CP should have more Saturday nights where it is open until midnight because being at the park at night and seeing all of the rides lit up is really fun and I think people would be willing to spend the money to go to the park knowing that they can stay and ride the rides for up to 14 hours making it more worth the money. Then again, CP has their own way of making up for this, they are open 10am-11pm all of July, and half of August but PKI is open 10am-10pm during the week and 10am-11pm on weekends. Sorry about contradicting myself, I guess that both parks have their own pros and cons to their operating schedules.

*** Edited 12/19/2004 7:41:36 PM UTC by Vince982***

TDD is sinking too! The $26.99 ticket price at PKI is a holiday promotion and is $18 off the regular admission price of $44.99. A good deal yes but that's not the normal price at the gate.

While PKI's pricing and hours of operation look good, CP knows what their doing and, I for, one, am willing to pay their price.

MrScott

Vince982 said:
I was just looking at PKIs 2005 operation calendar and noticed that they have lots of days where they are open 10am-12am, 14 to be exact whereas CP only has 1, July 4th. I think that perhaps CP should have more Saturday nights where it is open until midnight *** Edited 12/19/2004 7:41:36 PM UTC by Vince982***

I'm wiped by 10 or eleven anyways. 11 hours is enough for everyone. Plus if they did that they would often have people in Dragster's line until 3 in the morning. More staff and people wouldn't leave and the midways need to be cleaned later in the night and you'd have people would want to go to the gift shop and you'd need to keep the bathroom open and the locker guy would have to stay and you would have to keep traffic people and paramedics have to be on duty and security nd probably a million other things if you keep the park open for one hour longer.

Very true MrScott, I am also willing to pay the price. I'm a highschool student with out a job (although I am looking for one) and I am very short on cash but I always manage to get enough money to go to Cedar Point, I try to go atleast twice a year. As a Canadian, I also have to take the currency exchange into consideration. The Canadian dollar has been doing extremely well recently and I hope it continues to do well to make my Cedar Point trip more affordable.

Fair enough Fastball, you're right, I never really thought about the staff staying late. I still think it would be good maybe to have one or two more days open until midnight, maybe have one a month in June, July, and August so that people can splurge and go on as many rides as they can fit into 14 hours. Some people are wiped by 10, but there are others, like myself, who could go for another few hours of riding.

*** Edited 12/19/2004 9:50:20 PM UTC by Vince982***

PKI and CP have traded attendance for a long time. Neither park has consistently beat the other. As for Soak City, those numbers are not included with the CP attendance numbers.