TEA ERA 3/26/07 4:19 PM Page X
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TOP 15 U.S. WATER PARKS (2006)
Rank
2006 2005 Park Name and Location Attendance Change Comments
1 1 Disney World-Typhoon Lagoon, Orlando, FL 2,050,000 6.6% Hotter summer (up five degrees from prior years) kept interest in waterparks
high. Strong season also fueled by Orlando tourism growth and on the heels of
the highly successful 50th anniversary celebration at WDW
2 2 Disney World-Blizzard Beach, Orlando, FL 1,880,000 5.4% Hotter summer (up five degrees from prior years) kept interest in waterparks high
3 3 Wet 'n Wild - Orlando, FL 1,340,000 flat Strong performance at area theme parks, especially Disney, held down gains
4 4 Schlitterbahn-New Braunfels, TX 880,000 -4.7% Weather issues, new competition from sister park in Galveston pushed numbers
lower until end of summer when normalcy returned
5 5 Water Country USA-Williamsburg, VA 670,000 1.6% Stable weather and precipitation kept numbers similar. New Great Wolf
waterpark hotel added focus to Williamsburg as water destination
6 6 Raging Waters-San Dimas, CA 650,000 flat Hot dry weather, up four degrees on average, kept attendance strong
7 7 Adventure Island, Tampa, FL 609,000 1.5% Consistent weather and up slightly along with Busch Gardens Tampa
8 8 Noah's Ark-Wisconsin Dells, WI 590,000 2.4% Very good summer for Wisconsin Dells as a destination kept Noah's Ark Strong
and improved
9 - Schlitterbahn-Galveston,TX 500,000 n.a. New indoor/outdoor facility does very well in first year serving Galveston
tourists and Houston market area. Welcome to first year on list
10
+
11 Six Flags-White Water-Marietta, GA 464,000 1.8% Precipiation half previous year and warmer temperatures helped park buck
10
+
10 Wet 'n Wild Emerald Point - Greensboro, N.C. 464,000 -5.1% Precipitation up by 70% slowed attendance reversed attendance gain of last year
corporate declines
12 9 Six Flags-Hurricane Harbor-Arlington, TX 448,000 -10.3% Hotter summer and a part of the overall Six Flags slump in 2006
13 13 Hyland Hills Water World-Denver, CO 443,000 12% Steady weather but everything was running on all cylinders - strong season
14 - Dollywood's Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, TN 410,000 8.5% Record season for Splash Country and Dollywood. Warm temperatures during
the peak season. Addition of Firetower Falls slides had a good marketing impact
on tweens. Additions over the past three years continued the attendance growth
15 14 Soak City Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH 390,000 -3.1% Declines at Cedar Point caused in part by continued economic conditions in
Detroit and Cleveland affected water park too
Note: + indicates a tie
Source: TEA and Economics Research Associates (ERA)
Extending the Range,
“Asterix repositioned itself more Splendid China Folk Village in South-
The Stay and the Calendar
strongly as a local attraction and ern China, plus another Happy Valley
Categories throughout the industry
reaped the natural advantages of which opened in Beijing in 2006.
are blurring on all continents as parks
cultural and regional loyalty.” Combined, the OCT parks accommo-
add second-gate attractions and
date some 7 million annual visits.
hundreds of hotel rooms, and
Cultural sensitivity and redevelop-
There are plans to expand into
otherwise expand in ways that
ment have enabled Happy Valley, the
Shanghai and other locations.
transform them into integrated
most-attended theme park in China
resorts capable of operating year-
(2.9 million visitors in 2006), to also
Reinvestment requires reinvestment
round or nearly so, with increasingly
remain competitive with Disney’s
diverse revenue streams. In the US,
capital, and if a chain is burdened
entry into the market. Happy Valley
the second gate waterpark added
with excessive debt and under-
recently added a new waterpark
several years ago at Dollywood
performing properties, it must first
section and has future improvements
(Pigeon Forge, TN) grew sufficiently
divest itself of these. The Six Flags
on the drawing board. Whereas the
to land it in the waterparks’ Top 15.
chain is in the midst of this process as
Japanese like Western-style thrill
Mainstay waterparks operator
rides and well-stocked gift shops, the
this report is being written. “The
Schlitterbahn added its third park
Chinese are partial to mini-worlds,
problems are known,” says Robinett.
(Galveston, TX) and, with indoor and
landscaped areas and cultural shows.
“Their investment was spread too
outdoor components, welcomes
Happy Valley excels in these areas
thin. The job at hand is to focus and
guests 10 months of the year.
while expanding its range through
recalibrate: focus on the best parks,
selectively adding major rides. “They
take down the debt load, reposition
The integrated resort is a season
have the formula down,” says Aaen.
the brand, improve the guest
extender and in some cases, it can
Braun concurs: “Happy Valley is the experience, broaden the market
also be the means of introducing a
top performer of the Overseas appeal. You’ve got to generate capital
lucrative component that might not
Chinese Town [OCT] chain.” Owner- to do all that.”
appeal to the community as a
operator OCT’s properties also standalone. For instance, parts of
include Wonders of the World and Singapore are being opened up for
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