- December 21st, 2003, 3:24 am
#1611
Paramount's Carowinds ranked 33rd in 2003 Attendance Polls, according to Amusement Business Magazine. Bringing in a total of around 1,776,000 visitors, attendance dropped 4%, but the park actually rose 2 spots on the list from 2002.
The park claimed the drop was "totally dew to weather", as 30% of the spring season was plagued by rain.
In comparison, Six Flags Over Georgia(Atlanta, GA) and Kings Dominion(Richmond, VA) tied at the 28th spot, with 2,100,000 visitors, 324,000 more guests than Carowinds.
Dollywood(Pigeon Forge, TN) and Busch Gardens: The Old Country(Williamsburg, VA) were the strongest seasonal parks in the Southeast for 2003. Dollywood, #27, managed to gather 2,150,000 guests, 374,000 more than Carowinds. Busch Gardens Williamsburg, #25, had 2,500,000 visitors in 2003, 724,000 more than Carowinds. (HOWEVER, Busch Gardens and Dollywood are both in high tourism areas, so they have a good turnout whether they ask for it or not.)
All of the Southeast parks blamed bad weather for lower attendance. Kings Dominion had a balanced attendance due to the addition of their Drop Zone ride. The Orlando Year-Round parks had little or no change.
You can read the list <a href='http://www.amusementbusiness.com/amusementbusiness/images/pdf/2003-top-50-north-america.pdf' target='_blank'>HERE.(click)</a> PDF Format
The park claimed the drop was "totally dew to weather", as 30% of the spring season was plagued by rain.
In comparison, Six Flags Over Georgia(Atlanta, GA) and Kings Dominion(Richmond, VA) tied at the 28th spot, with 2,100,000 visitors, 324,000 more guests than Carowinds.
Dollywood(Pigeon Forge, TN) and Busch Gardens: The Old Country(Williamsburg, VA) were the strongest seasonal parks in the Southeast for 2003. Dollywood, #27, managed to gather 2,150,000 guests, 374,000 more than Carowinds. Busch Gardens Williamsburg, #25, had 2,500,000 visitors in 2003, 724,000 more than Carowinds. (HOWEVER, Busch Gardens and Dollywood are both in high tourism areas, so they have a good turnout whether they ask for it or not.)
All of the Southeast parks blamed bad weather for lower attendance. Kings Dominion had a balanced attendance due to the addition of their Drop Zone ride. The Orlando Year-Round parks had little or no change.
You can read the list <a href='http://www.amusementbusiness.com/amusementbusiness/images/pdf/2003-top-50-north-america.pdf' target='_blank'>HERE.(click)</a> PDF Format
