mark40511 wrote:Interesting but perhaps the reason for attendance are attractions.
It's not. At least it doesn't account for that much of an increase. Cedar Point is a destination park in a destination area. It's not just an amusement park in a city like Carowinds is. And as for Canada's Wonderland, being the highest attended regional park, they're getting a return on their investment by keeping the people that already come coming. There is a finite amount of people that are going to go to any amusement park. Canada's Wonderland and Cedar Point draw from a larger group than Carowinds does and they're much different parks in different situations.
Did Intimidator help increase Carowinds attendance?
Not enough for them to be in the top five most attended parks in the country. Again, it keeps people coming, and added a few.
I can only find theme park attendance for top 20. People from all over the US go to Cedar Point just because of the attractions (namely big coasters)
That's partially right. But CP is on the beach, in an area with lots of other touristy stuff to do. It's a destination park. Carowinds is a regional park with no close competition. They don't need to build a giga-coaster to keep attendance high, and building one isn't likely to cause enough of a spike in attendance to justify the cost.
And let's not get into 'If you build it, they will come' and say that if they build it, people will flock to it. Because that sent Six Flags into bankruptcy.