The numbers are in, and Cedar Point once again topped Kings Island in attendance in 2015.
The power of a werewolf-themed roller coaster lurking in the swamps off the Cedar Point midway, along with a multimillion-dollar face-lift to the historic Hotel Breakers, were enough to increase attendance at the Sandusky park by 8 percent in 2015 compared to the year before.
Cedar Point had 3,507,000 visitors pass through the turnstiles in 2015.
The annual report by the Themed Entertainment Association found 3,335,000 guests visited Kings Island just outside Cincinnati — an increase of 3 percent.
It was a good year for the two parks’ parent company, Ohio-based Cedar Fair, which boasted an overall attendance increase of 4.9 percent at its 17 properties. The company ranked No. 5 worldwide in attendance for 2015.
In the Top 20 ranking of most-visited parks nationally, Cedar Point ranked 15 and Kings Island was 16. Hershey Park in Pennsylvania ranked 17.
Florida parks dominated the top of the list with Disney World claiming the top spot at 20.4 million visitors.
Universal Studios in Orlando with its Harry Potter-themed attractions claimed the No. 6 spot.
Of all the parks in the Top 20, only one posted an attendance loss.
Sea World California had a 7 percent drop in visitors, narrowly beating out Cedar Point for the No. 14 spot by just 21,000 visitors.
This year’s opening of Valravn at Cedar Point should edge the Ohio park higher on next year’s list.
The line to ride the new coaster stretched for hours during its debut weekend, well past its queue and onto the park’s famed midway.
Overall, attendance at U.S. amusement and theme parks was up 5.9 percent reaching 146.2 million.
The report also looked at attendance of water parks and museums.
Ohio did not have any museums reach the Top 20 nationally, but did have one water park make the list.
The Columbus Zoo’s Zoombezi Bay, adjacent to the zoo at a former Six Flags park site, was No. 17 on the list of the nation’s most visited water parks. The park had 423,000 visitors in 2015 — up 1.7 percent.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547. Visit his Airtime blog on Ohio’s amusement parks on Ohio.com.
