A Zamp Flyer = 30% Attendance increase at PCW:|

This is very weird and since this is my home park the year TombRaider the Ride was put it the park got JAMMED and has been the same this year. Pcw had the biggest attendance increase over any park for 2004 at 30%. It moved into the top 20 visited theme parks an #16 with 3.4M visitors just barely catching up to PKI's 3.5M putting pcw ahead of EVERY six flags park. Comparing it to its attendance in 2003 it wasn't even in the top 30 and mostly most six flags parks had more attendace then it. I miss those days of the park being dead. The other thing though is the commercials on tv for TR:TR made is seem like such an amazing ride meanwhile it was elitch's flying coaster in our commercial disguised with fake backrounds, fire etc and the dissapointment of pulling into the parkinglot seeing a seafoam grren and yellow coaster that doesn't suit the theme of tombraider at all was a dissapointment i have noo clue what thje park did so good in 2004. IF anyone knows wanna tell me?

info courtesey http://www.coastergrotto.com/theme-park-attendance.jsp *** Edited 9/20/2005 4:51:17 AM UTC by j_o_e_y__***

Paragraphs and such would help.

First off, PCW got an attendance increase, and you're complaining? What do you think is going to pay for that next big new coaster?

In 2004, PCW got IJ:ST, 2 coasters in, what? Two years? They got a big attendance boost. And I've heard nothing but good things about the park, it looks beautiful, has a great selection of flats, family, and thrill rides. A water park, and an interactive indoor coaster.

Plus a couple decent coasters, and just because you don't like the flyer, it is the only one in Canada (or at least was, IIRC), and the GP probably eat it up.

Bad, Bad selfish enthuisiast!

The day I visted PCW (in 2004), the line for TR:TR spilled out of the queue and down the midway.

To say they were eating it up is an understatment. They were devouring it without chewing.

But Gonch, the GP aren't supposed to like it if enthusiasts don't! ;)

I didn't care too much for PCW either.

In the park's defense it was extremely crowded, overcast and muggy with periodic rain showers the day we visited. I'd love to return under better circumstances and get a better read on the vibe.

As it stands I score an 'incomplete' :)

The magical wonders produced by aggressive marketing, the ride being named after a very popular movie/game franchise, and the ride itself being unique to the area. Way to go Paramount.

Times 2. Tomb Raider & Italian Job (thought I don't know if it was necessarily popular in Canaduh).

When you have 'major' (for the area) back to back additions, you get an increase. Well, unless you are Six Flags and your park ops suck.

I had a season pass this past year and almost everytime I went regardless of the day the place was jammed. It actually seems more crowded than last year. Also evertime I've been there the park seems overwhelmed with it all. I think it's a great park but with the season pass deal doing so well the place is really overrun. I had one allright day when it was scattered showers during the day, the others were jam packed.

A couple visits back there was kids very obnoviously jumping turn styles to sneak in at front gate. Then telling the attendant that they forgot to hand stamp them. (PCW stamps you on the way in there for some reason and they check for handstamps at rides) Laughing about it and high fiving their buddies without a care on the world. Folks waiting in line told gate attendants and they just shrugged their shoulders. See lots of stuff like this there now and the vibe in the park is really getting kind of nasty.

Also efficiency is kind of a downer there there for some reason with the ride crews. With the huge crowds it's really horrible especially at Sky Rider.

Since about august you could buy a season pass for $60 and good for rest of '05 and all of '06 season. Park admission will be applied to season pass so essentially for about $15 more over regular admission someone can come back as much as they want for another year.

I'm glad they're doing well after the sars probs but not sure I'll be renewing my pass because it's not so much fun anymore.

The halloween event is exciting but is not included in season pass for some reason as it is in most other parks I've been to. This is their first one. Always noticed a nastier crowd during halloween events at parks as far as line jumping and fights and stuff go. Will be interesting to see how things go at PCW this year for the halloween stuff.

2002 attendance was 2.826 million, which was down 5% from 2001.

-Nate *** Edited 9/20/2005 6:13:26 AM UTC by coasterdude318***

And I still don't see how a major increase is a bad thing like it was pointed out to be in the first post. At least Paramount is smart enough to know what the parks seem to need, and expand accordingly.

I really enjoyed the Zamperla Flyer at Rye Playland, so I imagine with the addition of theming, this would be quite a treat. Of course, this is coming from someone who liked Son of Beast, Viper at Great Adventure, and most Vekoma SLCs. Paramount has the fiercest marketing team in the business.

+Danny

IM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PARK. Its my home park and i love it. Even if it doesn't have B&m's or hypercoasters its a park thats great. Now what i meant was im shocked that PCW's attendance went up 30% instead of most parks +2% or -2%. I dont care that the park is busy, well the lines get really bad but i never once said i hated the park. If anything i love it. If i hated it would i of bought a season pass? I was just wondering why a coaster most people i know (friends who arent coaster crazy), the general public, etc say its very rough brought a 30% increase to the park. I DO NOT HATE PCW. I dont mind Tombraider i kinda like it but seriosuly i don't hate the park so tekno stop making assumptions that i do.

Dude, calm down. I didn't have to 'assume'. You kept using terms like how you wish the park was still dead, and that TR:TR was disappointing (You used that term 2 times), so what else am I supposed to think? That you do want the park crowded and that TR:TR is an awesome ride? You said neither, I didn't have to 'assume'.

If something is disappointing, or if you liked the park when it was dead, then it sounds like you don't want it crowded (and I can't blame you there, but I still wouldn't complain about a business doing more business) and saying something was disapointing makes it sound like you didn't like it very much.

I never said you said you hated it either. That was only you saying that. Saying you wished something was like it was because now it is too crowded and that you were disappointed in TR:TR sounds like a complaint to me.

I went in late June 2003, and I thought it was mad crowded... I can only imagine the crowds during the peek of the 2005 season & the line times for such minimal rides as "The Fly" & "Skyrider". They had a roughly 30 to 45m wait back then...

The park is great, but they definately have to re-think that hand-stamp policy. It makes no sense, especially if you wash your hands or use the waterpark... it can rub off, and from what I remember, it was quite faint when I had to leave the park & come back... plus checking at some rides if you got a stamp just seems unnecessary.
Just go with the flow & do what every other park does!

Too bad the park is now land-locked, so they can't expand out any further to diversify the crowds... but at least they got a lot of room for any additions without any major sacrafice in theming/landscaping.

PCW has surpassed Cedar Point in yearly attendance (mainly because PCW is the only game in town in a GTA of 8 million or so)... and it'll only be a matter of time before they become the premier Paramount park in attendance (based upon what may or may not be new in '06 & '07).

When I was there last in '99 the place was like walking into Geauga Lake last year. No crowds! No lines! Joey, you just have to get over the fact that your once semi-private amusement park is now drawing crowds. It's great for business. The park will stand a better chance at serving the people if they have the $$$ to hire the right people, and also not be understaffed. I say this because when we went in '99 that was one of the first things me and my wife noticed about the park. Peak season and the park was understaffed and the people seemed uncaring about serving the customers. Plus, the biggie that was already mentioned was that if you want new coasters/rides for the future attendance will make that a reality.

I don't know how the cities/provinces work in Canada, but I'm assuming good attendance will help out the park in securing permission/rights for new attractions. A problem GL had in the past, as well as, I'm sure other parks too. A good relationship can be bolstered with a city if that city realizes there is a place in their area that going to bring them always needed revenue.

Yea! lines will get longer, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Rumor has it VF's due for a B&M in a couple years. And we've got a hyper, too.

Trade ya!

Please? Oh, come on. Be a pal!

-'Playa

+Danny,

Don't be fooled by TR:TR at PCW, there is some themeing but only in the queue. If you're thinking along the lines of PKI's TR:TR themeing you are in for a disappointment.

I LOVED PCW! I know others have called it "Pretty Crappy Wonderland" and I don't know why. Sure the park was packed when we went, but the collection of rides (not just coasters) was phenomenal. The wooden coasters can use some loving though, but I was surprised how smooth running Sky Rider was compared to KI's defunct King Cobra.

We didn't get to do the water park, but by the looks of it I could see where they are going to make the changes to it and expand it. I can definitely see why the attendance figures are jumping through the roof on that park. It's gorgeous, well thought out, and has rides for everyone's tastes. Sure they don't have any world-class rides, but they are just fun enough to enjoy the park.

~Rob Willi

I don't care if the park is crowded, i know how to avoid the lines and play the day out smart. Usually heading to medeival fair or Internation Festival First is a good idea just don't go towards the action zone first as the lines can be very long.

Its a good thing the park is crowded and again i never said i didnt like it crowded because its good for business, but wouldn't you all like to walk into your home park to find NO lines? That's how it used to be but since vaughan is expanding and houses are going up all over the place obviously the park is going to get busier.

Personnaly pcw is a very popular park around here because most people from niagara falls even to barrie come to pcw as its the closest park to them. Pcw is fine IMO but what i was saying is its kinda weird the park jus sprung into action and is doing very succesful.

I didn't mean to start a hate thread of pcw i just thought the attendance increase was amazing.

The year Tomb Raider opened at PCW, was accompanied by one of the best marketing campaigns ever created by PCW. Sticking to mostly radio, with 60 second spots, a series of skits was created with a character (Brittany Von Bitsy) who was a reporter for an "Entertainment Tonight" type show. The spots were hilarious. People at work would turn up thier radios just to hear those gags. I think the marketing had way more to do with the jump in attendance than the coaster. The spots ran everyday for the entire season. Also, people would have to ride the coaster to know it was crappy, so it's still a big draw to get people to the park.

Handstamps you ask?
PCW has three admission options. Pay one price passport or season pass gets you admission and unlimited rides. This comes with the handstamp. Deluxe 12 gets you grounds and 12 rides (using tickets). Grounds gets you in with no rides. Stamps are checked at random rides daily to ensure that you have paid to ride them. Ops collect tickets if you don't have a stamp.

Crew Of Excellence
Anyone who has been to PCW this year will have seen coloured flags at various rides throughout the park. These denote winners of the "Crew Of Excellence". Crew of excellence is a program PCW put in place to promote three things: Guest Interaction, Guest Satisfaction and Capacity. Each week the crews are challenged to perform well in these three categories and if selected winners, are awarded cash bonuses. Now you'll hear interactions over the loudspeaker on most rides.
On Shockwave "When I say shock, you say wave"
on The Bat "A little higher, A little higher, a little higher" Not to mention screaming competitions on the smaller flats.
Guest interaction has been like nothing I've ever seen. My last time on Top Gun, there was momentary downtime caused by a stall on the lift. Two of the four crew came out into the queues to talk to us. Made us laugh, calmed everyone down. It was great to see.

Say what you want about PCW's rides. They have had their best year on record. It's a combination of value and fun. They've got it right.