The numbers are in....

Last week, the Themed Entertainment Association and Economics Research Associates released their Attraction Attendance Report.

If you're interested in the business side of the amusement industry, it's a pretty interesting read. It's also fun to read if you're only interested in why the lines were longer at your favorite park.

There are a couple of interesting items in the report, but one that has my head spinning....

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is #1 in attendance for 2007 with 17,060,000 guests.

Wait a second.... if you divide that by 365 days, that means that the Magic Kingdom averaged 46, 739 guests per day. Is that even possible? I always thought that a crowded day at the park was when 25,000 people were in attendance.

I was also surprised to see Busch Gardens Europe beat out Cedar Point in pure attendance numbers. Although, BGE's attendance did jump 12.5% with the addition of Griffon. But Maverick wasn't too shabby of an addition either.

In the world of waterparks, I was also surprised that Disney's Typhoon Lagoon beat out Blizzard Beach in guest numbers. I suppose it could be because of the addition of Crush N' Gusher, but I always thought that Blizzard Beach was the more popular of the two.

Did anything in the report surprise you? Talk about it in the CoasterRadio.com forums!

Food With A View

About 10 years ago, I didn't stop to smell the roses when I visited a theme park.

I tried to cram in as much fun as possible without stopping to rest or to eat.

Now that I'm getting older, I don't mind taking the time to find some good food and more importantly, a good atmosphere to dine.

For instance, during our trip to Disneyland, Molly and I decided to splurge and eat at the famous Blue Bayou. The restaurant is built in the same show building as Pirates of the Caribbean. Even though you're indoors, it feels like you're eating in an outdoor restaurant at nighttime. One of the best parts about eating there was that we had a perfect view of riders floating by in their boats at the start of Pirates.

If you're a theme park fan, you can't ask for any better entertainment than to watch one of your favorite rides in action while you eat.

At Busch Gardens Europe, guests can eat at the Bistro 205. This full service outdoor restaurant offers a picture perfect view of Griffon's entire layout... including the 205 foot drop. They even experimented with offering an early admission that includes breakfast at Bistro 205 and ERT on Griffon.

Of course, you don't need to spend big bucks and eat at a full service restaurant to have a similar experience. At Hersheypark last year, I grabbed a BBQ sandwich and found a perfect table directly below Stormrunner's Tophat. I must have seen 20 or 30 trains rush by as I enjoyed lunch with friends.

Hopefully this will be a trend. I'm hoping more parks will create restaurants with a view.

What do you think? Join our conversation on this topic in the CoasterRadio.com forum.