Happy for them. I knew that it was going to be a big year for them attendance wise, and the weather- especially in November and December was as good as I think they've ever had for the Christmas season. So that's great that they set a new record, and by a pretty decent size as well.
It has shown some areas that they need to work on, infrastructure wise, that if they don't have a plan in place then they need to get one and soon in order to keep this up.
The entrance area needs to be redone. It is such a log jam now, both coming and leaving. They've got to find a way to open that up. Whether it's the OMP, the turnstiles, Guest Relations (which needs to be enlarged and staff increased), etc.
They've expanded parking, but it looks like they need to do some more there as well. Including a new employee lot that they will always have available. I felt bad for them on the busy Christmas days because they were really shuffled down the road. But they've got to figure out a way to get cars moving into those lots faster. I had a couple of times where I was stuck sitting on Indian Point road, practically parked there, for 45 minutes to an hour because the cars moving into the lots were log jammed.
And they need more places in the park for people to go. Various things have been mentioned- a new multipurpose fetival hall/ theater; more indoor rides/ attractions that stay open during weather; really they need a new expanded area of the par with things in it- places that can absorb some of the crowds.
I know one sign of the increased crowds is the increased rarity of the "Ma" show on the train, which is a longer show. If they've got a line for the train, they don't do Ma, and it seems like that's the majority of the time now.
These are all good problems to have. Very good problems. But they are ones that you want to address in the near future as opposed to long distance, and do them well. Or it could backfire and you lose the increased crowds because people don't like dealing with the mess that comes with them.