Recession lifts park's spirits.

• Position: Western

They call Ghost Town in the Sky's rollercoaster the Cliff Hanger. That could describe this season for the Maggie Valley amusement park, which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. It planned to open May 22 but was still waiting early in the month to learn whether the town would extend it a $200,000 loan. With $12.3 million in debt and assets of $ 13 million, it's struggling to rebound, betting that affordability and proximity will trump the glitz of Walt Disney World and other behemoths. "We're concerned about the economy," CEO Steve Shiver says. "But regional parks within two or three hours travel time of families and at our price point should have a good year."

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Ghost Town already is on its second life. Built in the heyday of theme parks for $1 million in 1961, it closed in 2002, suffering from poor maintenance, lame marketing and sagging attendance. Ghost Town Partners LLC bought it four years later, spent about $20 million to jazz it up, then got flattened when gasoline soared to $4 a gallon last year. Only 130,000 visitors showed up. At its peak in the '60s and '70s, it attracted as many as 400,000 a year.

Shiver hopes the weak economy will work in the park's favor this...