Zoo officials say 882,194 people visited the zoo in 2013. About 90,000 of those visitors went to the zoo after the penguin exhibit opened in October.

The Kansas City Star reports the zoo had hoped to attract 835,000 people last year. Attendance in 2012 was 824,218.

Zoo attendance peaked at 714,367 in 1998, then declined before rebounding and has been rising steadily since 2006. Zoo officials are hoping to meet the 1 million visitors mark by 2016.