Magic Kingdom was again the most visited theme park in the world last year, an attendance report says. Walt Disney World’s original attraction drew 17.84 million guests in 2024, an increase of 0.7% over 2023, according to the TEA Global Experience Index.
Disneyland park in California was second in the worldwide rankings with 17.34 million visitors, an increase of 0.5%.
The other Disney World theme parks also recorded increases. Epcot attendance was up 1.3% to 12.13 million, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios had 10.33 million guests, a 0.3% increase. Those figures put Epcot in the No. 8 position worldwide with Hollywood Studios at No. 9. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is in the 15th slot with 8.8 million visitors, an increase of 0.3%.
The estimate for Magic Kingdom would indicate a daily average of more than 48,800 guests in 2024.
Both of Universal Orlando’s theme parks saw decreases in attendance in 2024, according to the report. Universal Studios Florida had 9.5 million visitors, a dip of 2.6%, edging out Islands of Adventure with 9.45 million guests, a drop of 5.5%. Those parks are 13th and 14th, respectively, on the global list; they held the opposite spots for 2023.
Islands of Adventure visitors splash down on the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride this fall. Attendance at the Universal theme park dropped 5.5% in 2024, according to a recent report. (Dewayne Bevil/Orlando Sentinel)
Epic Universe was not yet in operation during the time period covered by the report.
The biggest gainers on the list were Universal Studios Beijing (8.6% for 9.78 million guests), Shanghai Haichange Ocean Park (10.3% for 4.73 million) and China Dinosaurs Park of Changzhou (25.1% for 5.38 million).
Chimelong Spaceship of Hengqin, China, touted as the world’s largest indoor theme park, recorded an increase of 241.1%, but the attraction only had trial operations in 2023, beginning in mid-September. The index says Spaceship had 4.62 million visitors in 2024, landing it in the No. 25 spot of the global list.
SeaWorld Orlando had 4.35 million visitors in 2024, the report said, a 0.1% increase. That fell short of making the worldwide list, which ranks up to 25 parks. SeaWorld is 11th on the list of U.S. parks attendance.
The biggest domestic gainer was Knott’s Berry Farm in California, which saw a 6.5% attendance increase in ’24, allowing the park to make the top 10 on the U.S. list with 4.5 million visitors.
The complete top 10 worldwide list, counting down from the top, includes Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, Tokyo DIsneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom of China, Tokyo DisneySea, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Paris.
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The TEA Global Experience Index (previously known as the TEA / AECOM Theme Park and Museum Index) is produced by the Themed Entertainment Association with research partners Entertainment + Culture Advisers and the Park Database, as well as Storybook Studios and InPark Magazine. The index is compiled using statistics furnished by the park operators, historical numbers, financial reports, local tourism organizations, national and international attraction associations, mobile location analytics and “professional estimates where necessary,” the report reads.
“This year’s edition reveals a strong and evolving global marketplace, with the COVID recovery period now appearing to have finally stabilized across regions,” Ben Thompson, CEO of Storyland Locations, writes in the report.
“In Europe and the Americas, steady performance prevails, with North America growing more modestly than global averages as operators sharpen their focus on revenue strategies,” Thompson said.
Magic Kingdom has held the top spot in the global rankings for more than 25 years. In 1996, when the report was compiled by the now-defunct Amusement Business trade publication, the list was topped by Tokyo Disneyland, followed by Anaheim’s Disneyland. Magic Kingdom was third.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon water parks have been closed since March. The company says one will reopen in the spring of 2021. (Orlando Sentinel file)
In the 2024 water park figures, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon topped the U.S. list with 1.82 million, a decrease of 4.3% from 2023. Universal’s Volcano Bay was second with 1.65 million visitors, a drop of 8.3%. SeaWorld Orlando’s Aquatica, the third-most visited water park in the country, slipped 0.1% to 1.44 million.
Disney’s Blizzard Beach was down 1.4% to 897,000 visitors, landing in fifth on the list, and Discovery Cove was down 1.9% with 369,000 guests. The SeaWorld day resort was No. 18 on the list.
The world’s top-attended water park in 2024 was Chimelong Water Park in China, recording 2.81 million visitors, an increase of 0.1%. Aquaventure World in the United Arab Emirates rode an 11.1% surge to be No. 2 on the list with its 2 million visitors.
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The index also monitors museum attendance. Five of the six top-visited institutions in 2024 were in China, including the top-ranked Palace Museum of Beijing, which had 17 million visitors, a 17.2% increase. The most-visited U.S. museum was the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with 5.73 million guests in 2024. That made it 12th on the worldwide list.
The full TEA Global Experience Index can be viewed at teaconnect.org.