The world’s 25 most visited theme parks drew nearly 246 million visits in 2024, up 2.4%, with Magic Kingdom alone at roughly 17.8 million. Growth has split by geography: mature markets in the US, Japan, and western Europe were flat to modest while internationally branded parks in China set records. Disney’s own quarterly filings, which are far more current than the industry index, show Experiences revenue hitting a record $10 billion in the June 2026 quarter. The figures below come from the TEA Global Experience Index and Disney’s fiscal 2026 earnings releases.
TL;DR
- Top 25 parks drew nearly 246 million visits in 2024, up 2.4% (TEA)
- Magic Kingdom led at roughly 17.8 million, up 0.7% (TEA)
- Disneyland Park ranked second, Universal Studios Japan third (TEA)
- Disney’s domestic parks totaled 76.5 million visits, up 0.6% (TEA)
- Florida’s six tracked parks drew 61.8 million (TEA)
- China’s six tracked parks drew 51.8 million (TEA)
- Japan’s three tracked parks drew 43.5 million (TEA)
- Disney Experiences hit a record $10 billion in fiscal Q3 2026 (Disney)
- That was up 10% year over year (Disney)
- Domestic attendance rose 3% and per-cap spending 4% (Disney)
- Fiscal Q2 saw domestic visitation fall 1% while revenue rose 7% (Disney)
- Fiscal Q1 operating income reached $3.3 billion (Disney)
- Top water parks grew under 1% (TEA)
- 14 of the top 20 museums are now in China (TEA)
1. The Global Top 25 and Who Is In It
Attendance recovered to a growth pattern that looks ordinary rather than dramatic. The top 25 parks reached nearly 246 million visits in 2024, a 2.4% increase, with Magic Kingdom at roughly 17.8 million.
The ranking is more stable than the numbers. Disney holds six of the top ten slots, Universal Studios Japan is the highest-placed non-Disney park at third, and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is the only Chinese-owned entry near the top. Note the unit: these are visits, not visitors, so a guest doing four parks in one Orlando trip appears four times.
| Rank | Park | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Kingdom (roughly 17.8 million) | TEA |
| 2 | Disneyland Park, California | TEA |
| 3 | Universal Studios Japan | TEA |
| 4 | Tokyo Disneyland | TEA |
| 5 | Shanghai Disneyland | TEA |
| 6 | Chimelong Ocean Kingdom | TEA |
| 7 | Tokyo DisneySea | TEA |
| 8 | EPCOT | TEA |
| 9 | Disney’s Hollywood Studios | TEA |
| 10 | Disneyland Park, Paris | TEA |
Source: Attractions Magazine on the 2024 TEA attendance report.
2. The Business Is Four Clusters, Not One Market
Grouping by country shows how concentrated the industry is geographically. Florida’s six tracked parks drew 61.8 million visits and China’s six drew 51.8 million — two clusters that between them account for nearly half of the tracked worldwide total of around 250 million.
The growth signal differs sharply by cluster. Mature markets posted flat to modest changes while internationally branded parks in China registered record years, which is why China’s total now sits within striking distance of Florida’s despite a much shorter history.
| Cluster | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Florida (6 parks) | 61.8 million | TEA |
| China (6 parks) | 51.8 million | TEA |
| Japan (3 parks) | 43.5 million | TEA |
| California (3 parks) | 36.1 million | TEA |
| Disney domestic total | 76.5 million | TEA |
| Disney domestic change | up 0.6% | TEA |
| Tracked worldwide | approx. 250 million | TEA |
Source: Attractions Magazine on the 2024 TEA attendance report.
3. Disney’s Filings Are Two Years Fresher Than the Index
The industry index runs about a year behind; SEC-filed earnings do not. Disney Experiences reported record revenue of $10 billion in the quarter ended June 27, 2026, up 10%.
The segment has now set records in two of three fiscal 2026 quarters reported so far. The reason to weight these differently from the attendance index is disclosure quality: revenue and operating income are audited financial statements, while per-park attendance is estimated by third parties.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Q3 2026 revenue | $10 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 revenue change | up 10% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 2026 revenue | $9.5 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 revenue change | up 7% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 operating income | $2.6 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 operating income change | up 5% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q1 2026 revenue | $10.0 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q1 operating income | $3.3 billion | Disney |
Source: The Walt Disney Company, fiscal 2026 first quarter results.
4. Pricing Carried One Quarter, Attendance Carried the Next
The clearest read on park economics comes from comparing two consecutive quarters. In fiscal Q2 2026 domestic visitation fell 1% while domestic park revenue rose 7%; by fiscal Q3, domestic attendance was up 3% with per-guest spending up 4%.
A quarter where revenue climbs on falling attendance is a pricing quarter, and it is the shape that draws accusations of squeezing the existing audience. The following quarter is the healthier version, with volume and spend rising together. Both patterns can appear inside a single year, which is why single-quarter narratives about park pricing tend to age badly.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Q2 domestic visitation | down 1% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 global guest attendance | up 2% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 domestic parks revenue | $6.91 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 international parks revenue | $1.75 billion | Disney |
| Both, change year over year | up 7% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 global guest growth | up 4% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 domestic attendance | up 3% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 per-guest spending | up 4% | Disney |
The same pricing-versus-volume tension shows up across box office and Disney+ subscriber economics.
Source: CNBC on Disney’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings.
5. Water Parks Flat, Museums Reordered
The two adjacent categories in the same index moved very differently. Top water parks collectively grew under 1%, while China now holds 14 of the 20 most visited museums.
Water park results are dominated by weather and local tourism rather than by anything strategic, which is why the category’s aggregate barely moves while individual parks swing widely. The museum shift is structural: the Palace Museum in Beijing leads a chart the Louvre used to top.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top water park growth | under 1% | TEA |
| Top water park | Chimelong Water Park, Guangzhou | TEA |
| Second | Aquaventure World Dubai | TEA |
| Third | Therme Erding, Germany | TEA |
| Chinese museums in top 20 | 14 | TEA |
| Most visited museum | Palace Museum, Beijing | TEA |
Source: Blooloop on the TEA Global Experience Index.
6. What These Attendance Numbers Actually Are
This is the caveat that belongs at the top of every theme park article and usually is not there. Disney and Universal do not publish per-park attendance, so every individual park figure in the industry index is an estimate.
The index is built from research, operator interviews, financial disclosures, and modeling. That makes the rankings and the direction of travel dependable, while individual numbers carry error bars nobody publishes — the same disclosure gap that makes streaming subscriber counts hard to compare across services. It also explains the small discrepancies between outlets reporting Magic Kingdom at 17.7, 17.8, or 17.84 million: they are rounding the same estimate.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Operators publishing per-park attendance | none of the majors | TEA |
| Magic Kingdom figure, as reported variously | 17.7 to 17.84 million | TEA |
| Index publication lag | roughly 10 months | Derived |
| 2024 index release date | October 2025 | TEA |
| Disney financial disclosure frequency | quarterly, SEC-filed | Disney |
Source: Themed Entertainment Association, 2024 Global Experience Index release.
Summary: Theme Parks by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top 25 parks combined | nearly 246 million | TEA |
| Change year over year | up 2.4% | TEA |
| Magic Kingdom | approx. 17.8 million | TEA |
| Magic Kingdom change | up 0.7% | TEA |
| Disney domestic parks | 76.5 million | TEA |
| Disney domestic change | up 0.6% | TEA |
| Florida cluster | 61.8 million | TEA |
| China cluster | 51.8 million | TEA |
| Japan cluster | 43.5 million | TEA |
| California cluster | 36.1 million | TEA |
| Tracked worldwide | approx. 250 million | TEA |
| Disney Experiences, fiscal Q3 2026 | $10 billion | Disney |
| Change year over year | up 10% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 revenue | $9.5 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 operating income | $2.6 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q1 revenue | $10.0 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q1 operating income | $3.3 billion | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 domestic attendance | up 3% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q3 per-guest spending | up 4% | Disney |
| Fiscal Q2 domestic visitation | down 1% | Disney |
| Water park growth | under 1% | TEA |
| Chinese museums in global top 20 | 14 | TEA |
Methodology and Sources
- Attendance figures, rankings, regional clusters, water park and museum data come from the TEA Global Experience Index covering 2024, produced by the Themed Entertainment Association with AECOM and released in October 2025 (TEA release, AECOM Theme Index archive).
- Individual park and cluster figures were read from trade coverage of the same report (Attractions Magazine, Blooloop).
- Disney Experiences revenue, operating income, attendance and per-guest spending come from the company’s fiscal 2026 quarterly releases (fiscal Q1, fiscal Q2 8-K exhibit) and contemporaneous coverage of the fiscal Q3 call (CNBC).
- Data watch: the attendance index is the newest available but covers 2024, roughly a ten-month publication lag, so it is labeled most recent available rather than current. Major operators do not disclose per-park attendance, meaning every individual park number here is a third-party estimate rather than a reported figure; rankings are more reliable than the underlying values, and the 17.7 to 17.84 million spread reported for Magic Kingdom across outlets reflects rounding of one estimate rather than conflicting data. Attendance counts visits, not unique visitors, so multi-park trips are counted multiple times. Disney’s fiscal year ends in late September, so its fiscal Q3 2026 covers the quarter ended June 27, 2026 and does not align with calendar quarters or with the index year. Segment revenue includes cruise, consumer products, and resort operations alongside parks, so it is not a pure attendance proxy. Rows marked as derived are arithmetic on published figures.
- Last updated: August 14, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next major refresh is expected when the TEA Global Experience Index covering 2025 is published.