Magic Kingdom was the most-visited theme park globally last year, according to an annual attendance report. Walt Disney World’s original park drew 17.8 million visitors last year, down 0.2% from 2024, the report from TEA Global Experience Index says.
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Disneyland Park in California came in second place with 17.4 million visitors in 2025, up 0.4% from the year prior.
Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios ranked eighth and 10th globally, with 12.1 million and 10.31 million visitors, respectively, both down 0.2% year over year. Disney’s Animal Kingdom saw a similar decrease compared with 2024 but still drew 8.78 million visitors last year, landing in 15th place worldwide.
The estimate for Magic Kingdom would indicate a daily average of more than 48,000 guests in 2025.
Universal’s original Florida parks saw a slight dip in attendance in 2025, with Universal Studios down 2.1% to 9.3 million visitors and Islands of Adventure down 2.6% to 9.2 million guests. The parks ranked 13th and 14th on the list, respectively.
Epic Universe welcomed four million visitors from its opening in May of 2025 until the end of the year, the report shows. This placed the park at number 13 on the North American top 20 parks list. When next year’s report comes out, Epic will have a full calendar year of attendance for year-over-year comparison.
Universal Studios Hollywood came in at number 16 on the global list, down 8% to an even eight million visitors in 2025, affected in part by the aftermath of wildfires in Los Angeles.
The complete top 10 worldwide list, from the top down, includes Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, Tokyo Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom of China, Tokyo DisneySea, Epcot, Disneyland Paris and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The only change from 2024 is that Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Paris have traded places.
A total of 245.4 million guests visited the top 25 parks in 2025, essentially the same as 245.9 million in 2024.
“While the theme park attendance is relatively flat around the world, what we’re still seeing is investment into development, which continues to make a big impact. We’re seeing new parks that are rising up,” said Melissa Ruminot, CEO of the Themed Entertainment Association. “Orlando has become the epicenter of theme park development around the world. Other destinations and cities look to Orlando as inspiration and a model of how multiple theme parks can coexist into one mega destination.”
Europe on the rise
The biggest annual gainers in the top 25 list were both of Disneyland Paris’s parks. Disneyland Park came in 9th place with 10.8 million visitors, and Disney Adventure World (formerly Walt Disney Studios Park) came in 19th place with 5.91 million visitors, both at Disneyland Paris and sharing a 5.7% year-over-year increase in attendance. Both of the other European parks on the list — Europa-Park in Germany and Efteling in the Netherlands — posted increases of 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively.
In Asia, China Dinosaurs Park ranked 21st on the list, posting a 4.3% gain to 5.61 million visitors in 2025.
North American movement
SeaWorld Orlando saw 4.33 million visitors in 2025, which kept the park off the top 25 list but ranked 10th among the most popular North American theme parks. Attendance was down 0.3% from 2024.
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., saw the biggest domestic increase in visitors last year, up 8.1% to 3.4 million, ranking 16th on the North American parks list.
Total attendance for the top 20 theme parks in North America in 2025 increased to 143.1 million, up from 141 million in 2024, driven in part by the opening of Epic Universe.
“Even though the seven established Orlando theme parks on our list all dropped slightly in attendance, Epic Universe appears to have created a net increase for Universal and helped generate an overall 4.3% increase in combined attendance for Central Florida’s leading theme parks,” the report states.
Water parks
Four of Orlando’s attractions made the top 20 global water parks list: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon in sixth (1.76 million), Universal Volcano Bay in eighth (1.6 million), Aquatica Orlando in 12th (1.4 million) and Disney’s Blizzard Beach in 13th (1.35 million). Three of the parks dipped by 2-3%, but Blizzard Beach jumped up 50.5% in attendance, welcoming 453,000 more guests in 2025 after closing for refurbishment in the spring and summer of 2024.
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Two waterparks welcomed more than 2 million guests: First-place Chimelong Water Park in China, with 2.56 million guests, and second-place Aquaventure World in Dubai, with 2 million.
Museum report
In the list of the top 20 museums worldwide, China’s galleries took the first three spots, with the first-place Palace Museum welcoming 19 million guests, up 11.8% from 17 million in 2024. France’s famous Musée du Louver placed fourth with 9.05 million guests, and the fifth-place Palace of Versailles welcomed 8.4 million visitors.
Only one American museum made the top 20: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which welcomed 4.5% more guests in 2025, bringing the total to 5.98 million.
Among the top 20 North American museums, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex ranked 13th with 1.55 million visitors, a new addition to the list for 2025.
Top operators
Worldwide, Disney Experiences hosted the most park visitors of any operator with 146.85 million in 2025, up 1.1% from 2024. China-based Fantawild Group came in second place with 85 million guests, followed by Universal Destinations & Experiences with 62.1 million, up 5.4% from 2024 in an Epic-inspired increase.
Merlin Entertainments, which oversees 11 Legoland theme parks worldwide, including Florida’s, came in fourth place with 60.5 million guests. The company also operates Peppa Pig Theme Park Florida, Sea Life Orlando Aquarium, Madame Tussauds Orlando and the Orlando Eye.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation saw 47.4 million visitors in 2025, down 5.8% from 2024. United Parks & Resorts, which manages SeaWorld, Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove, welcomed 21.2 million visitors last year, down 7.6% from 2024.
Family-owned attractions company Herschend, which gained 24 U.S. attractions after acquiring Palace Entertainment last year, joined the list of top operators for the first time at number 10 with 20 million guests. The company also operates Dollywood in a 50/50 partnership with Dolly Parton Productions.
Cruises in the spotlight
For the first time, TEA included cruise data in its annual report, citing figures from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). 37.2 million people sailed on ocean cruises globally in 2025, representing a 7.5% increase compared with 2024.
“Cruise ships are really so much more than just floating vessels. They’re destinations and experiences in and of themselves,” Ruminot said. “Cruise lines now have roller coasters at sea. They have attractions, escape rooms, specialty dining, and themed food and beverage. They have amazing Broadway-level live shows and experiences. We’re seeing everything that you would see at a typical theme park on a cruise ship, and then so much more.”
In noting the growing importance of the cruise industry, TEA reported that Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay welcomes 3.5 million visitors annually, more than the world’s most-attended water park on the list.
The report also said that first-time cruisers represented 31% of passengers in 2025 and roughly one-third of passengers under 40.
CLIA predicts 38.3 million ocean cruise passengers globally in 2026 and 42.1 million in 2029 as cruise lines bring new ships online and expand capacity.
Methodology
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 Storyland Studios, Moongate Design Studio 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 analysis, the report reads.
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.
The full TEA Global Experience Index can be viewed at teaconnect.org.
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