Theme parks bounced back in 2023; here's the most-visited

By Daniel Miller
Published  August 27, 2024 3:27pm EDT
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FILE-A rollercoaster is seen in an amusement park at Universal Studios. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Brief 

    • The most-visited theme park last year was Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
    • An annual report ranked the top theme parks in the world for 2023.
    • Rankings for the theme parks are based on categories like attendance and stats provided by the theme park operators.

Theme parks made a comeback with attendance rising at the outdoor attractions last year, according to a report from AECOM. 

Findings were released in the 2023 edition of TEA and AECOM’s global attraction attendance report.  

The multinational infrastructure consulting firm ranked the top attended theme parks around the world, noting that attendance rose 23% with more than 240 million visitors in 2023 compared to the year before. 

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Theme parks in the U.S. experienced a 3% increase in attendance with venues in the Orlando, Florida area being slightly down, per the report. 

The rankings featured three theme parks in Florida ranked in the top 10 for 2023. 

Top 10 amusement/theme parks in the world

  1. Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
  2. Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California
  3. Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan
  4. Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo, Japan
  5. Shanghai Disneyland in Shanghai, China
  6. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zumai, China
  7. Tokyo DisneySea in Tokyo, Japan
  8. Epcot at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
  9. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris in Marne-La Vallee in France
  10. Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida

How are theme parks ranked?

AECOM ranked the top theme parks in the world in its annual report using data including attendance numbers, statistics provided by the operators, historical numbers, financial reports, and local tourism companies.

The full list of top theme parks globally can be viewed here. 

The Source

  • Information for this story was provided by AECOM, which ranked the top theme parks in the world in its annual report using attendance statistics, data provided by theme park operators, historical numbers, financial reports, and information from local tourism companies.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.