This ranking orders North American theme parks by estimated annual attendance for 2025, the most recent year covered by the TEA Global Experience Index, an annual report from the Themed Entertainment Association compiled with research partners Entertainment + Culture Advisors and The Park Database, presented by Storyland Studios. Attendance is the standard way the industry compares parks, since it reflects total visits rather than size, ride count, or revenue, and this report is one of the few sources that publishes a consistent, year-over-year estimate across nearly every major North American operator.
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World again led North America with about 17.8 million visitors in 2025, edging out Disneyland Park in Anaheim by roughly 400,000. After that the field opens up fast: EPCOT, the next park on the list, drew about 12.1 million, already 5.7 million fewer than Magic Kingdom. Disney holds the top five spots outright, and Universal’s Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios Hollywood fill three more places in the top nine, with Disney’s Animal Kingdom sitting between them at #8. Every park ranked 10th or lower drew under 4.4 million visitors in 2025, and the list’s newest entrant, Universal’s Epic Universe, cracked the top 18 in its first partial year of operation.
The Full Ranking
Figures are 2025 calendar-year attendance estimates published by the TEA Global Experience Index in October 2026; they are modeled estimates, not audited box-office counts, since most operators do not release official attendance. Universal’s Epic Universe, which opened in Orlando in May 2025, appears here for the first time with a partial-year estimate.
| # | Park | Location | 2025 Attendance (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Kingdom | Bay Lake, Florida | 17.8 million |
| 2 | Disneyland Park | Anaheim, California | 17.4 million |
| 3 | EPCOT | Bay Lake, Florida | 12.1 million |
| 4 | Disney’s Hollywood Studios | Bay Lake, Florida | 10.3 million |
| 5 | Disney California Adventure | Anaheim, California | 10.1 million |
| 6 | Universal Studios Florida | Orlando, Florida | 9.3 million |
| 7 | Universal’s Islands of Adventure | Orlando, Florida | 9.2 million |
| 8 | Disney’s Animal Kingdom | Bay Lake, Florida | 8.8 million |
| 9 | Universal Studios Hollywood | Universal City, California | 8.0 million |
| 10 | SeaWorld Orlando | Orlando, Florida | 4.3 million |
| 11 | Knott’s Berry Farm | Buena Park, California | 4.3 million |
| 12 | SeaWorld San Diego | San Diego, California | 4.0 million |
| 13 | Universal Epic Universe | Orlando, Florida | 4.0 million |
| 14 | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | Tampa, Florida | 3.8 million |
| 15 | Cedar Point | Sandusky, Ohio | 3.5 million |
| 16 | Dollywood | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | 3.4 million |
| 17 | Canada’s Wonderland | Vaughan, Ontario | 3.2 million |
| 18 | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio | 3.2 million |
Why Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Stay on Top
Magic Kingdom has held the #1 spot in North America for decades, with Disneyland Park a close but consistent #2, and the 2025 numbers show why the race between them stays tight: both benefit from being the original, most recognizable park in a multi-park resort, which pulls in both first-time visitors and locals on annual passes. Magic Kingdom’s edge comes largely from scale, Walt Disney World packs four theme parks and two water parks onto one property, so multi-day tickets funnel huge numbers through its flagship gate, while Disneyland operates with less land and fewer parks pulling from the same pool of guests.
The bigger story is how steep the drop-off is after the top five. EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and California Adventure sit between 10 and 12 million, roughly 32% to 43% below Magic Kingdom. Universal’s three U.S. parks fill most of the rest of the top nine, Universal Studios Florida at #6, Islands of Adventure at #7, and Universal Studios Hollywood at #9, with Disney’s Animal Kingdom slotted between them at #8; all three Universal parks posted attendance declines in 2025. Every park ranked 10th or lower draws under 4.4 million a year, about a quarter or less of what the leader pulls in.
How the Attendance Figures Work, and Where They’re Disputed
The TEA Global Experience Index compiles its figures from operator disclosures, industry data, and modeling where exact numbers aren’t public, then publishes them as a single annual report covering theme parks, water parks, and museums worldwide. Public companies like Disney, Comcast’s Universal Destinations & Experiences, United Parks & Resorts (parent of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens), and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (which merged with Cedar Fair in 2024 and now owns Knott’s Berry Farm, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Canada’s Wonderland alongside legacy parks like Six Flags Magic Mountain) disclose broad park-segment attendance trends in SEC filings, which the report’s researchers use to calibrate their estimates, but very few individual parks confirm an exact number themselves.
That makes some figures firmer than others. Disney and Universal’s numbers are widely treated as reliable because they track closely with corporate earnings disclosures. Regional and seasonal parks are less certain, since companies like Six Flags do not break out attendance for individual parks in their public filings. Treat every figure in this table as a published estimate rather than an exact headcount.
Notable Entries and What This Means for Planning a Visit
SeaWorld Orlando and Knott’s Berry Farm sit just 20,000 visitors apart at 10th and 11th, a reminder that the mid-table rankings shift narrowly from year to year; SeaWorld San Diego and Universal’s newly opened Epic Universe are nearly as close at 12th and 13th. Epic Universe, which opened in Orlando in May 2025, logged an estimated 4 million visits in its first partial year, helping lift combined Universal Orlando attendance across its three theme parks to about 22.5 million, up from 18.95 million across its two previous parks in 2024. Cedar Point, in Ohio, ranks as the most-visited park on this list located outside Florida or California; Dollywood, in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, trails close behind after an 8.1% attendance gain, the strongest growth of any established park in the top 18. Canada’s Wonderland, outside Toronto, is the only non-U.S. park in the top 18.
For trip planning, the practical takeaway is that attendance correlates closely with crowd density and wait times. The six Disney parks and three Universal parks that make up the top nine will generally have longer lines and require more advance planning (virtual queues, early entry, multi-day tickets) than the parks ranked 10th and below, which tend to be easier to visit without a detailed strategy, even during their own peak season.
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Most Visited Theme Parks in North America FAQs
What is the most visited theme park in North America?
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, with an estimated 17.8 million visitors in 2025 according to the TEA Global Experience Index, published in October 2026 by the Themed Entertainment Association with research partners Entertainment + Culture Advisors and The Park Database, presented by Storyland Studios.
Is Disneyland or Magic Kingdom more visited?
Magic Kingdom draws slightly more visitors, about 17.8 million in 2025 versus Disneyland Park’s roughly 17.4 million. The two parks have held the top two spots in North America for years.
Where does SeaWorld San Diego rank among North American theme parks?
SeaWorld San Diego ranked 12th in North America in 2025 with an estimated 4.0 million visitors, narrowly ahead of Universal’s newly opened Epic Universe and a few spots behind sister park SeaWorld Orlando, which ranked 10th.
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Photo: Tom Arthur / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.