By Priya Raman

The world’s 25 busiest theme parks lost ground in 2025 even as global attendance rose 2.8% to 545.5 million, according to Attractions Magazine and KTLA. Growth came from outside the top tier: scale now signals less than direction.

Disney has reason to watch: its experiences division generates nearly 60% of operating income, according to CNBC, and U.S. park guests spent 5% more per person in the latest quarter. Disney said: “Current demand at our domestic parks and resorts is healthy. However, we are mindful of the macroeconomic uncertainty consumers are facing today.”

Themed Entertainment Association CEO Melissa Ruminot said older markets held up and multi-attraction destinations matter more. ThrillZing’s estimates show repeat local audiences and differentiated attractions can protect scale, but growth now sits mostly outside the crowded top.

Which parks gained or lost ground?

• Magic Kingdom — 17.8 million, down 0.2%: Still No. 1, but all four Walt Disney World parks fell about 0.2%. Orlando’s biggest parks combined rose 4.3% after Epic Universe opened May 22, 2025.
• Disneyland Park, Anaheim — 17.41 million, up 0.4%: Only 394,000 visits behind Magic Kingdom on effectively flat growth. Attendance at Disney’s U.S. parks fell in the quarter ended March 28, 2026, partly on fewer international guests; the company expects improvement next quarter.
• Universal Studios Japan — 16.04 million, up 0.2%: Third as a lone park, not a resort. A Minion Park expansion barely moved attendance; Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World and a daily 6:30 p.m. Glow Up Street performance sustained local repeat visits.
• Tokyo Disneyland — 15.2 million, up 0.6%: Fourth, comfortably ahead. Tokyo Disney Resort’s two parks let visitors split trips. Urayasu is 20 minutes from Tokyo Station and 50 from Haneda Airport; Japan-only merchandise adds another reason to return.
• Shanghai Disneyland — 14.99 million, up 2.0%: Remained fifth, but growth slowed from 5% in 2024. Lin Huanjie of China’s Institute for Theme Park Studies told CNBC: “Young people in China today are not refusing to consume. Rather, they care more about ‘value for money.’” Its licensed or joint-venture model carries Disney’s brand, supporting Disney’s planned Abu Dhabi park.
• Chimelong Ocean Kingdom — 12.67 million, up 0.3%: Sixth without a Disney or Universal name, it retained scale but barely grew and held only about 70,000 visits over Tokyo DisneySea.
• Tokyo DisneySea — 12.60 million, up 1.3%: Seventh and closing on Chimelong. Its eight themed ports differentiate it from neighboring Tokyo Disneyland, while faster growth leaves their next ranking order open.
• Epcot — 12.11 million, down 0.2%: Eighth despite sharing Walt Disney World with three other parks. Its change matched Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, pointing to a flat resort rather than park-specific weakness.
• Disneyland Park, Paris — 10.80 million, up 5.7%: Ninth after one of 2025’s strongest gains, achieved before World of Frozen opened in the resort’s second park. Disney’s €2 billion ($2.18 billion) resort investment could extend stays or divert days from the original park.
• Paris resort stakes: President Emmanuel Macron described it as Europe’s leading tourist destination; since 1992, it has accounted for 6.1% of France’s tourism revenue, according to figures reported by The Associated Press. French officials treat the two parks as one economic ecosystem.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios — 10.31 million, down 0.2%: Tenth, and barely ahead of Disney California Adventure. It retained its place without gaining ground, leaving a top-10 position exposed to faster growth below.
• Disney California Adventure — 10.09 million, up 0.4%: Eleventh, and effectively flat. Cars Land and Pixar Pier’s Incredicoaster and Ferris wheel drew crowds; on-site hotels encourage both-gate visits. Demand depends on multi-day stays and how guests divide them with Disneyland.
• Universal Studios Beijing — 9.80 million, up 0.3%: Twelfth, with a dependable base near 10 million visits but no meaningful acceleration.
• Universal Studios Florida — 9.30 million, down 2.1%: Thirteenth after Epic Universe opened next door on May 22, 2025. Epic drew about 4 million in a partial year, and packages include one day there. Theme Park Insider creator Robert Niles said Nintendo appealed to boys and girls alike; the older park still lost ground.
• Universal Islands of Adventure — 9.20 million, down 2.6%: Fourteenth. Both established Orlando Universal parks declined as Epic gave guests a third choice, making internal competition the likelier pressure than park-specific weakness.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom — 8.78 million, down 0.2%: Fifteenth and still enormous, but mature: attendance merely held, with no meaningful gain or loss.
• Universal Studios Hollywood — 8 million, down 8%: Sixteenth after losing roughly 700,000 visits. KTLA cited Los Angeles wildfires, weaker Canadian travel and extreme weather for North America’s decline; nearby Knott’s Berry Farm fell 4.2%, while both Anaheim Disney parks grew, suggesting a park-specific factor too.
• Hong Kong Disneyland — 7.70 million, down 3.0%: Seventeenth. The Disney name preserved a top-20 crowd but could not prevent a smaller one.
• Europa-Park — 6.25 million, up 0.8%: Eighteenth, proving a German independent can reach global scale without Disney or Universal. Flat growth protects its place only while smaller rivals stay slower.
• Disney Adventure World — 5.92 million, up 5.7%: Nineteenth. The 2025 count covers the former Walt Disney Studios Park, open since 2002 and renamed and reopened with new land March 29, 2026. Its gains may enlarge Disneyland Paris or shift days from the first park.
• Efteling — 5.78 million, up 3.2%: Twentieth, and still gaining without Disney or Universal. Its own appeal is producing growth that strengthens its position rather than merely preserving it.

What does the split mean?

Disney can extract more from each guest, but not indefinitely. Repeat locals, value, new attractions and incremental demand determine whether sister parks expand a resort or divide it.

Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services, expects Universal’s expansion to erode Disney’s lead. Epic did not lift Universal’s older Orlando parks; Disney still leads across Asia, Europe and the U.S.