Disney continued to lead the global theme park industry in attendance in 2023, as recovery in China helped boost the world's top 25 parks to a more than 20% increase in visitors last year.
Those numbers come from the 2023 Theme Index Report, released today by the AECOM, Themed Entertainment Association, and Storyland Studios.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom continued as the world's most-visited theme park last year, drawing a reported 17.7 million visitors. Disneyland in California trailed by less than half a million visitors, with Universal Studios Japan in Osaka coming in third, with 16 million visitors in 2023.
Overall, Disney Experiences theme parks welcomed a reported 142 million visitors last year, with China's Fantawild Group second, drawing more than 85 million attendance. Merlin took third on the list, with 62 million visitors, just beating Universal's 60 million.
Cedar Fair and Six Flags drew a reported 26.7 million and 22.2 million visitors in 2023, respectively, which when combined would have put the company in fifth place worldwide.
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom saw the biggest percentage gain last year, with an 184.5% increase in visitors over 2022, as China eased Covid restrictions. Other Chinese parks also saw huge attendance gains in 2023, with Shanghai Disneyland up 164%, Universal Studios Beijing up 109% and Zigong Fantawild Dino Kingdom and Mianyang Fantawild Oriental Heritage joining the global top 25 with 178% and 77% increases, respectively.
This was the first year that the TEA/AECOM report officially reordered its rankings since the pandemic, with Universal Studios Beijing (which opened in 2021) also making its first appearance in the global top 25.
Elsewhere, a theme park in the Middle East appeared on the TEA/AECOM attendance lists for the first time this year, with Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi making the top 20 list in the EMEA [Europe, Middle East, Africa] region. TEA/AECOM reported the Yas Island theme park drawing 1.75 million visitors in 2023, which also saw the resort open its SeaWorld Abu Dhabi park in May.
In North America, Walt Disney World's EPCOT enjoyed the biggest attendance boost in 2023, up 19.8% to a reported 11.98 million visitors. Last year was the first full year of operation for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the park's first roller coaster.
On the flip side, Canada's Wonderland was down 14.2% last year. In the United States, the Universal Orlando theme parks - Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida - each dropped 9.3%. Those parks had enjoyed a big 2022 thanks to the 2021 debut of Jurassic World VelociCoaster.
Here is the North America top 20 for attendance in 2023, according to the TEA/AECOM Theme Index report:
Overall, while attendance among America's most popular theme parks was up 3.2% over 2022, it remained 15 million visitors below what the top 20 parks drew in 2019, before the pandemic. Worldwide, attendance among the top 25 parks was up 23% last year to 244.6 million visitors. But that still remains below the 253.86 million that the top 25 parks drew in 2019.
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Holy attendance boost Epcot!
I guess that Moana walkthrough was a gatecrasher after all… ;)
Epic is not as far from the other parks as you think. At first glance of a map, I thought the Endless Summer Resorts were really far from the parks, but it's really not that far, and buses make the trip in less than 10 minutes. Epic Universe is about the same distance from Endless Summer as those resorts are from the legacy parks, so I would anticipate a 15-20 minute bus ride between CityWalk and Epic. It's been rumored that Universal will have some control of traffic signals to expedite buses between the parks and resorts. When you consider most bus trips between resorts and parks at WDW are in that same 15-20 minute range, Epic doesn't really change the calculus or really impact the ability of guests to park hop once Universal pulls back the rumored admission restrictions on Epic Universe - for the first year, it sounds like guests won't be able to hop in and/or out of Epic Universe, so its proximity to IOA, USF, and VB are pretty irrelevant.
What Disney has done to DAK is borderline criminal by not allowing to be open much after sunset (if at all). PtWoA was explicitly designed to be a completely different experience at night, but given that the park has gone back to its 00's-era schedule of closing at 6-8 PM, very few guests get to enjoy that experience anymore. I would hope that the Tropical Americas expansion will given Disney a reason to keep this park open later, because many guests have no idea what they're missing out on, because DAK is an amazing park just to walk around at night.
I'll wait for TH's astute analysis before providing any comments on the data here, because I'm sure he will correctly point out the flawed methods and consistent inaccuracies that are found in these annual reports.
Park hopping in Walt Disney World can be a challenge, and that’s even with the extensive free Disney transportation and the luxury of having all parks within Disney roads and property.
Epic is located on one of Orlando’s most annoyingly busy public roads that will be shared with all other drivers - causing even more congestion and headaches.
Has there been much concrete news announced with how Universal intends to handle this?
Well, they did announce Metro-Floo. /s
Park hopping is not going to be a thing between legacy parks and epic universe. I did in a Day at Disney i idid Animal Kingdom>Magic Kingdom>Holywood Studios>Typhoon Lagoon>Aquatica>Sea World>Hollywood Studios. I could go to every park with a short walk from each parking lot except for Magic Kingdom which doesnt have a parking lotUniversals Achilles heel is those big dumb parking garages. If i go to Universal/IOA i have to commute from the lots to the park. Then from park to park. Then i go to their bus shelter and ride a bus through whatever the city of Orlando has going with some America's finest in the mix. Disneys posted ride times of 10 or whatever minutes will be exact. Epic to Universal is going to be 15 minutes to 45 minutes... with average joes thinking they can catch this citybus looking bus. Then i do Epic Universe then i ride back to the bus shelter and then navigate a parking garage. A 3 park hopper where someone "enjoys" all the parks is impossible.
The Kirkman Rd expansion will have dedicated bus lanes and pedestrian walk ways from Epic to its resorts and other Universal parks, alleviating most traffic concerns.
I heard, perhaps here, that in order to visit Epic Universe, having ticketed days at the original UO parks would be necessary/priority. That will certainly help those parks' attendance if it is true.
As far as I can tell, the dedicated bus lanes to Epic will start at Carrier. That’s a couple of miles from the UOR, down what is always a very busy Kirkman road.
…… and I’m guessing, the buses will be for UOR resort guests only?? Surely they can’t be thinking of a Volcano Bay scenario with Epic, especially as the new park has its own dedicated parking areas.
I can’t think of a worse position in the Orlando area, than the one Epic is built on. Sand Lake is as busy as Kirkman most days, and Universal is always a problem, especially when the convention center is holding its regular volleyball/band/cheerleading tournaments.
Time will tell, but we’ve had a lot of nightmare openings over the past few years, but this is going to make the Harry Potter opening madness, looking like the proverbial walk in the park.
I never even considered that these buses would be for resort guests only. Disney is so separated from actual society that anybody riding a Disney Bus is there for Disney so you don't have to be staying on property. Now Universal is going to have to screen each guest for tickets.
If I'm driving in my own car my boots on the ground time from finishing Hagrid's to being in line for Ministry of Magic is going to be nearly 2.5 hours. So my lightning lane tickets I bought for 130pm are now null and void because of a terrible commute. I want a refund?
I did notice on a map that Universal Blvd runs all the way to Epic Universe. Is that a private road right now? Can common citizens drive in the lanes? Purchasable express lane tickets. They should honestly pony up for a light rail line between Universal and purchase land for surface parking on the extent of the line between Epic and Universal (The Jaws Lot, Kong lot). You could have 6 stops along the way which will make a 20 minute manageable trip with little deviation in times. Your light rail can run 24/7 making Universal feel like more of a resort/Vegas/Disney.. you can't compete with Disney at being Disney.
A light rail is actually cooler than a monorail because the ability to hop on and off for Drinks at Night at a concert is good if they have a circuit at City Walk and a Circuit going to Epic. That will solve their future goofy parking deck problem (seems to be their solution for everything) over the next 20 years. They really to relocate their parking off Universal proper and demolish their parking decks for a potential 4th gate. The parking decks have to go!!
To think, Animal Kingdom was at one point the second-biggest draw in Orlando thanks to Pandora and Rivers of Light. Now look at it, slipping to last place amongst the Disney & Universal parks. Tropical Americas may help, but until they get a night show and extend hours again, it's never going to draw people after lunchtime.
Speaking of Universal Orlando, someone in management better be raising the red flags. If the parks dropped a million guests each in 2023 and (by Universal's own admission) continued to slip this year, they have to get moving stat on some real headliners for the existing parks.
I'm holding off on visiting Universal until they announce their season pass options. For me the difference between a $1500 trip with one time visit and $2000 for the potential 2 or 3 more visits with a season pass is worth waiting for. So me and everybody else is doing the waiting game. If they announced pricing today. I could buy my tickets now and really plan on just getting in the park soon after opening where if I just ride a ride or 2 I'm okay. Then I go back a couple of months later to tackle the whole thing.
@puckpilgrim: you mentioned a potential “lightning lane” purchase for the Ministry ride at EU. Do you know something we don’t know?
i have a receipt for it and everything. Now that i look at it. This ticket must be a fraud why would the lightning lane ticket ticket have the word universe written twice. Says right here, "Universals Epic Universe". Ive been had.
There are some good points in this discussion, but let's get this straight, park hopping in and/or out of Epic Universe isn't happening for the first year that it's open because Universal isn't going to allow it from an administrative perspective. So the only transportation considerations that guests will need to worry about are getting to Epic from the current resorts (both Endless Summer resorts and the legacy UO resorts adjacent to the current parks - Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, Adventura, Sapphire Falls, and Cabana Bay) and to the legacy property (IOA/USF/City Walk) from the new resorts and Epic. Certainly there are going to be some growing pains for the first few weeks the new park opens as Universal figures out how many onsite guests will be traveling to Epic from the legacy resorts and making sure enough buses are running to meet the demand. However, the Terra Luna and Stella Nova resorts will be open months ahead of Epic opening, so Universal will have that time to figure out routes and demand for transit between the legacy properties and the new resorts without the pressure of a brand new theme park to service.
However, I do think what Universal is rumored to do in terms of admissions and crowd controls within the new park is going to require a massive adjustment in the way people plan and visit Epic Universe. First, it's imminently clear that Universal is going to leverage the interest in the new park to generate turnstile clicks for its legacy parks. Universal is going to more or less blackmail guests to visit IOA and USF whether they like it or not. Personally, I think it's pretty lame and shrewd that they're going going to essentially DRAG guests kicking and screaming into IOA and USF if they want to spend a day in Epic instead of organically drawing guests to the legacy parks through continuous improvement and new attractions (which as TH is oft to point out they did when IOA opened by building MIB at USF to open just ahead of IOA so the new park wouldn't cannibalize attendance at the original park). Ultimately, Universal is clearly going to take this approach, most likely because of effects from the Pandemic that not only stretched out the construction timeline for the new park, but almost certainly caused budgets to balloon and likely took away potential funding for attractions at the legacy parks.
The other aspect of Epic Universe that is being overlooked here is the way guests are going to be forced to visit the new park. Based on everything that's been rumored and officially detailed, guests are not going to be able to simply walk into Epic Universe and stroll around between the different portals at will. There is going to be some sort of reservation system not only for the park itself (dated entry tickets), but also for each individual portal (virtual queue) as Universal has done with SNW at USH. From the sounds of it, guests are probably not going to be able to visit all four portals (and Celestial Park) in a single day, and almost certainly won't be able to experience all of the major attractions without making multiple visits. Whether guests accept and conform to this very different way that they will be forced to tour Epic is the big question for this new park.
However, an even bigger question is whether all of these mechanisms and rules for Epic Universe will soften demand for the new park. It's happened at other parks before (most notably Hard Rock Park, which dramatically overestimated demand for the park in Myrtle Beach and overpriced admission and parking because of that overestimated demand).
With a series of new rules, restrictions, and requirements that guests are not familiar with, it may frustrate people so much that the new park doesn't come close to its expectations, and ultimately backfires on Universal's attempt to leverage the shiny new toy to boost the attendance and revenue generated by the legacy parks. Ultimately, I think Universal will be nimble enough to keep this from happening, but it's definitely something the industry as a whole will be watching and taking notes to potentially take lessons learned from this opening for future additions and park changes around the world. Epic is going to be a grand experiment on the limits of how a theme park is operated and managed, and there will inevitably be hits and misses.
Reporting from 'TH-Astute Analysis & Associates' (A subsidiary of 'Disney Shills Inc.' -- All Rights Reserved).
The release of the annual TEA/AECOM report is second only to Christmas on my list of calendar highlights. After that comes our wedding anniversary and the birthdays of select family members ... sometimes.
And as RM points out my consistent (beyond the point of being annoying) concerns about the report have been threefold:
1. Many of the stats presented in the report are the product of estimates and not numbers provided by the park operators (i.e.: Disney and Universal). Readers of the report are asked to accept the numbers -- despite the fact that TEA/AECOM does not breakdown their methods ("show their math") to illustrate how they come their conclusions.
2.The Themed Entertainment Association is a professional organization whose purpose is to advance the theme park industry. Thus, it seems reasonable to consider the possibility (probability) that biases (perhaps in the form of inflated park numbers) may have crept into the process used to add up the stats.
3. The report will play as gospel in the media -- "Just you wait, just you wait" (Please note that last part was a reference to the musical 'Hamilton' -- Broadway's answer to Disney's ' Flight of Passage' ... It's a long story). Soon you can expect articles referencing the report -- presenting it as the definitive statistical analysis regarding theme park attendance. And the spin will be "Disney still on top, but Epic Universe is waiting in the wings". Count on it! The second line from the non-park media will be along the lines of "Disney saw the writing on the wall" (some articles will use the word "panic") "and responded by announcing several new attractions at D23". Those reports will not qualify their analysis by advising readers that the published numbers are just estimates.
Having said all of that, something happened earlier this year that didn't grab much attention -- and when I assert that it "didn't grab much attention", I meant I was the only one who seemed to notice. At the Walt Disney Company's shareholder meeting, when discussing the dustup between the company and Governor Ron DeSantis, CEO Robert Iger said (out loud) that Walt Disney World welcomes "50 million" guests every year.
That dovetails nicely with the TEA/AECOM estimates that total up to around 48 million people hitting the Disney parks.
Mr. Iger's comments are especially intriguing because they were an off-the-cuff remark and not part of a written statement. Additionally, his revelation broke away from the company's standard line of "we don't release attendance statistics". Thus, to a degree, Mr. Iger's comment gives a bit of credibility to the analysis about 2023.
Either that or TEA/AECOM just got lucky.
Anyway ... um ... Yay theme parks!
Incidentally, if you believe the TEA/AECOM stats, it's crazy to realize that, on the average, the Walt Disney World parks welcome more than 130,000 guests every day.
I mean, holy guacamole!
@TH - Those numbers definitely justify the D23 announcements to open entirely new lands (Monsters Inc, Cars, Villains, and Tropical Americas) instead of just singular attractions that were the most recent trends with GotG:CR, Moana, and Tron that don't actually spread crowds out (aside from adding capacity of guests standing in queues). It also makes you wonder what Disney plans to do if the parks continue to increase their draw beyond pre-Pandemic highs and how to minimize the backlash and frustration from guests having to deal with LL. Disney needs to control its growth so they can avoid the swings that Universal is dealing with (significant drop followed by what is expected to be a pretty big increase following Epic). Will Disney continue to use pricing controls to manage growth, artificially manage crowds with various tools like reservations and other limiters, and/or leverage negative impressions to soften demand because guests grow frustrated with ever-increasing crowds and lines?
It will definitely be an interesting few years in Orlando, not only because of Epic.
From what I understand the TEA/AECOM annual report is generally regarded as being "directionally" correct. That is to say the actual precision in their estimates may vary compared to the actual number held close to the chest by the major players, but the actual rankings and positioning of a park relative to the others are generally sound.
For example, maybe Hollywood Studios really had 10.6 million visitors rather than 10.3, but it's still in the #4 spot.
I agree with TH in that I wish they would share more of their methodology and assumptions. Their methodology section hints that most of their estimates are econometrics based, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it may bias some of their estimates in a certain way if they are comparing against real numbers received from only specific operators.
I personally wish they would add a margin of error [similar to political polls] to actually quantify their uncertainty. Depending on the size of the confidence bands it's possible Magic Kingdom & Disneyland did not have significantly different attendance in 2023 -- and that's valuable information to know!
One other thing, based on the current edition's publishing date, we won't know the TEA/AECOM measurement related to the impact of Epic Universe's first full year of operations (2026) until (Gulp!) August 2027.
And by that time, some the the D23 concepts (attractions) could very well have announced opening dates.
In the age of quality POVs for rides and the pick and choose the angle i want (positive or negative) nature of the choose your own adventure that is the internet (hint: ill be choosing negative) they better deliver on single day tickets even if its like 6am shoe drops.
I never need to set foot in IOA or US again. Those parks are played out to me and sizable chunk of epic universe's market.
Anybody that does Universal is already theme park agnostic. Ive never done a Disney only trip (Disney people do)? Or seaworld/bg trip. Im damn sure not going to do a Universal only trip. I can see maybe saying resort guests get exclusice Epic Universe single day access with excess availability going to multipark pass purchases. But if i come to Orlando and stay1 night on property I WANT A SINGLE DAY ticket.
The way this could go is pretty bad (think xbox one forcing Kinect and drm debacle). If they require a 3 park pass will i have to actually "earn" my day at epic (im reluctantly willing to buy and not attend the other 2 parks and eat the cost) by actually badging into us or ioa.... or even worse needing to remain for a certain amount of time in a park or the old disney cant park until 1pm bs. Then they can kick rocks for the rest of my life. I dont need a soon to be copied, if quality, ride experience in a town with 10,000 things to do.
Also, i refuse to engage with some gate keeping at the portals. If i cant do a lap in 2 hours and ride 1 or 2 rides and bounce then they will never see my money?
i tolerated virtual queue for tron an guardians because i expect those boring disney parks first offering in decades of cool rides (twilight terror before that.. or galaxys edge for others) to be swamped. But if i cant ride the same ride a dozen times until i puke then thats not a theme park.... thats a crap traveling fair with per ride ticket sales
For what it's worth, for the first time that I can remember, Walt Disney World sent out a press release yesterday to draw reporters' attention to the TEA/AECOM report. So there's now at least that level of official Disney endorsement for these numbers and placements.
Here’s another big story that slipped through the cracks: Blizzard Beach doesn’t even crack the top 20 water parks in North America anymore. The same thing happened in 2022, but that was the result of Typhoon Lagoon reopening for the first time in almost 2 years as well as a park-wide refurbishment that was significantly extended.
But in 2023, there are no valid excuses anymore. Whether it be due to staffing or a lack of desire on Disney’s end to operate both water parks simultaneously, it was only open 4.5 months last year. And it was open at a time where even in sunny Orlando, temperatures often drop low enough to where many people have no desire to do water parks.
Is it possible Disney may eventually give up on this park like River Country and just go all-in on Typhoon Lagoon?
@Trexen: Yes
Regarding Robert Niles' last post about Disney releasing a statement "to draw reporters' attention to the TEA/AECOM report" ... BOOM!
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Universal Orlando is on track for another significant decrease in 2024.
Considering how Epic Universe is a pretty far distance from the other 2 parks, it’ll be interesting to see how the park’s opening will effect the other 2 with the inability to easily park hop or traverse the 2 properties.
Epic will be a hit, but will we see the other 2 parks continue to decline even after opening. Time will tell.
Animal Kingdom’s updates also can’t come soon enough - hopefully Disney will also try to flesh out the entertainment more in the park such as a parade or night time show in the meantime.