Top 20 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks North America

1. MAGIC KINGDOM at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida………………………………..17,063,000

2. DISNEYLAND, Anaheim, Calfornia………………………………………………………………………………..14,721,00 0

3. EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida…………………………………………………10,935,000

4. DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida………..9,608,000

5. DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida……………….9,540,000

6. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS at Universal Orlando, Florida……………………………………………………….6,231,000

7. SEAWORLD FLORIDA, Orlando, Florida ……………………………………………………………………….5,926,000

8. DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, Anaheim, California……………………………………………5,566,000

9. ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE at Universal Orlando, Florida………………………………………………..5,297,000

10. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, Universal City, California……………………………………..4,583,000

11. BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY, Tampa Bay, Florida………………………………………………………4,410,000

12. SEAWORLD CALIFORNIA, San Diego, California……………………………………………………………4,147,000

13. KNOTT’S BERRY FARM, Buena Park, California……………………………………………………………..3,565,000

14. CANADA’S WONDERLAND, Maple, Ontario………………………………………………………………….3,380,000

15. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio…………………………………………………………………………………….3,198,000

16. Kings Island, Kings Island, Ohio……………………………………………………………………………….3,126,000

17. BUSCH GARDENS EUROPE, Williamsburg, Virginia………………………………………………………3,094,000

18. HERSHEY PARK, Hershey, Pennsylvania……………………………………………………………………….2,842,000

19. SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE, Jackson, New Jersey…………………………………………………..2,761,000

20. SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA, Gurnee, Illinois……………………………………………………………….2,669,000

Top 20 Worldwide Amusement/Theme Parks (2008)

1. MAGIC KINGDOM at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida………………………………..17,063,000

2. DISNEYLAND, Anaheim, California……………………………………………………………………………….14,721,00 0

3. TOKYO DISNEYLAND, Tokyo, Japan…………………………………………………………………………….14,293,000

4. DISNEYLAND PARK AT DISNEYLAND PARIS, Marne-La-Vallee, France………………………..12,688,000

5. TOKYO DISNEY SEA, Tokyo, Japan………………………………………………………………………………12,498,000

6. EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida…………………………………………………10,935,000

7. DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida………..9,608,000

8. DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida………………9,540,000

9. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN, Osaka, Japan…………………………………………………………………8,300,000

10. EVERLAND, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea…………………………………………………………………………6,600,000

11. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Florida………………………………………..6,231,000

12. SEAWORLD FLORIDA, Orlando, Florida……………………………………………………………………….5,926,000

13. DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, Anaheim, California……………………………………………5,566,000

14. ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Florida………………………………….5,297,000

15. OCEAN PARK, Hong Kong SAR……………………………………………………………………………………..5,030,000

16. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, Universal City, California…………………………………….4,583,000

17. YOKOHAMA HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE, Yokohama, Japan……………………………………….4,555,000

18. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND, Hong Kong SAR……………………………………………………………….4,500,000

19. BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY, Tampa Bay, Florida……………………………………………………..4,410,000

20. LOTTE WORLD, Seoul, Korea………………………………………………………………………………………..4,236,000

http://www.teaconnect.org/etea/TEAERA2008.pdf

The majority of the top 11 theme parks in America by attendance are in the Orlando/Kissimmee/Tampa area. Doesn't surprise me one bit.

It is nice to see that in North America, as soon as you get into the realm of "regional" theme parks, that Kings Island is right up there with the best of them. Heck SF Magic Mountain with all of it's rides is in Los Angeles and it doesn't even make the list.

Those parks that number their flags barely made it to the top 20. I hope that have a better strategy this year, although I have not really seen much advertising from any park except HW and KI in the Indy market.

^ You haven't seen any advertisements for SFKK in Indy? They're playing them multiple times per hour here in Cincy.

^ You haven't seen any advertisements for SFKK in Indy? They're playing them multiple times per hour here in Cincy.

I have not, maybe I am not watching the correct channel at the correct time?

We are catching up to Cedar Point it appears, maybe after this year with DB being added we will finally surpass them. Good to see KI making the list. I doubt though we will ever be able to pass the Florida Parks. Those darn year round parks.

As always, these figures are estimates only. Many parks do not release attendance figures. I know from experience that at least some of these figures are wildly inaccurate, some too high, others too low.

I remember some years ago KI having 3.3 mil and was the record for a seasonal park. I remember this was told to us at a KIC meet up.

2007 Numbers

13 KNOTT'S BERRY FARM, Buena Park, CA * 3,630,000 -1.0%

14 CANADA'S WONDERLAND, Maple, ONT* 3,250,000 0.5%

15 BUSCH GARDENS EUROPE, Williamsburg, VA*3,157,000 12.5%

16 Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH* 3,120,000 1.5%

17 Kings Island, Kings Island, OH* 3,050,000 0.0%

2008 Numbers

13. KNOTT’S BERRY FARM, Buena Park, California……………………………………………………………..3,565,000

14. CANADA’S WONDERLAND, Maple, Ontario………………………………………………………………….3,380,000

15. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio…………………………………………………………………………………….3,198,000

16. Kings Island, Kings Island, Ohio……………………………………………………………………………….3,126,000

Interesting comparison from 2007 to 2008 for the Cedar Fair parks. CP and KI overtook BGE and CAW had a 4% jump from the addition of Behemoth. If KI were to see a 4% jump this year because of Diamondback, that is roughly an additional 125,000 more patrons in the park. Just think what that many more people means when you start adding in tickets, parking, in park spending and more. Should be an interesting comparision next year to see attendance and financials to see what really happens and how big of a role the economy plays. Then again this is all just wild speculation.

At first I was surprised to see Knott's so high on the list but then I remembered it was a year-round park. Just think how many people KI and CP would get every year if the weather was nice enough to be open year-round!

We are catching up to Cedar Point it appears, maybe after this year with DB being added we will finally surpass them. Good to see KI making the list. I doubt though we will ever be able to pass the Florida Parks. Those darn year round parks.

If I remember correctly, our attendance was higher than CPs as soon as 2005. I'm too lazy to look it up, someone else will do it anyways.

At first I was surprised to see Knott's so high on the list but then I remembered it was a year-round park. Just think how many people KI and CP would get every year if the weather was nice enough to be open year-round!

The flordia parks will still have more. Everyone(except me) goes on vacation down there and to California. So really, mostly only the locals will go to KI and CP.

We are catching up to Cedar Point it appears, maybe after this year with DB being added we will finally surpass them. Good to see KI making the list. I doubt though we will ever be able to pass the Florida Parks. Those darn year round parks.

If I remember correctly, our attendance was higher than CPs as soon as 2005. I'm too lazy to look it up, someone else will do it anyways.

Yes.

16 Kings Island

Kings Mill, Ohio 3.3m

18 Cedar Point

Sandusky, Ohio 3.1m