Report: Magic Kingdom tops global attendance charts for ’23
Magic Kingdom was the most popular theme park in the world again in 2023, according to a global attendance report released Thursday.
But total gains North America were modest, with two Walt Disney World parks, both Universal Orlando parks and SeaWorld Orlando all having declines from their 2022 figures.
The TEA / AECOM Theme Park and Museum Index froze their rankings for the past three annual reports due to the COVID pandemic and its related closures. But it shared attendance numbers during that period.
“In essence, our 2019 list was a control set that we followed during the recovery period. This year is the right time to return to our normal process of ranking,” wrote Francisco Refuerzo, senior analyst with AECOM Economics.
In 2023, Magic Kingdom had 17.72 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 3.4%. Disneyland of Anaheim California was a close second with 17.25 million, an increase of 2.2%.
Epcot ranked eighth worldwide with 11.98 million guests, an increase of 19.8%. Disney’s Hollywood Studios was 10th with 10.3 million visitors, a decrease of 5.5%.
Islands of Adventure welcomed 10.0 million guests, down 9.3%, and Universal Studios Florida was also down 9.3% for a total of 9.75 million in 2023. They made 11th and 12th, respectively, on the global list.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom had 8.77 million visitors, a drop of 2.8%, to land in the 16th spot.
SeaWorld Orlando had 4.3 million visitors, slipping by 2.5%. It didn’t make the top 20 global list but landed in the No. 10 slot for North America.
“In stark contrast with the rest of the world, attendance at North American theme parks was somewhat stagnant for 2023, showing a collective and modest increase of about 3% from 2022,” Refuerzo wrote. “In other time periods a 3% gain in attendance would be applauded, but North American parks fell short of fully regaining their 2019 pre-pandemic attendance.”
Worldwide, the top 25 parks had an attendance increase of 23% to surpass the 244 million mark.
In the ranking of theme park operators, Disney Experiences was No. 1 with 142.08 million guests, an increase of 17%. It was followed by Fantawild, which had 85.69 million visitors, an increase of 111%.
Merlin Entertainments Group, which operates Legoland Florida and a handful of Orlando attractions, was third with 62.1 million, an increase of 13%. Universal Destinations & Experiences was fourth with an increase of 18%, recording 60.81 million visitors.
United Parks & Resorts, the parent of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks, saw a drop of 2% with 21.6 million visitors.
Orlando remains a primary hub and a “heavy hitter” in the industry, the report reads.
“But attendance in Orlando was down in 2023, and the cluster of parks there is not performing on par with other regions around the country. A large part of that is related to international travel that has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels,” it said.
It also attributed decreases to the strength of the U.S. dollar and a decrease in group travel.
“Even though performance elsewhere in the U.S. was stable or up, the weight Florida has on the whole North American market pulled average numbers down, resulting in very little net growth for the entire North American region,” the report said.
The top three water parks in the U.S. were in Central Florida. But all three recorded decreases in attendance, according to the report. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon topped the charts with 1.9 million (down 0.9%). Volcano Bay had 1.8 million (down 2.7%) and Aquatica had 1.44 million (down 7.2%).
Discovery Cove, SeaWorld’s day resort, was No. 19 on the water park list with 363,000 visitors, a decrease of 0.3%.
The top 20 water parks in North America had a 9% attendance increase in 2023, reaching 13.7 million visitors.
The report also records museum attendance. The most visited museum in the world was Louvre in Paris, with 8.8 million guests, an increase of 14.7%. There were no U.S. museums in the top 20 list.
The most visited museum in the United State was the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which had 5.36 million visitors, an increase of 67.2%. The closest institutions to Orlando were seven museums in Washington, D.C.
The report is compiled using statistics given by the companies, historical numbers, financial reports, the investment banking community, tourism organizations and professional estimates where necessary.
The entire report can be seen at teaconnect.org.