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California theme parks make the list of most visited theme parks globally

Guests ride the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park following the state's full reopening on June 15, 2021 in Universal City near Los Angeles. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Three California theme parks were named among the most visited theme parks in the world, according to the annual index report released by Themed Entertainment Association/AECOM.

The yearly study looks at estimated theme park attendance for the previous year at some of the world’s most popular theme park destinations. Typically, companies behind the theme parks don’t disclose official attendance figures.


Disneyland Park, Disney’s California Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood were all named on the list, earning the second, 11th and 14th spots, respectively, out of the 25 theme parks named on the list.

The study estimated that over 17 million people visited Disneyland Park, 10 million visited Disney California Adventure and over 9 million visited Universal Studios Hollywood last year.

Disneyland, DCA and Universal Studios Hollywood all saw attendance increases from last year. Disneyland saw a 2.2% increase, DCA saw an 11.1% increase and Universal Studios Hollywood saw a 15.1% increase from 2022 – 2023.

The most visited theme park globally in 2023 was Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. According to the report, about 17.72 million guests visited the park last year.

The complete report can be found here.