Themed Entertainment Association Announces Top 25 Theme Parks for 2017

As most companies hold theme park attendance a trade secret, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is the industry standard for public ranking of theme park performance.

The TEA has released their list of the Top 25 Theme Parks in the World for 2017:

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Originally Posted by Themed Entertainment Association

#	Theme Park	% Change	2017	2016
1	MAGIC KINGDOM AT WALT DISNEY WORLD, LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL, U.S.	0.30%	20,450,000	20,395,000
2	DISNEYLAND, ANAHEIM, CA, U.S.	2.00%	18,300,000	17,943,000
3	TOKYO DISNEYLAND, TOKYO, JAPAN	0.40%	16,600,000	16,540,000
4	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN, OSAKA, JAPAN	3.00%	14,935,000	14,500,000
5	TOKYO DISNEYSEA, TOKYO, JAPAN	0.30%	13,500,000	13,460,000
6	DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM AT WALT DISNEY WORLD, LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL, U.S.	15.30%	12,500,000	10,844,000
7	EPCOT AT WALT DISNEY WORLD, LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL	4.20%	12,200,000	11,712,000
8	SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND, SHANGHAI, CHINA	96.40%	11,000,000	5,600,000
9	DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD, LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL, U.S.	-0.50%	10,722,000	10,776,000
10	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO, FL, U.S.	2.00%	10,198,000	9,998,000
11	CHIMELONG OCEAN KINGDOM, HENGQIN, CHINA	15.50%	9,788,000	8,474,000
12	DISNEYLAND PARK AT DISNEYLAND PARIS, MARNE-LA-VALLEE, FRANCE	15.00%	9,660,000	8,400,000
13	DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, ANAHEIM, CA, U.S.	3.00%	9,574,000	9,295,000
14	ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO, FL, U.S.	2.00%	9,549,000	9,362,000
15	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, U.S.	12.00%	9,056,000	8,086,000
16	LOTTE WORLD, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA	-17.60%	6,714,000	8,150,000
17	EVERLAND, GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA	-9.50%	6,310,000	6,970,000
18	HONG KONG DISNEYLAND, HONG KONG SAR	1.60%	6,200,000	6,100,000
19	NAGASHIMA SPA LAND, KUWANA, JAPAN	1.40%	5,930,000	5,850,000
20	OCEAN PARK, HONG KONG SAR	-3.30%	5,800,000	5,996,000
21	EUROPA-PARK, RUST, GERMANY	1.80%	5,700,000	5,600,000
22	WALT DISNEY STUDIOS PARK AT DISNEYLAND PARIS, MARNE-LA-VALLEE, FRANCE	4.60%	5,200,000	4,970,000
23	DE EFTELING, KAATSHEUVEL, NETHERLANDS	8.70%	5,180,000	4,764,000
24	TIVOLI GARDENS, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK	0.00%	4,640,000	4,640,000
25	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE	2.90%	4,220,000	4,100,000

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Of note this year, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot has switched order for the first time.

Interesting list. I'm a bit surprise DHS ranked as high as it did for 2017.

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Originally Posted by VWL Mom

Interesting list. I'm a bit surprise DHS ranked as high as it did for 2017.

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It is in the position AK was years ago, where I doubt many people go there without being compelled by their multi-park tickets.

I wonder what stats they use to rank them.

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

I wonder what stats they use to rank them.

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By the look of the list...Total annual attendance ONLY.

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Originally Posted by PopPhan

By the look of the list...Total annual attendance ONLY.

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Which explains the numbers. The US and Japanese ones, have the greatest access, good affluent base. So a weak basis for the "top" parks.

TEA uses estimated total attendance to rank the parks. The list has looked more less like this for at least a decade. The only big news on this list for me, is how much AK shot up the list with the opening of Pandora. If you are interested you can search for the full report on the internet, it is free to download and has all sorts of nerdy information about theme parks around the world.

I always wonder what effect Park Hoppers have on attendance. If I go to Magic Kingdom in the morning and Holly Studios in the evening, I am guessing I am counting as a visitor to each park. However, in its current state, I would be hard pressed to make a trip to just go to Hollywood Studios. I think the Disney numbers really benefit from this.

And, I am not surprised by Animal Kingdom. When my kids were first born 10-15 years ago, we would only visit Animal Kingdom a couple times during our week-stay. Now, we probably go there the most, or second most out of all 4 parks (with Hollywood Studios now being a distant 4th). I am sure that will change as Hollywood Studios adds and with the future plans at EPCOT (still my favorite).