Behind every castle photo and coaster queue sits a number. Counted across a year, those numbers tell us which parks are growing, which are slipping, and how the biggest operators are faring. The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) publishes the industry's primary annual attendance study, the Global Experience Index, and the 2025 edition is out.
The headline is almost boring. The stories beneath it are not. We've attributed every figure to the report, flagged the spots where its numbers don't quite agree, and labeled interpretation as interpretation. Here's the tour.
The Headline Number
According to the report, the top 25 parks combined for 245.4 million visits in 2025, down 0.2% from 245.9 million in 2024. Our arithmetic agrees: about negative 0.2%.
Disney, Worldwide
Disney Experiences drew 146.9 million visitors across its global portfolio, a 1.1% increase from 145.2 million, and kept its place as the world's top operator by a significant margin, the report says. It calls that nearly 2.5 times Universal Destinations & Experiences, its nearest direct competitor.
Dividing the report's figures, 146.9 million by Universal's 62.1 million, gives about 2.4. The report doesn't say whether “nearly 2.5” reflects rounding or a different basis.
The World's Biggest Parks
Magic Kingdom held the global number one spot at 17.8 million, essentially flat with 2024's 17,836,000. Disneyland in Anaheim was second at 17.4 million, up 0.4% from 17,337,000. The rest of the report's Disney placements:
- Tokyo Disneyland: fourth, 15.2 million (+0.6%)
- Shanghai Disneyland: fifth, just under 15 million (+2.0% from 14.7 million)
- Tokyo DisneySea: seventh, 12.6 million (+1.3%)
- EPCOT: eighth, 12.1 million (-0.2%)
- Disneyland Park, Paris: ninth, 10.8 million (+5.7% from 10.2 million)
- Disney's Hollywood Studios: tenth, 10.3 million (-0.2%)
- Disney California Adventure: eleventh, 10.1 million (+0.4%)
- Disney's Animal Kingdom: fifteenth, 8.8 million (-0.2%)
- Hong Kong Disneyland: seventeenth, 7.7 million (-3.0% from 7,936,000)
- Walt Disney Studios Park, Paris: nineteenth, 5.9 million (+5.7%)
Per the report, Oriental Land Company operates the Tokyo parks under license, and the Paris gains reflect a rebound from a 2024 disrupted by the Olympics, which it says diverted some leisure travel.
A Count That Doesn't Match
The report says Disney holds nine of the top 25 spots worldwide. Its own list, above, has twelve Disney-branded parks. It doesn't explain the difference, so we're not putting a number on it.
Close to Home: Florida and Anaheim
In North America, the report says Disney holds six of the top 10 spots. Its Walt Disney World figures are Magic Kingdom, 17,800,000; EPCOT, 12,109,000; Hollywood Studios, 10,312,000; and Animal Kingdom, 8,782,000, each at -0.2%.
Two details don't line up. The report puts the four-park total at approximately 48.9 million, but those figures sum to about 49.0 million. And it describes the 0.2% decline as shared by three of the four parks, while its list shows all four at -0.2%.
The Disneyland Resort adds 27.5 million, from Disneyland Park at 17,406,000 (+0.4%) and Disney California Adventure at 10,090,000 (+0.4%). The report totals Disney's six North American parks at roughly 76.5 million, and says Florida's nine-park market, including the Universal and SeaWorld parks, reached 79.6 million, which it calls the largest theme park market on the planet.
More Money, Same Crowds
The report notes that Disney reported record operating income from its parks segment despite flat attendance. The coverage we're drawing on reads that as a strategy of raising revenue per guest, through premium experiences, food and beverage, resort stays, merchandise, and Disney Cruise Line expansion, and not through higher gate counts. That's its interpretation.
Epic Universe Arrives
On May 22, 2025, Universal Destinations & Experiences opened Universal Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort, which the report calls the first major new theme park built in Orlando in more than 25 years. It opened with five areas: Celestial Park, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe.
In roughly seven months, Epic Universe recorded 4 million visits, thirteenth in North America. The index says it likely sets up “a list going forward where the top 10 North American theme parks are all owned by Universal or Disney.”
The Neighbors Felt It
Universal Studios Florida recorded 9.3 million visits, down 2.1% from 9.5 million. Islands of Adventure drew 9.2 million, down 2.6% from 9.45 million. With Epic Universe's 4 million added, the report says Universal Orlando Resort grew by approximately 3.5 million. Our arithmetic from those figures gives about 3.55 million.
The report calls it a 4.3% increase for Central Florida's leading parks, against a 1.8% rise in overall tourist arrivals reported by Visit Orlando. We couldn't reproduce the 4.3% from the numbers given, so check it against the original.
Hollywood's Rough Year
Universal Studios Hollywood fell 8.0%, from 8.7 million to 8.0 million, ninth in North America. The report attributes the drop directly to the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Universal's Global Standing
Universal Destinations & Experiences drew 62.1 million visitors worldwide, up 5.4% from 59 million, which the report calls the largest gain in the global top 10 and enough to pass Merlin Entertainments for third among theme park groups. It adds that Universal Studios Japan, run by USJ Co. Ltd. and not part of Universal Destinations & Experiences, ranked third globally at 16.04 million, and Universal Studios Beijing twelfth at 9.8 million.
Splash Zone
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon led North American water parks with about 1.762 million visitors, down 3.0% from 1.817 million, sixth globally. Universal Volcano Bay was eighth worldwide at 1.6 million, also down 3.0%.
Blizzard Beach jumped 50.5%, from 897,000 to 1.35 million. The report explains that Walt Disney World ran both water parks at once during summer for the first time since 2019, after pandemic recovery years of alternating schedules.
What a Yearly Total Can't Say
These are annual figures, and they don't describe crowds on any given day. A flat total says nothing about how busy a specific day will feel.
Using the Numbers on Your Trip
The report's picture of Florida is two big resorts: Walt Disney World with steady attendance, and Universal Orlando Resort with a new park. To divide your time, check each resort's current hours and offerings for your dates.
Where Do You Spend Your Days?
Do these numbers match what you've seen in the parks? Tell us in the comments whether Epic Universe has you planning more time at Universal, or whether you're staying loyal to Disney.
