Amusement and theme parks worldwide - statistics & facts

Amusement and theme parks are popular attractions for diversion, fantasy, and a bit of a thrill. Both theme and amusement parks offer rides and attractions, however, theme parks are differentiated by having a consistent topical focus, like Disneyland or Holiday World. Speaking of Disneyland, in 2022, the Walt Disney Company’s revenue from its parks, experiences, and products segment totaled 28.71 billion U.S. dollars, making it one of the biggest amusement park companies in the world. Due to having reopened after closures during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many amusement and theme park companies saw an increase in revenue from 2020 to 2021. For example, the revenue of Six Flags Entertainment in North America grew to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, and the revenue of Merlin Entertainments grew to over 1.2 billion British pounds. By 2025, the market size of amusement parks worldwide is forecast to reach 89.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Most visited amusement and theme parks worldwide

The Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, was visited by approximately 12.69 million people in 2021, making it the most visited amusement park in North America that year. Meanwhile, Shanghai Disneyland was the most visited theme park in the Asia-Pacific region and Beto Carrero World, located in Brazil, was the leading Latin American theme park during that same year. While there are amusement parks that date back long before the opening of Disneyland in the 1950s, it was Disneyland that popularized the idea of the theme park which has since become a model for other parks around the world. Although hardly the most attended theme park in the world, “Bakken”, located in Klampenborg, Denmark, was the oldest amusement park operating in the same location worldwide as of February 2023, having first opened in 1583.

What is the fastest roller coaster worldwide?

The thrill element of amusement and theme parks often comes from roller coasters. As of February 2023, the fastest roller coaster in the world was the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World with a top speed of 240 kilometers per hour. It is located in the United Arab Emirates and surpassed runner-up, and fastest roller coaster in the U.S., Kingda Ka, located at the Six Flags Great Adventure Park. However, Kingda Ka ranked as the highest roller coaster in the world in February 2023 at 139 meters tall. The site of the longest roller coaster in the world was Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. Its coaster, the Steel Dragon 2000, ranked as the longest roller coaster in the world with a total length of 2,479 meters. Meanwhile, the oldest running roller coaster in the world was Leap the Dips, located in Lakemont Park, Pennsylvania (USA), which was opened in 1902.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 28, 2023

Key insights

Market size of amusement parks worldwide
51.7bn USD
Amusement park with the highest attendance worldwide
Magic Kingdom
Oldest amusement park worldwide
Bakken
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Leading amusement and theme parks worldwide from 2019 to 2021, by attendance (in millions)

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Most visited amusement and theme parks worldwide 2019-2021

Revenue of the Walt Disney Company in the fiscal year 2022, by operating segment (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Revenue of the Walt Disney Company in 2022, by operating segment

Attendance at the Universal Studios Orlando theme park from 2009 to 2021 (in millions)

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Universal Studios Orlando theme park attendance 2009-2021

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