Trade Body Reveals The Theme Park With The Highest Attendance Growth. And It Isn’t Disney

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentTrade Body Reveals The Theme Park With The Highest Attendance Growth. And It Isn’t DisneyByCaroline Reid,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Caroline Reid covers the entertainment industryFollow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 05:52pm EDTMagic Kingdom may be the world's most visited theme park, but it isn't the fastest growing. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)Getty ImagesData from the amusement industry’s trade body, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), has revealed the theme park which experienced the greatest growth over the past two decades and, surprisingly, it doesn’t have Disney’s name above the door.There is no doubt that Disney dominates the themed entertainment landscape. Its 14 parks attracted a total of 145.2 million guests in 2024 giving it more visitors than any other operator according to the TEA’s latest data. What’s more, eight of the world’s top ten most-visited theme parks carry Disney’s brand including the Magic Kingdom in Orlando which leads the way with 17.8 million guests streaming through its turnstiles in 2024.It took Disney more than the wave of a magic wand to earn its status. The origins of its theme park division date all the way back to 1955 when Walt himself swung open the doors to Disneyland in California and forever changed the landscape of the leisure sector.The amusement parks of his era had few rides that parents could enjoy with their offspring but Walt changed that by infusing his attractions with the stories from his blockbuster movies which he knew appealed to adults as much as children.No longer was a roller-coaster a winding track supported by bare steel struts. Instead, the version in Walt’s fairytale-themed park is a runaway mine train integrated into a mock-up of the mountains from Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Likewise, many amusement parks have carousels with saddles sitting atop models of mythical creatures which sp...