919,000 Fewer Theme Park Visitors in Region

Southern California theme parks lost 919,000 visitors in 2025, marking a 1.9% decline in regional attendance according to the Themed Entertainment Association Global Experience Index. The report, released on Tuesday, Oct. 27, indicates that the six largest parks in the region attracted a total of 47 million guests last year.

Universal Studios Hollywood experienced the steepest drop in North America, welcoming 8 million visitors. This figure represents 700,000 fewer guests than the previous year. Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain also saw attendance fall by 4%. Knott’s Berry Farm drew 4.3 million visitors, while Six Flags Magic Mountain attracted 3.2 million.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure were the only Southern California parks to see growth. Disneyland recorded 17.4 million visits, and Disney California Adventure logged 10.1 million. Combined, these two properties rose 0.4% in 2025. SeaWorld San Diego saw a minimal decrease of 0.2%, ending the year with 4 million visitors. Legoland California did not appear on the TEA Top 20 list for North American parks, though its parent company, Merlin Entertainments, reported a 6.2% attendance decline at its North American properties in March.

The TEA report cited extreme weather, the Los Angeles wildfires, and reduced Canadian travel due to tariff and trade tensions as primary drivers for the regional decline. Dollywood in Tennessee posted the largest attendance increase in North America, rising 8.1% to add 256,000 visitors. Only five parks in North America reported growth in 2025: Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Dollywood, Hersheypark, and Universal’s new Epic Universe park.

Universal Epic Universe in Orlando drew 4 million visitors during its first seven months of operation. Despite this new addition, other Orlando parks saw decreases, including Universal Studios Florida, which fell 2.1%. The Universal Orlando resort added 3.5 million visitors overall thanks to the new park. Florida remained the leading theme park destination with 79.6 million visitors to its nine largest parks.

Disney Magic Kingdom remained the most visited theme park globally with 17.8 million guests. Disney’s two parks in France grew 5.7% in 2025, recovering from the previous year’s Paris Olympics. Universal’s global attendance rose 5.4% to 62.1 million, driven by the opening of Epic Universe. Worldwide theme park attendance increased 2.8% to 545.5 million in 2025.

United Parks, the parent company of SeaWorld, saw global attendance drop 7.6%. Merlin Entertainments declined 3.7% globally, and Six Flags fell 5.8%. Disney remained the largest operator with 146.8 million visitors, a 1.1% increase from 2024.