Well, since Amusement Business has closed down, TEA (used to be known as the Themed Entertainment Association) has teamed up with ERA (Economics Research Association) which has been compiling the attendance numbers for the last few years in association with AB. It is a combination of accurate numbers, such as those from Tokyo Disney Resort and the Cedar Fair Entertainment Group, which releases the official numbers, along with information from investment bankers, financial reports, local tourism organizations and convention and business bureaus, among others.

Here is a link to the full report...

http://www.connectingindustry.com/pdfs/TEA-ERAAttendance06.pdf

According to this report, the Disney Studios in Paris didn't crack the top 25. That's hard to believe, but--if true--it supports my observation that this is by far the worst Disney park.

Disney Studios Paris was 11th on their list of European parks at 2.2 million attendees. As noted, that does put it out of the top-25 worldwide. In fact, it is probably quite some distance down the list as the #25 park had attendance of 3.9 million.

Of course, you can't immediately judge a park's quality by its ranking (although I realize that park, which I haven't visited, is generally poorly reviewed). In fact, these numbers need to be taken with a major grain of salt, considering that they aren't really presented with any kind of context. While they are an interesting bit of trivia, they don't mean very much if you don't also have access to information on the parks' capacity, revenue, attendance projections, growth patterns, etc. That is a major part of the reason why Disney (and many of the other park operators) do not release official attendance numbers publicly.

-Jeff

Disney Studios Paris was 11th on their list of European parks at 2.2 million attendees. As noted, that does put it out of the top-25 worldwide. In fact, it is probably quite some distance down the list as the #25 park had attendance of 3.9 million.

Of course, you can't immediately judge a park's quality by its ranking (although I realize that park, which I haven't visited, is generally poorly reviewed). . .
-Jeff

I have visited it (and eight other Disney Parks), and it's based on that visit that I hate the place. It's the only Disney park I dislike. I hope the new additions improve it.

I agree that attendance can't be equated with quality. Cedar Point in Ohio was wonderful when I was there 7 years ago, but is not near the very top of the list.

I agree that attendance can't be equated with quality. Cedar Point in Ohio was wonderful when I was there 7 years ago, but is not near the very top of the list.

Cedar Point is also not open daily due to weather concerns. Many parks only are open in the summer.

Here are the 2005 North American attendance figures redesigned to look at the amount of days a park is open...



Let's look at the AB/ERA 2005 numbers from a Average Daily Attendance viewpoint. (I am going to the parks operating schedule to figure out the days open, and then dividing it into the year attendance, then rounding).

1. Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 44,110
2. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. 39,725
3. Paramount Canada's Wonderland in Maple, Ontario, 28,350 (127 days)
4. Epcot at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 27,125
5. Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 23,560
6. Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 22,465
7. Paramount's Kings Island in Kings Island, Ohio, 21,855 (151 days)
8. Morey's Piers in Wildwood, N.J., 21,680 (143 days)
9. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, 21,380 (145 days)
10. Hersheypark in Hershey, Pa., 21,260 (127 days)
11. Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., 20,440 (137 days)
12. Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., 17,900 (162 days)
13. Universal Studios in Orlando, 16,715
14. Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif., 15,890
15. Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Va., 15,855 (164 days)
16. Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, 15,780
17. SeaWorld Orlando, 15,345
18. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, Calif., 14,020 (214 days)
19. Universal Studios Hollywood, 12,950 (363 days)
20. Adventuredome at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, 12,330
21. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, 11,780
22. SeaWorld San Diego, 11,235
23. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif., 10,220 (274 days)
24. Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., 9,960 (231 days)
25. Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., 9,535 (364 days)

Thanks again, Darkbeer!

I hope this doesn't make me like Eric Cartman, but I prefer parks with fewer fellow guests.

Maybe for Disneyland Resort's third park they could build, "Expensive, less crowded Magic Kingdom." I couldn't afford it, but I bet a slightly smaller Magic Kingdom (fewer rides, but more gardens) in S. Cal. that had a limit of 10K people could charge $250 a person.