Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom has lost its title as the world’s most-visited theme park to Dubai’s Global Village.
For more than two decades, Magic Kingdom has ranked as the world’s most-visited theme park by annual attendance, according to the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA).
The latest TEA data shows that Magic Kingdom welcomed an average of 48,732 visitors per day in 2024.
However, Global Village attracted 49,505 visitors per day in the same year, while operating for roughly half as many days and fewer hours each day, Christian Sylt reports for Fortune.
For more than two decades, Magic Kingdom has ranked as the world’s most-visited theme park by annual attendance Disney
Global Village's average daily hours are 38 percent shorter than those of Magic Kingdom, making its attendance per hour around 33 percent higher than Disney's Florida park.
Via Fortune, Global Village is only open for around 60 percent of the year, but still boasts higher annual attendance than Disney's Animal Kingdom, Hong Kong Disneyland, Universal Studios Florida, and Universal Studios Hollywood, which are all open year-round.
The publication states that while Global Village should be in 12th place on the TEA's list, it doesn't appear on it at all.
Edward Shaw, principal of Entertainment + Culture Advisors, the consultancy firm behind the TEA data, said it has not considered Global Village "to be a theme park in the traditional sense, with a core of major attraction and rides behind a single ticketed gate, but more of a multi-cultural festival/fairground that also has pay-as-you-go rides".
World’s most-visited theme park
"We continuously review our categories and the facilities that merit inclusion and will continue to do so for Global Village in the coming years," Shaw added.
The UAE has been one of the fastest-growing theme park markets in the world over the past 20 years.
In Abu Dhabi, for example, a Harry Potter expansion at Warner Bros. World and a new Disney resort are planned.
