The Busiest Theme Parks and Museums in the World
The theme park business is a good one these days. For the first time in history more than half a billion people visited themed attractions in 2018. That's 7% of the global population.
Theme park attendance around the world grew by about 4% last year, and waterparks increased by about 2.5%, according to a report by the Themed Entertainment Association, which tracks attendance to the world's most-visited theme parks, water parks and museums.
The top 20 museums in the world drew more than 108 million people, remaining somewhat flat since 2017. That may be because museums haven't added resort hotels to their properties or leveraged blockbuster movies to boost attendance, like theme parks have. Those are strategies that have helped to increase theme park attendance in recent years, the TEA report says.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) - Get Report continues to be a powerhouse, with a dozen Disney parks among the leading 25 parks in the world that drew a quarter of a billion people, according to the report. Leading water parks attracted nearly 31 million around the world.
Based on TEA's report, these are the world's most popular water parks, museums and theme parks in 2018.
Pictured is the Karakare curl at Aquatica Orlando.
Photo: VIAVAL / Shutterstock
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These are the 10 most popular water parks in the world:
1. Chimelong Water Park
Guangzhou, China
- 2018 attendance: 2.74 million
- Change since 2017: +1.9%
The Chimelong Group is one of the leading theme park groups, with several parks and resorts in China.
Photo: GuoZhongHua / Shutterstock
2. Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Orlando, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 2.3 million
- Change since 2017: +5.0%
Typhoon Lagoon is at Disneyworld.
Photo: elisfkc from Orlando, FL, United States/Wikipedia
3. Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park
Orlando, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 2 million
- Change since 2017: +3%
Photo: Disney
4. Parque Aquaaltico Thermas Dos Laranjais
Olimpia, Brazil
- 2018 attendance: 1.97 million
- Change since 2017: -1.8%
Photo: Marco Aurelio Esparz/ Wikipedia
5. Aquaventure Atlantis Bahamas Waterpark
Paradise Island, Bahamas
- 2018 attendance: 1.8 million
- Change since 2017: no change
This popular, 141-acre aquatic center features high-speed waterslides, a lazy river and swimming pools.
Photo: xabi_kls / Shutterstock
6. Volcano Bay Water Theme Park at Universal Orlando
Orlando, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 1.7 million
- Change since 2017: +15%
Photo: Mia2you / Shutterstock
7. Aquatica Orlando
Orlando, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 1.6 million
- Change since 2017: +8.5%
Aquatica is operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
.
Photo: Mia2you / Shutterstock
8. Therme Erding
Erding, Germany
- 2018 attendance: 1.5 million
- Change since 2017: +13.6%
Therme Erding is the second largest thermal bath complex in Europe. It's not just a spa, it has a huge water park with waterslides, and the longest closed tube slide in the world.
Photo: Therme Erding
9. Hot Park Rio Quente
Caldas Novas, Brazil
- 2018 attendance: 1.43 million
- Change since 2017: -3.2%
The pools in this park are naturally warm, and the weather here is always mild (this image was taken in January.) This water park has a host of attractions for families, including waterslides and ziplining.
Photo: Judson Castro / Shutterstock
10. Aquaventure Water Park
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 2018 attendance: 1.4 million
- Change since 2017: +3.5%
This massive water park has zip lines, slides that run through shark-filled lagoons and is home to Dubai's largest aquarium.
Photo: Pit Stock / Shutterstock
These are the most popular museums in the world:
1. The Louvre
Paris
- 2018 attendance: 10.2 million
- Change since 2017: +25.9%
- Admission: paid
It not just the most popular museum in the world, but also the largest. The Louvre, a former fortress and royal palace on the banks of the Seine in Paris took in 10.2 million visitors last year, many of whom go to see da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" along with many other of the most famous artworks in the world.
Photo: Shutterstock
2. National Museum Of China
Beijing
- 2018 attendance: 8.6 million
- Change since 2017: + 6.8%
- Admission: free
The National Museum of China contains more than 1.4 million exhibits including thousands of priceless artifacts of calligraphy, ceramics, jade, and bronze dating from neolithic China to the late Qing dynasty. The oldest exhibit is the teeth of Yuanmou Man, dated 1.7 million years ago. It is located on Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Photo: TonyV3112 / Shutterstock
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
- 2018 attendance: 7.4 million
- Change since 2017: +5.1%
- Admission: paid
The Met contains more than two million works of art spanning 5,000 years, including famous works by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, John Singer Sargent, Matisse, El Greco and Vermeer.
Photo: T photography / Shutterstock
4. Vatican Museums
Vatican City
- 2018 attendance: 6.8 million
- Change since 2017: +5.1%
- Admission: paid
Popes over the centuries amassed this collection of paintings, sculptures and other works of art that include Rodin's "The Thinker," and Michelangelo's famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Photo: vvoe / Shutterstock
5. National Air and Space Museum
Washington, D.C.
- 2018 attendance: 6.2 million
- Change since 2017: -11.4%
- Admission: free
This free D.C. museum has the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. Currrently you can see a top-secret, stealthy SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft, in the museum's Cold War Aviation exhibit.
Photo: Evdoha_spb / Shutterstock
6. British Museum
London
- 2018 attendance: 5.9 million
- Change since 2017: +3.8%
- Admission: free
With 8 million works in its permanent collection this London museum could keep you occupied for days. If you don't have that kind of time, the museum recommends at least seeing the Rosetta Stone, the Assyrian Lion Hunt reliefs, and the Parthenon sculptures.
Photo: Bucchi Francesco / Shutterstock
7. Tate Modern
London
- 2018 attendance: 5.8 million
- Change since 2017: -1.3%
- Admission: free
The Tate is England's national collection of post-1900 art, and contains famous works by artists including Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. The large canvas pictured here is Albert Gleizes' "Portrait de Jacques Nayral," 1911.
Photo: Gimas / Shutterstock
8. National Gallery
London
- 2018 attendance: 5.7 million
- Change since 2017: +9.7%
- Admission: free
This museum in Trafalgar Square houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. Some of their "must see" paintings include works by Seurat, Cezanne, Vermeer, Monet and Titian.
Photo:Shutterstock
9. Natural History Museum
London
- 2018 attendance: 5.2 million
- Change since 2017: +17.8%
- Admission: free
The world's most complete Stegosaurus fossil, above, is at the Natural History Museum in London. The skeleton is 18 feet long and 9.5 feet tall, and has over 300 bones.
Photo: ileana_bt / Shutterstock
10. American Museum of Natural History
New York City
- 2018 attendance: 5 million
- Change since 2017: no change
- Admission: paid
Current exhibits take you from the mysteries of dark matter in the universe to the deepest places of earth's oceans. It has over 34 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts.
Photo: Diego Grandi / Shutterstock
These are the most popular theme parks in the world:
1. Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 20.9 million
- Change since 2017: +2.0%
This is one of four theme park at Disney's resort near Orlando.
Photo: Clement Bardot/Wikipedia
2. Disneyland Park
Anaheim, Calif.
- 2018 attendance: 18.67 million
- Change since 2017: + 2.0%
Photo: Disneyland
3. Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo
- 2018 attendance: 17.9 million
- Change since 2017: +7.9%
Photo: enzozo / Shutterstock
4. Tokyo Disneysea
Tokyo
- 2018 attendance: 14.65 million
- Change since 2017: + 8.5%
The 176-acre Tokyo DisneySea is located at the Tokyo Disney Resort.
Photo: Shutterstock
5. Universal Studios Japan
Osaka, Japan
- 2018 attendance: 14.3 million
- Change since 2017: -4.3%
Pictured is the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at Universal Studios in Japan.
Photo: Molar / Shutterstock
6. Disney's Animal Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 13.75 million
- Change since 2017: +10%
Photo: Shutterstock
7. Epcot Theme Park
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 12.4 million
- Change since 2017: +2.0%
Photo: Robert Noel de Tilly / Shutterstock
8. Shanghai Disneyland
Shanghai, China
- 2018 attendance: 11.8 million
- Change since 2017: +7.3%
Photo: Disney
9. Disney's Hollywood Studios
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
- 2018 attendance: 11.3 million
- Change since 2017: +5.0%
Photo: Jedi94 / Wikipedia
10. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
Hengqin, China
- 2018 attendance: 10.8 million
- Change since 2017: +10.6%
Photo: Windyboy / Shutterstock