NEW YORK — The home of Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and “Frozen’s” Elsa and Anna, it’s the happiest place on Earth.
And it’s the most popular.
The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida welcomed more than 19 million visitors in 2014, an increase of 4% over 2013, according to a report released Wednesday (PDF).
Amusement park attendance is on the rise around the world.
There were 223 million visits to the top 25 theme and amusement parks worldwide, up 4.1% from 2013, according to the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM global attractions attendance report.
The index ranks the 25 most-visited amusement and theme parks around the world, based on attendance figures compiled by AECOM.
Disney dominated the list.
Disney parks in the United States, Europe and Asia made up nine of the top 10 parks and held 11 of the top 25 spots. Universal Studios’ theme parks came in second place, with one park in the top 10 list and four in the top 25 list. SeaWorld held one spot in the top 25.
Visits to North American and Asian parks keep increasing, and not just at the top 25 parks: There were 135 million visits to the top 20 North American theme/amusement parks last year, up 2.7% from 2012. There were 117 million visits to the top 20 Asian theme/amusement parks last year, up 7.5% from 2012.
While Dollywood did not make the list of most visited amusement park, Dollywood’s Splash Country ranked number 17 on the list of top 20 water parks in the United States.