California claims two of America’s top three most popular theme parks
Everyone has their favorite theme park, but according to a new study, Disney and Universal are the most popular theme parks in the U.S. And the best news for West Coast residents and visitors? Two of the top three are in Southern California: Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.
The study conducted by gaming website Sudoku Bliss analyzed four key factors—Instagram hashtags, average monthly search volume, total TripAdvisor reviews and the number of five-star TripAdvisor reviews—to determine which U.S. parks are attracting the most online attention and receiving the most positive guest feedback. The factors were combined to create an overall popularity score out of 100.
“What stands out in this ranking is just how much Disney and Universal continue to dominate, but not always in the way people might expect,” said a Sudoku Bliss spokesperson. “Disneyland dominates on social media, but Magic Kingdom has nearly three times as many five-star reviews, which suggests visitors who actually go to Magic Kingdom are having a better experience than the hype alone would suggest. Florida also clearly remains the center of the U.S. amusement park scene, with six of the top 10 parks based there.”
Most popular theme parks in the U.S.
The Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland) is also the most popular, with an impressive score of 95.93 out of 100. Disneyland Park also performed particularly well for social media attention, with more than 34.8 million Instagram hashtags, the highest in the study. Disney’s original theme park also receives over 1 million average monthly searches and has 17,953 five-star TripAdvisor reviews.
Hot on Disneyland’s heels is Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, which earned an equally impressive score of 91.87, and while Disneyland led for Instagram hashtags and search interest, Magic Kingdom boasts the highest number of five-star TripAdvisor reviews in the top 10, with 48,159.
Photo by Dani Meyering
With a score of 91.71, Southern California’s second major theme park, Universal Studios Hollywood, placed third. The small-but-mighty park receives an average of 1,016,583 monthly searches, making it one of the most searched-for amusement parks in the country. It also earned 23,039 five-star TripAdvisor reviews, helping it place above several much larger Florida parks.
Notably absent from the Orlando rankings is Universal Epic Universe.
What about other parks like SeaWorld and Dollywood?
While Disney and Universal clearly dominated the top 10, it’s worth noting that SeaWorld Orlando placed seventh with a score of 86.34, Dollywood ranked eighth with a score of 85.78—the highest-ranking park outside California and Florida—and Cedar Point placed 10th, scoring 82.64.
“The rankings show that popularity is not only about the biggest names,” the Sudoku Bliss spokesperson noted. “Dollywood and Cedar Point both make the top 10, proving that parks outside the Disney and Universal bubble can still attract huge interest from visitors.”
Photo by Carly Caramanna
Beyond the Top 10
The list gets particularly interesting beyond the top 10, as many spots in the top 50 were claimed by attractions rather than traditional theme parks, including Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 11th, Discovery Cove in 13th, Gatorland in 24th, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 28th, Zoo Tampa in 47th, and Pacific Park in Santa Monica, Calif. in 50th.
And while SeaWorld Orlando made the top ten, SeaWorld San Diego came in 17th, and SeaWorld San Antonio came in 26th. Their sibling parks, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, ranked 16th and 20th, respectively.
Southern California parks
- No. 1: Disneyland — 95.93
- No. 3: Universal Studios Hollywood — 91.71
- No. 14: Knott’s Berry Farm — 80.35
- No. 17: SeaWorld San Diego — 78.27
- No. 18: Legoland California — 76.65
- No. 19: Six Flags Magic Mountain — 76.51
- No. 27: Disney California Adventure — 71.49
- No. 50: Pacific Park — 56.18
Orlando-area destinations
- No. 2: Magic Kingdom — 91.87
- No. 4: Epcot — 89.84
- No. 5: Disney’s Animal Kingdom — 88.67
- No. 6: Universal Studios Florida — 87.28
- No. 7: SeaWorld Orlando — 86.34
- No. 9: Disney’s Hollywood Studios — 84.46
- No. 11: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex — 82.20
- No. 12: Universal Islands of Adventure — 81.41
- No. 13: Discovery Cove — 80.48
- No. 24: Gatorland — 73.56
- No. 36: Fun Spot America – Orlando — 68.82
- No. 43: Old Town — 62.28
- No. 45: ICON Park — 59.47
A different study by Westgate (which sells theme park tickets) claimed that Universal outranked Disney, back in 2023.
But what about smaller regional parks?
They actually did fairly well, with five making the top 25: Knott’s Berry Farm at 14, Silver Dollar City at 15, Hersheypark at 22, Carowinds at 23, and Holiday World at 25. The lone Legoland Park on the list is Legoland California, which ranked 18th.
In addition to Cedar Point, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Carowinds, Six Flags has seven more parks on the list, but the highest is Six Flags Magic Mountain at 19, followed by Kings Island (21), Six Flags Great Adventure (30), Kings Dominion (34), Six Flags Great America (35), Six Flags Fiesta Texas (37), and Dorney Park (39).
Photo by Ben Rebstock
Strongest regional cluster
The Smoky Mountains/Pigeon Forge region has the most high-ranking places outside Southern California and the Orlando area, with four entries:
- No. 8: Dollywood — 85.78
- No. 31: Anakeesta — 71.09
- No. 32: The Island in Pigeon Forge — 70.81
- No. 44: Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster — 62.20
Methodology
A list of U.S. theme parks and attractions was analyzed to determine the most popular parks nationwide. Data was gathered for four factors to determine the ranking. Each factor and its corresponding weighting are listed below:
- Instagram hashtags: 25%
- Average monthly U.S. search volume: 30%
- Total TripAdvisor reviews: 5%
- Five-star TripAdvisor reviews: 40%
Each park or attraction was scored out of a maximum of 100 points based on these four factors. The final ranking was created using min-max normalization, with each park receiving a score for every factor before the weighted scores were combined into an overall popularity score out of 100.
Search volumes, hashtag counts, and review figures were accurate as of the time of analysis and may change over time.
Businesses often produce these types of studies with no direct connection to the attractions industry for various marketing purposes, including generating media coverage, building backlinks, and increasing brand awareness.
The next theme park destination to watch
Southern California and Orlando remain the heavyweight champions of the theme park world. But with Pigeon Forge placing multiple attractions on the list, the Smoky Mountain destination continues to prove it can hold its own beyond the industry’s two biggest hubs.
Dallas-Fort Worth may be the region to watch next: With Six Flags Over Texas and three parks aimed at families with young children, future studies could reveal whether North Texas is becoming America’s next major attractions destination. For now, the rankings may be debatable—but watching these destinations compete for guests is half the fun of the ride.
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