What is America’s top attraction?
Have you ever wondered which theme park destination is America’s top attraction? The ticketing experts at Ticket2You did, too, so they conducted a study to find out.
After analyzing Google searches between May 2023 and April 2024 for nearly 340 U.S. theme parks, the study revealed that Walt Disney World is the attraction with the most in-demand tickets, followed by Universal Studios Hollywood, Dollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm, Epcot, and others.
“Orlando has reaffirmed its position as America’s premier theme park destination [with] four of the destinations featured in the most popular attraction tickets: Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios Florida, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom,” said a Tickets2You spokesperson. “With Universal set to open its state-of-the-art new theme park Epic Universe next year, it will be interesting to see how much Orlando increases its stranglehold on theme park guests nationwide, and whether Universal can usurp Disney as the most popular attraction ticket in the country.”
America’s Top Attractions
The results revealed that Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. is America’s top attraction, with an average of 293,883 monthly online searches, which beat out every other destination by a mile (over 160,000 more searches than the second-place attraction). Approximately 22 states searched for Walt Disney World Resort tickets the most, including New York, Colorado, Florida, and New Jersey.
In second place with an average of 1333,000 monthly searches, Universal Studios Hollywood ranked far above its Southern California neighbor, Disneyland, which landed in a distant 48th place. Universal Studios Hollywood ranked as the most in-demand attraction ticket in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is the third most popular attraction ticket in America, with Americans searching for the park an average of 98,500 times every month. Dolly Parton’s charming park is also the most popular attraction ticket in both Tennessee and West Virginia (29,617 and 1,408 average monthly searches, respectively).
A bit of a surprise is Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., which came in as the country’s fourth most-searched attraction ticket. Following only Universal Studios Hollywood for parks in the Golden State, Knott’s averages 61,583 searches for tickets each month, with Californians the most interested in Knott’s tickets, accounting for 50,675 of the average monthly searches nationwide.
At number five is Universal Studios Florida, with monthly ticket searches averaging 60,058. The only destination worldwide to feature The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley was searched most by Floridians (averaging 21,775 monthly searches and is the third most sought-after attraction ticket in Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Illinois.
Cedar Point in Ohio ranked #6 in the list of America’s top attraction tickets, with searches averaging 54,100 times every month (more than any other theme park destination in the Midwest). Cedar Point is Ohio and Michigan’s most in-demand attraction ticket, averaging 22,700 and 17,792 average monthly searches, respectively.
Even though Walt Disney World Resort as a whole is America’s top attraction, two of its four theme parks also made the top 10, with Epcot as the seventh most popular attraction ticket in the country (averaging 40,583 searches a month) and Magic Kingdom coming in eighth (averaging 39,553 searches per month). Epcot is the most popular single-park attraction ticket among Floridians, with 23,033 average monthly searches, while Magic Kingdom is the fourth most popular attraction ticket in Florida and Minnesota and fifth in Connecticut, Georgia, and Louisiana.
In ninth place – and the second Ohio theme park on the list – Kings Island averages 38,583 ticket searches every month and is the most popular attraction ticket in Kentucky and Indiana, with residents completing 6,547 and 8,808 average monthly searches, respectively.
Rounding out the top ten is Silver Dollar City, with Americans searching for tickets to the Missouri destination 36,058 times a month on average. Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma residents all search for Silver Dollar City more than any other attraction ticket in America.
Attractions Magazine
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