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Top 25 theme parks worldwide in 2012

Global theme park attendance rose 5 percent last year, with exceptionally strong performance across Asia, poised to overtake North American attendance in the not-so-distant future, predicts an industry-wide report.

According to the 2012 Theme Index, produced by the Themed Entertainment Association in California, Asia is on track to becoming the theme park center of the world, with unabated growth and the expected opening of the largest theme park development in China to date.

Shanghai Disney is slated to open in 2015 and is expected to receive a whopping 10 million visitors in its first year.

Analysts credit growth in Asia to the fact that theme parks are built to appeal to a broad spectrum of visitors by rolling casinos, retail, cultural facilities and attractions into a single “integrated resort."

Here are the top 25 theme parks worldwide by attendance in 2012:

1. Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida, 17,536,000

2. Disneyland, Anaheim, California, 15,963,000

3. Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo, 14,847,000

4. Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo, 12,656,000

5. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France, 11,200,000

6. Epcot, Walt Disney World, Florida, 11,063,000

7. Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida, 9,998,000

8. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Florida, 9,912,000

9. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan, 9,700,000

10. Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando, Florida, 7,981,000

11. Disney’s California Adventure, Anaheim, California, 7,775,000

12. Ocean Park, Hong Kong SAR, 7,436,000

13. Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea, 6,853,000

14. Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong, SAR, 6,700,000

15. Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea, 6,383,000

16. Universal Studios, Universal Orlando, Florida, 6,195,000

17. Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, California, 5,912,000

18. Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan, 5,850,000

19. Seaworld Florida, Orlando, Florida, 5,358,000

20. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France, 4,800,000

21. Europa Park, Rust, Germany, 4,600,000

22. Seaworld, California, San Diego, California, 4,444,000

23. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida, 4,348,000

24. De Efteling, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands, 4,200,000

25. Oct East, Shenzhen, China, 4,196,000


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