The Themed Entertainment Attractions report was released for 2024 and Magic Kingdom was, once again, the most visited theme park in the world according to the analysis. However, it wasn’t by much, and now, with some deep investigation into the numbers, there’s something true Disney afficionados (and perhaps investors) just have to see. It turns out, that when we apply the likely calculations TEA is using to determine the attendance, Magic Kingdom actually dropped in per session ticket sales.
Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) attendance report for 2024 has been released:
• Magic Kingdom remains #1 the most visited theme park in the world with 17.8 million
• Disneyland park was #2 with 17.3 million
• Disney Parks global attendance was 142.5 million! pic.twitter.com/wleE6oqDYe— DSNY Newscast (@DSNYNewscast) October 23, 2025
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So first, let’s define what in the world we’re talking about here and why it’s a big deal.
A session is anytime a theme park opens its doors and turnstiles for a unique ticketed entry window. Usually, that’s a single day of operations. However, in the case of Magic Kingdom, there are now often two sessions per day because Disney has gone to a method in which they will sell day tickets and then have a rivaling evening session in which tickets are sold again for an “event” that is often six hours or more. It’s essentially two days in one! It’s two sessions within a single 24-hour period.
After some significant research, it appears to us that TEA counts those “after part events” like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Disney After-Hours as additional attendance which is then tallied together for their final numbers. Now, we don’t have a problem with that, but we have discovered something of major importance by understanding the system. Here’s the TEA quote from 2022 that signals to us that they’re using “VIP events” in their numbers (note the second paragraph down on the left):
A page from the AECom / TEA report for 2022 regarding attendance calculations.
So now the question becomes: how many special events did Magic Kingdom hold in 2023 versus 2024 that resulted in a 0.7% reported increase in attendance? Well, from a VIP article here on That Park Place, we have that!
2023
- Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) — 38 nights
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) — 25 nights
- Disney After Hours (Magic Kingdom) — 12 nights
Total 2023 Magic Kingdom after-hours parties: 38 + 25 + 12 = 75 nights.
2024
- Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) — 38 nights
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) — 25 nights
- Disney After Hours (Magic Kingdom) — 18 nights
Total 2024 Magic Kingdom after-hours parties: 38 + 25 + 18 = 81 nights.
It turns out that Magic Kingdom increased their total number of sessions in 2024 by 6. Additionally, 2024 was a Leap Year, meaning that Magic Kingdom had one additional session via an extra day on the calendar. So when we include the 366 days that Magic Kingdom was open in 2024 plus its 81 extra evening sessions, we get a total of 447 sessions… whereas 2023 only had 440.
The Exterior of Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT at Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: That Park Place
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Here’s where we get into the fun stuff.
If we divide the number of ticketed sessions that were offered for Magic Kingdom in 2024 by its reported attendance by TEA, it turns out that Magic Kingdom had an average number of guests of 39,821. The average attendance for Magic Kingdom in 2023 according to that same calculation? 40,273. In other words, according to the TEA numbers, we strongly believe that Magic Kingdom had a higher average attendance in 2023 versus 2024.
Thus, as opposed to an increase of 0.7% attendance for Magic Kingdom in 2024, as reported in all the headlines, we now believe that Magic Kingdom actually dropped 1.8% in average attendance every time the turnstiles were opened for business.
So how did Disney World executives still achieve a raw increase in cumulative guests for the entire year? Volume.
By having more parties, more events, and by having a Leap Year, Walt Disney World was able to keep Magic Kingdom at the top of the list for “most visited theme park in the world”… a very important marketing statement. But when we compare Magic Kingdom in 2023 to 2024 in a fair, apples-to-apples comparison, we now have the numbers to say it was almost certainly a less successful year. When Magic Kingdom has to open more times to achieve similar attendance, the overhead costs to that strategy are significant. Additionally, holding so many “after hour” events likewise decreases the number of hours and quality of experience of those guests who pay for a day ticket and are ushered out at 6 PM Eastern.
The back of the Main Street USA train station in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: Follow The Bradley’s Fun
So no, those websites that told you Magic Kingdom was less-crowded last year… they weren’t wrong. And when Disney talked about “moderated demand,” that wasn’t a false euphemism for less guests. But you have to give credit where it is due: there’s not devious about Disney World committing to more ticketed events that often sell out and drive more revenues to the parks. What we need to address instead is that they were necessary in higher numbers because, on average, guests did not visit Magic Kingdom in 2024 at the same levels on a daily basis as they did in years prior. Expect that trend to continue into 2025 and 2026. I expect it to accelerate.
How do you feel about this news on Magic Kingdom attendance? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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