Southern California theme parks that bounced back after COVID-19 pandemic closures have lost ground once again after setting all-time attendance records, according to a new industry report.
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Southern California theme park attendance has dropped 7.8% from all-time attendance highs, according to the 2025 Themed Entertainment Association Global Experience Index.
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SoCal parks have shed 4 million visitors from individual attendance records set between 2012 and 2025 — dropping from an all-time high of 51 million visitors to 47 million in the latest TEA report.
Three local parks — Disney California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood and Knott’s Berry Farm — have set all-time attendance records since returning from COVID-19 pandemic closures that shuttered the parks for parts of 2020 and 2021.
Three SoCal parks — Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain and SeaWorld San Diego — have not yet topped pre-pandemic attendance records.
All-Time Highs
The Disneyland resort has lost 1 million visitors since setting a record high of 28.5 million visitors in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Disneyland’s 2025 attendance remains 6.8% below the all-time high of 18.7 million set in 2019 when the $1 billion Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed land was first unveiled.
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Disneyland has strategically limited attendance since reopening after the yearlong pandemic closure through the use of park reservations and tiered ticket pricing to maximize revenue through crowd management.
Disney California Adventure is the only Southern California theme park currently at its attendance peak — with a record 10.1 million visitors in 2025.
DCA attendance has more than doubled in less than two decades from 4.7 million visitors during the first full year of park operations in 2002.
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Universal Studios Hollywood attendance has nosedived since Super Nintendo World debuted in 2023 with a record-setting 9.7 million annual visitors. Since then, Universal attendance has dropped 17.2% to 8 million in 2025, according to the TEA report.
Knott’s Berry Farm attendance declined 4.2% in 2025 from an all-time high of 4.5 million in 2024 when the makeover of the Camp Snoopy kids land opened.
Six Flags Magic Mountain never fully recovered from the pre-pandemic attendance peak of 3.6 million visitors in 2019 when the West Coaster Racers roller coaster debuted. Magic Mountain attendance has remained 300,000 to 600,000 below that all-time high over the past five years.
SeaWorld San Diego successfully recovered from the pandemic, but not the 2013 “Blackfish” documentary film which was critical of SeaWorld’s treatment of captive whales. SeaWorld attendance remains 9.7% below the all-time high of 4.4 million visitors in 2012 when the park unveiled the Manta coaster.
Legoland California did not make the TEA Top 20 list of biggest North American theme parks. Merlin Entertainments reported in March that attendance was down 6.2% in 2025 at its North American properties, which includes the Legoland park in Carlsbad.
2025 Projects
Southern California theme parks didn’t do much to drive attendance in 2025.
Disneyland celebrated its 70th anniversary with a new audio-animatronic show starring a robotic Walt Disney along with the debut of the new “World of Color Happiness” water show at Disney California Adventure.
Universal Studios Hollywood rolled out the Fan Fest Nights after-hours event in 2025 as a pop culture version of Halloween Horror Nights.
SeaWorld San Diego refreshed the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster and opened a jellyfish exhibit in 2025.
Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain pushed back a pair of long-delayed projects in 2025 — the Montezooma coaster makeover at Knott’s and the debut of the new Thrill Glider coaster at Magic Mountain.
Legoland California reimagined the Dino Valley land with a few rethemed rides in 2025.
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