California is home to at least three of the most-visited theme parks – Disney California Adventure Park, Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland – on the globe, and they draw millions annually to the Golden State’s sunny shores.

Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood are all ranked in the top 25 theme parks globally by estimated attendance. While Disneyland is in Orange County, its operator the Walt Disney Co. is based in Los Angeles County, with a headquarters in Burbank.

And beyond traditional large-scale theme parks, the Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park is also a boon for tourists who are seeking a ride by the oceanside.

Even as costs rise across the country, people are still continuing to spend on thrills. Average attendance at the top 10 theme parks worldwide was up 30% year-over-year in 2023, according to the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM’s annual report released last year. 

Disneyland was the second-most visited park in the world last year, behind the Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom park in Florida, according to AECOM’s data. 

Expanding the parks

Companies that operate these parks are also increasingly investing in their spending to expand them or keep the theming fresh for repeat visitors.

Comcast, which owns Universal and its parks, spends millions to operate its parks annually, often with a narrow profit margin.

Disney is also investing more heavily in its parks to keep visitors entertained. Operators keep spending more to operate their theme parks and add new attractions each year and the investments are expected to keep paying off. Revenue from amusement parks in the United States is expected to grow by about 4.2% annually through 2030, according to Grand View Research. Domestic parks are projected to bring in some $36.9 billion by that year, analysts predicted. Last year, the market generated about $28.4 billion.

Disney

The Walt Disney Co.’s duo parks may be located in Anaheim, but the entertainment giant is headquartered in Burbank. With $2.5 billion in revenue as of the end of 2024, Disney is one of the biggest companies in L.A.

Disneyland welcomed some 17.2 million visitors in 2023, up 2.2% year-over-year, AECOM reported.

Disney California Adventure Park, which opened in 2001, saw slightly fewer guests that year – roughly 10 million – but that represented an 11% year over year increase.

Guest attendance at Disney’s parks nationwide were “comparable” to the prior years but those who did attend are spending more, the company said in its earnings report.

Domestic parks saw a 3% year-over-year rise in revenue to about $5.5 billion in 2024, Disney reported. 

Unlike Disneyland proper, the California Adventure Park sells alcohol throughout the grounds, which makes it a favored attraction for adult attendees. The park hosts an annual food and wine festival and is home to yearly Lunar New Year celebrations.

New rides take shape

Construction on two new rides for Avenger’s Campus, the Marvel-themed area within Disney California Adventure, began this year. The park is also creating its first ride based on the 2017 film “Coco,” which will begin construction next year. Plans for two rides based on the Avatar series are also underway. In 2023, Disney said it would double its investments in parks over the next decade to about $60 billion and much of those costs went to expanding domestic and global park operations as well as its cruise lines.

Disneyland opened in 1955. In addition to the park, it also operates the adjacent Downtown Disney shopping center, where retailers rent space to operate. There are also three hotels on the property, including the original Disneyland Hotel, Pixar Place Hotel and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

An expensive outing

It’s not getting any cheaper to visit these parks, though. Disneyland increased the price of its tickets for both parks last year by about 6%.

Prices for the least expensive tier of Magic Key passes that allow unlimited entries to the parks increased by about 20% last year.

Park Hopper tickets that let guests see both Disneyland and California Adventure sell for $75 per day before tax, while the annual Magic Key passes are pricier – a SoCal only version of the pass is about $600 annually, or $34.17 per month for California residents.

The most expensive tier of the Magic Key passes goes for $1,749 annually.

Magic Mountain

A favorite among thrill-seeking teens and older adrenaline junkies, Six Flags operates four parks across California, including Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita.

Six Flags has had many owners over the years, including the Pennsylvania Railroad and Time Warner. It merged with its former rival, Cedar Fair, in July 2024.

Since then, all 42 Six Flags parks in North America have been operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., which also operates Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park and its corresponding Soak City waterpark in Buena Park.

Attendance has been increasing

Six Flags parks in North America saw an uptick in attendance in 2024, with about 41.6 million guests pouring in the gates, up nearly 44% year over year. Across all Six Flags parks, revenue was up more than 42% to $2.5 billion in 2024.

Magic Mountain is the better-known park at the L.A.-area Six Flags, but it also operates the adjacent Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles. The water park opens for the season in May and features an array of thrill rides including the six-story Bonzai Pipelines ride, which drops riders 50 feet in free fall into another 200 winding feet of pitch-black slide.

To visit Magic Mountain, daily tickets range from $30 to $50 before tax. The park also sells season passes that are priced from $80 annually to about $195.

Six Flags also took steps to become greener; In 2023 it broke ground on a 12.37-megawatt solar carport and energy storage facility at Magic Mountain.

The rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain continue to evolve and one of its oldest recently closed. Unfortunately for fans of the Man of Steel, Superman: The Escape roller coaster was permanently closed this year. The ride opened in 1997 and was revitalized in 2011, adding a backwards launch that thrilled riders from around the country. But the 29 year-old ride’s parts were becoming obsolete, and the park shut it down last month, although the adjacent drop tower ride Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom remains open.

While Six Flags Entertainment Corp.’s foot traffic at parks is up, it posted a net loss in 2024 due to roughly $71.2 million in costs related to its merger with Cedar Fair.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Nestled within the unincorporated area of Universal City adjacent to Studio City is Universal Studios Hollywood.

Opened in 1964 as a theme park, Universal’s roots in the area date back to 1912 when it first established a movie studio. The L.A. studio lot opened three years later.

Over the years, the Universal Studios Hollywood park has played a key role in advertising and revitalizing the studio’s plethora of intellectual property.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is one of the wealthiest people in Los Angeles, in part because of his stake in Universal Studios – he receives 2% of all ticket sales in exchange for use of his films including “Jurassic Park” within the park.

The popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which contains five Harry Potter attractions, is contained at Universal Studios’ upper lot.

Other attractions at Universal’s upper lot include a “Despicable Me”-themed obstacle course called Minion Mayhem, a dark ride themed after “The Secret Life of Pets” and a motion-simulated Simpsons ride.

The park also operates the DreamWorks Theatre, where it screens shows and films created by DreamWorks Animation.

A tram tour of the Universal Studios backlot is also included, featuring content from “King Kong” and Spielberg’s “Jaws.”

Universal Studios’ lower lot is home to Super Nintendo World, which houses numerous rides based on the famed Italian plumber and his friends, in addition to other rides. It is also working on a new ride based on the Fast and the Furious franchise slated to open next year.

The one-hour Studio Tour is a unique portion of the theme park and is included with admission. It’s also a long-running tradition at the studio; founder Carl Laemmle first allowed guests backstage in 1915. Sets on view include Jupiter’s Claim from the film “Nope,” the “War of the Worlds” plane crash, the Bates Motel and Amity Island from “Jaws,” where a robotic version of the infamous Great White will leap out of the water at the tram. In addition to the sets and facades, the tour also showcases Universal’s movie magic, with demonstrations of special effects including a mock underground earthquake and a flash flood.

Revenue holds steady

Comcast Universal reported its revenue from theme parks globally was up just 0.1% year over year in 2024 to $2.3 billion, but that was partly due to costs from expanding its Orlando, Florida-based park. Operating expenses for all Universal’s theme parks were up 2.4% year over year to $1.5 billion last year.

Every fall, both the Hollywood and Orlando parks open at night for Halloween Horror Nights, which includes limited haunted house attractions based on its freakier IP. In past years this has included content from film and TV hits like “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us,” “The Purge,” and Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” Building on demand for this type of event, Universal introduced Fan Fest Nights this month, which will offer guests story-based experiences themed around content including “Star Trek,” “Back to the Future” and “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Universal Studios welcomed at least 9.7 million visitors last year, about a 15% increase annually, according to AECOM data.

Pacific Park

While not as large in size as some of the other parks on this list, Pacific Park is a worthy inclusion not just because it’s local – it’s the only pier-based amusement park left on the West Coast and one of few nationwide.

Pacific Park, which opened in 1996, is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and is the only admission-free theme park in this special report, and guests can mill about and enjoy the atmosphere without paying if they like.

The Pier is owned by the City of Santa Monica, and the amusement park was bought by private equity firm SC Holdings in March 2024. While the sale price wasn’t disclosed, the new owner said in a statement that “over the next five years (it) will make $10 million in capital investments” into the park.

Big advisory board

Pacific Park’s board of advisors includes former Shake Shack chief executive David Swinghamer and Lars Liebst, the former chief executive of Denmark-based Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest theme park in the world. Rides are priced individually and run from $8 to $17 per ticket. There is an option to purchase an annual weekday pass for $75 per year, or a premium annual pass for $100 per year that guarantees unlimited rides and a 20% discount on purchases.

Plastered on postcards far and wide, the 85-feet tall Ferris Wheel is one of Pacific Park’s main attractions. It is actually the second wheel at the park; the original had 20 gondolas and was featured in Spielberg’s movie “1941,” but was auctioned off on eBay in 2008 to make room for a new, solar-powered Pacific Wheel, the first of its kind in the world. The park is home to 12 rides including the West Coaster roller coaster and Seaside Swing.

Right under the Santa Monica Pier is the Heal the Bay Aquarium, open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

As of 2024, Pacific Pier drew an estimated 10 million visitors per year.

Mattel

El Segundo-based Mattel Inc. might not yet operate a theme park in California, but the company has big plans for turning its intellectual property into theme parks elsewhere.

The forthcoming Mattel Adventure Park is scheduled to open later this year in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. It will feature rides based on popular Mattel toys including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Thomas the Tank Engine and even the card game Uno.

Mattel’s park was slated to open last year but faced delays. It is part of the larger, forthcoming VAI Resort, a $1 billion project that will include 1,100 rooms and is expected to open its doors in the fourth quarter.

Planned rides for the Mattel Adventure Park include an 84-foot-tall roller coaster called Hot Wheels Bone Shaker, and another corkscrew coaster called the Hot Wheels Twin Mill Racer. It will also include an 18-hole mini golf course themed after the Magic 8 Ball and a laser tag arena based on He-Man and Skeletor.

The park will also include a retail shop with holograms that lets kids design their own Barbies called the Barbie Beach House–while bored parents can lounge at the upstairs Barbie Rooftop Bar and restaurant.

Ynon Kreiz, chief executive of Mattel, previously called the company’s first par a “capital-light approach where we license our brands and participate in different forms in the economics of the park and, of course, can sell product there.”

“This is a highly accretive business line, especially given the strength of our brands,” he said.

Kansas park planned

Mattel is also planning to open another Adventure Park in Bonner Springs, Kansas in 2026. The Kansas park is expected to cost roughly $487 million, more than the $260 million expected price tag of the Arizona park.

The location is expected to span 180 acres and include many of the same attractions as the Arizona park. Adult guests can get revved up at the Hot Wheels Legends Bar and Grill, which is planned to include

“Mattel Adventure Park Kansas City will bring our iconic brands to life with epic roller coasters, family-friendly attractions, an immersive theatre, themed dining, and so much more,” Josh Silverman, Mattel’s chief franchise officer previously said of the park.