The World's Most Popular Theme Parks – Asia/Pacific Region

Amusement parks offer recreational opportunities to people of all ages. These parks are often designed on different themes that transport the visitors to a fantasy land with unique attractions, thrill rides, adventure activities, and more. Thus, people throng to these parks in large numbers seeking enjoyment and adventure. Some of the most visited amusement parks in the Asia-Pacific region are mentioned below:

10. Shanghai Disneyland Park at Shanghai Disneyland Resort

This is the tenth most visited amusement park in the Asia-Pacific. It recorded 5,600,000 visitors in 2016. The Shanghai Disneyland Park is located in Pudong, Shanghai, China and was opened on June 16, 2016. The park has an area of 3.9 square km. It has seven themed areas like the Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Toy Story Land, and more. Each of these themed areas is decorated uniquely and hosts numerous rides and other attractions.

9. Nagashima Spa Land

This amusement park is located in Kuwana, Japan. It hosts a number of attractions like several thrill rides, kid rides, roller coasters, a water park and also a giant Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel is named the Aurora Wheel and is 295 ft tall and 272 ft in diameter.

8. Ocean Park

The eighth most visited amusement park in the Asia-Pacific region, the Ocean Park Hong Kong, is located in the Southern District of the country. The complex includes an amusement park, an oceanarium, an animal theme park, and a marine mammal park. It was opened in 1977 and received 5,996,000 visitors in 2016. A large mountain separates the park into two areas named The Summit and The Waterfront. Four roller coasters, animal attractions like a giant panda habitat, the world's largest aquarium dome are some of the major attractions here.

7. Hong Kong Disneyland at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

The Hong Kong Disneyland is located in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The design of this Disneyland theme park incorporates various aspects of the Chinese culture including the feng shui rules. The Hong Kong Disneyland was opened in 2005. It can accommodate 34,000 visitors at any point in time. This is, however, the smallest capacity of all the Disneyland parks in the world. Plans are there to increase the capacity of the park. The park is divided into several themed areas and a guest entering one of these areas is completely immersed in the sights and sounds of the area. Daytime and nighttime parades, firework shows, and other celebrations and events are also held daily or periodically at this amusement park.

6. Everland at Everland Resort

The sixth most popular amusement park in the Asia-Pacific is also located in South Korea. The Everland theme park was visited by 7,200,000 people in 2016. It is located in the city of Yongin. Besides its primary attractions as an amusement park with themed areas and rides, Everland also hosts a water park and a zoo. The park is also famous for the Tulip Festival that is held here every year from March to April.

5. Lotte World

The Lotte World is located in Seoul, South Korea and features the largest indoor theme park in the world. It also hosts other attractions like the an outdoor amusement park, a luxury hotel, a folk museum, etc. The recreational area was opened in 1989. The indoor theme park has four main floors with different types of attractions and activities. The location also hosts the Magic Theatre which is a theater with a seating capacity of about 200 people. Magicians and illusionists from Korea perform at this venue.

4. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom

With a visitor count of 8,474,000 people in 2016, the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom ranks as the fourth most popular amusement park in the Asia-Pacific. The grand opening of the park happened in 2014. It is located in Hengqin, Zhuhai, China. The park features numerous amusement rides and also the largest oceanarium in the world that has a total capacity of 48.75 million liters of water. Eight themed areas in the park represent different parts of the ocean.

3. Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort

The Tokyo DisneySea is located in Urayasu, Japan. This theme park was opened in 2001 and is owned by The Oriental Land Company. It has been designed according to a nautical exploration theme. Seven themed area referred to as the "ports of call” hosts different rides and other attractions. The Mediterranean Harbor serves the entrance “port-of-call”. It hosts numerous restaurants and shops. It leads to the Mysterious Island that hosts two of the most popular rides in the park, a thrill ride and a dark ride. Other themed areas follow and the visit ends with the American Waterfront themed area.

2. Universal Studios Japan

The second most visited theme park in the Asia-Pacific region, the Universal Studios Japan is located in Osaka. The USJ Co., Ltd. owns and manages the park. It was opened in 2001 and received more than 11 million visitors in that same year. At its time, it became a world record holder among amusement parks by attracting the highest number of visitors in the shortest time duration. Some of the most notable attractions of this park include a backward roller coaster, a large family area, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and others.

1. Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort

The Tokyo Disneyland is the most visited amusement park in the Asia-Pacific region. It received 16,540,000 visitors in 2016. It is part of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture of Japan. The Tokyo Disneyland was opened in 1983 when it became the first Disney park outside the US. The Oriental Land Company is the owner of this property, making it one of the only two Disney parks (the other being the Tokyo DisneySea) that are not owned by the Walt Disney Company. There are seven themed areas in this park like the World Bazaar, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, etc., each with their own attractions and activities.