Top theme park in world draws 20M

Top theme park in world draws 20M

ORLANDO, Fla.

Disney World’s Magic Kingdom continues to be the top amusement park draw in the world with 20.5 million visitors in 2015, according to a report released last week.

Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., was No. 2 with an estimated 18.3 million visitors, followed by Tokyo Disneyland, which had an estimated 16 million, according to a report from AECOM and the Themed Entertainment Association.

Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld all saw a jump in attendance in 2015 over the previous year, according to the report.

Epcot was sixth in the world in attendance with 11.8 million, a 5 percent increase from 2014. Disney’s Animal Kingdom drew 10.8 million, also a 5 percent increase, and Universal Orlando saw the biggest increase, with a 16 percent jump to 9.9 million visitors.

“Last year we said everything was looking good in the Americas and poised for moderate growth – but 2015 blew the roof off moderate,” Brian Sands, vice president of economics with AECOM, said in a released statement. Disney Hollywood Studios attendance increased to 10.8 million, which was a 5 percent jump, Island of Adventure at Universal had 8.8 visitors, which was an 8 percent improvement, and SeaWorld had a 2 percent improvement at nearly 4.8 million visitors in 2015.

Orlando had seven parks make the Top 25 in attendance worldwide, according to the report.

Amusement parks do not release exact attendance figures. The report used a formula to come up with an estimate.

American Airlines tackles long lines

American Airlines is so fed up with the long airport security lines that it is putting up its own money to tackle the problem.

Security lines have been growing, according to the Transportation Security Administration, because the number of screening officers has dropped – caused by a high turnover rate – while the number of air travelers in the U.S. has increased.

Airlines and other travel promoters worry that the security lines will scare off vacationers during the peak summer travel season.

To help out the cause, Robert Isom, American’s chief operating officer, issued a letter to employees saying the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is spending $4 million for contract workers who can reduce wait times by performing “non-screening functions like bin running and queue management so that TSA officers can focus solely on screening and security aspects of their jobs.”

He added that the long lines are “unacceptable to all of us, and the federal government can, and should, do better.”

Geography quiz

Q. What is the largest city in New Hampshire?

A. Manchester. Its population is about 110,000, nearly a tenth of the entire state population of roughly 1.3 million. Concord, the state capital, has about 42,000 residents.

Combined dispatches