These are the world's most-visited theme parks

Micky Mouse and Cinderella costume characters, and many other beloved Disney icons continue to serve up smiles — millions of them — at attractions around the world.

Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida was the world’s most-visited theme park in 2018, with a whopping 20.8 million visitors, according to an annual report released Wednesday by Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM, which tracks and ranks attendance at theme parks around the world. (Disney doesn’t publicly release attendance figures.)

The Disney brand is a stronghold, with over 157 million people having visited a Disney theme park somewhere in the world last year, according to the report. So it's no surprise the top five theme parks in the U.S. were all Disney parks.

The four busiest theme parks in the world are owned by Disney. Magic Kingdom was followed closely by Disneyland in Southern California, according to the Global Attractions Attendance Report.

The report also found that for the first time, attendance at themed attractions run by large operators exceeded half a billion people.

Disneyland attendance was up 2%, drawing 18.6 million visitors. That’s an average of more than 51,000 people a day, a number that likely will soar when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens May 31. (It debuts Aug. 29 at Florida’s Disney Hollywood Studios, which was ninth on the worldwide list.)

More:California's theme parks, ranked from cheapest to most expensive

Here are the top 25 theme parks in the world, ranked by 2018 attendance, as reported in the TEA/AECOM report:

1. Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
2. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California
3. Tokyo Disneyland At Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo
4. Tokyo Disneysea At Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo
5. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan
6. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park At Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
7. Epcot Theme Park At Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Forida
8. Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai
9. Disney’s Hollywood Studios At Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Forida
10. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Hengqin, China
11. Universal Studios Florida Theme Park At Universal Orlando Resort, Florida
12. Disney California Adventure Park At Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California
13. Disneyland Park At Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France
14. Universal’s Islands of Adventure Theme Park At Universal Orlando Resort, Florida
15. Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, California
16. Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong
17. Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea
18. Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan
19. Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea
20. Ocean Park, Hong Kong
21. Europa Park, Rust, Germany
22. De Efteling, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands
23. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallee, France
24. Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
25. Chimelong Paradise, Guangzhou, China

Contributing: Scott Craven