The world's 25 most popular theme parks

Songcheng Lijiang Romance Park only launched in 2014, and already boasted 4.6 million visitors in 2015. It’s home to rides and shows, of course, but also life-size recreations of ancient Chinese cities and Tibetan villages.

A world of fantasy awaits at De Efteling in the Netherlands. The park, which opened in 1952, takes visitors back to a simpler time with frill-free rides and simple animatronics.

Tivoli Gardens is the second-oldest operating theme park in the world, having been approved for construction in 1843, by King Christian VIII of Denmark. It was intended as a way to distract people from politics, and to this day gets peoples' minds off their troubles.

Despite the controversy, it’s still one of the most popular theme parks in the world, seeing over 4.7 million guests in 2015.

The largest theme park in Germany provides plenty of activities for children and adults, and is the second-most visited theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris.

Nagashima Spa Land's crown jewel is its giant Aurora Wheel, a massive 295-foot tall Ferris wheel. Many flock to the theme park in Kuwana's warmer months to take advantage of its large water park, too.

Disney’s magic extends across seas, too. While similar to other Disney parks, it also has a Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch with unique rides that can’t be found elsewhere. One especially magical event that the park hosts is the Chinese New Year celebration.

Though the public half of the park is small, the park’s working backlot is not. However, that part is only accessible to the public through a guided Studio Tour, which takes guests behind the scenes of a real-life movie studio where movies and shows like "War of the World," "Jaws," and "Bates Motel" were filmed.

Also known as Song Dynasty Town, Hangzhou Songcheng Park centers around the Song Dynasty, which reigned from 960 to 1279 AD. The park features three areas: High-tech Songcheng, Performing Songcheng, and Cultural Songcheng.

Lotte World consists of two theme parks, an outdoor one and an indoor one, which was once considered the largest indoor amusement park in the world by Guinness World Records.

Ocean Park, which opened in 1977, is China's version of SeaWorld, and includes animal exhibits, thrill rides, and shows that aim to combine entertainment with education.

Crowned South Korea’s largest theme park, Everland has a theme park, a zoo, and water park.

This ocean-themed resort is home to one of the largest aquariums in the world.

Islands of Adventure opened in 1999 as part as an expansion to the Universal Studios Orlando Resort. It consists of seven islands — Port of Entry, Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, Hogsmeade (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter), Seuss Landing, and The Lost Continent. An eighth island, Skull island, is currently under construction.

The theme of California Adventure is, unsurprisingly, the West Coast, and the park features everything from redwood forests to Hollywood, as well as a full-size pier.

Universal Studios in Orlando opened in 1990. The park is based on Hollywood films and pop-culture icons, including "Transformers," "Despicable Me," and "Men in Black."

Disneyland Paris may just be Disney’s most beautiful park, emulating European beauty with Disney Imagineering. It was the second Disney resort to open outside the US, and welcomed its first guests in 1992.

While it’s the least popular park at Walt Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios reigns supreme on a global scale, especially since the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." A Star Wars Land is under construction now.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of the largest animal theme parks in the world, and home to over 2,000 animals, and 300 species.

EPCOT, standing for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, opened in 1982. The park was inspired by Walt's vision of a futuristic utopian city, though he passed away before the park could be realized. Created in his honor after his death, the park aims to celebrate human achievement and imagination.

Tokyo Disney Sea is a sister park to Tokyo Disneyland, and has been in the works since the late 1980s, when the Walt Disney Company started planning a maritime-themed park called Port Disney in Long Beach, California. Port Disney didn’t pan out, and the company later set its sights on Tokyo. Thus, in 2001, Tokyo DisneySea came to life.

As with all Universal parks, visitors come here to see box office hits come to life. One of this park's most popular attractions is Universal Wonderland, where rides and entertainment are inspired by "Snoopy," "Sesame Street," and Hello Kitty.

This might be the only Disney park in which Duffy the bear is more popular than Mickey Mouse. Duffy is a Disney bear that's widely known and loved in Japan; his origin story revolves around the fact that he’s Mickey’s favorite stuffed animal. The park is actually not owned by the Walt Disney Company, but the result of a licensing agreement between the Walt Disney Company and the Oriental Land Company in Japan. However, the Disney magic remains, making it the third-best theme park on the planet.

Disneyland, which opened in 1955, is the only theme park that was built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, as well as designed by him.

This beloved park has held the title of world's favorite theme park for 10 consecutive years, seeing nearly 20.5 million visitors last year alone. Magic Kingdom first opened in 1971, and is home to six whimsicals areas, including Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, not to mention Cinderella’s Castle.