Spruced-up theme parks drew more visitors in 2012

Walt Disney Co.’s California Adventure, bolstered by a $1.1 billion expansion, led the world’s largest theme parks with a 23 percent surge in visitors to 7.78 million last year.

Attendance at the top 25 parks worldwide increased 5.2 percent to 205.9 million visitors in 2012, according to a recent report by the Themed Entertainment Association and the consulting firm Aecom.

"The market in North America was, this year as last year, driven by major reinvestment at the major operators’ parks," according to the report.

Second-quarter net income for Disney, the world’s largest theme park operator, jumped 32 percent to $1.51 billion in the second quarter, in part due to higher attendance and a surge in profits at its parks business. Disneyland was the only park among the world’s largest to register fewer visitors last year, with attendance shrinking 1.1 percent to 16 million, according to the report.

— Bloomberg News