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So recently I was talking with a friend who made the statement that The Grove (an outdoor mall in LA if people are unfamiliar) is the third most visited attraction in America. I presumed the first two must be Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I became really curious about this...what places in America do most people, Americans and foreign, visit each year?
I've been working on an unscientific list. However, I'm limited by what information I can find (for example I couldn't find numbers for Bourbon Street) and what I can think of, because there aren't many comprehensive lists like this. If there are lists they are more specialized (most visited malls, most visited "attractions", etc.) and I'm trying to compile a total list with a few exceptions (such as airports). Also it requires making consolidations such as what is one destination and what is more than one? For example, the National Mall and Memorial Parks is one, I decided to count Walt Disney World as one (instead of Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc.) but Golden State Park/Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge are separate.
Benchmark is 3 million visitors.
Anyways, this is a living list anyone can add to. But so far this is what I've come up with as...
The Most Visited Places in America Walt Disney World Orlando 45 million
Central Park New York City 40 million
Mall of America Bloomington, Minn. 40 million
Times Square New York City 37.6 million
Union Station Washington, D.C. 36.5 million
The Las Vegas Strip Las Vegas 30 million
Aventura Mall Aventura, Fl. 28 million
Del Amo Fashion Center Torrance, Ca. 27.6 million
Woodfield Mall Schaumburg, Ill. 27 million
Sawgrass Mills Sunrise, Fl. 26 million
National Mall and Memorial Parks Washington, D.C. 25 million
King of Prussia Mall King of Prussia, Pa. 25 million
Houston Galleria Houston 24 million
Palisades Center West Nyack, Ny. 24 million
Gurnee Mills Gurnee, Ill. 23 million
Disneyland Anaheim 22.1 million
Tysons Corner Center McLean, Va. 22.1 million
Roosevelt Field Mall Garden City, Ny. 22 million
South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa 22 million
Grand Central Station New York City 21.6 million
NorthPark Center Dallas 21 million
Faneuil Hall Marketplace Boston 20 million
Carousel Center Syracuse 20 million
Crossgates Mall Albany 20 million
Hanes Mall Winston-Salem 20 million
Westfield Garden State Paramus, Nj. 20 million
The Grove Los Angeles 18 million
The Walden Galleria Cheektowaga, Ny. 18 million
Natick Mall Natick, Mass. 17 million
Venice Beach Boardwalk Los Angeles 16 million
Lakewood Center Lakewood, Ca. 16 million
Memorial City Mall Houston 16 million
Blue Ridge Parkway NC/VA 15.2 million
Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco 15 million
Mall of Georgia Buford, Geo. 15 million
Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate Park San Francisco 14.1 million
Miami Beach Miami Beach 13.2 million
Balboa Park/San Diego Zoo San Diego 13 million
Fashion Show Las Vegas 12.5 million
Scottsdale Fashion Square Scottsdale 12.2 million
Broadway Theaters New York City 12 million
Niagara Falls Niagara 12 million
Freehold Raceway Mall Freehold, Nj. 11.8 million
Coney Island New York City 11 million
Town Center at Boca Raton Boca Raton 11 million
Pike Place Market Seattle 10 million
Yorktown Center Lombard, Ill. 10 million
Westfield Southcenter Tukwila, Wa. 9.9 million
Great Smoky Mountains National Park TN/NC 9.6 million
Patriot Place/Gilette Stadium Foxboro, Mass. 9 million
South Street Seaport New York City 9 million
Mackinaw Bridge Mackinaw City, Mich. 9 million
Navy Pier Chicago 8.6 million
Northland Shopping Center Southfield, Mich. 8.4 million
Eastwood Mall Complex Niles, Oh. 8.1 million
Pier 39 San Francisco 8 million
Lake Mead/Hoover Dam Las Vegas 7.6 million
National Museum of Natural History Washington D.C. 7.6 million
National Air and Space Museum Washington D.C. 7.6 million
George Washington Memorial Parkway VA 7.4 million
Empire Mall Sioux Falls 7 million
Universal Studios Orlando 6.2 million
SeaWorld Orlando 6 million
Natchez Trace Parkway MS 5.5 million
San Antonio River Walk San Antonio 5.1 million
Millennium Park Chicago 5 million
Gateway National Recreation NY/NJ Area 5 million
Salt Lake Temple Salt Lake City 5 million
Gulf Islands National Seashore FL/MS 4.9 million
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area NJ/PA 4.8 million
Universal Studios Los Angeles 4.7 million
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 4.5 million
Wakiki Beach Honolulu 4.5 million
Grand Canyon AZ 4.4 million
Busch Gardens Tampa 4.4 million
Cape Cod National Seashore MA 4.3 million
SeaWorld San Diego 4.2 million
American Museum of Natural History New York City 4 million
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Los Angeles 4 million
Yosemite National Park CA 3.8 million
Dodger Stadium Los Angeles 3.8 million
Empire State Building New York City 3.6 million
Statue of Liberty New York City 3.5 million
Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park, Ca. 3.5 million
Yellowstone National Park WY 3.4 million
Busch Stadium St. Louis 3.3 million
AT&T Ballpark San Francisco 3.3 million
Yankee Stadium New York City 3.2 million
Rocky Mountain National Park CO 3.2 million
Rangers Ballpark Arlington 3.1 million
Ellis Island NY/NJ 3 million
Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica 3 million
Comerica Park Detroit 3 million
Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia 3 million
Angel Stadium Anaheim 3 million
Fenway Park Boston 3 million
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago 3 million
How do they track these numbers? It’s easy for a place that charges admission, but Central Park or Times Square? How does one differentiate between a visitor and a local? Around 750,000 people pass through Grand Central every day, but the visitors are only 21.6 million. Whereas Union Station in D.C. has 36.5 million—only a million less than Times Square?
The Golden Gate Bridge has about 40 million crossings annually -- and that's only for vehicles; pedestrians and bicycles probably add several million more.
I think the data may be old. In 2012, 39.7 million tourists visited the Las Vegas Strip. There are also approx. 100,000 people who work on the Strip. I'm not sure how the locals could be separated out.. Actually, I would say the numbers the OP quoted must include locals, as so many of them are malls.. unless tourists are planning mall vacations now..
I am surprised that the L.A. Grove is listed as one of the top attractions in L.A. just like I am surprised in general that shopping malls are top attractions except when a place is so small that the shopping mall is the only thing to see there.
Because people have to shop for clothing, food, etc. This is not a record of top tourist destinations.
I thought the same thing as apex. I was thinking "most visited" as in "on vacation" or sight seeing.
Heck, if the criteria discussed is simply "traffic", the Walmart outside of Disney World could probably be #2 then.....
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