Buoyed by the first full year of Cars Land operations, Disney California Adventure drew nearly 750,000 more visitors in 2013 compared with the previous year – and has boosted attendance by more than 70 percent since the park opened to a lackluster response more than a dozen years ago.

California Adventure now ranks as 10th-most attended park in the world, according to the latest attendance figures released Tuesday by the Themed Entertainment Association. It’s the fourth straight year of overall growth for the theme-park industry after the recession.

Though unofficial, the 8,000-member association’s annual report is considered a reliable source among the industry.

Last year, 8.5 million people visited California Adventure, up 9.5 percent from 2012, when the park welcomed 7.8 million visitors. California Adventure is now the sixth-most popular theme park in North America.

And that’s all up from California Adventure’s opening in 2001, when it attracted 5 million for most of the year, followed by a dip to 4.7 million the following year. The growth has been largely attributed to the June 2012 completion of California Adventure’s $1 billion overhaul, when the immediately popular 12-acre Cars Land opened.

“I think California Adventure is a great example of the impact of capital expenditures and renewals in theme parks,” said John Robinett, senior vice president of economics for AECOM, which produces the association’s report. “There’s a few things that drive attendance in theme parks. Our studies suggest the one controllable factor is capital expenditures and reinvesting in new attractions and shows.”

Disney officials declined to comment about the report.

Repeat visitors to Disney California Adventure said they’ve seen a change in attendance over the years.

Stephanie Zimmerman, who was headed to the park Tuesday for her grandson’s first birthday, said she’s had Disney annual passes on and off since her now 18-year-old daughter was 2. Zimmerman, a San Diego resident, said she usually goes on weekdays to avoid the crowds.

“It’s definitely very popular,” she said about Cars Land. “There’s always a long line for the main ride there.“

Disneyland attendance rose 1.5 percent with 16.2 million visitors, slipping one slot to become the third-most popular theme park worldwide. Tokyo Disneyland claimed second place while the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World maintained its first-place status.

Robinett said the rise in Tokyo’s ranking can be credited to the emerging theme-park market in Asia.

“Traditionally, the U.S has dominated the world league in theme parks, and Asia is definitely in the rear-view mirror right now. It’s only a matter of time where Asia surpasses the U.S. in theme park attendance,” he said.

Other Southern California theme parks also saw strong growth in attendance.

• Knott’s Berry Farm was up 5 percent, with 3.7 million visitors.

• Knott’s Soak City’s visits were up 5.1 percent with 368,000 guests.

• Six Flags Magic Mountain was up 3.5 percent, with 2.9 million visitors.

• Universal Studios Hollywood was up 4 percent, with 6.1 million visitors.

Universal Studios is in the middle of a five-year investment plan, including the 2012 addition of Transformers: The Ride 3D. This summer, the Hollywood park added “Despicable Me” attractions.”

“We are experiencing new attendance records due to the five-year epic transformation of Universal Studios Hollywood which began in 2012 with the immensely popular Transformers: The Ride 3D,” said Larry Kurzweil, president of Universal Studios Hollywood, in a statement.

“We expect to continue this accelerated growth with our new Despicable Me Minion Mayhem adventure ride and immersive Super Silly Fun Land now open.”

The only Southern California theme park to take a dip was SeaWorld, which was down 3 percent, to land at 4.3 million. SeaWorld has faced criticism after the airing of “Blackfish,” a documentary that slams the park for holding killer whales captive.

SeaWorld officials downplayed the effect of the “Blackfish” movie, saying pricing and weather problems were the chief causes of the attendance drop.

“The decline was primarily attributable to the expected result of planned pricing and yield management strategies that increased revenue but reduced low-yielding and free attendance,” SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz said in a statement.

Robinett also said the documentary had “little or no effect” on SeaWorld attendance, saying the drops were tied to price increases and the lack of new attractions.

While California Adventure has skyrocketed in attendance, Universal Studios in Florida posted last year’s biggest increase – up 14 percent to 7 million visitors.

Next door, the Islands of Adventure park in Universal Orlando has experienced even bigger jumps since its Harry Potter attractions first opened in 2010 – 76 percent.

The Themed Entertainment Association’s roughly 8,000 members come from the theme-park, casino, restaurant, retail, museum and zoo industries. The numbers used in its annual attendance reports come from a variety of sources, including the operators, historical numbers, financial reports, the investment banking community and local tourism organizations.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3771 or rkheel@ocregister.com