Epic’s ticket sales, hotel bookings strong, Comcast leaders say

[Disney4me]

Ticket sales for Epic Universe theme park and related hotel bookings are “a little ahead of our expectations,” Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh said during the company’s quarterly earnings call this week.  The resort is well-positioned, officials said, despite reports of international travel anxiety.

Comcast is the parent company of Universal Orlando, which is adding Epic to its lineup. The theme park’s grand opening is set for May 22.

“We have seen strong demand since launching Epic ticket sales in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the most recent reaction to early previews has
been nothing short of phenomenal,” Cavanagh said.

Epic Universe preview: An early walk (and rides) in the park

Comcast’s theme park revenue was down 5.2% for the first quarter from a year earlier, and operating expenses were up 7.5%.  In the ramp-up to Epic’s opening there were about $100 million in incremental costs, as anticipated, Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said.

“Looking past these pre-opening costs, underlying results in the quarter indicated stable trends in Orlando, giving us confidence that we are entering
the Epic launch from a position of strength,” Armstrong said.

A decline in international travel and airplane bookings hasn’t been mirrored in the company’s data for travel plans to theme parks, Cavanagh said.

“What we’re seeing continues to be tracking well,” he said.

“Our domestic parks do draw a lot of folks from the U.S. and a lot of folks from markets in the South, in the case of Florida, that are not necessarily hopping on planes to get there,” Cavanagh said. “So there may be a delayed effect between what the airlines are starting to report on and what we see. But like I said, no real sign of that in our business as we sit here now.”

Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and the Southern California tourism industry are rebounding from the area’s wildfires, he said.

“I think the whole market is continuing to see people staying away a little bit more than I think the leadership in L.A. broadly or us as a park owner in that market would like it to be,” Cavanagh said. The company’s parks in Japan and China remain stable, he said.

SeaWorld Orlando delays Expedition Odyssey ride’s debut by a week

The bulk of the earnings call dealt with other aspects of Comcast’s business, such as studios, broadband and Peacock streaming service.  There were references to other businesses in its Content & Experiences sector, including the kids park under construction in Texas, Universal Horror Unleashed, a year-round horror experience set to open in Las Vegas in August and the decision to build a theme park in England.

Overall revenue for the first quarter was $29.9 billion, a decrease of 0.6%.  Revenue for Content & Experiences was $10.5 billion, an increase of 0.8%.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.

Roller coaster injuries top state’s quarterly report for theme parks

 

View the full article