United Parks: SeaWorld Orlando attendance up; company revenue down

[Disney4me]

Attendance at SeaWorld Orlando attractions was up in the second quarter, but revenue was down for United Parks, its parent company, according to financial reports released Thursday.

In a rare move, CEO Marc Swanson singled out the company’s Orlando results to address performance in the aftermath of the opening of the nearby Epic Universe theme park by Universal Orlando in the quarter.

“Our attendance at our SeaWorld Orlando park has been up in attendance since Epic opened on May 22,” he said. “It was up for the full second quarter, and it was up if you measured from the date Epic opened through the end of the second quarter. It continues to be up quarter to date in the third quarter through August 6 on a day-to-day basis.”

Swanson said attendance was up at its Aquatica Orlando water park and Discovery Cove, a day resort.

“We expect attendance for the remainder of the year at this part to be up as well,” he told analysts in a conference call after results were announced.

Revenue also was up in Orlando, he said, without releasing specific figures.

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Attendance across all of United’s parks was 6.2 million guests, a 0.8% increase from the second quarter of 2024. Total revenue was $490.2 million, a decrease 1.5% from the second quarter, and net income was $80.1 million, a decrease 12.1% from the second quarter of 2024. In-park per-capita spending was 37.6 million, a dip of 0.4% from a year earlier.

United Parks & Resorts, based in Orlando, operates 13 parks across the United State and Abu Dhabi, including Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

“We’re a little disappointed and probably could have and should have done a better job of proactively managing some of our park labor and operating expenses in the face of poor weather that impacted demand,” Swanson said. “We have tightened and improved our processes and added additional resources to help manage these areas better in the future.”

On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. reported record third-quarter revenue at Walt Disney World, and in late July, Comcast Corp., the parent company of Universal Orlando, said theme park revenue went up 18.9% in its second quarter.

United Parks has not seen a trend of consumers with “value consciousness,”  Swanson said.

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“Our pass sales did improve in July. … Our early Howl-O-Scream sales are positive as well,” Swanson said. “One that I think is really impressive is Discovery Cove here in Orlando, which is our most expensive park, by a lot. That park is on pace for a record attendance here. So, you know, if you were to see some sort of consumer pullback, I think in one of these areas I just mentioned, you would have seen it.”

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