There was a lot of speculation about what would happen when Universal’s multibillion-dollar Epic Universe opened. Would Epic eat up the attendance from its competitors in the theme park capital of the world? Or would a rising tide lift all boats?
That question was answered this week, as SeaWorld Orlando’s owner confirmed that attendance was not only up for the second quarter, but is currently up in the third quarter through this week.
Disney World also experienced record-breaking revenue for its most recent quarter after Epic opened, the Walt Disney Co. reported Wednesday during its earnings call.
Both SeaWorld and Disney executives previously said they expected Epic to drive more visitors to Orlando that, in turn, would benefit their attendance as well.
“We hope we really don’t have to discuss this topic again,” United Parks and Resorts CEO Marc Swanson said during Thursday’s earnings call. “We do not plan to make it a normal practice to discuss individual park performance information in the future.”
Universal’s owner, Comcast Corp., reported a 19% increase to $2.35 billion in revenue for the theme park segment in the second quarter following Epic’s opening. Epic’s five lands feature Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World and more.
During the United Parks earnings report, the company said attendance reached 6.2 million visitors, up nearly 1% year-over-year, while revenue fell $490 million, down about 2%. The company, which owns parks in Texas and California, dealt with “some of the worst weather we have ever experienced in the second quarter,” Swanson said.
Meanwhile, bookings at Discovery Cove, Orlando’s all-inclusive resort, were “up mid to high single digits for the remainder of the year,” Swanson added.
The parks will soon be pivoting to Halloween within the next few weeks, followed by the holidays.
“These special events continue to grow in popularity, and we expect this year’s events to be among our biggest ever,” Swanson said.
In other news, the company announced a $500 million share repurchasing program and also expects to sign two memos of understandings for new hotels by this year as it moves forward on long-discussed plans to add hotels. Swanson brought up its valuable undeveloped land, including in Orlando.
The company also cared for 500 animals that were sick or injured in the wild.
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