In Orlando Theme Park Wars, Disney and Universal Winning, SeaWorld Continues to Slide

The latest quarterly earnings from Orlando’s theme park chains have been released, and the results paint a pretty stark picture of the theme park landscape.

Kareem Gantt
Aug 9, 2017 · 3 min read
Walt Disney World (pinterest.com)

In the ever continuing saga of Orlando’s theme park wars, two of our mega-resorts are going neck-and-neck, while the third is just trying to stay above water.

The second and third-quarter earnings for the theme park chains were released recently, and they paint a pretty stark picture of what Orlando’s theme park landscape has shaped into, and what lies ahead.

First, let’s start with the big cheese, Disney.

Their 3Q earnings report was simply off-the-charts. Disney’s parks and resorts, which also includes the Disneyland Resort in California and its other theme park resorts worldwide, racked up $4.89 billion in revenue in the 3Q, a 12 percent jump.

This was due largely to Disney hiking its prices on everything from tickets to souvenirs (people will give an arm-and-a-leg for anything Disney), which equated to park attendees paying more and hiking up their revenue.

What also lead to Disney’s big 3Q? The opening of the Pandora — The World of AVATAR land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which has turned out to be a huge hit.

All signs point to Disney ramping up the pressure on its rivals, especially here in Orlando. The Magic Kingdom will get a new roller coaster based off the Tron film, Epcot will recieve brand new attractions based off of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ratatouille, and the China Pavilion and iconic Mission: Space ride will get new updates.

At Hollywood Studios, the much-hyped Star Wars and Toy Story lands are scheduled to open next year, and Mickey and Minne’s Runaway Railway will replace the outdated Great Movie Ride. This, in addition to expansions at Disney Springs and new resorts, means that Disney isn’t resting on its laurels.

Neither is Universal.

Thanks to the opening of brand-new experiences like the new Harry Potter land at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Minion Park at Universal Japan, and Volcano Bay here in Orlando, Universal Parks and Resorts enjoyed a 15 percent increse in revenues for the second-quarter.

Like Disney, Universal isn’t resting on its new attractions to carry them into the future. Nintendo-themed lands are coming to its parks, including here in Orlando, and Universal’s Islands of Adventure will replace the Dragon Challenge coaster with a brand new roller coaster themed after Harry Potter.

While Disney and Universal are enjoying great revenue increases, SeaWorld Parks and Resorts continues to slide.

Their 2Q earnings once again went the wrong way as the company continues to fight the negative effects of the “Blackfish” documentary and embarks on a rebranding campaign that will see all of its killer whale shows scraped for more of an “educational” expeirence.

While revenues once again were a disappointment for SeaWorld, attendance at its parks were actually up 2.3 percent (finally, some good news), thanks to new attractions and experiences in its flagship Orlando park, Busch Gardens parks in Tampa Bay and Williamsburg, VA, and SeaWorld San Antonio.

But the SeaWorld park in San Diego continues to be the Achilles heel for the chain, and if it’s able to climb out of its rut, the company must find a way to repair the San Diego park’s damaged reputation.

They’re trying to do that by slowly replicating what they have done here in Orlando, adding a new Electric Eel coaster that should be open by next summer. The chain’s other parks are adding new attractions as well.

The San Antonio park this year added the Wave Breaker coaster, and it’s Orlando parks, which include the flagship SeaWorld Orlando along with Aquatica and Discovery Cove, continues to add attractions and re-brand itself as a resort area.

So with new attractions coming online and coming soon, don’t expect the Orlando theme park wars to cool down anytime soon.

Award-Winning Writer, Floridian, Music Reviewer and Journalist, Sports Columnist, Political and Social Columnist.

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