Is the theme park industry having a good summer or a bad one?
The answer is … yes. The nation’s top four theme park companies have issued their latest financial reports, with two companies reporting higher attendance for the past three months and two companies reporting declines.
Disney continues to lead the industry, reporting a 4% rise in theme park attendance over the same period last year. But Six Flags surprised many with equally strong attendance growth for the quarter. United Parks reported a 3% drop in attendance, while Universal earlier reported a 5% drop in earnings at its parks, with “softening” attendance in June.
The results show, once again, that management matters. Decisions that each company’s leadership team made affected how their parks have performed this season.
Disneyland lapped the start of its 70th anniversary celebration last year, but maintained attendance growth through the smart use of targeted discounts in California and Florida. The company for years has been using variable pricing to entice crowds to visit at less popular times of the year. That strategy has worked so well that Disney now is using discounts to try to draw fans back to visit during the summer vacation season.
Six Flags continues to rely on low-priced memberships and season passes to drive attendance at its parks. But budget-conscious fans still want a positive experience when they visit. The company’s new management team seems to be investing in better maintenance and operations after it sold some of the company’s weakest parks. Looking ahead, Six Flags is raising prices for add-ons such as meal plans and Fast Lane line-skips while keeping base costs low for 2027 passes. That could help keep attendance up while boosting revenue for more improvement.
United Parks does not discount as aggressively as Six Flags. Instead, the company relies on seasonal food festivals and concert series to drive attendance. But fans can find plenty of similar options elsewhere. Without a compelling lineup of new attractions this year, the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks have suffered yet another decline. Without much announced for 2027, the trend could continue.
Universal could raise its attendance numbers in Orlando simply by opening its new Epic Universe theme park to Universal Orlando annual passholders, who have been blocked from the park since its opening last year. But management chose instead to try to protect the experience for daily ticket buyers at the capacity-challenged park. Universal should get a boost next quarter from its new family theme park that opened in Texas in July.
Universal also took an attendance hit in California by not having its new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster open by the start of the summer vacation season. But management’s caution with that new coaster should pay off in the long run, given the enthusiastic reviews it has earned from initial riders.
High fuel prices have made this a tough summer for many travel businesses. But theme parks’ varying performance is a reminder that it’s not the headwinds but a company’s response to them that matters most.