Gabrielle Russon
The company that owns SeaWorld theme parks plans to open two new rides in Orlando and Tampa that haven’t been previously announced, as well as expand with more projects abroad.
Orlando-based United Parks and Resorts also announced that the plan to add hotels at some of its parks is delayed and won’t happen until after 2026. The company is looking to make deals involving some of the real estate it owns, which includes 400 acres of unused land.
These were some of the revelations from the fourth-quarter earnings report and investor information released Wednesday.
The company’s attendance fell by about 80,000 visitors to a total of 4.9 million guests for the quarter as the company’s parks dealt with three hurricanes in three months: Debby in August, Helene in September and Milton in October.
If not for the storms, attendance would have been up 2% for the quarter, the company estimated.
Overall, the company’s total revenue reached about $384 million, down 1%, from the same time period last year.
Despite getting hit financially from the bad weather and dangerous storms, CEO Marc Swanson said his company is undervalued by Wall Street as he expects the business to grow in the year ahead via the company’s plans to control costs and add new attractions.
“There’s a lot of value in this business, there’s a lot of things we are doing to try to drive that value, and I’m not sure it’s always readily understood,” Swanson said.
Swanson’s comments come as Universal is set to open a brand new theme park just up the road. The CEO maintained the same position as past earnings calls, saying he’s not worried about the competition and thinks more visitors coming to Orlando is a good thing for SeaWorld.
Swanson said he is excited for the company’s 2025 ride openings, which includes an immersive Arctic flying ride in Orlando and a kid-friendly interactive Wild Oasis area themed as the rainforest at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, investor documents teased both parks will also get “a new attraction to be announced,” but did not say what or when.
“We continue to invest in our parks and continue to give people reasons to visit with new things,” Swanson said.
Swanson acknowledged that the company is focused on increasing revenues and gave more insight into the rising cost to go to theme parks. He said the annual pass prices had gone up in the “low single digits.”
“Pricing has probably been a little more aggressive over the last couple years, and we got to find that right balance at times,” Swanson said. “We try to find that right balance of growing price and still growing attendance.”
Swanson also brought up dynamic pricing where prices fluctuate depending on how busy the parks are.
“We also do quite a bit of work around dynamic pricing, which I think is something that we continue to refine and learn from and optimize going forward,” he said.
