Attendance rose 2.1% at United Parks & Resorts for the first three months of the year, compared to the same period on year ago, the company reported this morning.
United Parks is the new name for the former SeaWorld Parks company, which includes the Busch Gardens and Sesame Place parks as well as SeaWorld and several water park brands. The company reported that 3.45 million people visited its parks in the three month period ending March 31, up from 3.38 million during that period in 2023.
Total revenue for the quarter was also up 1.4%, to $297.4 million. That helped drive a 9.3% increase in Adjusted EBITDA, to $79.2 million.
"We are pleased to report record financial results this quarter including record revenue and Adjusted EBITDA," CEO Marc Swanson said, "While attendance in the quarter benefited from a positive calendar shift, including the shift of the Easter holiday into the last day of the first quarter from the second quarter in prior year, this benefit was almost entirely offset by unusually wet and cold weather during the quarter, particularly on certain peak attendance days and mainly in our Florida parks. In-park per capita revenue, excluding the impact of certain one-time revenue, increased 4.0% during the quarter representing the 16th consecutive quarter of growth."
That one-time revenue was associated with the opening of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi in 2023. Including that impact, total revenue per capita decreased 0.7% to $86.21 and in-park per capita spending decreased 0.5% to $38.15 from the first quarter of 2023. Admission per capita decreased 0.9% to $48.06.
In March, SeaWorld San Antonio opened Catapult Falls, an Intamin launched flume coaster. Upcoming attraction debuts for United Parks include Loch Ness Monster: The Legend Lives On at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Phoenix Rising at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Penguin Trek at SeaWorld Orlando, and Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience at SeaWorld San Diego. For more on upcoming attractions at top theme parks around the world, please visit our what's under construction page.
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@Russell, amen! You never hear Disney or Universal blame dropping attendance on cold or hot weather in their quarterly reports, and they operate in the same region as SeaWorld and Busch. Climate change is going to continually exacerbate temperatures at both ends of the spectrum, so are they just going to give up and let their attendance be driven by mother nature? Unless we're talking about a major hurricane, no Florida weather should cause a significant decrease in attendance.
I'm a little more willing to give United the benefit of weather disruption than Disney or Universal because 1. Most of their attendance comes from locals rather than tourists, which are more prone to alter their plans if conditions are undesirable and 2. Unlike the other parks, a vast majority of their attractions are outdoors and simply cannot operate in excessively wet or windy conditions. That said, if it's a problem quarter after quarter, it's definitely something they should be taking steps to address through attractions that won't be affected negatively by it (such as BGW's DarKoaster).
I think this is going to be a good chain to watch in regards to whether family oriented investments are paying off. With a majority of their 2023 projects and all of their 2024 projects being aimed at that demographic, if we see gains in upcoming quarters its a good sign that's the direction the industry wants to move.
Q2 - hot
Q3 - rain and hurricanes
Q4 - shifting calendar
I live right next to Sea World Orlando, and while maybe there were a few days where it would have been unpleasant to be in the park because of the cold, overall the months he is talking about were really nice and I spent more time at SWO because of how pleasant out it was compared to any other quarter.
On the other hand almost every single day from May-mid October its brutally hot to the point where its dangerous, right now (May 9) its 95 degrees out and there is no way in hell I would go to a park. That definitely affects attendance waaaaay more than cold in the winter. Every quarter "United Parks" management feels the need to say the weather affects their attendance, but Q1 had by far the nicest weather of any of the other quarters. People that invest in amusement parks should know that the weather affects attendance you shouldn't have to be making excuses every quarter.
I live near Sea World Orlando, and while maybe there were a few days where it would have been unpleasant to be in the park because of the cold, overall the months he is talking about were really nice and I spent more time at SWO because of how pleasant out it was compared to any other quarter.
On the other hand almost every single day from May-mid October its brutally hot to the point where its dangerous, right now (May 9) its 95 degrees out and there is no way in hell I would go to a park. That definitely affects attendance waaaaay more than cold in the winter. Every quarter "United Parks" management feels the need to say the weather affects their attendance, but Q1 had by far the nicest weather of any of the other quarters. People that invest in amusement parks should know that the weather affects attendance you shouldn't have to be making excuses every quarter.
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"While attendance in the quarter benefited from a positive calendar shift, including the shift of the Easter holiday into the last day of the first quarter from the second quarter in prior year, this benefit was almost entirely offset by unusually wet and cold weather during the quarter, particularly on certain peak attendance days and mainly in our Florida parks"
Again, blaming shortcomings on the weather. What is with this Swanson fellow and their obsession with qualifying results with weather impacts - are they a closeted meteorologist? At some point Wall Street will take this company to task for constantly blaming Mother Nature and force them to come up with plans to succeed in spite of any inclement weather. Swanson blames subpar Q1 performance on cold weather, and will probably try to blame Q2 performance on hot weather. Ultimately, this company should figure out how to get guests to visit and spend money in the parks regardless of the weather.