Theme park attendance has been strong in the post-COVID era, and it looks like growth at Universal parks around the world is showing no sign of stopping, according to the company’s latest financial report.
For the quarter ending Sept. 30, parent company Comcast reported that Universal theme parks globally generated $2.4 billion in revenue, a 17% year-over-year improvement. And even though costs are rising due to the company’s various construction projects, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose 20% to $983 million, setting a new record for the theme parks division overall.
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is a big hit
When discussing the theme park segment, it was revealed that one of the key drivers of this past quarter’s theme park attendance was Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood. This new land opened back in February, and has been a massive draw for the park, attracting huge crowds over the summer.
“The reaction to Nintendo and Hollywood in Japan continues to be fantastic, and we’re very excited about bringing the experience to Florida soon,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said when discussing the record-breaking results.
Attendance and revenue were a little slower in Orlando in summer 2023
Though attendance and revenue were up in a big way over on the West Coast, it looks like the summer season was a bit milder in Orlando, as Comcast did report a year-over-year decline in revenue for Universal Orlando Resort. However, the report did note that while demand has tapered off from the initial post-COVID surge in 2022, attendance in Orlando is still “relatively in line” with pre-pandemic levels, despite the only new attraction this summer being the Villain-Con Minion Mayhem moving walkway game.
Of course, with Epic Universe right around the corner, there is no chance that things will stay slow for long on the East Coast. And speaking of…
Work is continuing on Universal’s three new projects
With such strong results from the theme park division, it’s no wonder that parent company Comcast is betting big on the future of this segment. When discussing the future of the parks segment, Cavanagh said, “I was just in Orlando with the parks leadership team last week, reviewing our plans for the new Halloween Horror experience in Las Vegas and kids theme park in Frisco, Texas.
I also spent a few hours on a site tour of the Epic Universe park, which is deep in construction and is simply breathtaking. So thanks to the momentum of our third quarter results and what we have in the pipeline, I could not be more excited about our parks business.” Though no new details were revealed about any of these projects, hopefully we’ll hear more before the end of the year.
With new theme parks, attractions and more on the horizon, it seems likely Universal will continue to break records for attendance and revenue in the future as this theme park giant continues to expand its massive footprint in the US.
