Attendance at the Universal theme parks in Florida and California was down in the second quarter, reflecting what executives called a normalization following a post-lockdown boom.
During parent company Comcast Corp.'s Q2 earnings call Tuesday, president Mike Cavanagh said 2022 and 2023 brought record attendance to theme parks. He called parks "the early beneficiaries of substantial rebounds in tourism and travel."
But more options have since opened, Cavanagh said, like cruises and international tourism. As a result, park visitation has normalized, he said.
Comcast's financial results reflected that. Theme park revenue was down 10.6% in the quarter, totaling $1.98 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was down 24.1%, to $632 million. Cavanagh attributed two-thirds of the decrease to lower attendance at Universal's domestic parks.
Also to blame is a lack of new attractions in Universal's theme parks, Cavanagh said. It's been more than a year since the February 2023 opening of Super Nintendo World in California. The last major attraction that debuted in Florida was the Jurassic World VelociCoaster in 2021.
Cavanagh predicted the trend of lower attendance will continue until next year, when Universal's third theme park in Orlando, Epic Universe, opens. He expects Epic Universe to boost attendance and spur longer visits to Universal's Orlando campus and higher guest spending.
Cavanagh called consumer reaction to details revealed about Epic Universe "tremendous." Universal recently opened a preview center for the park in Orlando, and both foot traffic and enthusiasm have been "off the charts," he said.
The park is expected to open sometime next year.
CFO Jason Armstrong pointed to two new attractions coming later this year: Fast & Furious -- Supercharged, a roller coaster in Universal Studios Hollywood, and Donkey Kong Country at Universal Studios Japan.
Also in development are the Universal Kids Resort in Texas and Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas' Area15.
"We couldn't be more bullish about the long-term trajectory of parks," Armstrong said.