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SeaWorld's Parent Company Drew 179,000 Fewer Guest Visits Last Quarter, and Its Halloween Bet Is a Slasher Movie Haunted House
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SeaWorld's Parent Company Drew 179,000 Fewer Guest Visits Last Quarter, and Its Halloween Bet Is a Slasher Movie Haunted House

Michael Travels
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Attendance across United Parks & Resorts theme parks fell by roughly 179,000 guest visits in the April through June quarter compared with the same quarter of 2025. The company that owns SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica and Discovery Cove put that number in writing Tuesday, and then used the same release to point at its Halloween event, which adds licensed horror movie houses across its parks this year, as a growth opportunity.

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: PRKS) reported second quarter and first half 2026 results on Tuesday, August 4, followed by a 9 a.m. Eastern conference call. The Orlando-headquartered company owns or licenses seven brands across 13 parks in seven markets in the United States and Abu Dhabi, so these are not SeaWorld Orlando numbers on their own, but they are the only attendance and spending figures the company publishes.

The quarter, by the numbers

Attendance came in at 6.1 million guests, a decrease of about 179,000 guests, or 2.9 percent, from the second quarter of 2025. Total revenue slipped 1.4 percent to $483.3 million. Net income fell 21.0 percent to $63.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA dropped 5.2 percent to $195.5 million.

The spending picture is the interesting counterweight. Total revenue per capita rose 1.5 percent to $79.82. Admission per capita actually fell 1.8 percent to $40.31, but in-park per capita spending climbed 5.1 percent to $39.51, which the company called a record for the quarter. Translation: fewer visits through the gates, less admission revenue per visit (the company blamed the mix of admission products sold, not lower prices), and more spending once inside.

CEO Marc Swanson blamed the calendar and international travel. Results were hit "by the shift in the timing of Easter (earlier holiday meant fewer holiday days in the second quarter compared to prior year quarter) and a continued decline in international visitation," he said, adding that "Adjusting for these impacts, attendance would have been flat for the quarter."

It has not turned around since. Reporting from the same call, Attractions Magazine said an early July read put attendance down roughly 2 percent for the month, with wildfires, poor air quality, extreme heat and rain hitting parks around the country. On marketing, Swanson conceded there had been "less-than-stellar execution," a situation he called "quite frankly frustrating."

A guest in a Discovery Cove wetsuit stands chest deep in the lagoon beside a bottlenose dolphin surfacing next to her

Discovery Cove was one of two forward indicators Swanson singled out by name, alongside the company's group business. Photo credit: Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove is the bright spot

If you only read one sentence of this release as an Orlando visitor, read this one. "Looking ahead, we continue to see strength in our forward indicators for Discovery Cove and our group business with advanced bookings revenue for both up double-digits versus prior year," Swanson said.

Discovery Cove is the reservation-only, all-inclusive park in the group, so double digit growth in advance booking revenue is a meaningful demand signal, though revenue can climb on price as well as on volume. That said, the park is currently running a promotion: reservations booked August 3 through 23, 2026 for visits through March 7, 2027 come with one free $50 gift card per paid admission, issued at check-in on the day of your visit. It is not valid on previously booked reservations.

The Halloween bet

Here is the strategic shift. For most of its run, Howl-O-Scream has leaned on characters and stories SeaWorld invented in house rather than on licensed film properties. That changes this year.

United Parks has partnered with Sony Pictures to bring "I Know What You Did Last Summer" to its SeaWorld parks and "Anaconda" to the Busch Gardens parks. At SeaWorld Orlando that arrives as a house called "I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch," and Howl-O-Scream runs select nights from September 11 through October 31.

Swanson was direct about how the company sees the opportunity, describing licensed intellectual property as "something we have done very little of historically but believe represents a significant opportunity for the business." The early returns are apparently good: "Early forward booking ticket sales for our Howl O' Scream events are already running ahead of last year across our parks," he said. (That spacing is the release's own, and it uses two different spellings; SeaWorld's consumer branding is Howl-O-Scream.)

Howl-O-Scream key art showing a large rusted fishhook held by a gloved hand, a SeaWorld lighthouse in fog at left and coaster track at right

The official key art for The Final Catch, the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" house, with the SeaWorld lighthouse at left and coaster track at right. Image credit: United Parks & Resorts, Inc. and Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc.

On the earnings call, Swanson went further, saying United Parks has several active conversations underway about adding more licensed properties at its parks, without naming any of them or saying which parks would get them. Details are expected for 2027 and beyond, according to Attractions Magazine's reporting from the call.

The first half, and the buybacks

The six month picture is rougher than the quarter. Attendance for the first half was 9.3 million guests, down about 350,000, or 3.6 percent. Revenue fell 2.0 percent to $761.6 million, and net income dropped 54.4 percent to $29.2 million. Swanson pointed to "first-half headwinds across international visitation, weather impacts and holiday shifts" and said the company is "fully focused on executing against our strategic priorities and driving growth in revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and total shareholder value."

Meanwhile the company kept buying its own stock. It repurchased about 3.3 million shares for roughly $125 million in the quarter, and about 5.9 million shares for roughly $217.7 million in the first half, which it described as 12.1 percent of total outstanding shares as of February 24, 2026. Swanson said the buybacks reflect "our belief that our shares are materially undervalued."

One number that has nothing to do with money

Tucked into the same release: United Parks says it helped 331 animals in need in the wild during the second quarter, and that its all-time total is now more than 43,000.

What it means if you are visiting

The back half of the summer calendar is full, and two items on it have deadlines. Red, White & BBQ Weekends runs at SeaWorld Orlando on weekends through August 23, Discovery Cove's $50 gift card offer covers reservations booked through August 23, and Howl-O-Scream tickets are on sale now, and the company says early sales for the event are running ahead of last year across its parks.

Sources

Image credits: Featured photo and Discovery Cove photo courtesy of SeaWorld Orlando and Discovery Cove. Howl-O-Scream key art courtesy of United Parks & Resorts, Inc. and Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc.

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