SeaWorld, Busch Gardens can ‘do better’ at marketing its parks, CEO says as attendance decreases
United Parks & Resorts — the parent company of SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Sesame Place parks — saw lower attendance and revenue this quarter, and CEO Marc Swanson shared thoughts on how to move forward.
Photo by Matt Roseboom
During a quarterly earnings call on Nov. 6, 2025, United reported a 3.4% decrease in attendance and a 6.2% decrease in revenue in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024. The company cites bad weather on Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays as well as a decline in international visitors (by 90,000 guests) as reasons for the lower numbers.
However, United also boasted record attendance for this season of Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego, as well as record attendance and revenue at Discovery Cove, its Orlando day-resort park.
“We are obviously not happy with the results we delivered in the quarter,” Swanson said during the call. “The consumer environment in the U.S. appears to be inconsistent, as has been outlined by a number of other leisure and hospitality businesses. Nonetheless, we can and expect to do better.”
Photo courtesy of United Parks & Resorts
In particular, Swanson continued, “We’ve got to continue to break through on the awareness and why you should have a ticket or a pass to our park.”
Swanson mapped out a hypothetical scenario in which a new resident moves to Tampa and their neighbor tells them, “Hey, you’ve gotta get a pass to Busch Gardens. It’s a great value. Everybody has a pass.”
“We’ve got to market that better and give people reasons to buy our product,” Swanson said. “The way to do that is to continue to invest in the parks — continue to give a strong value proposition and people reasons to visit.”
Current investments underway at United theme parks include:
- a suspended-track dark ride called SeaQuest: Legends of the Deep for SeaWorld Orlando
- the Barracuda Strike roller coaster for SeaWorld San Antonio
- a reimagined Shark Encounter habitat for SeaWorld San Diego
- the Lion & Hyena Ridge habitat expansion for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Artwork courtesy of United Parks & Resorts
The company is also planning two new international SeaWorld parks.
“We are focused, well positioned, and confident in the investments we are making, the operational efficiencies we expect to achieve, and the value we plan to build for stakeholders,” Swanson said.
During the same call, Swanson shared remarks about the recent opening of Universal Epic Universe and how SeaWorld Orlando “can share in that market improvement.”
Stay tuned to AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
