Attendance and revenue fell in the third quarter of 2025 for United Parks & Resorts, the owner of the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks.
6.8 million guests came through the chain’s turnstiles between June and September, a 3.4 percent drop from the same time period in 2024. Overall attendance has declined 1.5 percent, to 16.4 million guests, throughout 2025 so far. Revenue for the quarter dropped by 6.2 percent, to $511 million.
“We’re obviously not happy with the results we delivered in the quarter,” United Parks CEO Marc Swanson told financial analysts on its earnings call.
Factors for the decline, according to Swanson, included poor weather conditions during the Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays, fewer international visitors, an “inconsistent” consumer environment in the U.S., while noting that attendance was up at SeaWorld Orlando.
“The investment in the product is there,” Swanson said. “The value proposition is there. We have to do a better job of driving awareness around..how we’re marketing those products and how we’re driving people to buy that product.”
On the brighter side, Swanson said the chain saw “record attendance” in Orlando and San Diego for its Howl-O-Scream Halloween events. It is also readying more announcements for the 2026 season, saying that Busch Gardens Williamsburg will announce its new attraction “later this week.”
The park already has revealed multiple additions across the chain for next year, including a family inverted coaster called Barracuda Strike at SeaWorld San Antonio and a new “suspended dark ride” in Orlando.