2025 A Promising Year for the Theme Park Industry….. Believe it or Not!

As we move toward the beginning of the 2025 operating season, the mood across the theme park industry is one of cautious but sincere optimism. While broader economic concerns remain present, the overall landscape suggests that this could be a reasonably sound year for both regional and destination parks. Several converging movements are signaling not just prospect, but preplanned visitation stimulus for our industry that should certainly motivate people to visit if needed.

Foremost among interesting happenings is the much-anticipated opening of Universal’s Epic Universe—the first major theme park to open in Orlando’s destination market in 26 years. This multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art project is more than a headline; it represents an energizing force for the entire industry. Its impact will not be limited to Central Florida. As the national media covers its grand opening and guests begin to share their experiences, I expect a ripple effect of positive publicity that will stimulate visitation to parks across the country. This could be a fantastic “trickledown” message that people spark to - moving them to visit parks in their area. Keep in mind Orlando attracted over 74 million visitors in 2024, and that number is poised to rise in 2025 thanks to Epic Universe. As we see daily, the buzz around this park is building rapidly, and once the gates officially open on May 22nd, I anticipate a surge of enthusiasm that will benefit the entire sector.

Source:  WFTV

Beyond this marquee moment, the weather has been a friend to our industry in the early weeks of the season. Parks fortunate enough to open during favorable spring conditions have seen outstanding attendance. One park who opened for passholders on Good Friday, and offered a “bring a friend” opportunity, reported over 40 thousand attendees! Even more encouraging, season pass sales at both destination and regional parks are trending positively, signaling that guests are not only ready to return—they’re ready to return often. Just this week, Disney announced It had to halt its Magic Key Pass program due to being sold out….again!! This has happened multiple times.

Pricing stability is another encouraging sign, especially at the legacy Six Flags parks. We believe the Six Flags team—now operating under the new, merged structure with Cedar Fair—has done an excellent job at repositioning and stabilizing pricing across their park portfolio. In our view, they are ahead of schedule on this issue, and we expect this will lead to renewed attendance growth. The positive effects of this operational realignment should touch all 42 parks under the combined banner. It will also pave the way for their laying the “Pricing Pipe” for the 2026 season.

From an economic standpoint, while there is undeniable uncertainty—a “hangover,” so to speak, from inflationary pressure and tariff confusion—the fundamentals remain surprisingly strong. Oil prices, at least for now, are not inhibiting travel. This, combined with Americans’ enduring appetite for escapism, creates fertile ground for strong park performance.

Escapism remains a powerful force. When the news cycle becomes overwhelming (like now) and the economy unpredictable, people still seek a little joy and getting away from it all for a brief time. They want to escape, and theme parks provide families the perfect retreat. In fact, I believe this very need for emotional release could become a major defining driver of 2025’s success in our business.

In addition to the above, we’re also seeing major early signs of discounting strategies being deployed across the industry. This is a development we at ITPS have long anticipated. If it continues—and we believe it will—2025 may well go down as the “year of industry-wide discounting.” We have seen through the years that well-timed strategic promotions at both destination and regional parks will move people through the turnstiles and keep them coming back during pre, mid, and post season schedules. Now properly merged with critical season pass offerings, these special deals/promotions will enhance affordability to those single day visitors/ticket buyers, stimulating strong guest volume opportunities.

Source:  Disney Parks

Another strong motivator worth highlighting this season are capital expenditures that are planned across the industry. There is a solid slate of Cap Ex projects coming online this year—marketable new rides, immersive environments, and improved guest amenities—all of which will motivate visits and drive repeat business. Over the last three years at some of the legacy Six Flags parks, these types of investments have been ignored, but they are now on the radar and in the Capex planning rotation.

Source:  Six Flags

It is very possible that on a regional level, we may see echoes of the “staycation” trend that benefited parks during the 2007–2008 economic downturn. Families looking to save on travel may opt for visitation to just regional parks, particularly as they become more competitive in pricing, present new attraction introductions, and offer enhanced guest experience. Parks that have been properly positioned with strong attraction content and creative promotional flexibility are situated to capture incremental attendance.

While 2025 consumer spending may tend to plateau compared to the previous year, due to tighter household budgets and general financial concerns, we believe the value proposition of theme parks continues to remain strong. With the average length of guest stay hovering around 6–7 hours, the price-to-value relationship is still one of the best in out-of-home entertainment, particularly when compared to A- level concerts, professional sports, and other entertainment forms that last several hours versus seven hours.

The elephant in the room, of course, remains the ongoing confusion around tariffs and their impact on the broader economy. Not just parks, but businesses people own, who at this point have no idea what tariff impacts will be on them. While this remains an X-factor of huge proportion, we are hopeful that clarity will emerge, and consumer confidence will normalize quickly as the season progresses.

I want to return to the central truth that has always defined our business - “people like our industry”. They believe in it, they trust it, and they return to it year after year. As the last great form of family entertainment, theme parks occupy a uniquely emotional space in people’s lives—and that’s something no economic uncertainty can fully erode. They will come back!

We at ITPS believe that 2025 will be remembered as a pivotal, hopefully positive year. With exciting new developments (Epic Universe opening), improved management strategies (as a result of actions being taken early this season), and a national population eager to embrace escapism, the stage is set for success. Let the season begin!

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