Universal Orlando Resort Expansion (Part 1)

[GAcoaster]

Read an interesting article the other day where investment/business analysts have suggested that SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment should sell the Orlando park off and use the proceeds to pay down debts and rebrand the other two SeaWorld parks. They suggest it because of the value of the land, and site that since SeaWorld is the only Orlando park to not make gains in attendance while Disney and Universal have, it's a losing proposition to keep running it.

Of course the land it sits on is about the same size as the space occupied by Universal and IOA.

 

[WAJAS]

Read an interesting article the other day where investment/business analysts have suggested that SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment should sell the Orlando park off and use the proceeds to pay down debts and rebrand the other two SeaWorld parks. They suggest it because of the value of the land, and site that since SeaWorld is the only Orlando park to not make gains in attendance while Disney and Universal have, it's a losing proposition to keep running it.

SeaWorld's Florida properties have all had an increase in attendence since last year. The rest (other than Sesame Place) aren't doing to well.

 

[GAcoaster]

That's not what the analyst said. Here's the article: CITI: It might be time for SeaWorld to sell its park in Orlando - Yahoo Finance

 

[*Q*]

No way. This is all retro. Plus the dream of film and TV production in FL has pretty much died out.

I think the same could be said for productivity in Florida in general.

 

[WAJAS]

That's not what the analyst said. Here's the article: CITI: It might be time for SeaWorld to sell its park in Orlando - Yahoo Finance

In there earnings reports it states that their overall decrease in attendance was "partially offset by improvements in demand at the Company’s other park locations, including Florida." I don't know where this guy is getting his information as SeaWorld, like most theme park companies, doesn't even release individual park attendance records. The best you can get is inaccurate data from TEA, which hasn't even released their estimates for 2015 yet.
Here's the link to the pdf:
http://www.seaworldinvestors.com/files/doc_news/2015-Q2-Earnings-Release-IR-Website.pdf

 

[tielo]

That's not what the analyst said. Here's the article: CITI: It might be time for SeaWorld to sell its park in Orlando - Yahoo Finance

I'm sure "analysts" told the same about Universal Studios Orlando. With the right company, money and ideas behind it Sea World could emerge again and be successful. The new guy Sea World attracted was very successful to revive other parks so I'm sure this park will be no exception.

 

[AK-Jake]

From my understanding, the Florida SeaWorld/Busch properties are doing quite well...it's the other properties (San Diego especially) that aren't. Why would a struggling company sell off its two flagship/most profitable parks? It's insanity! That's just as dumb as when Clueless Mark Shapiro seriously considered selling off Six Flags Magic Mountain along with the other weaker parks they sold back in 2006. SFMM is Six Flags' only fully year-round park and generally has the highest attendance of any company in the chain. When you're in dire financial straits, the LAST thing you do is chop your golden goose! Fortunately, Shapiro got a clue and kept Magic Mountain in the chain. Even more fortunately, Shapiro and Dan Snyder got ousted from the company during its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings. Joel Manby (SeaWorld's CEO) isn't dumb...he knows what he's doing.

Anyway, shouldn't we be talking about Universal Orlando?

 

[WAJAS]

Anyway, shouldn't we be talking about Universal Orlando?

I think its fine because its in the context of Universal Expansion.

 

[GAcoaster]

From my understanding, the Florida SeaWorld/Busch properties are doing quite well...it's the other properties (San Diego especially) that aren't. Why would a struggling company sell off its two flagship/most profitable parks? It's insanity! That's just as dumb as when Clueless Mark Shapiro seriously considered selling off Six Flags Magic Mountain along with the other weaker parks they sold back in 2006. SFMM is Six Flags' only fully year-round park and generally has the highest attendance of any company in the chain. When you're in dire financial straits, the LAST thing you do is chop your golden goose! Fortunately, Shapiro got a clue and kept Magic Mountain in the chain. Even more fortunately, Shapiro and Dan Snyder got ousted from the company during its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings. Joel Manby (SeaWorld's CEO) isn't dumb...he knows what he's doing.

If you read the article you'll understand that the reason they advocate a sale is that it helps the company get out of debt. That was the same reason that Shapiro proposed a sale of Magic Mountain. Yes, San Diego is hurting the most, but the company doesn't own the land it sits on so a sale wouldn't help the situation. Reducing debts would, and also allow them to make bigger changes to the remaining parks and reposition the company on a stronger footing.

I don't doubt Manby will help the situation with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, but it's a publicly traded company and if the investors revolt his hands could be tied. And, with Comcast showing the desire to grow the business so aggressively, I wouldn't be surprised to know that talks about the possibility of a sale are going on behind the scenes just based on the idea being floated out there now. If you look around at the property available for expansion of Universal in the area, it would all be costly to acquire and require all kinds of jumping through hoops to get approvals to build any new parks. Purchasing SeaWorld would be (relatively) inexpensive, it's already a park so it wouldn't take nearly as much to get approvals for construction, and it is relatively close and easily connected via transportation to the existing park.

 

[UAN17]

For those in the know, and I know it can be difficult to give specifics, but so much focus is going into the Studios, are their current immediate plans post 2016 for additions to IOA?

 

[JungleSkip]

For those in the know, and I know it can be difficult to give specifics, but so much focus is going into the Studios, are their current immediate plans post 2016 for additions to IOA?

Yes.

 

[UAN17]

Yes.

This makes me a very happy man. I love the place, but if your not in the mood for water rides, I think it's just a few rides short. Kong will obviously help.

 

[anihilnation]

Yes.

Avengers for 2019?

 

[JungleSkip]

Avengers for 2019?

Possibly. Don't know the date for that

 

[ThreePack Shagur]

Ground should be broken by the time the next contract negotiation window opens, which I hear is still every 5 years after the 2014 changes.

 

[korytowski8]

Contract negations for what every 5 years?

 

[anihilnation]

Possibly. Don't know the date for that

Anything else in the works besides the Avengers ride?

 

[JungleSkip]

Anything else in the works besides the Avengers ride?

:censored:

 

[*Q*]

:censored:

I like that answer.

 

[Teebin]

Anything else in the works besides the Avengers ride?

What avengers ride? Frustrating judgement prevents me saying something about other things way off in the future. I almost did though.