{"id":350125,"date":"2026-07-23T17:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350125\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:45:08","slug":"universal-reports-softened-attendance-at-orlando-theme-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350125\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal reports ‘softened’ attendance at Orlando theme parks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ORLANDO, Fla. – Theme park attendance at Universal Orlando<\/a> slowed this summer, parent company Comcast revealed Thursday.<\/p>\n

During a call following the release of its second-quarter earnings, the media company said that attendance at its Orlando parks was “below expectations.”<\/p>\n

Slower summer at Orlando parks <\/p>\n

Talking with investors, Comcast executives said attendance in Orlando started “softening” in June and the trend has continued into the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Comcast president Mike Cavanagh pointed to higher fuel prices as one of the likely contributors to the slowdown.<\/p>\n

“We believe there are some temporary factors at work, including higher fuel prices and weaker consumer sentiment, but we are watching these trends closely,” Cavanagh said on the call.<\/p>\n

Executives did not provide a breakdown of the attendance numbers.<\/p>\n

However, Epic Universe was signaled out for its strong performance, with executives saying they were pleased with the results at the park that opened last year.<\/p>\n

“Epic Universe continues to perform well and is delivering the strong guest response we expected,” Cavanagh said.<\/p>\n

Despite the slowdown, executives remain optimistic about its overall theme park business, pointing to the newly-opened Universal Kids resort in Texas and the upcoming resort in the United Kingdom as opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n

“Despite these near-term pressures, our outlook for the long-term opportunity in parks is unchanged,” Cavanagh said. “We have great brands, great locations and a proven playbook for investing behind attractions and experiences that create real consumer demand and strong returns.”<\/p>\n

Theme park earnings <\/p>\n

Universal’s parks division reported a slight increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

Revenue was $2.4 billion, up 2.7% from the same period last year. The company said the bump was mostly driven by higher revenue at its Orlando parks due to the success of Epic Universe.<\/p>\n

However, the parks division reported total earnings of $609 million, a 5.1% dip from the same period last year after an increase in operating expenses.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

A graphic showing the Q2 earnings results for Universal’s Content & Experiences division. (Credit: Comcast) <\/p>\n

What’s next for Universal Orlando <\/p>\n

Universal is in the process of bringing new attractions and experiences to its Orlando parks.<\/p>\n

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, a roller coaster based on the popular “Fast & Furious” movie franchise, is under construction at Universal Studios Florida. It’s expected to open in 2027.<\/p>\n

Over at Islands of Adventure, Universal is demolishing the Lost Continent area<\/a> to make way for a new themed experience.<\/p>\n

Universal has not yet revealed what the replacement will be.<\/p>\n

The resort is also adding new dining options at CityWalk, with Five Guys, Luke Comb’s Category 10 and Joey Fatone’s Fat One’s Hot Dogs and Italian Ice among the upcoming offerings.<\/p>\n

The Source: This article was written with information released by Comcast, Universal’s parent company.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Universal Studios Florida News<\/a>Orlando theme park news<\/a>Orlando News<\/a>Orange County News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. – Theme park attendance at Universal Orlando slowed this summer, parent company Comcast revealed Thursday. During…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[47,115,1335,139,141,140,2411,3437,628],"class_list":["post-350125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-fl","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-theme-parks","tag-universal-studios","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}