Comcast 2nd Quarter 2023 results

[Mad Dog]

Comcast reported that overall theme park revenue was up 22% in the second quarter to $2.2 Billion.
*Record performance at Hollywood and Osaka
*Record profitability at Beijing
*Orlando attendance was down.
*International tourism to US parks down 30%.

 

[GAcoaster]

Interesting-- down compared to the record numbers last year though.

 

[Mad Dog]

Interesting-- down compared to the record numbers last year though.

Watching Touring Plans daily crowd calendar, it was obvious this was happening.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Record performance at Hollywood and Osaka

Hmmm must be a a coincidence that both parks opened SNW

 

[GAcoaster]

Watching Touring Plans daily crowd calendar, it was obvious this was happening.

Yep-- Disney has been WAY down as well from all I've seen.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Record performance at Hollywood and Osaka

Hmmm must be a a coincidence that both parks opened SNW

I mean, they addressed that directly in the Earnings Call.

I find it interesting that although numbers are down YOY, revenue is still higher than pre-pandemic years which is pretty remarkable because I remember 2016-2019 being absolute banger years in their own right. I’m having a hard time remembering if the noticeable slowdown in the parks happened before or after the close of Q2…will be interesting to see where Q3 falls compared to pre-2020, but overall nice to see the parks are strong and healthy.

Also, Peacock…woof. The parks are really putting the team on their backs.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I mean, they addressed that directly in the Earnings Call.

I find it interesting that although numbers are down YOY, revenue is still higher than pre-pandemic years which is pretty remarkable because I remember 2016-2019 being absolute banger years in their own right. I’m having a hard time remembering if the noticeable slowdown in the parks happened before or after the close of Q2…will be interesting to see where Q3 falls compared to pre-2020, but overall nice to see the parks are strong and healthy.

Also, Peacock…woof. The parks are really putting the team on their backs.

Can't speak for the other parks but at least at USH, while the parks were doing well before the Pandemic

They have been packed since SNW opened and merch has also been improving since then. Along with many restaurants at USH that either had very limited hours or not open on some days just because. Now I go and most places are packed, along with what I assume is them just adding small upcharges on everything (even if not listed on the price) but food now for sure cost more then it used to so even if on every food your making just a few cents more just because and you now have more guests buying food/merch.

To me it makes sense

Disney is also in the same boat with less guests but also making more...so my guess is both companies are just charging more for everything and people are paying for it. Hell HHN now has early entry since to the success of SNW doing the same thing and guests can complain all they want but as long as someone is willing to pay we will keep seeing more charges

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I’m having a hard time remembering if the noticeable slowdown in the parks happened before or after the close of Q2…will be interesting to see where Q3 falls compared to pre-2020, but overall nice to see the parks are strong and healthy.

Slow down started sometime in late March, probably as soon as people started to realize the economy was taking a beating and other tourism/sites finally opened back up.

It's been pretty quiet until this past week with attendance picking up a bit.

Up to now, it felt like June/July was less busy than January.

 

[JungleSkip]

Slow down started sometime in late March, probably as soon as people started to realize the economy was taking a beating and other tourism/sites finally opened back up.

It's been pretty quiet until this past week with attendance picking up a bit.

Up to now, it felt like June/July was less busy than January.

I think another thing to keep in mind that Summer in Orlando is brutal.

You couldn’t pay me to go to those parks May through August

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think another thing to keep in mind that Summer in Orlando is brutal.

You couldn’t pay me to go to those parks May through August

Yes, that trend of soft summers started before Covid. I don't know if that's people being smart weather wise, or if pricing is also a concern. Memorial day was pretty quiet as well, and it wasn't extremely hot back in May, so I'm leaning towards pricing be a major factor as well.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I think another thing to keep in mind that Summer in Orlando is brutal.

You couldn’t pay me to go to those parks May through August

It must be more then this though

People used to go during the summer no matter whst

Some other factors I can think of is the pricing, lack of new E ticket attraction and workers now more willing to take vacation whenever they want vs previous generations who work came first

Disneyland had amazing weather up until a week ago and was pretty standard/low on crowds

So I’m not a fan of the weather theory because I think it has more to do with other factors

While I know it’s a joke, I do think the TS concept also has a small impact as well. People seemed to travel to see her and people have had some terrible weather but still showed up for her

 

[JungleSkip]

It must be more then this though

People used to go during the summer no matter whst

Summer has steadily decreased in popularity for a good decade in Orlando though. Add in the reversion to mean after COVID "revenge travel" and it *feels* like more of a dip than it actually is. The vibes say "The parks are empty!" The reality says "A time of year that has been in steady decline feels worse because of how our of whack everything was last year."

I work in a Disney-adjacent place and we just had one of our best months ever in bookings for stays down there in what is normal our "dead period". I think people are just actively avoiding summer down there like the plague at this point.

 

[USO92]

I mean...I'm not paying thousands of dollars to suffocate in the heat when I could pay thousands of dollars and be a little more comfortable in November and December....Plus all the pretty lights

 

[Mad Dog]

Seemed like the slowdown at both Disney & Universal actually started before the end of the first quarter, sometime in March, so while it's true that summer's are not as busy as the past, there's lot's more occurring rather than the heat. As for May, that's been one of our go to vacation months and the heat has never seemed uncomfortable then. Really more like our summers here in western Pa. Of course mid June through mid Sept. is brutal in Florida with heat/humidity/rain. What might be even worse for both resorts might be the third quarter. With a very soft July, until this week which was busy, the numbers could be bad. Of course, HHN will probably save Universal, as usual.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Seemed like the slowdown at both Disney & Universal actually started before the end of the first quarter, sometime in March, so while it's true that summer's are not as busy as the past, there's lot's more occurring rather than the heat. As for May, that's been one of our go to vacation months and the heat has never seemed uncomfortable then. Really more like our summers here in western Pa. Of course mid June through mid Sept. is brutal in Florida with heat/humidity/rain. What might be even worse for both resorts might be the third quarter. With a very soft July, until this week which was busy, the numbers could be bad. Of course, HHN will probably save Universal, as usual.

It seems like for the past decade all of the blogs/vlogs and other "go-to" trip-planning sites have mentioned how unbearable it is to visit June-August and go in "lower" crowd-level dates. With how expensive trips have become, there's more planning happening now to guarantee a better visit/experience.

September-November is the best time period to visit the parks with decent, still hot, weather and special events at the parks. Epcot becomes the world's greatest theme park during Food & Wine, you can go to DAK without worrying about heat stress, and Uni has HHN.

 

[Mad Dog]

It seems like for the past decade all of the blogs/vlogs and other "go-to" trip-planning sites have mentioned how unbearable it is to visit June-August and go in "lower" crowd-level dates. With how expensive trips have become, there's more planning happening now to guarantee a better visit/experience.

September-November is the best time period to visit the parks with decent, still hot, weather and special events at the parks. Epcot becomes the world's greatest theme park during Food & Wine, you can go to DAK without worrying about heat stress, and Uni has HHN.

Lot's of that October increase has to do with new school schedules that have an extended holiday break. And yes, October attendance has gotten much better the last 5 to 6 years. What's problematic though is the increased number of hurricanes and tropical storms that have been hitting the southeastern states at that time of year. That may prove problematic, especially with 100 F ocean temps in south Florida that encourage that bad weather. And yes, there's been a fallout in summer attendance during that same 5 to 6 years, indicating attendance spreading out. But the summer decrease has always been very gradual. This summer, the bottom dropped off until this past week. More is going on then just the weather, especially with the significant decrease starting well before the hotter weather/humidity/rain. The ten days we spent at Disney in late April had very comfortable, nay even low, line times and food service......Heat doesn't always trump. I'm going out to cut grass now, and the temp here is supposed to reach 95 F here today, ten degrees above our 'normal' July day in Elizabeth Twp. Pa.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Summer has steadily decreased in popularity for a good decade in Orlando though. Add in the reversion to mean after COVID "revenge travel" and it *feels* like more of a dip than it actually is. The vibes say "The parks are empty!" The reality says "A time of year that has been in steady decline feels worse because of how our of whack everything was last year."

I work in a Disney-adjacent place and we just had one of our best months ever in bookings for stays down there in what is normal our "dead period". I think people are just actively avoiding summer down there like the plague at this point.

I have no doubt Weather is a factor

My issue is when everyone says "its just hot". But then USH and Japan are Busier then ever and also hot but because they have an attraction people see as a Must see they still go.

I bet the summer Epic Universe opens it wont be slow, its because the theme parks for the prices aren't providing enough "new" to get people to come during these months. Hell, Orlando hours are also shorter then USH and those parks have more attractions

Weather is a factor but so are many other things, including price, lack of new/updated attractions, lines because of Genie + and Express Pass, more options now on where to vacation for as much if not cheaper.

Theme parks while never the cheapest thing to do now cost pretty much the same as a nice vacation in another county and to many the parks aren't worth that

 

[JungleSkip]

Lot's of that October increase has to do with new school schedules that have an extended holiday break. And yes, October attendance has gotten much better the last 5 to 6 years. What's problematic though is the increased number of hurricanes and tropical storms that have been hitting the southeastern states at that time of year. That may prove problematic, especially with 100 F ocean temps in south Florida that encourage that bad weather. And yes, there's been a fallout in summer attendance during that same 5 to 6 years, indicating attendance spreading out. But the summer decrease has always been very gradual. This summer, the bottom dropped off until this past week. More is going on then just the weather, especially with the significant decrease starting well before the hotter weather/humidity/rain. The ten days we spent at Disney in late April had very comfortable, nay even low, line times and food service.

Yes, more is "going on" in that things are coming down from an abnormally crazy year last year, making this year seem majorly empty, even though it's far from the case.

Theme parks while never the cheapest thing to do now cost pretty much the same as a nice vacation in another county and to many the parks aren't worth that

This has been true for a long, long time. "It's too expensive" has been a refrain for decades. In this same post you say USH and USJ are both busier than ever. Those two parks aren't any cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere in their respective countries.

You also say that Orlando parks haven't opened anything recently, but Disney has opened 2 E-ticket coasters in the past 2 years.

Yes it's not *just* the weather as a factor. It's the continuing decline in summer attendance mixed with a drop off from post-COVID travel.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I'm here looking at Hollywood more than all else--and it really looks like they're having what is essentially the Islands moment of their history. Something that breaks the park; and shoots it up in a way that it hasn't ever gotten to before.

Makes me interested how they tackle things with the park going forward.

 

[Brian G.]

It's the continuing decline in summer attendance mixed with a drop off from post-COVID travel.

Agree here. 2022 was like a volcano ready to pop, so anything in 2023 was going to pale in comparison. I'm sure other factors DO play a role, but I think the main one is that 2022 was an outlier due to circumstances.