This also means lower domestic tourism if everyone is traveling abroad. Which I have seen more and more people I know traveling outside of the country. So it may also explain a slight downturn of attendance in Orlando.A strong American dollar is good for Americans traveling abroad. It's much less good for international tourists visiting the United States.
Had a bit of free time earlier today, so I decided to figure out (based on public information) what in the worldSeaWorldUnited Parks is doing from a strategic perspective.
I'm no expert, but I'd have to imagine increased cost of in-park offerings is resulting in an overall decline for the company.
Efficient bottom line but a continually eroding guest experience. Somehow, that's probably related.This is great stuff, but what I might add as context is operating income by year. In 2013 they had $201M of operating income on $1,460M of revenue, in 2019 they had $213M of operating income on $1,398M of revenue, and in 2023 they had $460M of operating income on $1,726M of revenue. So operating margin has gone up from 13.7% in 2013, to 15.2% in 2019, to 26.7% in 2023.
They've been remarkably disciplined with opex/SG&A and so while the top-line numbers show a decline, they're much more efficient than they used to be and that's reflected in the bottom line.
...because they've failed to increase employee wages and are inadequately staffing their parks. So those "cost savings" are coming from a lack of proper staffing. In 2023 they dropped to 26.6% from 29.3% in 2022... so they actually got worse the last two years now. Will be interesting to see how 2024 shapes up.This is great stuff, but what I might add as context is operating income by year. In 2013 they had $201M of operating income on $1,460M of revenue, in 2019 they had $213M of operating income on $1,398M of revenue, and in 2023 they had $460M of operating income on $1,726M of revenue. So operating margin has gone up from 13.7% in 2013, to 15.2% in 2019, to 26.7% in 2023.
They've been remarkably disciplined with opex/SG&A and so while the top-line numbers show a decline, they're much more efficient than they used to be and that's reflected in the bottom line.
It's being run as if the shots are called by people who haven't really run parks and all live multiple states away... oh right.If your viewing this from an investor POV, sure their margins have improved... but long-term what is the plan? As an investor, while I'd be happy with improvements to margin, can they sustain that with Epic on its way? They already operate their parks with near skeleton crews... what happens next year?
Unfortunately, it's the nature of private equity ownership. This is what happens with just about everything they touch.It's being run as if the shots are called by people who haven't really run parks and all live multiple states away... oh right.
When Disney or Universal starts to slip, like during the #ThanksShanghai days or with some of the cuts people are critical of at Universal like 3D on Kong, it's largely driven by the fact that we all know that they know better. SeaWorld today... I'm not certain that the private equity folks have any idea that they're headed toward a buzzsaw because everything is just a margin made up of digits and they don't understand how everything in the Orlando market is interconnected.
They know, they just don't care.It's being run as if the shots are called by people who haven't really run parks and all live multiple states away... oh right.
When Disney or Universal starts to slip, like during the #ThanksShanghai days or with some of the cuts people are critical of at Universal like 3D on Kong, it's largely driven by the fact that we all know that they know better. SeaWorld today... I'm not certain that the private equity folks have any idea that they're headed toward a buzzsaw because everything is just a margin made up of digits and they don't understand how everything in the Orlando market is interconnected.
...because they've failed to increase employee wages and are inadequately staffing their parks. So those "cost savings" are coming from a lack of proper staffing. In 2023 they dropped to 26.6% from 29.3% in 2022... so they actually got worse the last two years now. Will be interesting to see how 2024 shapes up.
If your viewing this from an investor POV, sure their margins have improved... but long-term what is the plan? As an investor, while I'd be happy with improvements to margin, can they sustain that with Epic on its way? They already operate their parks with near skeleton crews... what happens next year?
I agree with a lot of this. Sea World is a fun park to go to and my family did enjoy it. It had a lot to offer and really is a good value for what you pay. Especially during the holiday periods where they run special stuff which is summer, Halloween, and Christmas. They have a lot of capacity and can handle high volume of people without it feeling super crowded with long waits.Tough crowd…I went to SeaWorld for the first time in years (since the year Mako opened I think) on a holiday weekend over the summer and had a blast.
I thought the food was actually solid, and even though it was pricey at some point there’s a threshold of what I consider “overpriced” before I really dont notice the degree to which it may or may not be too expensive—since Disney and Universal (and Publix for that matter) already hit that threshold I didn’t notice anything particularly egregious about SeaWorld.
Ride ops weren’t the best, but I didn’t wait longer than 40 minutes for anything. They do pull that trick of inflating wait times to get you to buy Quick Queue and they almost got me but after waiting in one line I realized every posted time was about double the actual time in line. Scummy business move or psychological customer satisfaction trick? You decide, but I know it made every wait better for me.
Employees weren’t AMAZING but they weren’t bad. I dont care that the Dippin Dots guy was on his phone—he still served me my Dippin Dots. I dont care that the ride ops didn’t smile and wave and ask how my ride was—I just need to get on and off. So in that regard I think service levels are fine (and I think even that as a blanket statement is kind of unfair to a select few employees who really were hustling and having a good time with the guests).
Also, it’s true that the roller coasters at Epic Universe look awesome but coaster parks can coexist IMO. Mako and Ice Breaker absolutely rip and though Kraken and Manta are getting a little rough they’re still unique experiences to Central Florida. Pipeline also offers a first-of-its-kind complimentary rectal exam which I found to be a very helpful add-on to my ticket.
This doesn’t sound like a glowing review because it’s not, but for the price I paid to get in it was a fun day. Sea World isn’t selling a premium experience and it doesn’t pretend to give you one. I’d honestly argue that sheer quality of experience aside, Sea World is better at executing what it wants to be than USF or Hollywood Studios do.
While it's not their current goal, they did at one point strive for excellence, which is where a lot of the cynicism comes from.This doesn’t sound like a glowing review because it’s not, but for the price I paid to get in it was a fun day. Sea World isn’t selling a premium experience and it doesn’t pretend to give you one.