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SeaWorld Orlando's Future Plans

Sea World announced this morning that they will be laying off 300 employees. The layoffs will be primarily at the Corporate headquarters, Sea World Orlando, and Sea World San Diego. Sea World said the layoffs are in reaction to declining attendance, most especially at the Sea World Orlando & Sea World San Diego parks......
 
Sea World announced this morning that they will be laying off 300 employees. The layoffs will be primarily at the Corporate headquarters, sea World Orlando, and Sea World San Diego. Sea World said the layoffs are in reaction to declining attendance, most especially at the Sea World Orlando & Sea World San Diego parks......
Well kids, it's called "The Circle of Life". That's what happens when an aggressive invasive species of snot nosed magical brats move in and upset an established ecosystem where a whole pod of killer whales live off the scraps from mice.
 
Sea World announced this morning that they will be laying off 300 employees. The layoffs will be primarily at the Corporate headquarters, Sea World Orlando, and Sea World San Diego. Sea World said the layoffs are in reaction to declining attendance, most especially at the Sea World Orlando & Sea World San Diego parks......
Yeah, the problem with declining attendance in Orlando/CA is that you can't cut your capital spending because your competitors are spending at a higher rate than other markets (since those are the 2 most competitive markets in the world). So the only place to really cut is employment...

They've had declining revenue for a while, but they have to maintain their capital spending, so the cuts are going to be the bone at the employee level in Orlando/CA until that gets turned around.
 
Yeah, the problem with declining attendance in Orlando/CA is that you can't cut your capital spending because your competitors are spending at a higher rate than other markets (since those are the 2 most competitive markets in the world). So the only place to really cut is employment...

They've had declining revenue for a while, but they have to maintain their capital spending, so the cuts are going to be the bone at the employee level in Orlando/CA until that gets turned around.
Staff cuts which ultimately negatively impact the guest experiences, which usually leads to more attendance losses, and the down cycle continues until there is no profit margin at all. And then everything collapses rapidly.
 
When I worked at Universal after 9/11 they fired A LOT of managers and higher-ups. If a lot of these SW layoffs are at corporate headquarters that could mean a big savings from a small amount of people. Fire off people that have worked the longest and make the most money. Then promote newbies below them and pay them less.

I remember how incredibly angry everyone was at Universal when that happened. It might make sense financially, but is a pretty messed up thing to do to your most loyal employees that had built careers out of the job. I think that was during the dark Blackstone days.
 
When I worked at Universal after 9/11 they fired A LOT of managers and higher-ups. If a lot of these SW layoffs are at corporate headquarters that could mean a big savings from a small amount of people. Fire off people that have worked the longest and make the most money. Then promote newbies below them and pay them less.

I remember how incredibly angry everyone was at Universal when that happened. It might make sense financially, but is a pretty messed up thing to do to your most loyal employees that had built careers out of the job. I think that was during the dark Blackstone days.
Yeah, this is also why I think some of the complaints in that Has Universal Lost Its Way? | Inside Universal Forums thread are a bit misleading...

Universal's experienced a massive boom (in large part due to Harry Potter of course, but a lot of other spending as well, new hotels/Volcano Bay as well as other attractions), but the last thing I think they want to do is hire too many employees if attendance stabilizes or falls at some point in the future.

I don't think that's likely to happen (in fact, Universal still has at least 3-5 years of good growth in all parks ahead of it, especially with Nintendo and more Harry Potter in Orlando).

The toughest thing about Orlando/CA especially is that there isn't much to cut when you hit lean times because you have to keep spending on capex to keep up with Disney/Universal...

And yeah, Blackstone was most interested in the dividend payouts from Orlando, they didn't really care about the business as a whole.
 
Yeah, this is also why I think some of the complaints in that Has Universal Lost Its Way? | Inside Universal Forums thread are a bit misleading...

Universal's experienced a massive boom (in large part due to Harry Potter of course, but a lot of other spending as well, new hotels/Volcano Bay as well as other attractions), but the last thing I think they want to do is hire too many employees if attendance stabilizes or falls at some point in the future.

I don't think that's likely to happen (in fact, Universal still has at least 3-5 years of good growth in all parks ahead of it, especially with Nintendo and more Harry Potter in Orlando).

The toughest thing about Orlando/CA especially is that there isn't much to cut when you hit lean times because you have to keep spending on capex to keep up with Disney/Universal...

And yeah, Blackstone was most interested in the dividend payouts from Orlando, they didn't really care about the business as a whole.
Every time you post your financial/statistical analysis, you sound more & more like Parents of Four on WDW Magic.:) And that's a good thing. :thumbsup:
 
Sea World announced this morning that they will be laying off 300 employees. The layoffs will be primarily at the Corporate headquarters, Sea World Orlando, and Sea World San Diego. Sea World said the layoffs are in reaction to declining attendance, most especially at the Sea World Orlando & Sea World San Diego parks......

This is why they shouldn't have downgraded Journey to Atlantis. They need to progress, not regress.
Does anyone have word one when JTA might receive a proper refurbishment?
 
SeaWorld also seems to like to tie in a theme with all of their rides as of late, Mako being ending shark finning, Infinity Falls is about conserving water
Lol. The Irony. Conserve Water while riding this raft ride that consumes water on a massive scale. And please ignore Aquatica next door :D

If Merlin does buy the whole chain, I would expect to see the SeaWorld brand take over their aquariums within a year and a ton of synergy. Use the aquariums to drive traffic to the parks.

The general praise for Merlin on this forum baffles me. The state that Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Heide Park are in is a disgrace.

Merlin would suck. Merlin's aquariums? The majority aren't AZA certified. Seaworld? All are. It'd be a step down in quality for the animals unless they kept the same team, budget and ideals at Seaworld.

PETA is a jihad. If it gets down to just keeping brine shrimp (i.e. sea monkeys), they will still piss and moan.
:agree:

DAK proves you don't need 4 parks in Orlando, I think they'd rather a more contiguous 3rd gate.
That's an odd statement Seventy. I couldn't imagine WDW with it's current attendance populating just MK, Epcot and DHS. I actually shiver at the thought.
 
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That's an odd statement Seventy. I couldn't imagine WDW with it's current attendance populating just MK, Epcot and DHS. I actually shiver at the thought.

Argument is $$ that went into R&D should've gone into the other 3 parks, which would've solved that problem in theory. It comes down to American vacation days being a zero sum game (an every shrinking one at that). Very few extended their vacation by a day to see DAK--its numbers were and are at the expense of MGM.
 
There's no simple answer there. The easiest path as somebody else pointed out would be for an eventually closing and bankruptcy sale of SeaWorld Orlando to Comcast for an eventual rebuild of that land.

The problems are how to deal with the larger animals and what kind of changes could make the attendance at a Universal-run SeaWorld comparable to USF and IoA.
What an understatement.

You have some good assets and some terrible ones. And there's no way someone wants everything that Seaworld has.

-Seaworld San Diego is the worst of all their parks- Whoever buys SW will try to either find someone to take it off their hands for nothing, or more likely- just shutter the doors and write it off. As for Aquatica San Diego- that actually could be sold off- but likely to someone local as there isn't another regional park close by.
-Seaworld San Antonio will likely be the dumping ground of all Orcas for whoever buys it. Which the facility isn't designed or capable of handling in it's current state. The layout of San Antonio is phenomenal- Seaworld on one side, Aquatica in the middle, and Discovery Point on the other side- all connected with one security entrance and parking. It also has room for a couple hotels as well. Tons of potential here. Unfortunately, it would likely be sold to Six Flags who has Fiesta Texas close-by with a poor Hurricane Harbor.
-Busch Gardens- Likely to be sold off (or the only thing kept, depending on who buys). This would be ok though. Someone wants Williamsburg- someone wants Tampa. Six Flags would be a good fit location-wise, certainly. Merlin would also be eager to take this- as would Kennywood.
-Seaworld Orlando/Aquatica/Discovery Cove. This is the key thing, right?

The key to remember here is that we keep discussing "rebranding"- which is what would need to happen. No one outside of Universal or Disney could afford to just close a park to rebuild it.

So lets play the game that Universal bought Seaworld and what I would think would happen:
-San Diego is written off- animals shipped off to zoos/aquariums and the big ticket items to San Antonio. Aquatica is sold off locally.
-Pawn Busch Gardens off to Merlin or Kenny- recoup a huge chunk of costs right here.
-Seaworld Orlando- animals shipped off to zoo/aquariums and big ticket items to San Antonio. Aquatica and Discovery Cove running as-is under it's current state. Seaworld Orlando stays open- minimal rides and staff but still enough while redoing major sections at a time to become it's 3rd/4th theme park.
-Seaworld San Antonio- with all the animals- gets sold off to an independent, China, Six Flags, whoever- this is actually a pretty profitable park. Since they'll have too many animals- orcas and the like will be sold off and shipped and they keep as many as they can maintain.

If that happens- Uni's reputation can come out unscathed, but by selling off all the parts- is it worth it for what they get + risk and potential? Doubtful.


***The bottom line in all this, and what no one is talking about- is that the ones who will suffer the most with any acquisition will be the animals. Not one potential suitor mentioned in this thread will be better for the Orcas than Seaworld is currently. In almost any situation- they're likely to be sold off to Russia, China or some small aquariums around the world. San Antonio can't house them all. Its a shame.

So congratulations Blackfish- you ruined Seaworld and the Orcas will be the ones who suffer for it.
 
I would hope that whoever bought the entirety of SeaWorld would see the value in San Antonio. If the Orcas are all sold off or put in Sea Pens- then San Antonio would be an ideal fit for either Universal or Disney.
It would be a decision to make- "if we build a park here, do we lose the entire Texas market at WDW or UOR?"

But if they kept it a boutique park - a completely immersive Marvel Park, for example- then it likely wouldn't rob from WDW.
It's profitable, it has parking and infrastructure and zoning already done. It has a fantastic water park already. It has room for on-site hotel expansion. It is in a climate that can be operated year round in a major tourism destination w/ plenty of off-site hotels.

2015-11-seas_investor_day_final_page_078.png


It truly is a cave with gold in it just waiting for a big player to start mining.
 
Well kids, it's called "The Circle of Life". That's what happens when an aggressive invasive species of snot nosed magical brats move in and upset an established ecosystem where a whole pod of killer whales live off the scraps from mice.

Are you referring to Uni or PETA? :-X

When I worked at Universal after 9/11 they fired A LOT of managers and higher-ups. If a lot of these SW layoffs are at corporate headquarters that could mean a big savings from a small amount of people. Fire off people that have worked the longest and make the most money. Then promote newbies below them and pay them less.

I remember how incredibly angry everyone was at Universal when that happened. It might make sense financially, but is a pretty messed up thing to do to your most loyal employees that had built careers out of the job. I think that was during the dark Blackstone days.

It also makes the bottom line look better for an acquisition.
 
So I talked to a bunch of SeaWorld people I know today and this layoff really was pretty much just back office staff. The bulk of the staff laid off was in the corporate office. They eliminated a lot of duplication of effort which makes me think there will be much more generic marketing and branding with things being marketed the same way in each park (versus the customized marketing of events in the past).
 
^ I feel badly for the front line employees. The news cannot make them feel great about their jobs right now. Fear not, Universal had similar times not too long ago.
Right now (at least here in Orlando) the job market is so tight that anyone laid off could easily get another position with another company right now. It's not ideal but this is not the worst time to be looking for a job here.
 
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