FOX Enterprise’ Ashley Webster experiences from the Amusement Park Expo and showcases the sights and video games on ‘Varney & Co.’
Costs are more and more high of thoughts for households planning theme-park holidays – and it’s displaying within the numbers.
Revenues at U.S. amusement parks have slipped almost 2% yr over yr after a number of years of regular post-pandemic progress, based on the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis.
A serious sign got here from Disney: in its newest earnings report, the corporate revealed a drop in attendance at its home parks for the fiscal yr ending in September.
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With customers extra cost-conscious and selective, operators are racing to create contemporary causes to go to, pouring cash into family-centered sights and high-profile partnerships with main leisure manufacturers and gaming franchises.
“We see more and more brands coming into this industry,” Worldwide Affiliation of Amusement Parks and Points of interest (IAAPA) CEO Jakob Wahl informed FOX Enterprise. “If it’s DreamWorks themed water parks, Epic Universe with Nintendo, or Minecraft coming to the Merlin parks – the gaming and entertainment industries are merging together.”
Common’s new Epic Universe park is banking closely on that technique, tapping Nintendo to anchor a flagship land constructed round its globally beloved characters. Tremendous Nintendo World goals to harness the large base of followers who know the model from video games, movies and merchandise.
A nighttime celebration at Common Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. (Common Parks USA)
And Minecraft, the best-selling recreation of all time, is headed to Merlin’s world parks, a part of a broader push to deliver immediately recognizable mental property to the entrance gates.
On the identical time, family-oriented parks are spending massive to remain aggressive.
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Legoland simply introduced its first “design-your-own-coaster” attraction in Florida and California. The Galacticoaster – a $90 million funding – lets youngsters select the nostril, tail and wings of the spacecraft they’ll trip into “Lego space,” with 625 doable mixtures.
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Rob Smith, Merlin’s COO, which owns Legoland, informed FOX Enterprise the purpose is a real multi-generational expertise: “With the Galacticoaster, you’ll see nods to Lego products from decades ago that parents will remember from their own childhood. It’s all the classics, delivered through new technology and immersive digital experiences.” The trip opens in early 2026.
Dollywood Parks and Resorts in Tennessee unveiled one of many IAAPA Expo’s largest splashes: a $50 million NightFlight Expedition that may turn out to be the world’s first household hybrid coaster–whitewater raft trip. Utilizing greater than half one million gallons of water, the attraction sends friends on a nighttime journey via the Smoky Mountains, mixing an indoor coaster with a river-raft plunge.
Dollywood Parks and Resorts’ new NightFlight trip on show on the 2025 IAAPA Expo. (Dollywood Parks and Resorts)
“This is a big step forward for Dollywood,” President Eugene Naughton informed FOX Enterprise. “It allows us to compete with Disney and Universal, and I think we’re beating them at their own game.”
Naughton says Dollywood’s concentrate on visitor expertise has helped draw households from greater than two dozen states every season.
Parks chasing the thrill-seeking demographic are additionally upping the ante.
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Six Flags is investing closely in its new “Tormenta” coaster in Texas, which can break a number of world data when it opens in 2026. The dive coaster would be the world’s tallest and longest, and the quickest – hitting 87 mph – together with that includes the steepest 95-degree vertical drop, the very best Immelmann inversion (a half-loop adopted by a half-roll), and the tallest vertical coaster loop.
“We’re always going faster and taller,” Ken Parks, Six Flags’ company vp of planning and design, informed FOX Enterprise. “For 2026, this will be a guaranteed world breaker.”
The Tormenta Rampaging Run curler coaster that may debut at Six Flags Over Texas in 2026. (Six Flags)
Parks added that whereas thrill rides deliver headlines, households nonetheless drive the trade.
“There’s a huge audience looking to make memories together.”
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Whilst costs climb, operators are layering in reductions and perks to maintain attendance up. Disney, for instance, has paired value will increase with focused incentives like “free dining plan” promotions, resort offers, and resident-only reductions.
Merlin’s Smith says the trade has no alternative however to adapt.
“Everyone knows the challenges in this consumer economy,” Smith mentioned. “We’ve reacted with different price points, different offers, annual passes as we head into 2026.”
