attendance

Orlando, Saturday, 22 November 2025.
IAAPA Expo 2025 ended last Friday in Orlando with a record-breaking turnout that drew the industry’s largest-ever verified audience, signaling a clear acceleration in cross-border procurement and partnership activity. Attendance reached 38,520 verified attendees and 28,598 qualified buyers from over 100 countries, concentrating operators, suppliers and investors across ride manufacturing, guest-experience tech, operations consulting and IP licensing. China’s Chimelong Group recorded a prominent presence, underscoring renewed outbound engagement by Asian park operators with Western vendors. On the show floor and in education sessions, capital priorities for 2026 coalesced around safety systems, robotics, immersive media and large-scale dark rides, while Brass Ring winners and product debuts pointed to near-term project pipelines. For retail and on-site operators, the Expo acted as both market barometer and deal-flow accelerator: expect an uptick in announced projects and strategic collaborations within the next 12–18 months as global procurement shifts from exploration to execution and revenue growth.

Orlando, Thursday, 6 November 2025.
United Parks & Resorts reported third-quarter operating earnings of $89.3 million on Thursday, but beneath that headline the business shows clear pressure: attendance fell 3.4% to about 6.8 million guests, total revenue dropped 6.2% to $511.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA declined 16.3%. The most intriguing fact is the split signal from guests — in‑park per‑capita spend rose modestly while admissions and total revenue per capita softened — giving management room to lean on yield management and targeted guest-flow and reservation systems. Leadership is prioritizing capital allocation toward high-return attractions and deferred maintenance, cutting broad greenfield spend and repurchasing roughly $32.2 million of shares through early November, even as margin pressure from higher labor and energy costs persists in select markets. For retail and park operators, the release signals a shift from volume-driven expansion to IP-led, margin-focused investments, portfolio rationalization (including a planned park closure) and seasonal demand sensitivity heading into the holidays.