theme park investment

Orlando, Thursday, 27 November 2025.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal posted a 19% year-on-year revenue jump after the May opening of Epic Universe, a greenfield Orlando resort that immediately raised attendance and per-capita spend across Universal Orlando. For retail and F&B managers, the most striking outcome is how new IP-driven retail offerings and expanded F&B tied to immersive experiences drove ancillary revenue streams and licensing income. The lift underscores the upside of large-scale capital projects but also flags margin pressure from higher depreciation, staffing scale-up and supply-chain costs. Competitors’ capex and pricing strategies are already being recalibrated — with indications that Disney may lean harder on dynamic, airline-style ticketing to protect yield. For investors and operators weighing new-build versus retrofit, Epic’s early commercial performance offers a live case study in ROI timing, operational leverage potential and the retail merchandising plays that convert footfall into higher basket values. Expect strategic shifts in allocation, partnerships and merchandising assortments across Orlando.

Orlando, Wednesday, 1 October 2025.
Universal Parks posted a 19% year‑on‑year revenue jump after Epic Universe opened in Orlando in May, driven by higher attendance and notable per‑capita spending across admissions, F&B and retail — the most intriguing fact being that a single greenfield, IP‑led park delivered material short‑term payback for the parks division. For retail leaders this signals renewed investor appetite for large destination projects, pressure to accelerate capacity and branded experiences, and the need to align licensing and global marketing to capture franchise uplift. Low‑capex activations such as museum pop‑ups show how IP collaborations can extend reach without heavy capital. Operational lessons include planning for concentrated demand spikes, elevated launch‑period costs, and revising forecasting models to allow for marquee‑opening concentration effects. Finally, recent safety events at Epic’s new coaster, reported last Wednesday, underline reputational and regulatory risks that must be built into scenario planning and contingency budgets and strengthened guest‑safety monitoring systems now.