October 4, 2025, 4:41 PM ·
Next year has me worried, as a theme park fan in the United States.New attractions drive theme park attendance. And next year’s line-up of new attractions in the U.S., especially in the top markets of Central Florida and Southern California, looks weaker than those in recent years. Combine that with the collapse of international travel into the United States and declining consumer confidence within the country, and 2026 is shaping up as a rough year for the domestic theme park business. It’s not that popular parks such as Walt Disney World and Disneyland are not working on major new attractions. But those are set to debut in 2027 and beyond, adding incentive for fans who do have the means to travel to postpone big trips until these big new attractions open.But for next year, the biggest new attractions that I see driving attendance will be Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster and Dollywood’s new NightFlight Expedition, America’s first installation of a Mack Rides rocking boat ride.Universal also is opening a new theme park outside Dallas, Universal Kids Resort. Yet as that name implies, this park will be focused on families with small children, limiting its appeal. Meanwhile, nothing new is set to open at Universal Orlando Resort next year, unless Universal dramatically accelerates construction on the new ride that it is building to replace Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Florida.Down the road at Walt Disney World, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is fiddling with its former Animation Courtyard, which will return as The Walt Disney Studios in 2026. But that’s just a new play area and character meet. The big stuff won’t open until 2027, when the new Tropical Americas land debuts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with a new Encanto dark ride and Indiana Jones retheme of the former Dinosaur ride. Disneyland also has yet to announce anything new for 2026, although casting notices suggest that maybe the park might finally be looking to stage something in its empty Hyperion and Fantasyland theaters. The expanded Avengers Campus that is under construction at Disney California Adventure won’t open next year.Beyond USH, the next biggest park that has announced a new ride for 2026 is SeaWorld Orlando, which is promising a “world’s first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride” with SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep. But SeaWorld’s lack of success with dark rides is not helping to fuel the fan enthusiasm that leads to advance vacation bookings.Meanwhile, development on Six Flags Magic Mountain’s promised new coaster for 2026 appears stalled. Knott’s long-promised rebuild of Montezooma’s still has no completion date. Kings Island is retheming its interactive dark ride from Boo Blasters to bring back Phantom Theater. Six Flags New England is set to open its Intamin family launch coaster that was delayed from this year. The biggest opening at a Six Flags park in the U.S. next year likely will be Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas. But that’s just a plus-sized version of the B&M Dive Coaster that fans have been riding for years now. All of these will be nice additions for their local markets, but are not anything that promises to move the needle for overall industry attendance nationwide.New parks can help do that. And next year will be the first full year of operation for Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, though low overall capacity and resulting long wait times are placing a limit on that park’s immediate growth potential. Maybe the delayed COTAland and Mattel Adventure Park will open in 2026, but few theme park fans are going to plan any trips to those destinations until their gates open for real.Without big new rides to drive attendance, parks likely will use discounts to lure visitors in 2026. The Six Flags parks have deeply discounted its seasonal passes for next year. Deals at other parks might make 2026 a great year for “if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you” visits. That could help some smaller parks make a jump in 2026. The Legoland parks in California and Florida will debut new space-themed indoor family coasters early next year, which could help them attract more families who are waiting on their next Disney trip. SeaWorld San Antonio has its installation of a United Parks Bolliger & Mabillard family inverted coaster next year, too. But with that new, first-of-its-kind hybrid ride, Dollywood might be the star of the show in the U.S. theme park industry in 2026.But will that show be a year to remember, or one to forget?My fear is that lower income from soft attendance and aggressive discounting will lead to parks scaling back expansion plans in 2027 and beyond. With investors pressuring Six Flags and United Parks to sell real estate, that could push some parks into a quick death spiral.Disney and Universal will be fine. They can take the hit from a down year and be ready with great new attractions down the line that will keep their parks and hotels filled with free-spending fans. That’s so long as the top of the market does not suffer the same economic downturn that is causing the shrinking number of middle class families to rethink their spending, of course.The privately-owned Herschend also can ignore the bad advice of activist investors while it looks to expand its theme park businesses. With the substantial investments in parks and attractions around the world, Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments also should be insulated against a downturn in the U.S. travel market.That leaves Six Flags and United Parks – as well as family-owned and independent destinations – to face the toughest challenges next year. The challenges created by the pandemic at the start of this decade led to consolidation, as Six Flags and Cedar Fair merged and Herschend acquired Palace Entertainment. Are we in for additional mergers and acquisitions in this business by the end of the decade?All this has me worried, as a theme park fan.* * *
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