Trends Episodes

Disney is laying off 1,000 employees across film, streaming, and marketing as it continues to shed costs and reorient itself.

A new report reveals how Gen Z and Millennials plan to travel in 2026.

From Hollywood to Florida and New York to Oregon, this year’s Halloween season proved that the industry is evolving—just not abandoning its roots.

Kansas City Chiefs star—and Taylor Swift’s fiancé—Travis Kelce now owns a 9% stake in Six Flags alongside hedge fund Jana Partners, instantly making the struggling park chain a national headline. Former Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet, however, wasn’t impressed—publicly calling out the board for “cycling through CEOs, destroying value, and failing to show ownership” while urging the next chief executive to rebuild with leaders who actually understand entertainment. Philip and Scott unpack what Kelce’...

Six Flags reported 298,000 more visits this summer, a 3% attendance bump compared to 2024. But guests spent 7% less on admission, pulling overall revenue down 2% even as food and merch ticked up.

Only 19% of U.S. adults say they want “scary vibes” this Halloween—while 30% plan to wear multiple costumes and 70% say organized events are steady or increasing. Philip and Scott unpack the annual HalloweenCostumes.com survey and why it matters: the demand for cute, funny, and cosplay-style experiences is growing faster than gore, audiences are starting to plan earlier, and AI is already a factor in how people search for inspiration. They also discuss how rising competition and budget-conscious...

Las Vegas has logged six straight months of year-over-year visitor declines, with June alone down 400,000 guests amid economic jitters, inflation, and weaker Canadian travel. Is Vegas a canary in the coal mine for U.S. leisure spending—or just a regional wobble?

Six Flags posted a nearly $100 million loss in Q2—down from a $55 million profit a year ago—on 1.4 million fewer visitors, a smaller base of season passholders, and what it calls “adverse weather.”

Six Flags just canceled its Christmas and Halloween events at multiple parks - will this save cost or cost more in lost visitors?

What makes an IP popular today? It’s not just the box office or streaming stats—it’s the fans who show up, dress up, and wait five hours for a free experience.

Asia was expected to become the new theme park capital of the world—then the pandemic hit. Where are we now?

Whether it’s Christmas nostalgia, locally led art, or adult evening events, operators have fresh levers to boost replayability and spend beyond peak season.

The Louvre closes due to over tourism, and Netflix announces themes for its first FEC.

Disney and Universal just opened Hollywood’s first heavyweight copyright war against Midjourney, arguing the AI was trained on “countless stolen works.”

In this special, we examine the last 18 months of news to surface the largest trends in the theme park world.

Herschend finalized its acquisition of Palace Entertainment’s 24 U.S. attractions with a $1.1 billion leveraged loan—and vows 2025 will be a “listening year.”

Six Flags/Cedar Fair’s first post-merger casualty is Six Flags America, erasing 70 full-time and 700 seasonal jobs and $3.5 million in local tax revenue—freeing capital for “marquee” investments elsewhere. At the same time, Marriott’s Gaylord resorts are turning their glass atriums into mini-comic-cons with a DC-branded summer slate, headlined by a 17,500-sq-ft lantern trail of 24-ft heroes, to lure families who might skip a theme-park trip. Philip and Scott ask whether strategic portfolio pruni...

Travel patterns are changing. United Airlines' latest earnings reveal a strategic pivot as they prepare for two economic scenarios in 2025, cutting domestic flight capacity by 4% while seeing surges in both premium and budget travelers.