Episodes

Legacy Cedar Fair parks are moving to the Six Flags model this Halloween, requiring a new $10–$20 Haunted Attractions Pass for mazes—and an extra $15 for The Conjuring house.

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.

As record heat continues to disrupt attendance, attractions in Asia are innovating to keep guests cool. Tokyo Disneyland is extending evening hours and spraying down guests in its summer parade, while Universal Studios Japan is giving out salt candy and shifting its operating schedule later. Water parks in Korea are going further—launching crossovers with popular brands like One Piece, Air Conditioned Ferris Wheels, K-pop concerts, bubble zones, and discounted villas to become full-blown vacatio...

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.

Universal leans hard into gaming IPs for Halloween Horror Nights while Winchester Mysery House doubles down on immersion.

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.”

"The Great Reset," Six Flags' new strategic plan, aims to reach 58 million in annual attendance and $3.8 billion in revenue by 2028.

Disney’s stock jumped 7 % after a blockbuster Q2 - and we breakdown why.

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...

Universal Studios Hollywood is stress-testing a brand-new revenue season with Fan Fest Nights—12 evenings of Comic-Con-meets-HHN running April 25-May 18th from 7 p.m.–2 a.m.

Cord-cutting continues to threaten Comcast, but it sees hope in its theme parks.

Philip reads the inaugural "Green Tagged: Insights" newsletter analyzing what he calls "The Uncertainty Epidemic" affecting the attractions industry.

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.

We break down Universal’s newly announced UK theme park, set to open in 2031, its location just 35 minutes from London, the promise of world-class immersive lands, and the potential to draw 8.5 million visitors in its first year.

In this bonus episode, we present the complete remarks from Massimiliano Freddi, IAAPA Chair of the Board and Wonderwood CEO, recorded at the IAAPA North America Summit. Hear Freddi’s powerful perspective on why attractions should become catalysts for...

IAAPA's North America Summit (Mar 30-Apr 01, 2025) at the Disneyland Resort featured insightful presentations from Disney executives on the thoughtful redesign of Toontown.

International tourism to the US is projected to decline by at least 5% this year instead of the expected 9% growth, threatening a $72 billion reduction in total travel spending.

This week we analyze Herschend's strategic acquisition of Palace Entertainment's U.S. properties, potentially establishing them as a major third-place challenger in the theme park industry.