Universal Orlando Reported Record-Breaking Profits This Quarter!

After months of closure and frantic attempts to recover from economic losses, it’s actually a good time to be a theme park right now. “Revenge crowds” are surging to tourist destinations as many people are excited to finally go on vacation for the first time in a couple of years.

Universal Orlando Resort

Disney World has been seeing big crowds in the parks lately, and the Disney company reported its second-best quarter EVER in terms of profit just a couple of months ago. But it turns out that Disney isn’t the only company that’s recovering quickly from the pandemic closures.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal Orlando reported its best-ever first-quarter earnings today during an earnings call.

Universal is crowded!

The most recent quarter saw more visitors and higher earnings than the same time in 2021. In fact, “NBCUniversal’s theme parks generated $1.5 billion in revenue last quarter,” which is more than a 150% increase from the first quarter of 2021.

Lots of people are ready to return to theme parks.

Although there are still far fewer international visitors coming to the theme parks than normal (a problem the Disney parks are experiencing as well), the summer vacation time looks promising as guest reservations are at “historically high levels.”

Expect big crowds if you’re visiting this summer!

This isn’t the first record-breaking earnings call, though. Universal Orlando saw huge profits during the third and fourth quarters of 2021 as well. These numbers indicate that theme parks are recovering after the closures and low travel rates brought on by the pandemic.

This is bonkers.

One of the biggest expenses that Universal Orlando has right now is the construction of Epic Universe — the new theme park that’s scheduled to open in the summer of 2025. This park will cost the company about $1 billion to build.

Epic Universe will have a Super Nintendo World as well as “other key attractions.” Although it will be an expensive endeavor to open this park, leaders are expecting it to drive even more profits once guests are able to visit. Comcast’s chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said, “Our investments are significantly expanding the potential of our theme parks business, which will remain an important and exciting growth engine for years to come.”