Topline
New data reveals lower- and middle-income Americans spent less at regional theme parks this summer, while affluent travelers spent more than before at pricier Disney and Universal destinations—revealing a premium fault line that has come to define the travel industry.
Overall spending at U.S. theme parks was down 5% this summer compared to the same season last year, according to Consumer Edge, which analyzed year-over-year credit card spending data from May through August 9 for Forbes.
The weakness was driven by lower- and middle-income parkgoers earning under $100,000 per year, Michael Gunther, VP and head of insights at Consumer Edge, told Forbes.
Meanwhile, at large U.S. destination parks, where one-day, one-park tickets typically start at $120 per person, visitor spending from May through July was up 8%, on average, at Disney parks and up an average 22% per month this summer at Universal, driven by the much-anticipated opening of the 110-acre, five-land Epic Universe park in Orlando, according to data from Bloomberg Second Measure.
United Parks & Resorts, whose portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place properties, where single-day tickets start at about $100 per person, saw a 4% year-over-year decline in visitor spending, on average, for the months of May through July, according to Bloomberg Second Measure.
Six Flags Entertainment Group—whose 27 regional amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states fall under a variety of brands including Six Flags, Cedar Park and others—and where daily admission prices generally fall between $60 and $90 per day—saw an 8% year-over-year decline in spending in July, per Bloomberg Second Measure data.
“It's been a flat-to-down, lackluster year so far for the industry as a whole, because of the economy and all the uncertainty, and the weather,” Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services, an industry consulting firm, told Forbes. Consumer spending data at theme parks this summer was split between pricier destination theme parks run by Disney and Universal receiving a boost in visitor spending while the less-expensive regional parks experienced a decline. Notably, spending is bifurcated among income levels, with lower- and middle-income customers spending less than last year and affluent customers spending more than before. This pattern echoes the rest of the travel industry, where major airlines and hotel companies downgraded their financial outlooks for 2025 in the spring. In their first- and second-quarter earnings reports, major U.S. airlines repeatedly noted softening demand for “main cabin” (a.k.a. basic economy) seats with continued robust demand for premium seats. Consumer Edge data showed that budget travelers began pulling back on airline spending immediately following the announcement of Liberation Day tariffs. The hospitality industry, meanwhile, has seen the same marked split in demand, with budget and mid-range hotel brands faring worse than luxury brands in this economy. On Marriott’s second-quarter earnings call earlier this month, chief financial officer Leeny Oberg noted pointedly that despite “ongoing economic uncertainty,” the company was “extremely well positioned” in the luxury and full-service segments, which accounted for the majority of Marriott’s rooms and were “expected to continue to nicely outperform lower-end chain scales globally.”
The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Expectations—which focuses on consumers' outlooks for their future personal finances and the long-term economy—is down 21% compared to a year ago, a sign that many Americans are feeling worse about the economy compared to this time last year. Speigel calls 2025 “the year of the discount,” adding that theme parks throughout the country “felt the cautionary issues in their season pass sales and in the early season attendance.” Headlines about the cost of eggs “affected the psyche” of average Joes, he said, “and that was compounded by the tariffs. So you've got uncertainty, confusion, and everyday people holding back on their spending.” In comparison, affluent customers are feeling pretty good. “When there's economic stress and inflation and at the same time rising asset prices, that’s going to contribute to wealthier people feeling better about their situation,” Gunther told Forbes. “If the stock market was underperforming and the economy remained as it was, perhaps you wouldn’t see as much of a difference.” Still, the theme park giants are keenly aware that there is such a thing as too-high prices. Disney executives were allegedly worried that the company’s theme parks and resorts had become too expensive for middle-class families, according to a February report from the Wall Street Journal.
The arms race between Disney and Universal has driven Florida’s biggest industry forward. Both companies are constantly introducing new attractions and recouping their investments by charging higher prices, which require more affluent visitors. “More and more people are dropping out of the discretionary entertainment economy,” Robert Niles, creator of Theme Park Insider, told Forbes. “So the question is, how do theme parks capture as big a percentage of what is left? If you can get the super-rich, that's wonderful. Disney can do that. Universal can do that. But even Disney and Universal are fighting for people on the edge who can't really afford it, who have got to make decisions.” The shiny new thing of 2025 is Universal Epic Universe, which reportedly took eight years and $7 billion to build, and opened in May with an eye-watering $149-per-day entry fee. “Epic is saving the industry in the United States,” Niles said. Meanwhile, “Disney remains the major-domo,” Speigel said. “For them to maintain their superiority and dominance in Florida, and in the industry as a whole, they need a new fifth gate. They have the land, the capital, the creativity and the IP to meet those objectives, and I think they're going to do it. It just makes no sense if they don't.”
$34 billion. That’s how much the U.S. theme park industry generated in 2024, according to Grand View Research.
Will theme parks get a much-needed boost around Halloween? With schools back in session across much of the country, many regional theme parks have already shifted to a weekends-only schedule. For them, the peak season is over. “Hopefully Halloween will lift the industry a little bit,” Speigel said, noting that for some park operators, “Halloween can be 20% of their bottom line for the year.”
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