The opening of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.'s (NYSE: SEAS) new Sesame Street land in Orlando is the first step of many it has to do to fully regain its prominence.
The new land, which opened March 27, brings the lovable characters from the long-running show to Orlando with a series of rides and new character meet-n-greets. The property is also one of the most recognizable assets that SeaWorld has to offer for guests, similar to how theme park competitors Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort have the Star Wars and Harry Potter brands, respectively.
But SeaWorld cannot stop at Sesame Street, it needs to continue searching for more characters and stories, said Dennis Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based theme park firm International Theme Park Services Inc.
"New intellectual properties are coming along and SeaWorld has to look at what is available. It's got to be looking to see what's coming down the pike and if it sees something it likes, grab it," he told OBJ, noting the company was dizzied by the 2013 "Blackfish" film that hammered its killer whale program and hampered its ability to grow. "SeaWorld made a lot of bad decisions for a lot of years because of "Blackfish" and couldn't focus. But now it is on the right path and taking the right steps — that's got to continue."
Speigel couldn't name any specific intellectual property characters SeaWorld could tap into, but he said it had to be something more than SeaWorld's typical all-things-nature approach. While nature has been a foundation for SeaWorld, it's not enough to build a new movement in a world where all theme parks want is to acquire and tap into the rabid fanbase of the next major intellectual property.
But SeaWorld may be able to find the best of both worlds if it plays its card right. For example, brands like National Geographic, Discovery Channel and many more are all still widely popular and can fit right into what SeaWorld sells. To be sure, those brands have nowhere near the same draw as Star Wars or Harry Potter, but it's something SeaWorld can build on.
For now it appears that SeaWorld is adapting projects from one park into others as they are proven to succeed. The company has said it plans to invest upwards of $150 million each year in new experiences, rides, shows and more across the company.
Here's what SeaWorld's former COO John Reilly said about future expectations, during its Feb. 28 earnings call:
"One of the things that gives us a lot of confidence and one of the things that’s helped with this revamp capital plan, is we're putting in a lot of proven concepts. We're doing them better than we've ever done with Tigris in Tampa, Turtle Reef in San Antonio, Ihu Falls in San Antonio and KareKare Curl at Aquatica. We have some amazing proven concepts that we’ve executed before. So, we feel really good about that."
That works for now as those are safe investments by SeaWorld since the new attractions are popular. But all theme parks need to step out of their comfort zone and raise the bar on theme park innovation to truly capture new market share. The question is how will SeaWorld make that future change and with what intellectual property attached to it? For it to succeed, it needs to be even more than what SeaWorld has shown us so far.
From Orlando Business Journal.
The new land, which opened March 27, brings the lovable characters from the long-running show to Orlando with a series of rides and new character meet-n-greets. The property is also one of the most recognizable assets that SeaWorld has to offer for guests, similar to how theme park competitors Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort have the Star Wars and Harry Potter brands, respectively.
But SeaWorld cannot stop at Sesame Street, it needs to continue searching for more characters and stories, said Dennis Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based theme park firm International Theme Park Services Inc.
"New intellectual properties are coming along and SeaWorld has to look at what is available. It's got to be looking to see what's coming down the pike and if it sees something it likes, grab it," he told OBJ, noting the company was dizzied by the 2013 "Blackfish" film that hammered its killer whale program and hampered its ability to grow. "SeaWorld made a lot of bad decisions for a lot of years because of "Blackfish" and couldn't focus. But now it is on the right path and taking the right steps — that's got to continue."
Speigel couldn't name any specific intellectual property characters SeaWorld could tap into, but he said it had to be something more than SeaWorld's typical all-things-nature approach. While nature has been a foundation for SeaWorld, it's not enough to build a new movement in a world where all theme parks want is to acquire and tap into the rabid fanbase of the next major intellectual property.
But SeaWorld may be able to find the best of both worlds if it plays its card right. For example, brands like National Geographic, Discovery Channel and many more are all still widely popular and can fit right into what SeaWorld sells. To be sure, those brands have nowhere near the same draw as Star Wars or Harry Potter, but it's something SeaWorld can build on.
For now it appears that SeaWorld is adapting projects from one park into others as they are proven to succeed. The company has said it plans to invest upwards of $150 million each year in new experiences, rides, shows and more across the company.
Here's what SeaWorld's former COO John Reilly said about future expectations, during its Feb. 28 earnings call:
"One of the things that gives us a lot of confidence and one of the things that’s helped with this revamp capital plan, is we're putting in a lot of proven concepts. We're doing them better than we've ever done with Tigris in Tampa, Turtle Reef in San Antonio, Ihu Falls in San Antonio and KareKare Curl at Aquatica. We have some amazing proven concepts that we’ve executed before. So, we feel really good about that."
That works for now as those are safe investments by SeaWorld since the new attractions are popular. But all theme parks need to step out of their comfort zone and raise the bar on theme park innovation to truly capture new market share. The question is how will SeaWorld make that future change and with what intellectual property attached to it? For it to succeed, it needs to be even more than what SeaWorld has shown us so far.
From Orlando Business Journal.
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