As theme park attendance nears pre-pandemic levels in the United States, operators are revamping their real estate with plans to invest billions of dollars in new rides, attractions, retail spaces and hotels in coming years.

Disney is in the lead of these efforts with its $2 billion proposed expansion of Disneyland Resort heading for an important vote next week, as other owners like Cedar Fair and SeaWorld prepare for their own planned developments.

Attendance at Burbank, California-based Disney’s U.S. parks has returned to near pre-pandemic levels, while Cedar Fair officials said total attendance at its 13 parks and resorts in the U.S. and Canada increased 3% in 2023 over the prior year — despite unprecedented rainfall in California and uncontrolled wildfires in Canada keeping people away from parks. Attendance at Six Flags parks rose 9% in 2023 from the year prior.

Still, analysts do not predict a full recovery of attendance and revenue for the theme park industry for at least another year, as international, group and other business categories continue to drag. The industry also faces lingering challenges including staffing shortages and high costs for food, supplies and labor. 

Even so, the planning commission in Anaheim, California, is expected to vote this month on Disney’s plan to invest between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in an expansion of the Disneyland Resort. The project, among the biggest in the California park’s nearly 70-year history, is among several worldwide expected to approach $60 billion in the next decade for the Disney division that includes theme parks and cruise ships.

“We’re already hard at work at basically determining where we’re going to place our new investments and what they will be,” Disney CEO Robert Iger told analysts during a recent quarterly earnings call. “You can pretty much conclude that they'll be all over, meaning every single one of our locations will be the beneficiary of increased investment and thus increased capacity.”

Subject to approval by the Anaheim City Council, which could vote this May, the project known as Disneyland Forward calls for the development of new movie-themed rides and attractions, and other commercial, parking and infrastructure elements on a swath of Disney-owned land behind existing hotels. The proposal also includes a significant renovation of an existing, company-owned retail center outside of park gates known as Downtown Disney District.

Disney officials previously said the company’s parks division has more than 1,000 acres of land available for possible future development globally. Iger told analysts that all of the company’s 12 parks worldwide were profitable in Disney’s first quarter ended Dec. 30, “giving us an incredibly solid foundation to build upon as we invest significantly to turbocharge growth in this business.”

Projects announced during the past two years also included $17 billion in improvements planned for its Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Cedar Fair is expecting to keep capital spending this year on par with 2023, at between $210 million and $220 million. Some of these projects include renovations of its off-site retail and hotel offerings following significant upgrades in the past year at its Knott’s Hotel in California.

CEO Richard Zimmerman said consumer demand at the Sandusky, Ohio-based company’s parks “remains strong and is pacing to soon surpass pre-pandemic attendance levels, an observation supported by our consumer research” and early 2024 season pass sales. 

The company is awaiting shareholder and regulatory approval of its pending merger with Six Flags Entertainment that's expected to create a $3.5 billion company with properties in 17 states and three countries.

Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld recently changed its name to United Parks & Resorts but kept park banners intact on all 12 of its venues operated under brands including SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place and Aquatica.

The company is still moving ahead on plans to develop what would be its first on-site hotels, along the lines of buildings already found at parks of competitors including Disney, NBCUniversal and Cedar Fair.

“Let me be clear that we believe there is a great opportunity for hotels in our parks,” CEO Marc Swanson told analysts during an earnings call. “We own approximately 400 acres of developable land adjacent to our parks. We know there is significant vacation hotel demand from guests in our markets and we see an obvious opportunity to generate significant incremental [earnings] and value from hotels in our parks.”

Swanson said the company has not decided on a dollar amount to invest in hotels, and “will not spend any capital” without “high confidence” that it can achieve an annual return on investment of at least 20%.

“We have targeted the first hotels in the Orlando area, which is the largest tourist destination in the United States,” Swanson told analysts.

Severe weather was a key factor in reducing attendance at SeaWorld parks by about 75,000 visits in the fourth quarter of 2023 and cost its parks more than 370,000 visits for the full year, according to Swanson.

Cedar Fair CEO Richard Zimmerman said the company's attendance growth in 2023 occurred even as weather events “resulted in shortfalls in early season attendance and spring season pass sales, which posed a challenge to our potential full-year results.”

The company responded with ticket price adjustments and promotional campaigns that helped the company gain 1% in revenue and 9% in attendance from the prior year in its fourth quarter of 2023. Cedar Fair Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow pointed to a 7% gain in revenue at its owned resort and retail properties located outside its park gates, including its Knott’s Marketplace retail center near Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Cedar Fair plans to reduce its days of operations this year to better match labor and other resources with park traffic patterns. Witherow said the company is planning 2,253 operating days in 2024, or 112 fewer days than in 2023.

“The changes that are being implemented will primarily reduce operating days in the first two quarters, most notably at our small to mid-tier parks,” he said.