Although the overall global theme park market growth shows signs of slowing down，But the pace of global expansion of industry giants has not stopped。

In the past year，Beijing Universal Studios investment doubled to US$6.5 billion、Disney announces future investment of US$2.5 billion in Disneyland Paris、Disney opens new Toy Story lands in Shanghai and Hollywood、Warner Bros. Movie World opens in Abu Dhabi、Six Flags Entertainment announced the construction of multiple Six Flags parks in China/Saudi Arabia and other countries，has become a hot topic in the industry。 

Not only that，These companies’ investment in this field will continue to increase in the future。

Disney said it plans to invest US$24 billion in the next five years，Universal Studios said it has invested no less in its theme park business over the past eight years and over the next five years than the $23.4 billion it paid to buy NBCUniversal，Merlin Entertainments, which opened Legoland in Japan last year, plans to open in South Korea in the next few years、Multiple parks opened in the United States and China，And plans to build 20 Legoland parks around the world in the future，At least five of them have landed in the Chinese market。 

Overview of international brands entering the Chinese market

So how have the major theme park operators developed over the past year？What about each theme park operator’s development status and future plans in the Chinese market？

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The rivalry between Disney and Universal Studios in the theme park "Holy City" Orlando has been going on for many years，No signs of weakening in the coming years。Both giants are in the park attractions、Making large-scale investments in scale expansion and hotel construction，Build their own "moats"。 

Industry observers had previously predicted that Comcast-owned Universal Studios would build a new theme park in Orlando，Plus Volcano Bay Water Park opened in 2017，The number of theme parks in Orlando Resort will increase to 4。Although company executives have announced plans to add Nintendo-themed areas and purchase additional parcels on existing land，Company remains tight-lipped about new theme park。

However，188bet app download On the earnings call in July this year，The company begins to reveal some information。 

In response to analyst questions，NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke said，Company is considering the possibility of building another theme park in Florida，And confirm that the name required for company registration has been submitted。Data display，The two titles submitted by Universal Studios are "Epic Universe" and "Fantastic Worlds"。 

Burke said，The company has many good IPs，Also attaches great importance to the theme park business，This business has always been the company’s best performance、Steady growing business。He also called，The company still has great development potential in the future，A new theme park in Florida could increase visitors’ stay in the state from 2-3 days to a week。

December 13，A picture circulating on Twitter further confirms that Universal Studios is building a fourth theme park，The name of the new park is almost certain to be Universal in the picture's Fantastic Worlds (Universal Studios Fantasy World)。FacingDisney’s two Star Wars parks for Harry Potter land will open in 2019，And Walt Disney celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021，It is not difficult to understand why Universal Studios is increasing its investment in the theme park business。

Warner Bros. theme park business is making a comeback

In terms of individual theme park attendance，Disney and Universal Studios have absolute dominance in the world，But Warner Bros., which has strong film and television resources, also intends to further expand its theme park business this year。

WithWarner Bros. Movie World Abu Dhabi opens in the UAE in July，Total investment reaches US$1 billion，Warner Bros.’s intention to enter the theme park market, which is almost monopolized by the two giants, is self-evident。 

Early last month，Miral Asset Management, operator of Warner Bros. Movie World, announced investment near the theme park7.500 million pounds ($1 billion) to build new themed hotels，Warner Bros.’s determination to expand in the theme park field has once again been confirmed。

Warner Bros. owns DC superheroes that compete with Marvel superheroes、Influential film and television IPs such as Bugs Bunny，Among them Batman、Superman、The Justice League composed of Wonder Woman and others is particularly well-known to the public。Also，Backed by telecommunications giant AT&Warner Media, a subsidiary of T, can provide huge financial and resource support for theme park business development，For example，AT&T’s cable TV networks HBO and Turner can provide it with high-quality content resources。

In view of the increasing number of theme park projects invested by Warner Bros. in the Middle East，Such theme parks are likely to appear in China in the next few years，Abu Dhabi can be used as a reference template。However, as many international giants have stepped up their efforts to expand into the Chinese market and have launched projects，Have financial resources、It is still unclear whether Warner Bros., which has resources and talent reserves, can catch up with latecomers and become a new giant in the industry。

Ocean World is turning a corner after comprehensive reform

Since the release of the documentary "Black Whale" which reflected the abuse of killer whales during training，SeaWorld’s operating performance has continued to decline in the past five years，The stock price also plummeted。

Afterwards，Despite a change in leadership、End the captive killer whale breeding project、Converting animal entertainment programs into rides and attractions and other measures，SeaWorld is still not out of the quagmire of poor performance。

In February this year, the company’s board of directors decided to make new changes.CEO Joel Manby resigned after three years on the job，The chief creative officer and chief marketing officer who joined SeaWorld with him also left one after another。

Longtime company executive John Reilly has been named interim CEO to take the helm of SeaWorld。Initially，He believes that the company needs to focus on advantageous projects such as animal education，But SeaWorld also tried other strategies，Like the free beer strategy that was a huge success at some theme parks this summer、Reduce prices, etc.。

Also，The company also shed some legal baggage，Agreed to a $4 million deal with the American Stock Exchange in September this year，No longer pursue some suspected fraudulent statements released by the company after the "Black Whale" documentary。The Department of Justice investigation did not take further investigative action against SeaWorld。

Sea World has achieved good results this year。November，The company said that theme park attendance and revenue have increased for three consecutive quarters。As of September 30，Sea World has 18 million visitors in the first three quarters，Net profit turns from loss to profit，The stock price has surged 94% since the beginning of the year。Last month there was even news that Six Flags Entertainment was interested in acquiring SeaWorld，Once the two merge，Theoretically, the annual number of tourists may surpass Universal Studios and become the third largest theme park operator in the world。

188bet app In fact，The rumors of Six Flags acquiring SeaWorld are also closely related to the Chinese market。Zhonghong Zhuoye’s parent company Zhonghong Shares, the major shareholder of SeaWorld, was delisted，The whereabouts of major shareholders’ equity has become a hot topic in the industry，Some industry insiders believe that，Six Flags Entertainment’s partner in China, Shanshui Wenyuan Group, may help Six Flags facilitate this deal。

Six Flags’ first loyalty program

Over the years，Theme park operators are not like airlines、Hotel，Even restaurants do loyalty programs。But in August this year，Six Flags Entertainment, the largest regional theme park operator in the United States, launches the industry's first loyalty program to change this situation。

After joining the loyalty program Six Flags Membership Rewards，Visitors can not only earn points after playing and spending in the park，You can also ride on the rides、Earn points after watching the show and filling out the questionnaire。Members can use points to redeem store food、Free tickets、VIP travel, etc.。 

But only registered members of the company can enjoy the service of earning points and using points to redeem gifts。Six Flags Entertainment has been committed to increasing its membership base，Let members get more benefits。Company executives hope，This reward program can attract more tourists to participate，Increase the number of visits to the park，And increase their consumption in the park。

There are three reasons why Six Flags launched a loyalty program。First, increase the number of tourists by increasing loyalty members，Second, loyalty programs can bring a large amount of user data，The third is to provide value-added services to tourists through loyalty programs。

Except hotel and airline industry，Loyalty programs are slowly being introduced into movies、Online content platform、Theme parks and other entertainment industries。ButLearn from American Express、Can Six Flags Entertainment, which promotes Starbucks experience membership system, take this opportunity to become an industry benchmarkIt remains to be tested by time.

Six Flags Entertainment performed well in the first three quarters of 2018，Revenue、Both net profit and number of tourists increased。However，Due to Q3Revenue、EPS、EBITDA indicator is lower than market analysts’ expectations，The company’s stock price fell 16% on the day it announced its financial report。

Also，Six Flags will cooperate with Shanshui Wenyuan Group this year to build multiple Six Flags parks in Jiangsu and other places。China’s theme park market 188bet app download may usher in an explosive period in the next two years，The growth of the domestic middle-class consumer base and the international influence of the brand may bring great development opportunities to Six Flags Entertainment, which has a presence in multiple locations。

Dubai theme park market continues to slump

Dubai Theme Park Resort 2017 TotalReceived 2.3 million tourists，Far less than the expectation of 6.7 million，Loss up to US$300 millionAfter，Operator DXB Entertainments announced a debt restructuring in March this year，Lower operating and financial targets for 2018。

Although since entering 2018，The number of tourists and revenue has continued to grow，But the company is always experiencing narrowing losses、Unprofitable status，In November this year, it was announced that the company had suffered losses for 20 consecutive quarters。In this case，The company announced to review future expansion plans，Including Six Flags expected to open at the resort in 2019。

October this year，Six Flags Entertainment executives said on the earnings call，Six Flags may not open in 2019 as scheduled。Said Jim Reid-Anderson, President and CEO of Six Flags，Although the company does not want Six Flags to move forward in the future，But if this happens，Six Flags can also deal with it successfully。

Theme parks in the Middle East such as Dubai face hot weather when attracting tourists、Remote location、Challenge of less special attractions。In addition, there are few attractions and activities in the resort，Reasons such as insufficient business formats，Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games、DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda、The Smurfs from Columbia/Sony Pictures、IPs such as Legoland have not brought ideal results to the resort，The problem of low secondary consumption is particularly prominent (less than 30%)。

The company said the three key tasks in the future are，Increase the number of tourists、Adjust the pricing strategy to attract tourists to visit the park again and increase brand awareness through more marketing methods。Among them，The top priority is to attract Gulf countries and China、India、Russian and other international tourists enter the theme park。 

In the context of many challenges faced by both external conditions and internal operations，How attractive the resort will be to international tourists remains to be tested。Faced with the stock price falling by nearly half this year、Continued losses in the first three quarters，It’s unclear how much confidence investors still have in the project after re-evaluating the Six Flags expansion。

Report released by the International Association 188bet sports betting app download of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) 2018 Annual Meeting shows，The global theme park market reached US$45 billion in 2017，5% year-on-year growth，The slowest growth rate in the past five years。The report also states，Global theme park visitor numbers are expected to grow at 3% in the next few years.8% growth rate，Nearly two-thirds of the world’s tourist growth comes from the Asia-Pacific region。 

The fastest growing theme park market in the Asia-Pacific region is none other than China。

Among the top ten theme park operators，Currently only Cedar Entertainment has no news of entering the Chinese market，Hollywood film and television companies with large IP resources have also entered the game。Sony/Columbia was in Wuhan not long ago、Lionsgate Pictures has plans to launch theme park projects in Zhuhai，Including Time Warner DreamWorks, which claimed to build the world’s largest theme park in Zhuhai in 2015，Hollywood’s major film and television giants also gathered in China。 

Theme Park Giant、Film and television company、Animation Group and other foreign companies are rushing to enter the Chinese market with huge potential，They not only have to compete with each other，We also have to face the pursuit and interception of local companies。Whether it’s in the Yangtze River Delta region，Still fighting in the entire Chinese market，It seems that the only suspense is: who will be eliminated first after the layout？