Well.. i found this and thought it would be interesting to post it. If you can follow the link i did copy and paste the story.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-universal-comcast-earnings-20140421,0,4481897.story
The parent company of Universal Orlando reported lower theme-park earnings Tuesday, pinched by pre-launch costs for the soon-to-open Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Diagon Alley.
Comcast Corp. said operating cash flow at its Universal Parks & Resorts division slipped 1.5 percent during the first quarter of the year, sliding to $170 million from $173 million a year ago. The company blamed higher costs "to support new attractions," the biggest of which is Diagon Alley, the second Harry Potter-themed land at Universal Orlando. Universal says it will open by the summer in Universal Studios Florida, one of the two theme parks at the Orlando resort.
Though Diagon Alley isn't expected to formally debut until mid- or late-June, Universal began incurring operating costs tied to the project during the quarter. The resort began hiring workers to staff the area and launched a national television-advertising campaign to promote its impending opening. Capital spending at NBCUniversal also ballooned 11 percent during the quarter -- rising $28 million to $291 million -- in part because of Diagon Alley construction.
Universal also opened the first phase of its fourth on-property hotel -- the Cabana Bay Beach Resort -- at the end of the quarter. The hotel will eventually have 900 suites and 900 conventional rooms when it is completed by the summer.
First-quarter revenue at Comcast's theme-parks business rose 5.4 percent, from $462 million to $487 million, primarily becuase visitors to Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood in Southern California paid higher prices and bought more food and merchandise. The company said attendance was "stable" during the period, depressed by the timing of the busy Easter holiday, which fell later this year than in 2013.
Universal ran into a similar squeeze four years ago, in the quarter before the opening of the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal's Islands of Adventure park. Attendance during the first quarter of 2010 fell 10 percent, in part because travelers were waiting for Wizarding World to open, and profit plummeted 44 percent because of Potter advertising costs.
Comcast is the first of Orlando's big three theme-park owners to report first-quarter results. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has already disclosed that its chain-wide attendance fell 13 percent during the January-through-March period, though most of that drop appears to be due to the later Easter and a quirk in SeaWorld's fiscal calendar
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-universal-comcast-earnings-20140421,0,4481897.story
The parent company of Universal Orlando reported lower theme-park earnings Tuesday, pinched by pre-launch costs for the soon-to-open Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Diagon Alley.
Comcast Corp. said operating cash flow at its Universal Parks & Resorts division slipped 1.5 percent during the first quarter of the year, sliding to $170 million from $173 million a year ago. The company blamed higher costs "to support new attractions," the biggest of which is Diagon Alley, the second Harry Potter-themed land at Universal Orlando. Universal says it will open by the summer in Universal Studios Florida, one of the two theme parks at the Orlando resort.
Though Diagon Alley isn't expected to formally debut until mid- or late-June, Universal began incurring operating costs tied to the project during the quarter. The resort began hiring workers to staff the area and launched a national television-advertising campaign to promote its impending opening. Capital spending at NBCUniversal also ballooned 11 percent during the quarter -- rising $28 million to $291 million -- in part because of Diagon Alley construction.
Universal also opened the first phase of its fourth on-property hotel -- the Cabana Bay Beach Resort -- at the end of the quarter. The hotel will eventually have 900 suites and 900 conventional rooms when it is completed by the summer.
First-quarter revenue at Comcast's theme-parks business rose 5.4 percent, from $462 million to $487 million, primarily becuase visitors to Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood in Southern California paid higher prices and bought more food and merchandise. The company said attendance was "stable" during the period, depressed by the timing of the busy Easter holiday, which fell later this year than in 2013.
Universal ran into a similar squeeze four years ago, in the quarter before the opening of the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal's Islands of Adventure park. Attendance during the first quarter of 2010 fell 10 percent, in part because travelers were waiting for Wizarding World to open, and profit plummeted 44 percent because of Potter advertising costs.
Comcast is the first of Orlando's big three theme-park owners to report first-quarter results. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has already disclosed that its chain-wide attendance fell 13 percent during the January-through-March period, though most of that drop appears to be due to the later Easter and a quirk in SeaWorld's fiscal calendar
