Comcast says attendance pressure at Universal Orlando has continued into the second half of 2026.
Jason Armstrong, Comcast’s Chief Financial Officer, addressed the situation during a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference. When asked whether the Orlando weakness identified during Comcast’s second-quarter earnings report had improved, Armstrong said the company was seeing essentially the same conditions.
“I don’t think anything has changed. We’re continuing to see softness in that market,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong attributed the continued weakness to two main factors. Higher travel costs, including gas and airfare, are putting pressure on tourism demand, while Universal Orlando is also facing a challenging year-over-year comparison following the surge in visitors sparked by Epic Universe’s opening last year.
Armstrong said the new park generated “pent-up demand,” boosting visitation at the resort and throughout the broader Orlando market, creating an unusually strong comparison that makes current attendance levels appear weaker by comparison.
Despite the attendance slowdown, Comcast continues to view Epic Universe’s opening as the right strategic move for Universal Orlando.
Armstrong said a comparison with 2024, before Epic Universe opened, provides a more meaningful measure of the business and its future performance. By that measure, he said Universal Orlando remains substantially larger, with improvements in attendance, per-capita spending, overall financial performance, and guest satisfaction.
The softness reported by Comcast does not appear to reflect a downturn in Orlando tourism.
Walt Disney World, for example, reported strong performance during Disney’s fiscal third quarter, which covered April through June. In its earnings report released in early August, Disney described the resort as having a “standout quarter” and specifically pointed to higher attendance as one contributor to the results.
Moreover, hotel and vacation-rental data also indicate that demand across the Orlando area remained relatively healthy in July.
Orange County hotels recorded a 74.1% occupancy rate during July 2026, according to Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond. That represented a 1.5% increase from the same month last year. Hotel room demand increased 1.6%, while the average daily room rate remained largely stable at $198.25, a decline of just 0.2% year-over-year.
Short-term rentals also recorded growth. Visit Orlando, the area’s official tourism marketing organization, reported a 3% increase in demand compared with July 2025, while the average daily rate for those rentals increased 10%.
Comcast also reported continued challenges across its international theme parks, with some locations facing roughly three quarters of pressure.
Armstrong highlighted that Universal Studios Japan has been affected by a sharp decline in Chinese visitation amid geopolitical tensions between China and Japan, while Universal Beijing Resort has faced broader macroeconomic weakness among Chinese consumers.
Armstrong emphasized that the company remains committed to investing in its theme park business, pointing to the durability of its intellectual property and the strength of its destinations. While he acknowledged “some near-term headwinds,” Armstrong said the company remains “incredibly bullish” on the parks over the long term.
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