Good news and bad news for SeaWorld Entertainment -- attendance is up, but profits are down.
- Attendance rose at SeaWorld parks in Virginia, Texas, California
- Attendance down at SeaWorld's Florida parks
- SeaWorld hopes new roller coasters will boost Florida parks' attendance
The Orlando-based company released its first quarter earnings report Thursday.
SeaWorld said 3.3 million people visited its parks in the first quarter of this year. That's compared to 3.21 million for the first part of 2015.
SeaWorld said attendance was higher at the Virginia, Texas and California park locations.
There was a decrease in attendance at the Florida parks, including SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. SeaWorld attributes this to a decline in international attendance from Latin America and a decline in passholder attendance at SeaWorld Orlando.
However, SeaWorld reported a net loss of $84 million so far this year, compared to just a loss of $43.6 million in the first quarter of last year.
The company said the decision to get rid of deep-water lifting floors from the orca habitats partly contributed to that loss.
SeaWorld has been struggling since the release of the film "BlackFish," which criticized the park's treatment of its killer whales.
The company has since decided not only to phase out the current killer whale shows, but also to stop breeding the orcas.
"Our March announcement to end all orca breeding and transition our theatrical shows toward more natural orca encounters, as well as our new partnership with the Humane Society of the United States, were transformational decisions that we expect should contribute to an improvement in performance over time, as consumers begin to recognize our continued commitment to providing them experiences that matter," SeaWorld president Joel Manby said in a news release Thursday.
SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa are both releasing highly-anticipated attractions this summer -- Mako and Cobra's Curse. The company believes both attractions will have a significant impact on attendance in the second quarter.