If you’ve ever wondered who actually owns SeaWorld, the answer isn’t a theme park company at all in the branding sense — it’s a publicly traded corporation called United Parks & Resorts Inc., and most people have never heard its name. That’s by design: the parent company operates behind its better-known park brands, including Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, and Aquatica.
Below is the full picture: the parent company, its complete list of parks, the legal subsidiary that actually runs them, and the winding corporate history that took this company from Anheuser-Busch’s beer-garden roots to a Wall Street-listed parks operator under ticker PRKS.
Quick Answer
SeaWorld is owned by United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: PRKS), a publicly traded, Orlando-based company. The same parent also owns Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, and Adventure Island — so yes, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens are owned by the same company. Until a February 2024 rebrand, that parent was named SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.
Are SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Owned by the Same Company?
Yes. Both brands have been under the same corporate roof since 2009, when private equity firm Blackstone bought Busch Entertainment Corporation (which included the SeaWorld parks and the Busch Gardens parks) from Anheuser-Busch InBev for roughly $2.7 billion. That single deal is why SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Sesame Place, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, and Adventure Island all answer to the same parent company today, even though each park kept its own name and identity to guests.
So while SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa feel like very different parks — one built around marine life, the other around roller coasters and animal encounters — they’re sister properties run by the same executive team and reported in the same quarterly earnings.
Every Park United Parks & Resorts Owns (The Full List)
United Parks & Resorts currently owns and operates 12 parks in the United States: eight theme parks and four water parks. The full list is: SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Diego, and SeaWorld San Antonio; Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens Williamsburg; Sesame Place Philadelphia and Sesame Place San Diego; Discovery Cove (Orlando); Aquatica Orlando and Aquatica San Antonio; Water Country USA (Williamsburg, Virginia); and Adventure Island (Tampa).
You’ll also see the company credited with a 13th park, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi on Yas Island. That one works differently: United Parks & Resorts licensed the SeaWorld brand to Miral, the Abu Dhabi government’s experiences developer, which fully funded, owns, and operates the park. So it carries the SeaWorld name, but it isn’t one of the company’s owned-and-operated U.S. parks.
You may also run across older articles claiming SeaWorld’s parent ‘owns 11 parks.’ That figure is accurate for an earlier point in the company’s history — before Sesame Place San Diego opened in 2022 and before the current 12-park count solidified. Today’s correct, current total is 12 owned-and-operated U.S. destinations, plus the licensed Abu Dhabi park.
SeaWorld’s Corporate Structure and Subsidiaries
United Parks & Resorts Inc. is the publicly traded parent company (NYSE: PRKS). Its parks are actually owned and operated through a wholly owned operating subsidiary, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., which holds the individual park businesses and is the entity named in the company’s SEC filings as owning and operating the 12 U.S. theme and water parks.
On the investor side, United Parks & Resorts isn’t controlled by a single owner the way a private park chain might be. It’s majority-held by public shareholders, with the investment firm Hill Path Capital LP historically the largest single shareholder and holding board representation. Marc G. Swanson serves as President and CEO.
From Busch Entertainment to SeaWorld Entertainment to United Parks & Resorts
The company’s roots trace to 1959, when Anheuser-Busch opened the original Busch Gardens in Tampa as a brewery tour attraction, and to 1964, when SeaWorld San Diego opened as an independent marine park. Anheuser-Busch bought SeaWorld’s parks in 1989, folding them into its Busch Entertainment division alongside the Busch Gardens parks.
When Anheuser-Busch merged with InBev in 2008, the combined company needed to pay down debt and sold Busch Entertainment Corporation to Blackstone in 2009 for about $2.7 billion. Blackstone took the company public in 2013 as SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. under ticker SEAS.
The SeaWorld name then spent a decade under pressure, largely stemming from the 2013 documentary Blackfish and its fallout over orca captivity, which weighed on attendance and the stock price for years. The company ended orca breeding in 2016 and phased out theatrical orca shows. In January 2024 the company announced it would rename itself United Parks & Resorts, effective February 12, 2024, with the stock ticker switching from SEAS to PRKS — a move meant to let the parent be recognized for its full seven-brand portfolio rather than being defined by SeaWorld alone.
Who Owns SeaWorld Orlando Specifically?
SeaWorld Orlando isn’t independently owned or franchised — it’s one of the three SeaWorld-branded parks (alongside San Diego and San Antonio) owned and operated directly by United Parks & Resorts through its SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment subsidiary, the same company that owns Busch Gardens Tampa, roughly 73 driving miles away on Florida’s west coast.
Stats at a Glance
Headquarters: Orlando, Florida. Founded (as public predecessor): 2013, as SeaWorld Entertainment. Renamed: United Parks & Resorts, effective February 2024. Stock ticker: NYSE: PRKS. Parks owned and operated: 12 U.S. destinations (8 theme parks, 4 water parks), plus the licensed SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. 2024 attendance: about 21.5 million guests. 2024 revenue: about $1.73 billion. CEO: Marc G. Swanson.
A Portfolio Built From Two Legacies
The brand lineup still reflects the merger of two distinct histories: the Busch family’s regional theme parks, led by Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg, and the marine-life-focused SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio. Sesame Place, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, and Adventure Island round out the portfolio, spreading the company’s footprint across Florida, California, Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
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who owns seaworld FAQs
Who owns SeaWorld?
SeaWorld is owned by United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: PRKS), a publicly traded company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The parks themselves are held through its operating subsidiary, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc.
Who owns SeaWorld and Busch Gardens?
The same company, United Parks & Resorts, owns both. It also owns Sesame Place, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, and Adventure Island, making SeaWorld and Busch Gardens sister brands under one public parent.
What is SeaWorld’s parent company called now?
United Parks & Resorts Inc. The company was named SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. from its 2013 IPO until February 12, 2024, when it rebranded and switched its NYSE ticker from SEAS to PRKS.
What are the parks owned by SeaWorld’s parent company?
United Parks & Resorts owns and operates 12 parks in the U.S.: SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Sesame Place Philadelphia, Sesame Place San Diego, Discovery Cove, Aquatica Orlando, Aquatica San Antonio, Water Country USA, and Adventure Island. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi carries the brand under a license but is owned and operated by Miral, not United Parks & Resorts. Some older sources cite ’11 parks,’ reflecting the count before Sesame Place San Diego opened.
Are SeaWorld and Busch Gardens owned by the same company?
Yes. Both have been owned by the same parent since Blackstone’s 2009 purchase of Busch Entertainment Corporation, which combined the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks under one roof — a structure that carried through the company’s 2013 IPO and its 2024 rename to United Parks & Resorts.
Who owns SeaWorld Orlando?
SeaWorld Orlando is owned and operated directly by United Parks & Resorts, the same company that owns SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Busch Gardens Tampa.
What are SeaWorld Entertainment’s subsidiaries?
The publicly traded parent, now named United Parks & Resorts Inc., operates its parks through its wholly owned subsidiary SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., which is the entity that legally owns and runs the company’s 12 U.S. theme and water parks.
When did SeaWorld Entertainment become United Parks & Resorts?
The name change was announced in January 2024 and took effect February 12, 2024, with the stock ticker switching from SEAS to PRKS on the NYSE the next day.
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