Water Parks
Water-themed amusement parks with slides and aquatic attractions.
Market snapshot
These figures describe Amusement Parks & Attractions (2.13.1), the segment that Water Parks sits within — not Water Parks on its own.
- Market size
- ~$41B
- Growth
- ~1.8%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
- Companies
- ~8,800
U.S. Census Bureau 2022 CBP/Economic Census, NAICS 712110/712120/712130/712190 (museums, zoos, nature parks) + 713110 (amusement & theme parks); 2017–22 growth muted by pandemic recovery.
Business model & economics
Revenue model
Admissions, season passes, food, and merchandise
Key economics
- Recurring revenue
- Moderate
- EBITDA margin
- Strong at scaled parks; nonprofit on the cultural side
- Capex intensity
- High
season passes and memberships
Characteristics
- Capital-intensive, scale-driven theme-park economics.
- Strong post-pandemic recovery with pricing power.
- Cultural attractions largely nonprofit.
Geographic concentration
Amusement parks and attractions over-index in tourism-driven small states — Maine, Vermont, South Dakota, and Kansas — where seasonal visitor traffic supports outsized attraction counts.
U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 County Business Patterns (establishments by state), NAICS 712110/712120/712130/712190. Concentration shown by location quotient.
M&A deal context
Who’s acquiring
- Theme-park operators
- Regional-park consolidators
- PE-backed attractions platforms
What’s driving deals
- Consolidation among regional park operators.
- Post-pandemic demand and pricing power.
- Scale advantages in capital-intensive parks.
Find Water Parks acquisition targets
Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Water Parks (2.13.1.4) and build a targeted deal pipeline.
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