There was a lot of love for theme parks this year from thrill-seeking fans of these massive outdoor havens of escapism. Wall Street hasn't been as kind. Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) -- operator of the world's most popular gated attractions -- has seen its shares lose to the market with a meager 6% advance in 2023.

SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS) has fared even worse. The largest publicly traded pure play in the theme parks space has tumbled 5% this year through Thursday's close. Universal Studios parent (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is the lone market beater with its 30% year-to-date gain, but that is largely the result of record profitability for its larger bread-and-butter broadband connectivity business. Theme parks accounts for less than 10% of Comcast's revenue. In a year that was generally kind to travel and tourism stocks, 2023 was not a good one for theme park investors.

The ride isn't over for Disney, SeaWorld, or Comcast. All three of the leading theme park operators aren't shying away from stepping up their efforts to grow their empires despite the industry's mostly uninspiring 2023 performance. Let's take a look at what went wrong in 2023 and what could go right in 2024 and beyond.

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Source Fool.com