Who owns Busch Gardens Williamsburg?
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is operated by United Parks (the United States, NYSE: PRKS) under licence; United Parks does not own the name.[1] The Busch Gardens Williamsburg name is owned by Anheuser-Busch.
Evidence: United Parks & Resorts Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-03-03, SEC EDGAR, 3 March 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Licensed to
- United Parks & Resorts Inc. verified
- Headquarters
- 🇺🇸 United States, Orlando
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, Williamsburg
- Founded
- 1975
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Franchises & parks › Theme parks
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: PRKS
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 422-acre theme park in Virginia that opened in 1975, according to the FY2025 10-K of United Parks & Resorts, which owns it. As with the Tampa Bay park, the company uses the Busch Gardens name under a trademark licence from Anheuser-Busch rather than owning that mark.
What United Parks's annual report says about Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Sentences about Busch Gardens Williamsburg from United Parks's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a 422-acre theme park, is regularly recognized as one of the highest quality theme parks in the world, capturing dozens of awards over its history for attraction and show quality, design, landscaping, culinary operations and theming.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is also home to a number of thrilling roller coasters and attractions including DarKoaster , the first all-indoor straddle coaster in North America, Pantheon , a multi-launch coaster and Finnegan's Flyer, an extreme swing ride.
During 2025, we opened numerous new rides and attractions including The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge (Busch Gardens Williamsburg), which ranked #2 of the top 10 Best New Amusement Park Attractions to Experience in 2026 ( USA Today , 2026) .
Ownership timeline of Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Where Busch Gardens Williamsburg sits in United Parks
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full United Parks ownership tree →
See the full United Parks brand portfolio (8) →
Other brands owned by United Parks
United Parks controls 9 brands on Brandtree, 9 of them in media & entertainment.
Also in media & entertainment
- Adventure Island (1980)
- Aquatica Orlando (2008)
- Aquatica San Antonio (2016)
- Discovery Cove (1989)
- SeaWorld Orlando (1973)
- SeaWorld San Antonio (1988)
- SeaWorld San Diego (1964)
- Water Country USA (1984)
Other brands in theme parks, and who owns them
The 39 brands in theme parks on Brandtree belong to 10 owners. The largest is Six Flags, with 11; United Parks has 8.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Canada's Wonderland | Six Flags | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Xavage | Grupo Xcaret | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| Adventure Cove Waterpark | Genting | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Magic Planet | Majid Al Futtaim | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
| Harmonyland | Sanrio | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Universal Destinations & Experiences | Comcast | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Disney Parks | Disney | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Boomers Parks | Lucky Strike Entertainment | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: United Parks
United Parks is a publicly listed company headquartered in Orlando, United States.
United Parks & Resorts is the Orlando-based theme park operator that changed its name from SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. in February 2024. Its FY2025 10-K dates the company to 1959, the opening of the first Busch Gardens park in Tampa. It uses the Busch Gardens name under a perpetual, exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free trademark licence from Anheuser-Busch, and operates Sesame Place under a licence from Sesame Workshop, so neither of those owners is the company. It also refers to a licensed SeaWorld-branded park in the United Arab Emirates, which it does not own.
United Parks: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Busch Gardens Williamsburg and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,399 brands that began in the United States. 461 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Busch Gardens Williamsburg is not one of them.
- 20th Century Studios — Disney 🇺🇸
- AMC — AMC Networks 🇺🇸
- AMC Theatres — AMC Theatres 🇺🇸
- AMF — Lucky Strike Entertainment 🇺🇸
- Antenna TV — Nexstar 🇺🇸
- Atlanta Braves — Atlanta Braves Holdings 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Busch Gardens Williamsburg?
United Parks makes and sells Busch Gardens Williamsburg under a licensing agreement.
Does United Parks own Busch Gardens Williamsburg?
No. United Parks holds a licence to make and sell Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which is not the same as owning it.
Where did Busch Gardens Williamsburg come from?
Busch Gardens Williamsburg originated in the United States in 1975, in Williamsburg.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] United Parks & Resorts Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-03-03 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 3 March 2026; retrieved 3 October 2026.
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