Who owns Sesame Place Philadelphia?
Sesame Place Philadelphia is operated by United Parks (the United States, NYSE: PRKS) under licence; United Parks does not own the name.[1] The Sesame Place Philadelphia name is owned by Sesame Workshop.
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, Langhorne
- Founded
- 1980
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Franchises & parks › Theme parks
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: PRKS
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Sesame Place Philadelphia
Sesame Place Philadelphia is a 55-acre theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, dated to 1980 in the FY2025 10-K of United Parks & Resorts, which owns and runs it. The Sesame Street characters and marks are not the company's: it holds rights to them through a licence agreement with Sesame Workshop.
What United Parks's annual report says about Sesame Place Philadelphia
Sentences about Sesame Place Philadelphia from United Parks's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
We currently own and operate the following separately Sesame Place branded theme parks: Sesame Place Philadelphia is a 55-acre theme park located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Sesame Place Philadelphia is home to a number of attractions including 123 Playground , an interactive play area, Bert & Ernie's Splashy Shores , a multi-feature water play area and Oscar's Wacky Taxi , a family-friendly hybrid coaster.
Ownership timeline of Sesame Place Philadelphia
Where Sesame Place Philadelphia 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 →
🇺🇸 Sesame Place Philadelphia 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; Sesame Place Philadelphia 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 Sesame Place Philadelphia?
United Parks makes and sells Sesame Place Philadelphia under a licensing agreement.
Does United Parks own Sesame Place Philadelphia?
No. United Parks holds a licence to make and sell Sesame Place Philadelphia, which is not the same as owning it.
Where did Sesame Place Philadelphia come from?
Sesame Place Philadelphia originated in the United States in 1980, in Langhorne.
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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