Revenue - Disaggregation of Revenue (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) item	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2018 USD ($)
Revenue
Revenues	$ 261,000	$ 621,180	$ 477,210	$ 128,193	$ 269,503	$ 619,820	$ 445,420	$ 128,964	$ 1,487,583	$ 1,463,707	$ 1,359,074
Number of distinct obligations within international agreements | item	3								3
Long-term contracts
Revenue
Revenues									$ 198,507	212,584	188,375
Contract with customer, liability												$ 100,800	$ 111,600
Contract with customer, liability, revenue recognized									(161,000)	(109,700)
Short-term contracts and other
Revenue
Revenues									1,289,076	1,251,123	1,170,699
Park admissions
Revenue
Revenues									815,782	810,064	741,275
Park admissions | Long-term contracts
Revenue
Revenues									106,233	115,612	109,943
Park admissions | Short-term contracts and other
Revenue
Revenues									709,549	694,452	631,332
Park food, merchandise and other
Revenue
Revenues									574,440	553,527	524,582
Park food, merchandise and other | Long-term contracts
Revenue
Revenues									20,381	25,383	20,498
Park food, merchandise and other | Short-term contracts and other
Revenue
Revenues									554,059	528,144	504,084
Sponsorship international agreements and accommodations
Revenue
Revenues									97,361	100,116	93,217
Sponsorship international agreements and accommodations | Long-term contracts
Revenue
Revenues									71,893	71,589	57,934
Sponsorship international agreements and accommodations | Short-term contracts and other
Revenue
Revenues									$ 25,468	$ 28,527	$ 35,283