The quote sounded far less committal vocally than it does when written down. The parks aren't for sale yet, after all.
People forget there was the potential for them to come under the Merlin umbrella when Blackstone bought them. At the time, Varney said "There were discussions, but the truth is there were a whole variety of reasons why that would have been extremely difficult, and not necessarily desirable, to do. I make no secret of the fact I am a big admirer of Busch Gardens in Tampa and Williamsburg, and in another life they would have fitted very nicely into Merlin. The SeaWorld brand too is successful and very well defined."
I don't think it would be as catastrophic as a lot of people think. I would rather Merlin picked them up than more private equity.
Tampa is in turmoil and if Tempesto & Invadr are a sign of the quality of things to come at Williamsburg, then I am not sure I have a lot of faith in the current ownership and management. It's hardly the company that it was 20 years ago.