Property and Equipment, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

8. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET

The components of property and equipment, net as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, consisted of the following:

	2019			2018
	(In thousands)
Land	$	286,200		$	286,200
Land improvements		403,409			378,261
Buildings		733,258			690,921
Rides, attractions and equipment		1,527,301			1,476,866
Animals		142,232			142,081
Construction in progress		117,121			82,709
Less accumulated depreciation		(1,476,059	)		(1,365,006	)
Total property and equipment, net	$	1,733,462		$	1,692,032

Depreciation expense was approximately $156.2 million, $155.0 million, and $155.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $2.7 million in fixed asset write-offs, which is included in operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss). For the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company recorded approximately $10.9 million in fixed asset disposals associated with certain rides and equipment which were removed from service during 2018, which is included in operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss). During 2017, the Company amended an existing agreement relating to the use of certain animals, which reduced the expected future cash flows related to the agreement. As a result, the Company recognized an impairment loss of approximately $7.8 million, which is included in operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2017.