Individuals stroll in entrance of Cinderella’s Fort on the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on Might 31, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis Information | Getty Pictures
All is nicely within the Magic Kingdom — and all of Disney’s different theme parks, too.
The corporate’s experiences division, which incorporates its parks, cruise ships, accommodations and client merchandise, posted file income for the fiscal first quarter, topping $10 billion for the primary time in Disney’s greater than 100-year historical past. It additionally reported working revenue of $3.3 billion, a 6% bump from the identical interval a yr in the past.
Development on this phase has supercharged within the wake of the Covid pandemic. It usually accounts for the lion’s share of the corporate’s income. For the interval ended Dec. 27, experiences represented 38% of Disney’s whole income, but generated a whopping 71% of its working revenue.
Firm executives anticipate these good instances to proceed, forecasting high-single-digit development in working revenue for the phase for fiscal 2026.
“While you take a look at the footprint of the enterprise right this moment, it is by no means been extra broad or extra numerous,” Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, stated throughout Monday’s earnings name. “And the tasks that we’ve underway are going to make it much more so.”
The sturdy parks efficiency comes in opposition to the backdrop of a CEO succession competitors that might see Chairman of Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro step in for Iger. The Disney board is assembly this week and is anticipated to vote on its subsequent CEO, in line with individuals accustomed to the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity about inner issues.
Business insiders and Disney sources anticipate D’Amaro to be appointed Iger’s successor, although the choice in the end lies with the Disney board and will not be closing till administrators vote.
“The board has not but chosen the following CEO of The Walt Disney Firm and as soon as that call is made, we’ll announce it,” a Disney spokesperson stated in a press release, declining to touch upon the timing of the following board assembly.
Parks enlargement
A lot of the experiences division’s success comes from main investments to increase the footprint of Disney theme parks, refurbish present rides and themed areas of its parks, add cruise ships to its fleet and develop its digital gaming presence. This new evolution of the phase is being fueled by Disney’s library of franchises and iconic mental property.
Disney has lengthy pulled from its portfolio of content material. Disneyland opened its doorways greater than 70 years in the past with rides primarily based on “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,” “Peter Pan” and “Snow White.”
Whereas these basic points of interest stay, the corporate’s newer developments have been fueled by Iger’s strategic acquisitions of 4 main movie studios — Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012 and twentieth Century Fox in 2019. This introduced coveted franchises underneath the Home of Mouse roof, together with Star Wars, Toy Story, the Avengers and Avatar.
“As we added IP to our secure … we gained entry to mental property that had actual worth by way of parks and resorts, and enabled us to lean into extra capital spending due to the boldness degree we had in bettering returns,” Iger stated.
Having the movie and tv rights to those properties permits the corporate extra management over manufacturing and the way that interprets into rides, experiences and merchandise.
And that work continues as a part of a 10-year, $60 billion funding effort that launched in 2023.
“We now have enlargement tasks underway at each certainly one of our theme parks,” Iger stated.
He touted the upcoming opening of the World of Frozen in Disneyland Paris and the launch of a brand new cruise ship, the Disney Journey, which can make berth in Asia.
On the horizon can be a brand new villains land coming to Magic Kingdom as nicely of the reshaping of “Rivers of America,” “Tom Sawyer Island” and the “Liberty Sq. Riverboat” into an space referred to as “Piston Peak” — a second Vehicles-themed land modeled after America’s pure parks. At Hollywood Studios there might be a brand new “Monsters Inc.” land whereas the Muppets will take over the Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster attraction. Animal Kingdom will host an “Encanto” experience and a brand new Indiana Jones experience.
At Disneyland, Avengers Campus, the Marvel-themed space, will get two new points of interest, friends will get a glimpse on the Land of the Lifeless from “Coco” and Disney will construct a brand new Avatar space impressed by the surroundings in “Avatar: Fireplace and Ash.”
Internationally, Disney has struck a deal to convey a new park and resort to Yas Island within the United Arab Emirates.
Worldwide headwinds
The corporate’s dedication to bringing beloved IP into its parks is paying off, in line with Iger, notably exterior the U.S.
“The share of folks that go to Shanghai Disneyland simply to go to Zootopia Land could be very, very excessive,” he stated Monday.
Income from worldwide theme parks and experiences grew 7% in the course of the fiscal first quarter, to $1.75 billion.
In fact, the corporate remains to be dealing with headwinds from the decline of worldwide guests to its home parks.
It is a development that many theme park locations in America are contending with, as general tourism to america fell 6% in 2025. Business analysts level to greater journey prices and charges, ongoing commerce frictions and geopolitical unease for the drop in demand for journey stateside.
Regardless of this, home theme park and experiences income grew 7% in the course of the quarter, to $6.91 billion.
New choices at Disney’s worldwide parks, the launch of a cruise ship that companies Asia and the brand new Abu Dhabi park are all ways in which Disney can faucet into that overseas market and interact with shoppers that aren’t making the trek to the corporate’s home locations.
— CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
