Disney Reveals U.S. Parks Have DOUBLED Business Since Before the Pandemic

Things at the Disney parks are changing in big ways.

A NEW Frozen land has opened in Hong Kong, a Zootopia land opened in Shanghai, and more themed areas are opening soon in Fantasy Springs in Tokyo. The domestic parks are hearing up for changes too — from a billion-dollar project at Disneyland to teased expansions for Disney World. But just how are the parks actually performing from a financial perspective? We just found out.

Disney released its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 on February 7th, 2024, and made some big reveals. When it comes to the Disney Experiences department as a whole, which includes Disney Cruise Line, the theme parks, and more), Disney CEO Bob Iger is confident that performance is strong.

He said, “Our strong performance this past quarter demonstrates we have turned the corner and entered a new era.” He then shared the new streaming sports service, stating that ESPN would become “a standalone streaming option unlike anything available in the marketplace today.” This follows the announcement that ESPN+ would join Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to be one bundle. Here, former University of Alabama Football head coach Nick Saban will be joining as a commentator. He shared that ESPN continues to break records in domestic ratings, even in a challenging linear landscape.

By the fall of 2025, the full suite of ESPN’s channels will be standalone and highly-interactive, with ESPN BET, fantasy sports, shopping features, and robust personalization included. It’ll be available on Disney+ and Hulu.

Iger also shared that Disney+ will become the exclusive streaming home of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Concert Film, as well as the fact that the Company is acquiring a small equity stake in EPIC Games — the creator of Fortnite. Yes, we’ll see a “Disney universe that brings together Disney’s franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite.”

Iger said that the Company has improved entertainment streaming income by a remarkable 86% year over year, and that he can say with confidence that Disney’s strategy is working. Iger said, “The success of our streaming services is a testament to the content we create with 6 of the top 10 most-streamed movies in the U.S. in 2023.”

The wins continue as we dive deeper into the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products (DPEP) sector, as it was reported that DPEP generate all-time records in revenue, operating income, and margins.

Now, let’s look at things in greater detail. In some recent reports, Disney has reported less-than-favorable financial results in its Florida theme parks, largely due to the closure of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience and lower guest spending (due to a decrease in daily room rates). However, Disney did reveal the domestic parks have doubled their business since before the pandemic. 

Iger said in a talk with CNBC before the earnings call, “The combination of [global parks] with the domestic parks, whose business is I think more than twice what it was before the pandemic, is just an extraordinary business for us.” 

However, the domestic parks and hotels did see a decrease in revenue, which Disney says was caused by decreases in attendance and occupied room nights, higher costs due to inflation, and increased guest spending which led to lower attendance.

Iger reports that every Disney park was profitable in the first quarter of 2024, and they are investing significantly to turbocharge growth in the parks business. He says, “We have so many untapped stories just waiting to be brought to life in our parks across the globe.

Disney has already said that they are looking at investing around $60 BILLION in their parks, experiences, and products over the next 10 years (though they won’t start ramping up those investments until the back half of those 10 years, so it won’t all happen soon).

70% of the $60 billion investment in parks is earmarked for incremental capacity-expanding investment. Each park is set to have something totally new. Oh, and we can’t forget about Disney Cruise Line, which will see an increase in cruise capacity.

If you’re a shareholder, you’ll be excited to learn that cash dividends will be paid in July, 50% higher than the dividend paid in January. For thee first time since fiscal 2018, there will be share buybacks.  Earnings per share are set to increase by at least 20% compared to 2023.

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston commented that he’s “never been more confident” in 2024’s profitability. This increase in revenue is set to come from technology advances, paid sharing efforts, Hulu content available on Disney+, and the combination of Disney+ in Latin America.

It will be interesting to see what changes truly result from this investment, and whether or not we’ll see continued growth in each of these areas throughout the remainder of 2024. We’ll be watching for all the latest news, so be sure to stick around and check back with us for all the Disney updates!

Click here to see what else Disney has teased about the Magic Kingdom expansion

What do you hope Disney does next when it comes to theme parks and rides? Tell us in the comments.