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I have all Disney annual reports going back to 1971. Some of what these show: From Fiscal Year 1985, Bob Eisner's first full year as CEO: Going back further, but running to only 2016 and only looking at theme parks: The tricky part in the second chart is taking into account DCL...

We were young adults when we first visited Epcot in May 1983. We got there for opening and stayed until about 7-8 pm. This when (if I remember correctly) you could only buy alcohol at the restaurants. Definitely no Drinking Around The World for us! ;) We took our time to experience everything...

The plan includes a replacement of the Dinosaur land at DAK and an expansion behind the MK’s Big Thunder Mountain. WDW theme parks are getting investment dollars over the next 10 years.

We did. Reposting a story I’ve posted here a few times, the last time in 2021. I was at the central hub at the Magic Kingdom in May 1982 with friends and noticed a bench with chipped paint on one arm. We joked about it for the rest of the day. We even took a photo. Wouldn't you know it, we...

Based on public statements, Disney wanted to cool things off some time ago. But with DeSantis running for president, any deal would have been spun as a DeSantis loss by his opponents. Now that he’s no longer running and the national spotlight is no longer on him, I suspect DeSantis was willing...

I’ve been going to WDW for 40 years. During Covid, I was diligently wearing my mask both indoors and outdoors. I was at the Germany Pavilion and got a beer at the outdoor kiosk near the lake. I walked to a park bench, sat down, and then, as allowed, took off my mask to sip my beer. I spilled...

The last time WDW opened this number of attractions at the same time was 1982. Both DHS and DAK were highly criticized for their lack of attractions when they first opened. Let’s be real - the last time Orlando saw this kind of theme park expansion was when Islands of Adventure opened in 1999.

We went to Big River Grille many times. It used to be good for a burger, beer, and kettle chips. Several of the sandwiches were really good. We never enjoyed eating inside. It was an oddly shaped space, too small and too loud. Conversely, eating outside on a comfortable night as the sun was...

Respectfully, $180 million is a huge budget for a film, whether it’s 2019 or 2023. This simply shows that Disney has not been able to control its production costs for years. At the time, Terminator 2 (1991) was rumored to be the first film with a $100 million budget. (Although the exact budget...

There’s another factor to consider: movie budgets. A big budget movie such as 1956’s The Ten Commandments cost $13 million, about $150 million adjusted for inflation. Looking at the most expensive movies ever made adjusted for inflation, nearly all of them have been released in the last 20...

Disney takes blocks of rooms out-of-service when hotel occupancy dips, but these rooms typically are still counted as Available Room Nights. For example, in 2019 when domestic hotel occupancy was 90%, Available Room Nights was 10,030. In 2022 when domestic hotel occupancy was 82%, Available...

Historically, a strong Disney domestic hotel occupancy in the 87-90% range. It's tough for Disney to achieve an occupancy above 90% due to the way people book vacations. For example, there's less demand for Sunday-to-Wednesday nights, some checkout on Saturday, some on Sunday, etc. Except for...

Disney has been offering "35% off hotels" or "free dining" for decades. A 10% price increase on a hotel that was "35% off" last year is still a 10% increase on a hotel that is "35% off" this year. Frankly, Disney's WDW discounts today are not an enticing as they were a decade or two ago when...

The generational trend you mention started a while ago. Disney started replacing U.S. baby boomers with international travelers, which now make up roughly 20% of WDW attendance. It’s these international vacationers who have helped buoy WDW numbers for the last two decades. WDW’s future growth...

Having lived through it, I can assure you that institutional investors opposed Epcot way back when.

Disney World never was cheap but for its first 30 years, it was affordable. For example, the first ticket I ever bought with my own money was a 3-day hopper in May 1983. I paid $35 (tax included) for that 3-day ticket, today’s equivalent of $109. $109 is not cheap but it is affordable for 3...

Some don’t know that the fast food at WDW used to be terrible in the 1970s and 1980s. They took steps to improve it, and then it slipped a bit, but WDW fast food today is still better than the early days. As you suggest, the Pandora and BBQ Quick Service restaurants today are as good as any...

The Guests who experienced the Galactic Starcruiser mostly loved it and posted positive reviews. Yet word-of-mouth did not save this experience. Instead, it’s the many, many more who never tried this that killed it. They are the ones whose opinions really matter. Clearly, price was the #1...

The closest thing I posted to "how Disney has outpaced the standard rate of inflation" was WDW ticket price increases vs. household income, but I haven't updated this in a while: