News Disney plans to accelerate Parks investment to $60 billion over 10 years

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I was there over the Princess Half-Marathon weekend. There were at least 6 other people in each area as you walked through, and sometimes as many as 10!

It’s really not much more draw than a splash pad. So I’m sure first timers go through…but what’s the appeal after that?

 

[Liloandstitch3]

I was there over the Princess Half-Marathon weekend. There were at least 6 other people in each area as you walked through, and sometimes as many as 10!

And they still don’t allow strollers. That’s why we didn’t go through. An outdoor walkthrough with stroller parking…comical.

 

[HauntedPirate]

It’s really not much more draw than a splash pad. So I’m sure first timers go through…but what’s the appeal after that?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And they still don’t allow strollers. That’s why we didn’t go through. An outdoor walkthrough with stroller parking…comical.

I bet that’s about avoiding complaints about wet/damaged strollers/chairs

 

[Bocabear]

Also the size of the pathways...A lot of those strollers are huge, and when you are coming though in a potentially crowded and clogged walk through attraction and think about everyone with a stroller stopping to take pictures and completely blocking the paths, it is no wonder they would prefer the strollers stay out on the wide main pathways instead of the short narrower walk-through.

 

[Disstevefan1]

With no demand

We walked through it with hardly anyone around…but that might have just been a slow day…

I think it was 12/31

I was there Feb 7th. This would have been the first time seeing it in person. There was a queue, folks sitting in the queue that appeared to wrap around (maybe it was down?)

Anyway, knowing it was not worth the wait, I did not bother.

I hope its not totally broken and shut down before I get to see it once.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I was there Feb 7th. This would have been the first time seeing it in person. There was a queue, folks sitting in the queue that appeared to wrap around (maybe it was down?)

Anyway, knowing it was not worth the wait, I did not bother.

I hope its not totally broken and shut down before I get to see it once.

It’s a rather brief walkthrough…unlikely to bottleneck as such

Somebody must have Hurled

 

[mrflo]

"Thus far, the parks chief says Disney is on track with its allocation of the $60 billion, calling the strategy “incredibly disciplined.” D’Amaro notes, “Every single investment that we make has to be justified unto itself.” The $60 billion is expected to be self-funded from the parks, a proclamation that helped counter some initial Wall Street reluctance on the spending. Iger has also said the company is not going to allocate all of the $60 billion initially, and wants to leave “flexibility” in the budget for new attractions or hotels if a new hit movie comes along." Source: Article in HW Reporter

What is your interpretation of the $60 billion "to be self-funded from the parks"? Does that mean they are only using the income / cashflow within the Parks devision to fund the investments and not from the overall TWDC? I guess with the current performance it should not be an issue. Just wondering if that also means that each park/resort has to fund expansion plans itself as well - e.g. DLP would not get a budget transfer from the NA Parks business.

 

[MisterPenguin]

"Thus far, the parks chief says Disney is on track with its allocation of the $60 billion, calling the strategy “incredibly disciplined.” D’Amaro notes, “Every single investment that we make has to be justified unto itself.” The $60 billion is expected to be self-funded from the parks, a proclamation that helped counter some initial Wall Street reluctance on the spending. Iger has also said the company is not going to allocate all of the $60 billion initially, and wants to leave “flexibility” in the budget for new attractions or hotels if a new hit movie comes along." Source: Article in HW Reporter

What is your interpretation of the $60 billion "to be self-funded from the parks"? Does that mean they are only using the income / cashflow within the Parks devision to fund the investments and not from the overall TWDC? I guess with the current performance it should not be an issue. Just wondering if that also means that each park/resort has to fund expansion plans itself as well - e.g. DLP would not get a budget transfer from the NA Parks business.

Last quarter, parks and experiences had a $3.B net profit. Over the 4 quarters of a year, that's $12B net profit per year. Over 10 years, that's $120B.

So... I think parks and experiences can not only cough up $60B to fund TurboLand, but provide the company with another $60B to pay off debt and other miscellaneous expenses.

 

[peter11435]

Last quarter, parks and experiences had a $3.B net profit. Over the 4 quarters of a year, that's $12B net profit per year. Over 10 years, that's $120B.

So... I think parks and experiences can not only cough up $60B to fund TurboLand, but provide the company with another $60B to pay off debt and other miscellaneous expenses.

And remember that $3 billion was itself after that quarters own cap ex expenses, not to mention revenue and profit should increase over the next 10 years.

 

[MisterPenguin]

And remember that $3 billion was itself after that quarters own cap ex expenses, not to mention revenue and profit should increase over the next 10 years.

Ummm, are you forgetting that WDW will have to close down for a few years after EU opens?!?!

 

[doctornick]

Last quarter, parks and experiences had a $3.B net profit. Over the 4 quarters of a year, that's $12B net profit per year. Over 10 years, that's $120B.

So... I think parks and experiences can not only cough up $60B to fund TurboLand, but provide the company with another $60B to pay off debt and other miscellaneous expenses.

Right, I think that comment was basically directly at investors saying "we plan to invest a lot of money in the parks division, but this is money the division already generates and is available"

 

[Indy_UK]

"Thus far, the parks chief says Disney is on track with its allocation of the $60 billion, calling the strategy “incredibly disciplined.” D’Amaro notes, “Every single investment that we make has to be justified unto itself.” The $60 billion is expected to be self-funded from the parks, a proclamation that helped counter some initial Wall Street reluctance on the spending. Iger has also said the company is not going to allocate all of the $60 billion initially, and wants to leave “flexibility” in the budget for new attractions or hotels if a new hit movie comes along." Source: Article in HW Reporter

What is your interpretation of the $60 billion "to be self-funded from the parks"? Does that mean they are only using the income / cashflow within the Parks devision to fund the investments and not from the overall TWDC? I guess with the current performance it should not be an issue. Just wondering if that also means that each park/resort has to fund expansion plans itself as well - e.g. DLP would not get a budget transfer from the NA Parks business.

Slightly different but I think the money from ILL and Genie+ should be used to renovate and build new attractions.

 

[celluloid]

"Thus far, the parks chief says Disney is on track with its allocation of the $60 billion, calling the strategy “incredibly disciplined.” D’Amaro notes, “Every single investment that we make has to be justified unto itself.” The $60 billion is expected to be self-funded from the parks, a proclamation that helped counter some initial Wall Street reluctance on the spending. Iger has also said the company is not going to allocate all of the $60 billion initially, and wants to leave “flexibility” in the budget for new attractions or hotels if a new hit movie comes along." Source: Article in HW Reporter

What is your interpretation of the $60 billion "to be self-funded from the parks"? Does that mean they are only using the income / cashflow within the Parks devision to fund the investments and not from the overall TWDC? I guess with the current performance it should not be an issue. Just wondering if that also means that each park/resort has to fund expansion plans itself as well - e.g. DLP would not get a budget transfer from the NA Parks business.

This means box office losing billions, Disney plus and target store merch sales could not earn it.

 

[𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗97]

Slightly different but I think the money from ILL and Genie+ should be used to renovate and build new attractions.

I think the money from ILL and Genie+ should be returned to the guests' pockets so it can be spent elsewhere and those two things can cease to exist.

 

[Ayla]

And they still don’t allow strollers. That’s why we didn’t go through. An outdoor walkthrough with stroller parking…comical.

Oh my lord, can you imagine what a cluster it would be if they allowed strollers? Thank god they don't.

 

[doctornick]

Slightly different but I think the money from ILL and Genie+ should be used to renovate and build new attractions.

Well, I think that is exactly what the company is suggesting. The money from those items contribute to the profitability of the parks division and they are using that profit to fund the planned $60B over 10 years.

 

[mrflo]

Thank you everyone for confirming. From that perspective, re-investing half of their profits into maintenance and adding more capacity for growth to that actual business no longer sounds that turbocharged to me. Not saying that it is not a good thing overall or not desperately needed. Though shouldn't this be/have been more standard practise for Disney parks after all? At least that seems to be standard in tech companies or other businesses relying on innovations.

Any thoughts if each Resort will then also exclusively fund their own expansion plans - e.g. WDW profits not funding a major expansions in an overseas park?

 

[Indy_UK]

I hope they are on course for the Parks to no longer be funding the Box office and Disney+ losses by Q3

 

[TTA94]

Animal Kingdom:
Indiana Jones Adventure, Encanto dark ride, Central American animals throughout the land Tropical America’s replacing Dinoland AND a Lion King ride for Africa, Zootopia show replacing “It’s tough to be a bug,” and a new night show with more fountains and drones.

Magic Kingdom:
Site work is to begin shortly for what amounts to a Frontierland expansion and more distantly, a new Villains Land the size of Galaxy’s Edge. Additionally, the Moana boat ride originally slated for Animal Kingdom will go in Adventureland between Pirates and Jungle Cruise. Tomorrowland Speedway will be different. Big Thunder Mountain receives an update. Stitch might not be in its current state for much longer, but it probably will not be announced at this D23. New Night Parade is pretty much a lock at this point.

Epcot:
Test Track redo opens summer of 2025, The Spaceship Earth update will likely be announced and will start once Test Track comes back online. I’d expect to hear one more announcement for EPCOT. Keep a close eye on the Figment project on Disney Plus. I've heard Inside Out will find someplace to go at EPCOT, but remember, some of these projects aren't as far along as others.

Hollywood Studios:
New land to replace Launch Bay. Rock n’ Rollercoaster retheme as well. Falcon mission update at HWS and DL.

Disneyland Resort:
New, unique Avatar land using the Shanghai Pirates boat technology at DLR. PeopleMover comes back in a new way at Disneyland Park alongside significant modifications to the land. Hollywoodland will go away. A Disney Springs-esque shopping district will likely be officially announced alongside plans for a new transit configuration for the resort. The Avenger’s E-ticket gets an actual announcement.

Walt Disney Studios:
Gets its own Avatar land and a Lion King land. Other misc. project in the existing part of the park.

Disneyland Parc Paris:
A larger than Soarin’ sum, so perhaps Soarin’/Soaring 2.0, Indiana Jones Adventure, or even a new version of Rise of the Resistance. I’d fully expect either a new land or two new rides including an E-ticket in total. Space Mountain will be back at DLP!

Shanghai Disneyland:
New Marvel Land, Toy Story Mania as well.

Hong Kong Disneyland:
Will get an E-ticket in Tomorrowland still, but I doubt they'll mention it at D23.

Plans can still change, but a lot of this should be announced by or at D23, some of this is long-term, though, and will not be included. Edited for clarity.

Entertainment wise can you say if that should be set for D23?