News Disney World Hits All-Time High Revenue in Q3 2025, Strong Bookings Continue into Q4

[BrianLo]

Because of the crowds?

Pre Disney Springs, Pandora, DHS and Epcot with more crowds than today.

WDW was a tired mess at the time and not that cheap. I think a lot of posters burnt themselves out on the product in that era.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

People do go on vacation to nyc specifically to see broadway shows - and other sightseeing.

I’m not sure why the comparison can’t be made?

Because of what I’ve said 100 times here…

It’s not for the duration or in a location essentially devoid of completion/price controls.

A week at port orleans with park hoppers and characters buffers isn’t like a trip to see a show or Taylor swift. Other than you can run up a tab. Two different concepts

A cruise ship is a good comp. Because it’s easier to calculate an “all in price” for the trio length that features standard offerings…which is what Disney parks do.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Pre Disney Springs, Pandora, DHS and Epcot with more crowds than today.

WDW was a tired mess at the time and not that cheap. I think a lot of posters burnt themselves out on the product in that era.

It’s possible

But in the wash…it’s not that much “better” now than it has been at any point in time since the late 90’s…with the exception of springs…they’ve moved a lot of stuff around and put new wrapping paper on it

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

A week at port orleans with park hoppers and characters buffers isn’t like a trip to see a show or Taylor swift. Other than you can run up a tab. Two different concepts

When I go to nyc I pay for the transportation to get there and back, the hotels, the meals, and my entertainment (mostly broadway show with the occasional museum thrown in).

It’s pretty easy to press + on a calculator and see what that adds up to.

It’s pretty much the same when I visit Disney.

 

[Disstevefan1]

.You know what I can’t grasp? Why some people spend so much time on a fan forum, literally complaining about everything Disney does with their domestic parks. This isn’t hyperbole. There are some folks on here that do nothing but complain and clearly can’t stand the product anymore. My question is why are you still here? Why haven’t you found something else in life to enjoy instead of spending every day on here complaining? That is what I don’t understand. But the one thing I won’t do is insult you for it. You be you.

I can’t say I know of a poster that complains about everything Disney does, in my view folks post about specific things Disney does and yes there may be multiple things.

If SeaWorld did something I don’t like it doesn’t bother me so much, if Bush gardens does something I don’t like, don’t care as I rarely go there, same for the space center.

For better or worse, I have an emotional tie to WDW, therefore I am more passionate about changes they make.

I think you may be looking from a standpoint of just a casual fan who really doesn’t care either way like me about Bush gardens and the space center.

My way to cope seeing all the poor decisions Disney makes at “my park” WDW, is to realize they are going to do what they are going to do and I got to just deal with it. I wish I didn’t care sometimes.

It’s easy to not complain when you simply don’t care.

 

[Chi84]

Then you yield your power in the marketplace…by not holding he seller to monetary based standards. It is what it is…that is how that turns out in wash.

“It was $15…then it was $27…then it was $38…then it was $44…then it was $55…now it’s $65

And they cut the offerings in half because of the Disney dipstick plan…

Who cares? I still make plenty!”

That would be the story of quite a few spots over 20 years…say ohana.

Does that lower the value proposition? Of course it does. But in the moment your glands flood you with enough serotonin to cancel it out

Fine… but a week later…it does not mean you got a good value. That’s revisionist

I don’t think people pay for WDW thinking that they got a good deal or that it is worth the increased amount from just a few years ago.

I think they pay for it because they love going there and that’s what it costs.

As far as expensive vacations are concerned, people deal with the present reality and make their decisions based on what they would like to do this year or the next.

 

[Touchdown]

I go because I love amusement parks, and Disney are some of the best around. In the last year I’ve spent 66 days in a park (22 at DLR, 12 at Universal, 6 at Cedar Point and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, 4 at DLP, Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, 3 at Knotts, 2 at Kings Island, 1 at Holiday World, Mall of America and Canadas Wonderland.) I’ve done other trips too, to places from National Parks, Beaches, Cities, etc. I will say it again, entertainment wise, no other type of vacation offers a better value than a theme park. Only places where I am responsible for my own entertainment ie I have to take an active part in planning and then doing an activity (like a beach, museum or National Park) are cheaper.

Any trip’s biggest costs are going to be transportation and lodging and that can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. No other activity where you essentially just need to show up can average down to less then $10 per hour anywhere. Heck with my AP/season pass skills I can get that number down to under $5 an hour in some parks/chains but I’m extreme/not normal.

 

[Tom P.]

It’s not for the duration or in a location essentially devoid of completion/price controls.

You are aware that Universal is right down the street and provides very strong competition for Disney? And is equally expensive? Disney and Universal are always trying to pull people from one to the other to spend their vacation dollars.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

All great stuff…

NOT the same as being in a spot for 168 straights more or less run by the same supplier/vendor.

And not at all “unique”…50,000,000 people don’t flow through 365 days a year from 8 am to midnight every day

To me, yes it is…I had NFL season tickets for 33 years. My last year (2023), the cost for 1 seat was the same as a weeks park tickets to WDW. We’ll go around in circles but TO ME, it’s the same.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

People do go on vacation to nyc specifically to see broadway shows - and other sightseeing.

I’m not sure why the comparison can’t be made?

The comparison can’t be made because it doesn’t fit his narrative.

Just like he doesn’t like the comparison of the price people pay for nfl tickets as compared to a day ticket. Or the price of drinks/food at those stadiums vs at parks.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

To me, yes it is…I had NFL season tickets for 33 years. My last year (2023), the cost for 1 seat was the same as a weeks park tickets to WDW. We’ll go around in circles but TO ME, it’s the same.

Season tickets…should be WAY more than a Disney trip

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Season tickets…should be WAY more than a Disney trip

Season tickets gets you 8/9 home games, at around 3 hours each. It comes with no food, no drinks, no transpiration to/from. Stadium, and lets you watch something that you could watch for free from home .

Why should 24-27 hours of entertainment through season tickets to football be WAY more than a week long trip to Disney? Is it something something “value?”

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Walt was always about cutting quailty and raising prices !

He wasn’t but he was indeed about a lot of other negative things that have no place in Disney today (even though they do still frustratingly take some of his worst cues in certain areas) so maybe we need to stop holding him up as some moral center for the company to be following almost 60 years after his death.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

What specifically did you find that made you believe it was or is a "good" value?

What made you want to spend $6 for a bottle of water or $179 for a fireworks dining package at Geo82 or $60+ per person for a character breakfast or whatever a LLMP costs now?

None of those things are requirements to enjoy the parks. They’re splurges.

You’re equating things you can do with things you have to do. It is perfectly possible to have a Disney vacation that presents you with a great value. If someone chooses to take part in those expensive additional experiences that is their prerogative but you absolutely can just get a hotel room and park tickets and that be it and do just fine.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

What specifically did you find that made you believe it was or is a "good" value?

What made you want to spend $6 for a bottle of water or $179 for a fireworks dining package at Geo82 or $60+ per person for a character breakfast or whatever a LLMP costs now?

Leaving aside these are all options things a person could do, but don’t have to do to enjoy the park, when is the last time you left your house?

You think $6 for a drink is something unusual? Have you ever been to a ballpark, a movie, hell a youth sports event? If you are shocked by a $6 drink I would suggest you give up show business

 

[unclejeff]

Season tickets gets you 8/9 home games, at around 3 hours each. It comes with no food, no drinks, no transpiration to/from. Stadium, and lets you watch something that you could watch for free from home .

Why should 24-27 hours of entertainment through season tickets to football be WAY more than a week long trip to Disney? Is it something something “value?”

To me, yes it is…I had NFL season tickets for 33 years. My last year (2023), the cost for 1 seat was the same as a weeks park tickets to WDW. We’ll go around in circles but TO ME, it’s the same.

It's an interesting comparison. I realize this reasoning will be unpopular here, but I was shocked three years ago when I first got the Incredipass at how much it was. I fully expected prices for the WDW APs to run closer to what I pay for my Phillies Season Ticket, which is almost 4x the Incredipass price for a seat right now. I'd say 81 games x 2.5 hours = 202.5 hours of entertainment is maybe only a little more than the hours I assume most would expect to get out of their APs at WDW to "break even," not that I go to every single game anyway. Maybe more like 55 games x 2.5 hours = 137.5 hours, or around 2 full weeks at WDW.

 

[JD80]

I was just at a local restaurant and drinks at $9 a person. Seemed extremely reasonable.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I was just at a local restaurant and drinks at $9 a person. Seemed extremely reasonable.

Soft drinks? Beer? Glass of wine? All of the above? Haha

 

[Tha Realest]

On that note - a random interesting “one to watch” will be how the rise of weight loss drugs influence consumer behavior. From what I’ve read these drugs curb spending via the same circuits that they curb appetite (involving dopamine among other things, I think). I wonder if we’ll see societal pattern shifts there at some point.

Very interesting. Especially with how much Disney has pivoted towards showcasing food and gluttony.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

On that note - a random interesting “one to watch” will be how the rise of weight loss drugs influence consumer behavior. From what I’ve read these drugs curb spending via the same circuits that they curb appetite (involving dopamine among other things, I think). I wonder if we’ll see societal pattern shifts there at some point.

Anecdotal only, after about 3 months I don’t notice any overall lack of spending on consumer goods/merch/souvenirs. Certainly food spending gets massively cut. There just isn’t a desire, for snack, or heavy meals. I find it also cuts way down on drinking spending. Some is just the idea of not wanting the “wasted” alcohol calories, but there is also a lack of desire to drink.