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News Walt Disney World Attendance Growth Tied to Expansion, Says Disney's CFO

wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster

Walt Disney World Is At Capacity. Disney's CFO Just Explained What Happens Next​


CFO Hugh Johnston confirmed at a May 14 investor conference that the parks are effectively full, and meaningful attendance growth requires physical expansion rather than fitting more guests in. New attractions drive demand and pricing power - the $60 billion investment pipeline includes new lands at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, with Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom arriving in 2027.

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Walt Disney World Is At Capacity. Disney's CFO Just Explained What Happens Next

Walt Disney World Is At Capacity. Disney's CFO Just Explained What Happens Next
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WorldExplorer

WorldExplorer

Well-Known Member
What does this mean when referring to Animal Kingdom?

"Park's full! Gotta shut down one forth and reopen it to make more room!"

Or

"Park with one fourth shut down and walled off is physically full."

I want to know if it's stupid or just stating the obvious.

"Actually WorldExplorer, I don't like Dinoland so it didn't count!" It says "and meaningful attendance growth requires physical expansion", what you liked doesn't matter.
 
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VJ

VJ

Well-Known Member
Johnston cited two factors. First, Disney's parks tend to attract consumers who are more insulated from economic pressure. Second, once families commit to a Walt Disney World trip and tell their kids, they rarely back out.

"You're not going to back off that one without some severe repercussions," he said.
Click to expand...

emotional manipulation on full display 😬
 
Coaster Lover

Coaster Lover

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
If true, it's unfortunate how much they have (unnecessarily?) spent rethemeing rides and replacing rides instead of just flat out expanding where they could. The net gain of attractions has been (relatively) minimal in recent years. Hopefully, this means more true "expansions" are pending (new land at DAK? New country in EPCOT? Fifth gate rumor actually has legs?)
 
J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
WorldExplorer said:
What does this mean when referring to Animal Kingdom?

"Park's full! Gotta shut down one forth and reopen it to make more room!"

Or

"Park with one fourth shut down is full."

I want to know if it's stupid or just stating the obvious.

"Actually WorldExplorer, I don't like Dinoland so it didn't count!" It says "and meaningful attendance growth requires physical expansion", what you liked doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
All of the current expansions, even if they overwrite some existing capacity, also add new capacity. AK is the iffiest on this front, but Primeval Whirl has been defunct for more than half a decade at this point, and this expansion reclaims that space with something that is presumably much more desirable and also still operates in inclement weather.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Coaster Lover said:
If true, it's unfortunate how much they have (unnecessarily?) spent rethemeing rides and replacing rides instead of just flat out expanding where they could. The net gain of attractions has been (relatively) minimal in recent years. Hopefully, this means more true "expansions" are pending (new land at DAK? New country in EPCOT? Fifth gate rumor actually has legs?)
Click to expand...
And what short idiot did that?

No fifth gate…by the way…there’s no money in it
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Br0ckford said:
What does effectively full mean? Didn't we just see $64/ day for 4 days, begging fla residents to book?
Click to expand...
The article mentions that discounts are used to keep attendance number up, and it's working.

People entering on a discount are handing over less money. But that's still more money than an "empty" park.

Plus, people entering on a discount usually wind up paying full price for meals and merch.

The goal is to keep the parks at near-capacity (which is a figure they've found 'fills' the parks but not over-crowds it). And discounts for the 'dead' seasons fills it.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
James Alucobond said:
All of the current expansions, even if they overwrite some existing capacity, also add new capacity. AK is the iffiest on this front, but Primeval Whirl has been defunct for more than half a decade at this point, and this expansion reclaims that space with something that is presumably much more desirable and also still operates in inclement weather.
Click to expand...
They do not add new capacity…to a tangible extent. More lightning lanes? Yes…but that isn’t capacity.

And in some cases…they don’t even make up for what was closed and rotted.

Epcot hasn’t recovered what they lost with wonders of life
 
J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
And in some cases…they don’t even make up for what was closed and rotted.

Epcot hasn’t recovered what they lost with wonders of life
Click to expand...
I am aware. So much was lost that it would be impossible to recover overnight. That doesn't mean that these updates don't still represent some new capacity relative to the state of the parks over the past decade or two. The foolishness of previous decisions doesn't mean that you have to be completely dismissive of any and all trajectory in the present against that trend.
 
monothingie

monothingie

M
Premium Member
  • Walt Disney World is already operating at near-full capacity
No, unless operating at full capacity means operating within the constraints of minimizing labor cost and maximizing per guest spending.
  • Meaningful attendance growth only comes through expansion, not cramming more guests in
When have they cumulatively added capacity? Expansion actually costs much more than replacement, and everything being built replaced something existing. (Which was replaced only because it was not generating revenue.)
  • New major attractions drive prices up — Disney doesn't need to discount when demand surges
Me thinks he's high on his pixie dust supply. Unless they've abandoned every other demographic except Disney Adults, normies are very much sensitive to pricing. I mean stupid high pricing hasn't caused the problems they're facing right now right?
  • Disney has seen no softness in park bookings despite broader economic uncertainty
Said on the same day they announce a new round of discounts for Florida Residents so that they can stabilize soft attendance.
  • The rise of AI and screen time is actually making the parks more valuable, not less
:facepalm:

All I can say is wow. If you really don't hate what TWDC became under Bob and is now under Josh, then...
 
monothingie

monothingie

M
Premium Member
Hugh G. Johnson's doing great.

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