In a meeting with representatives from various fansites, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro reiterated his commitment to “dream big” and stated that losses at Disney’s media business have not impacted Disney Parks’ ability to greenlight major projects.
What’s Happening:
- During a Q&A session, D’Amaro spoke to the potential of future expansion and updates at Disney Parks — without offering notes on specific projects.
- D’Amaro stated that, during the shutdown, they took another look at many of the projects in the pipeline, but that they are developing projects that dream bigger than ever before.
- He also stated that any price increases at the parks were not related to the losses at streaming.
- While capital expenditures were down in 2022, D’Amaro said that they plan on investing more in the parks than they ever have before. This is inline with Disney’s previous guidance (note: see the “By the Numbers” section below).
- D’Amaro said that he is looking forward to revealing more about the projects they are developing and that they have a lot more planned than what was revealed or teased at D23 Expo.
- He also reiterated that the projects he teased at Expo, such as work in Dinoland and “beyond Big Thunder Mountain” are real projects that are being developed but that they may evolve as development continues.
- D’Amaro also told a story about how a performance of the Disneyland Band on Christmas Day reinforced the value of live entertainment and that they are going to continue bringing back previous entertainment offerings as well as new ones.
- An example of returning entertainment is the announcement that Ariel’s Grotto and Enchanted Tales with Belle will be reopening at the Magic Kingdom in the coming weeks.
By the Numbers:
- Disney’s investment in Parks, Experiences and Products during the 2019 fiscal year was $4.1 billion compared to $3.4 billion in the 2022 fiscal year.
- Additionally, the percentage of Parks, Experiences and Products operating income that was reinvested in new projects was 43% in 2022 compared to 61% in 2019.
- However, it should be noted that Disney acknowledged that capital expenditures would be increased by $1.7 billion in 2023 across all of Disney.
- Disney’s claims and financial reports are in contrast to activist investor Nelson Peltz’s claim that he would like to grow the parks business but that there is no money.