One might assume that, amid a year of prolonged economic uncertainty, U.S. consumers might be skipping amusement parks and cutting back on cruises. The Walt Disney Company says otherwise. The media giant’s fourth-quarter earnings were propped up by strong sales in its experiences division, which includes its global theme parks, resorts and cruises.
Disney reported $1.4 billion in net income for the July-September quarter, bolstered by a $1.9 billion profit from its experiences division, which offset losses in its TV and films business. Revenue from theme parks and cruises jumped 6 percent year-over-year to $8.7 billion. Growth was fueled by stronger demand for Disney Cruise Line and higher attendance and spending at Disneyland Paris, the company said.
Disney dominates the amusement park sector, attracting 145 million visitors in 2024 alone. The Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in Orlando was the most-visited theme park of last year with 17.8 million attendees, according to the TEA Global Experiences Index for 2024, while Disneyland Park in Los Angeles ranked second with 17.3 million visitors.
Despite concerns that May’s opening of Universal’s Epic Universe could dent Disney’s presence in Orlando, the company said the new rival park hasn’t affected its business. “If anything, it seems to be, in fact, impacting the rest of the competition down in Florida more than it’s impacting us,” said Hugh Johnston, Disney’s chief financial officer, during an earnings call today.
Universal, owned by Comcast, has also seen steady demand. Its theme park division reported $2.7 billion in quarterly revenue, up nearly 19 percent year-over-year, in the July-September quarter.
The trend matches a Forbes analysis showing strong visitor demand at major U.S. destination parks like Disney and Universal, even as attendance declines at less expensive regional parks operated by companies such as Six Flags and United Parks & Resorts.
Disney expects its experiences division to continue booming—bookings for domestic parks are already up by 3 percent in the current quarter, said Johnston. And on the cruise side, “the guest satisfaction scores are higher than basically anything else in the company,” he told analysts.
The company is riding that momentum with expansion projects underway at every one of its existing theme parks, plus a seventh resort planned for Abu Dhabi that could open by the end of the decade. Disney is also adding two new cruise ships to its fleet in the coming months, with more expected after next year, according to CEO Bob Iger. “The strategic investments we are making now will help ensure our offerings remain best-in-class and appeal to audiences worldwide well into the future,” he told analysts.
Beyond physical expansions, Disney is also interested in bolstering its experiences division through A.I. personalization. Integrating such technology into the Disney+ app could create an “engagement engine” for users interested in visiting Disney’s parks, resorts and cruises, said Iger, who described the product as “a portal to all things Disney.”
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