Disney invests billions in Disney World and Disneyland – The Hollywood Reporter
As it dramatically expands its theme park, product and cruise businesses, The Walt Disney Co. plans to spend $60 billion over the next decade to spur growth in the lucrative division.
This is almost double the investment compared to the previous ten-year period, the company said.
In May, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company plans to invest $17 billion in Walt Disney World over the next decade. This investment was cited as a response to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ plan to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?” Iger said at the time.
It’s not immediately clear whether the $17 billion Disney World investment is included in the larger $60 billion total.
In a presentation to investors at Disney World on Tuesday, the company said it has more than 1,000 acres of land available for development, including Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, its theme parks in France, China and Japan cruise ports in the USA, Asia and Australia.
The investor presentation was led by Iger and Disney Parks boss Josh D’Amaro, who said the company’s focus will be on “stories, scale and fans.”
“Today, as Disney considers future growth opportunities, there is a wealth of stories at its theme parks that have not yet been fully explored,” the company said in an investor briefing, adding that it plans to “explore even more characters and franchises.” “. , including some that have not yet been extensively used,” in its parks around the world.
In terms of scale, the company cites its existing parks and the over 1,000 hectares at its disposal, as well as further expansion of its cruise business in Asia and Australia and New Zealand (markets it will develop in the future). for the first time later this year).
“As previously announced, Disney will nearly double the global capacity of its cruise line over the next two years, adding two ships in fiscal 2025 and another in 2026, providing even further growth potential and opening up new markets for Disney experiences, including a Ab A new homeport will open in Singapore in 2025 to further expand its reach into the Asia-Pacific region,” the company wrote.
Expanding Disney characters and their greatness is crucial to the third part of the Disney message: fans.
“According to Disney’s internal research, there is an addressable market of more than 700 million people with high Disney affinity that the company has yet to reach with its parks,” the company says. “In fact, for every guest who visits a Disney park, there are more than ten people with a Disney affinity who do not visit the parks.”
It is expected that the massive investments and expansion of both storytelling and reach can help close this gap.
