August 9, 2023, 3:49 PM ·
Revenue and income continued to surge at The Walt Disney Company’s theme park segment last quarter, with the company reporting double-digit percentage increases.
For the three-month period ending July 1, 2023, the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment reported a 13% increase in revenue, to $8.33 billion. That helped drive an 11% jump in operating income, to $2.43 billion. International parks led the way, with a 94% increase in revenue for the quarter, to $1.53 billion. Operating income at the international parks was $428 million – an improvement from a $64 million loss during the same period in 2022. Shanghai Disneyland was open for the entire quarter this year, after being closed for all but three days of the quarter in 2022. At the domestic parks, revenue was up just 4% year over year, to $5.65 billion for the quarter. Operating income was down overall at the U.S. parks and Disney Cruise Line, to $1.44 billion – a 13% drop from the same period in 2022.The problem, as with Universal, was Florida. Attendance was down at the Walt Disney World Resort, but it was up at Disneyland and the Disney Cruise Line. Nevertheless, higher costs across the board led to the year-over-year decline in income for the quarter. Disney also took $100 million in accelerated depreciation related to the planned closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser this quarter, with another $150 million in accelerated depreciation for the Starcruiser coming in the next quarter, as well.
“We saw softening performance at Walt Disney World from the prior year, coming off our highly successful 50th anniversary celebration,” CEO Bob Iger said. “Also, as post-Covid pent up demand continues to level off in Florida, local tax data shows evidence of some softening in several major Florida tourism markets, and the strong dollar is expected to continue tapping down international visitation to the state. “However, Walt Disney World is still performing well above pre-Covid levels – 21% higher in revenue and 29% higher in operating income compared to fiscal 2019, adjusting for Starcruiser accelerated depreciation.”As for the Disney Cruise Line, Iger said that the company’s five ships are booked at 98% of capacity for the fourth quarter of Disney’s fiscal year. Iger also said that the new Disney Treasure would come online in the company’s 2025 fiscal year, which would target its debut in the final three months of 2024.For more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider’s weekly newsletter. And for ticket deals, as well as our reader rankings and advice on visiting Disney and other top theme parks around the world, please visit our our Theme Park visitors guides.
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