- Disney said Tuesday that it will nearly double its planned investments in its parks business to about $60 billion.
- Theme parks have been a relative bright spot while the company has struggled to turn a profit from streaming.
- Still, domestic parks, particularly Walt Disney World in Florida, have seen a decline in attendance and hotel room purchases.
Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary in April 2022.
Aaronp | Bauer Griffin | GC Images | Getty Images
Disney said in a securities filing Tuesday that it will nearly double its planned investment to about $60 billion over 10 years.
Shares fell more than 2% in early trading.
As the company grapples with the changing media and entertainment landscape — trying to make its streaming business profitable while also considering selling its traditional television networks — its theme parks, experiences and products division has been a bright spot.
Still, the company’s domestic parks, particularly Walt Disney World in Florida, have seen a decline in attendance and hotel room purchases. Instead, the segment’s strength lies in its international parks. In the third quarter, the division reported a 13% increase in revenue to $8.3 billion.
Disney will rely on its brands and intellectual property to build its theme parks. The company planned to provide more details about the investment at its investor day on Tuesday.
“Today, as Disney considers future growth opportunities, there are a wealth of stories at its theme parks that have not yet been fully explored,” the company said in Tuesday’s presentation, pointing to attractions themed “Frozen” and ” Zootopia.” Parks outside the US in Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai.
Shortly after Bob Iger returned as CEO, Disney announced changes to its parks following guest complaints about rising prices and longer wait times.
Disney highlighted historic results from its parks and experiences business since 2017 due to increased investments. Disney’s parks, like their competitors, suffered from the pandemic lockdowns.
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream is anchored in Port Canaveral, Florida on July 30, 2021.
Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel | Getty Images
Rivals, including Comcast’s Universal Parks in Florida, experienced a similar slowdown.
The increased investment comes as Disney is embroiled in legal disputes with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that could impact its planned expansion of the Orlando location in the coming years.
Earlier this year, Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, accusing the governor and his special district’s new board members of waging a campaign of political retaliation against the entertainment company.
Soon after, Disney doubled down on the expansion of its Florida park and announced that it would continue to invest and expand its Florida theme park over the next 10 years. In May, Disney announced it would invest $17 billion in the Florida hub, which would include the potential creation of 13,000 jobs.
The Florida governor, now running for president, took aim at Disney’s special district after the company publicly criticized a controversial Florida bill – dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics – that would restrict discussion of sexual orientation and Restricts gender identity in classrooms.
Earlier this month, Disney dropped all but its free speech claims against DeSantis and focused solely on the First Amendment claim that the governor engaged in political retaliation against the company.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, the owner of CNBC.