People walk in front of Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on May 31, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Everything is fine at Magic Kingdom and all the other Disney theme parks.
The company’s experience division, which includes parks, cruise ships, hotels and consumer products, posted record revenue. first fiscal quarterFor the first time in Disney’s more than 100-year history, it surpassed $10 billion. It also reported operating income of $3.3 billion, up 6% from the year-ago period.
Growth in this segment has picked up after the Covid pandemic. It is often the main part of the company’s income. In the period ended Dec. 27, experiences accounted for 38% of Disney’s total revenue but 71% of its operating income.
Company executives expect these good times to continue, forecasting high-single-digit operating income growth for the fiscal 2026 segment.
“If you look at the footprint of the business today, it’s never been as broad or diverse,” said Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, during Monday’s earnings call. “And the projects we are implementing will increase it even more.”
The strong parks performance comes amid a CEO succession contest that could see Disney Experience chairman Josh D’Amaro step in for Iger. Disney’s board is meeting this week and is expected to vote on its next CEO, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of internal matters.
Industry insiders and Disney sources expect D’Amaro to succeed Iger, though the decision will rest with Disney’s board and won’t be final until the directors vote.
“The board has not yet selected the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and we will make an announcement once that decision is made,” a Disney spokeswoman said in a statement, declining to comment on the timing of the next board meeting.
Expansion of parks
Much of the Experience Division’s revenue comes from major investments in expanding the footprint of Disney’s theme parks, renovating existing attractions and theme parks, adding cruise ships to its fleet, and increasing its size. digital game participation. This new evolution of the segment is powered by Disney’s library of franchises and renowned intellectual property.
Disney has been out of his mind for a long time content portfolio. Disneyland opened its doors more than 70 years ago with attractions based on Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Peter Pan and Snow White.
While these classic landmarks remain, the company’s recent successes have come with Iger’s strategic acquisitions of four major film studios – Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and 20th Century Fox in 2019. The Avengers and Avatar.
“When we added IP to the stable … we got access to intellectual property that had real value from a parks and resorts perspective and allowed us to spend more capital because of the level of certainty that we could improve revenue,” Iger said.
Owning the film and television rights to these properties gives the company more control over production and how that translates into rides, experiences and merchandise.
This work continues within a 10-year period. A $60 billion investment force Launched in 2023.
“We have expansion projects underway at each of our theme parks,” Iger said.
It recently celebrated the opening of Frozen World at Disneyland Paris and the launch of a new cruise ship, Disney Adventure, that will call in Asia.
With a new Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom on the horizon, as well as Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and the Liberty Square Riverboat development into an area called Piston Peak, a second car-themed land modeled after America’s natural parks. The new “Monster Inc.” in Hollywood studios. appears. has landed, and the Muppets take over the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster attraction. Animal Kingdom will host Encanto and the new Indiana Jones attraction.
At Disneyland, the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus will get two new attractions, guests will experience Land of the Dead from Coco and Disney will build a new Avatar area inspired by the scenery from Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Internationally, Disney has agreed to bring a new park Goes to Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates.
International winds
According to Iger, the company’s commitment to bringing beloved IPs into its parks, especially outside of the US, is strong.
“The percentage of people who go to Shanghai Disneyland to visit Zootopia is very high,” he said on Monday.
Revenue from international theme parks and experiences rose 7% to $1.75 billion in the first fiscal quarter.
Of course, the company still faces backlash from declining international visitors to its domestic parks.
This is a trend that many theme park destinations are fighting as general tourism to the United States. In 2025, it decreased by 6%. Industry experts point to higher travel costs and fees, continued trade frictions and geopolitical concerns over declining travel demand in the state.
Despite this, domestic theme park and experience revenue rose 7% to $6.91 billion during the quarter.
New offerings at Disney’s international parks, the launch of a cruise ship serving Asia and a new Abu Dhabi park are all ways Disney is tapping into those foreign markets and engaging with customers who don’t travel to the company’s domestic destinations.
— CNBC’s Julia Borstin and Alex Sherman contributed to this report.