Customers abandon Disney World in mass while other parks thrive

The CEO maintains that Disney's future is "very brilliant".


Since its opening in 1971, Walt Disney World was known as the happiest place in the world. It is a destination for children and adults - and everyone can remember the thrill of the first time they heard the sentence: "We are going to Disney!" Of course, the Disney Empire extends far beyond Walt Disney World, Disneyland and its 10 international parks. There are also film and animation studios of the company, various television networks and its streaming service, Disney +. But Disney World in particular has been the subject of a certain concern thanks to its drop in its presence, even as CEO of Disney Bob iger said the future is "very brilliant". Read the rest to learn more about the current state of the theme park.

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The Disney results report in 2023 shows mixed results.

Dropout

On November 8, the Walt Disney Company published its Annual profits report For financial year 2023 ending on September 30. Overall, the news was promising: income increased by 7% compared to the previous year, and the company declared a net profit of $ 264 million, compared to $ 162 million in 2022.

"Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we have made in the past year," Iger said in a press release accompanying the report. "Although we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to go beyond this fixing period and start reinforcing our businesses."

The parks lost billions in 2020 when they closed from March to mid-July due to the pandemic; Disneyland remained closed until April 2021. But these popular destinations rebounded in the years that followed - at least, for the most part.

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Walt Disney World experienced a decrease in attendance.

Walt Disney World Entrance
JHVEPHOTO / ISTOCK

Disney's International Parks, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and Disneyland increased from year to year. Regarding parks, Walt Disney World alone has experienced decreases. The company has attributed this to wage inflation, to lower invited expenses and higher costs linked to the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser attraction. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

"None of this is shocking," wrote Tom BRICKER For the Disney tourist blog. "For one thing, it's Almost identical to the last trimester , when Walt Disney World reported both a lower attendance and an occupation of the station from one year to the next. ""

He also mentioned that visitors had reported Less congested parks . "There has been a lot of skepticism on this subject, but attendance is absolutely decreased from year to year," wrote Bricker. "The waiting times and the company's own finances corroborate this."

In addition to the challenges described in Disney, travel experts believe that factors such as increased interest rates, reimbursements for student loans and higher petrol prices could also contribute to the decrease in the number of customers at Disney World. According to Frommer's, a Lendingtree survey at the end of 2022 18% Disney Visitors took a debt to pay the trip.

"It is a huge proportion of guests that are negatively affected by the rate increases," notes the travel guide. "While penalties of interest are increasing, more guests will be forced to choose a more affordable vacation."

Bad weather can also play a role. USA today reported that Florida saw Record heat This summer, with 46 days over 100 degrees in a row.

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Other corporate segments have improved.

disney+ home screen on tv
Shutterstock / Ivan Marc

It is not only the unwavering world parks that show an improvement: the other areas of Disney activity were strong. The report on the results stressed that Disney + has added nearly 7 million new subscribers to the fourth quarter and that all the company streaming services, including Disney +, Hulu and Disney + Hotstar, should reach the profitability of Here the end of 2024. They saw a 12 percentage of increase in income for the year.

ESPN experienced a 1% increase in income and a 3% increase in paid subscribers.

The CEO says things seem brilliant for the future.

A Walt Disney World arch gate on the road in Orlando, Florida, USA.
JHVEPHOTO / ISTOCK

Iger has described a few ways that the company plans to grow in the next year and has highlighted the parks specifically.

"When we looked at how to allocate capital ... We decided to have an ideal place to Place our bets Or the capital would be the parks, "he said on CNBC. He explained that in the past, as during the great recession, the investment in the parks has paid off.

"The trajectory is very brilliant for the parks," he concluded.

Iger added that other areas of interest in the company increase Disney +, building ESPN and improving "production and economics" of film studios.

"I am optimistic about the opportunities that we have before us to create sustainable growth and increase the value of shareholders," he said.

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