Disney released its quarterly financial results this week and as expected, with all Disney theme parks around the globe open for the first time since March 2020, things are looking pretty good for the company as a whole. Overall, the company announced a $17.02 billion revenue, more than the expected revenue of $16.76 billion. The Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division specifically reported revenue of $4.3 billion, an increase of 100% versus Q3 2020 and a big increase from last quarter.
In addition to this financial news, Disney announced some other interesting things during their earnings call about the present and future of Disney Parks, including the following:
1. Demand for Disney theme parks is not slowing due to the COVID-19 Delta Variant
Disney CEO Bob Chapek was asked during an earnings call about the potential impact of the spreading Delta variant on guest levels at Disney parks in the US, and he responded that the company is continuing to “see strong demand for our parks continuing” throughout the remaining summer weeks and the fall.
2. The Parks Pass reservation system isn’t going anywhere any time soon
Many guests have wondered if the advances Parks Pass reservation system, which was initially implemented to help limit capacity at Disney Parks last year, would eventually be discontinued now that Disney parks are back to 100% capacity. However, Bob Chapek confirmed that this reservation system would be sticking around for the long term, as it helps the company plan staffing needs and get more accurate attendance numbers.
3. Disney Genie is coming soon
Image: Disney
Though it has been several years since the announcement of the Disney Genie planning service, it looks like this new planning option, which CEO Bob Chapek describes as “MyMagic+ on steroids” will be launching very soon, likely before the end of the year. This new app will help guests plan their day and the data they will use to give guests realtime suggestions to “dramatically” improve guest experience. Though unconfirmed, it has been rumored that this new platform will also be where the upcoming paid FastPass+ service will debut as well.
4. All hotel rooms will be available by the end of the year
While Walt Disney World’s theme parks have been open for more than a year, and Disneyland’s theme parks have been open for the past few months, both resorts’ hotels have actually been scaling up since the reopening, with many still unavailable or only partially open. However, it has been confirmed that 100% of rooms at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be available for guests before the year ends.
There is certainly a lot going on with Disney theme parks right now, with the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World almost ready to kick off its 50th anniversary in a few weeks, and the Disney Genie rollout coming in the near future. Are you excited about the future of Disney Parks?
