Disney World to Undergo Massive 'Growth' and 'Investments'

Disney World will undergo significant investments and growth spurts in the coming years, starting with new changes hitting the parks this year. But guests are told that even more investments are on the way. What could this mean?

Changes and Investments Are Coming to Disney World

Some significant changes are coming to Disney World through new attractions, experiences, and investments. This year, Walt Disney World (WDW) has done away with its park reservation system, enacted during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guests no longer need a park reservation to visit the theme parks as of January 9, 2024. On top of that, the Disney Dining Plan is soon returning to the parks, marking the end of all the pandemic restrictions for nearly four years. Disney CEO Bob Iger has repeatedly expressed his desire to expand Disneyland and Disney World.

With Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on the way, Disney has announced changes to its theme parks. Let’s take a look at Magic Kingdom. The Country Bear Jamboree has closed until the summer for new enhancements and additions to the lineup.

When Disney broke the news of the Country Bear Jamboree, they also put an exciting and intriguing announcement at the bottom of the article, leading guests and fans to speculate the meaning behind the words.

But hold your horses, we’re not done yet. We have a lot of growth and investment planned for our theme parks in the coming years and look forward to sharing more announcements about Frontierland … so y’all come back now, ya hear?

The above paragraph was in the Disney Parks Blog article about the closure of Country Bear Jamboree. Many folks were taken aback by this statement, which has led people to speculate what this means for Magic Kingdom and Disney World in general. The first earnings call for Disney a year ago mentioned some heavy hitters.

When addressing the outlook for Disney’s Parks & Resorts, Iger expressed great optimism, describing himself as “very, very bullish.” While this sentiment initially sounds exciting, it is tempered by his subsequent comment: “The current demand for the parks is exceptional. We can capitalize on this demand by accommodating more visitors and implementing a more assertive pricing strategy.”

In another announcement from the Walt Disney Company, a heavy investment will be arriving soon and span the next ten years. Per the official announcement from Disney:

The Walt Disney Company is developing plans to accelerate and expand investment in its Parks, Experiences and Products segment to nearly double capital expenditures over the course of approximately 10 years to roughly $60 billion, including by investing in expanding and enhancing domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity.

2024 will see a slew of new additions to the theme parks, ultimately marking the beginning of new things coming to Disney World, just as Iger and Disney had promised since the start of last year. Here are a few things coming this year: