Credit: Hong Kong DisneylandDespite record growth domestically, Disney struggled with its international theme parks compared to last year.
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Disney’s fourth-quarter earnings report was released this morning ahead of its final earnings call of the year, revealing mixed results for the company’s collection of theme parks.
Domestically, the company’s theme parks saw significant growth, with the Disney Experiences division posting record-high revenue and operating income for the year. The Disney Experiences division includes all of Disney’s theme parks, as well as the company’s cruise line and other travel-based vacation options.
This division reached an impressive $34.1 billion in topline revenue for 2024, a record-high for the company and a 5% increase over last year. Operating income for the year reached over $9 billion, representing a 4% increase over 2023.
Our Experiences businesses remain best-in-class, serving as the places where our brands and franchises come to life. The segment delivered record full-year revenue and operating income, despite some industry challenges that emerged in the second half of the fiscal year. We are confident in the long-term prospects for the segment and are committed to investing to drive continued growth. From our theme parks in the U.S. and around the world, our expanding Cruise Line, and the opportunities before us from our relationship with Epic Games, this is an increasingly diversified business.
However, Disney’s international theme parks paint a different picture.
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Total operating income declined at Disney’s international theme parks compared to the same quarter last year. This decline is attributed to several factors, including lower attendance, higher costs from new offerings, and a drop in per-guest spending.
Disney has theme parks worldwide, with locations in Paris, France, Tokyo, Japan, Shanghai, China, and Hong Kong, China.
Each of these locations has undergone significant changes in recent years, with the Tokyo Disney Resort seeing two major attractions shut down earlier in 2024. In July, the resort’s Space Mountain closed permanently to make way for a brand-new, totally remodeled version of the classic coaster.
In October, Tokyo Disney also said goodbye to its version of Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, an arcade-style attraction where guests compete for the top score.
These two ride closures are both part of Tokyo Disney’s efforts to revitalize its Tomorrowland area, a project that is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Disney released the following statement about its experiences segment:
Our Experiences businesses remain best-in-class, serving as the places where our brands and franchises come to life. The segment delivered record full-year revenue and operating income, despite some industry challenges that emerged in the second half of the fiscal year. We are confident in the long-term prospects for the segment and are committed to investing to drive continued growth. From our theme parks in the U.S. and around the world, our expanding Cruise Line, and the opportunities before us from our relationship with Epic Games, this is an increasingly diversified business.
Disney Cruise Line’s fleet will grow to six ships after we unveil the Disney Treasure next week, and there are another seven cruise ships in development. Disney Cruise Line serves as an ambassador for our brand, bringing some of our most beloved IP into markets where we don’t have theme parks, allowing us to expand our global footprint by delivering our unmatched experiences to greater audiences.
Our investment strategy in our Experiences segment is targeted in terms of projects and locations and is designed to drive operating income growth and attractive returns. We recently unveiled a robust slate of new projects coming to our parks tied to many of our popular franchises, including:
- Magic Kingdom is undergoing the largest expansion ever, including a new area inspired by Cars and a Villains-themed land
- Monsters, Inc.-themed land coming to Hollywood Studios
- New area with attractions themed to Encanto and Indiana Jones coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Doubling the size of Avengers Campus with two new attractions at Disney California Adventure
- First-ever ride-through attraction themed to Coco at Disney California Adventure Avatar-themed destination coming to Disney California Adventure
- First-ever ride-through attraction themed to The Lion King coming to Disneyland Paris
All of these projects, as well as our collaboration with Epic Games to bring an entirely new Disney universe and experience to Fortnite, demonstrate how we are leveraging our most popular IP and bringing it to life in innovative ways, highlighting the immense value of our brands and franchises, and our ability to create value across our businesses is a true differentiator.
Taken as a whole, we are very pleased with our performance in fiscal year 2024 across the company, both from a creative and a financial standpoint. We are well positioned for growth in 2025 as we continue to deliver on our strategic priorities while bringing fans and families more of the entertainment they love.
Stay tuned here at Inside the Magic for more updates on The Walt Disney Company.