Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company could build seven new full lands at its theme parks

Mar 05, 2024 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Tuesday March 5, 2024 1:51pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

At today's Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Disney's CEO Bob Iger spoke at length about the company's reorganization and positioning for future growth.

Much of the conversation was dominated by Disney+ and ESPN, but Iger spoke enthusiastically about the parks. "Parks and resorts is a wonderful story," Iger said. Trends for this quarter show that domestic and international parks and experiences business will probably deliver in the neighborhood of low to mid-teens in terms of operating income."

Continuing with the parks, Iger said the company has "entered into a phase where we can start building." He continued, "We have 1000s of acres of lands to develop, we could actually build seven new full lands if we wanted to around the world, including the ability to increase the size of Disneyland in California, which everybody thinks is kind of landlocked by 50%."

"You can look at every single location that we've got and there's land, opportunity, but most importantly, we have so much IP to mine that there's opportunity there to create experiences that we know people will love to have in our parks. So you look at our IP, you look at the land that we have, you look at the math, the demand that exists in the marketplace, and you look at the return on invested capital. It's a no-brainer to invest that way."

Disney has already presented "blue sky" concepts for new lands at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and we expect to hear more about those projects soon.

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    Sirwalterraleigh15 days ago

    They’re both in their 80s At the end of the day…they had an axe to grind…they created a stunt…they got their jollies and moved on.

    Ayla15 days ago

    I forgot to mention, our destination is not Florida.

    coffeefan15 days ago

    I'm not surprised. Discourse about the economy, inflation, and tourism were hot topic these past few years. But now that the economy didn't improve, but instead is getting worse, suddenly...

    Wendy Pleakley15 days ago

    Remember the speech in which any alleged Florida travel boycott was mocked, based on 2024 travel numbers?

    Trauma15 days ago

    Sorry I don’t follow airline news so I didn’t know. Thanks for the info.

    MisterPenguin15 days ago

    wannabeBelle15 days ago

    um yeah https://thepointsguy.com/airline/what-to-do-re-southwest-changes/

    Trauma15 days ago

    Did SWA change a policy or something ?

    LSLS15 days ago

    Maybe I'm misreading the original post, but I took it as a few nights would be $400 (so $200 a night). That would line right up with what you are seeing here after taxes/fees/parking/etc. charges, and that is in fact exactly what we paid for a weekend in Columbus in February.

    Ayla15 days ago

    I am very interested to see SWA next quarterly. We booked flights for next month to use up our points and then we're done. Credit cards cancelled and on to flying with Delta or United (which we typically fly first class on them). SWA is no longer an option. It will be interesting to see how full our planes are on our way to our destination.

    Jrb197915 days ago

    Comcast should be fine next quarter as Epic has most of the first month sold out. For Disney it's a bit concerning just due to the amount of discounts they are putting out.

    BrianLo15 days ago

    I’m flying tonight from Miami to YVR and I acknowledge it’s Easter… but the seat map looks like early COVID. 80%+ empty plane. I’ve been here for a few weeks and the drop off is shocking. I’m intrigued to hear the operators start reporting their quarterlies. Comcast on the 24th and Royal on the 29th are two to look out for.

    monothingie15 days ago

    What the hell is "Flavour"? Sounds French.

    nickys16 days ago

    Yes. There have been better ones recently. The ticket offer is standard every year. The free dining used to be standard. Since Covid they’ve offered a dining credit rather than the plan, which is more flexible. Free gift cards of $200 have usually been offered recently. Those in Ireland are getting less cash, half I think. Which is mean, given £ and € are pretty close.

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