Bob Iger Confirms Disney Parks Expansions Moving Forward at Shareholders Meeting

1 day ago in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Iger at The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2025

Posted: Thursday March 20, 2025 1:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

During The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2025, CEO Bob Iger provided an update on ongoing theme park projects, focusing on previously announced expansions at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disneyland Paris.

Bob Iger at The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2025

Speaking in a pre-recorded segment from Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in California, Iger began by noting Disney's significant investment in its theme park business. "Right now, we have more projects underway around the world than at any time in our history," he said.

Wide view of the new Frontierland, with two Cars-themed attractions replacing Tom Sawyer Island

At Walt Disney World, Iger revisited several projects that had been announced during previous D23 presentations. Magic Kingdom's expansion, the park's largest to date, will include a Cars-themed area and a Villains-themed land. Disney's Hollywood Studios will see the addition of a Monsters Inc.-themed land, while Disney's Animal Kingdom is progressing with the Tropical Americas expansion, featuring experiences based on Encanto and Indiana Jones.

Tropical Americas Concept Art

Wide view of the Monsters Inc. Land

Iger also acknowledged ongoing work at Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris, both of which were previously detailed at D23. Disney California Adventure's Avengers Campus is set to double in size with two new attractions, and the park will gain a new ride-through experience themed to Coco, along with a dedicated Avatar-themed area. Meanwhile, Disneyland Paris will introduce the first-ever Lion King-themed ride, with Pride Rock serving as the gateway to a Simba-focused water attraction. "We can't wait for guests to experience this retelling of the classic animated film," Iger said.

Bob Iger with a model of the new Lion King flume ride coming to Disneyland Paris

Disney Cruise Line's expansion was also highlighted, with Iger confirming that following the Disney Treasure's debut in 2024, the Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure are both scheduled to enter service later this year. "Disney Cruise Line is also growing, allowing us to double our capacity to reach millions more people around the world," Iger said.

While no major new announcements were made, Iger underscored the broader impact of these projects. "We're proud of the positive economic impact these projects will have in the communities in which we operate, including creating thousands of new jobs in Florida and California," he said.

Bob Iger at The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2025

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britain16 minutes ago

I didn't say the MK would be 'turned on'. I'm saying average joes will notice and complain, and it will add to a general narrative that Disney's leadership has lost its mojo. Not just theme park nerds. But sure, if they are firing on all other cylinders... if there's nothing but high-quality popular additions everywhere else, maybe it won't matter.

BrianLo1 hour ago

You’ve turned very pessimistic. I’m not an advocate for the ROA removal nor Cars by any stretch of the imagination. But I think you are off by a factor of 100 for how little Magic Kingdom is at risk of being turned on. Maybe, maybe in isolation if Villains was canned. But given what this project actually entails and Villains is part of the replacement project, your analogy to replacing Tomorrowland attractions with landscaping isn’t really on the mark. There’s always a strong desire to see things fail so the company ‘learns something’, but they never learn anything. They’ll just take away even more bad lessons if it does poorly… which it most assuredly won’t.

Agent H15 hours ago

I feel like we’re underestimating how much the general public actually cares. People won’t stop going but I think they will notice a difference. Nostalgia drives people to buy and experience a Lot of things these days. They are removing something that has been a fundamental aspect of Disney parks for 70 years.

britain15 hours ago

Well, maybe. Especially people who've never been there before. They won't know what's missing. I just think it's going to cause a major tonal shift for a third of the whole park. It would be sort of like replacing the front of Tomorrowland with a lake, removing Buzz, Stitch and the rockets and the Peoplemover. Just imagine a lake from the plaza to Space Mountain, and you get to Space Mountain via many bridges over water. There are people who never went on those Tomorrowland attractions, but having a big lake there is going to impact their nostalgia/desire to return.

MisterPenguin16 hours ago

https://deadline.com/2025/03/disney-bob-iger-theme-parks-lion-king-cars-monsters-avatar-1236345575/ https://deadline.com/2025/03/bob-iger-disney-avatar-fire-and-ash-lilo-and-stitch-alien-earth-1236345627/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-shareholders-reject-conservative-climate-proposals-1236169154/ https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/figment-the-dragon-disney-plus-series-bob-iger/

JoeCamel16 hours ago

So Gorman is the new blood..... Maybe not a bad choice for the stockholders

MisterPenguin17 hours ago

Have you not read the post you're replying to?

MisterPenguin17 hours ago

Don't you read all your stockholder reports? That's what this meeting was for, not for park fans on a parks discussion board. Filed Mar 10, 2025... https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1744489/000174448925000070/dis-20250310.htm

prberk18 hours ago

Have you seen the stock price over that time? Stagnant and lower, depending on the year of comparison.

Tha Realest18 hours ago

He mentioned Figment. Did he mention Snow White, opening today?

AidenRodriguez73119 hours ago

It's a Bug's World and we're all living in it. Termites of the Carribean, Space Mite-ain, Beetle Pan's Flight. Over at Epcot we have Swarmin', Pest Track, and the Fleas with Nemo and Friends.

AidenRodriguez73119 hours ago

I can guarantee me and a lot of people won't care. My whole family didn't care, the kids didn't care. I've seen so many people on social media joking to just tear the thing down. I think you might be slightly overestimating how much people really love the river atleast in the traditional sense. Now, putting Cars there can be another story and I see the idea but still don't 100% jive with that specific IP there.