Josh D’Amaro Says Disney is Focused on Developing Existing Parks
Curious about the future of Disney Parks? We’ve got some news for you.
During a Q&A session at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, answered some of our most burning questions about the future of Disney Parks — and here’s what he had to say about Disney Parks.
$17 Billion Investment in Disney World
During the first quarterly earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned that the company has plans to invest $17 billion into Disney World over the next 10 years. He did not elaborate on exactly what this $17 billion investment would include, but we have a few hints now.
Recently, Disney announced that plans for a $1 billion Lake Nona Imagineer campus were officially canceled, and many of us wondered if that $1 billion was included in the estimated $17 billion figure previously noted by Iger.
According to Josh D’Amaro, however, the Lake Nona plans were not included in the $17 billion ten-year investment plans.
Instead, D’Amaro said the $17 billion investment may include some of the projects he mentioned during the D23 Expo. In case you forgot, some of those hypothetical plans D’Amaro mentioned were a DinoLand U.S.A. re-theme in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with a possible new land inspired by either Zootopia or Moana.
During the Expo, D’Amaro also mentioned potential plans for a Magic Kingdom expansion, including a new land themed to Disney Villains, Coco, or Encanto.
According to D’Amaro, Disney is currently more focused on investing in their existing parks as opposed to creating a new park, which is in line with both either/or a DinoLand re-theme and a Magic Kingdom expansion. He noted that there is space to expand Magic Kingdom and even Disneyland Park too.
To put it succinctly, D’Amaro repeated something he said recently: “Honestly, I think we are just getting started.”