All Disney Parks Will Benefit from $60 Billion Expansion
Disney has promised to spend $60 billion perfecting its theme parks and everything else in its Disney Experiences empire.
We just learned a few more details about how that will work.
All Disney Parks Will Benefit
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Jessica Reif Ehrlich from Bank of America just participated in Disney’s quarterly earnings call.
The analyst questioned how Disney will dispense the promised $60 billion in theme park expansion money.
A few months ago, I cited Ehrlich’s comments regarding Disney theme park expansion.
At the time, Ehrlich had bought into what Disney was selling and gave the stock a Buy rating with an estimated worth of $110.
While stock prices fluctuate during after-hours trading, Ehrlich was closest to the pin, with Disney crossing $107 at one point.
Obviously, we should pay careful attention to her questions, and she asked the perfect one for park fans.
Photo: Disney
“For the first time I’ve heard you say this, that in Parks, 70 percent of the $60 billion in CapEx you outlined over the next ten years…will go to incremental capacity.
Like, over 40 billion will go into incremental capacity. So, over $40 billion will go into new parks and attractions.
Can you give us some color on timing and location? There’s been speculation that you may open a fifth gate in Florida.”
Iger sighed heavily, as Ehrlich asked two other equally detailed questions about matters wholly unrelated to the parks.
Still, his reply provides some intriguing context about what we should expect.
“Okay, you asked a lot of questions on a lot of different subjects. I’ll take the first one on Parks timing and location.
AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
“You know, we’re already hard at work in determining where we’re gonna place our new investments, and what they will be.
“You can conclude that they’ll be all over, meaning every single one of our locations will be the beneficiary of increased investment and, thus, increased capacity.”
What Does Iger Envision?
Photo: Disney Fanatic
Iger adds that he’s including “the high seas,” noting that Disney “is currently building three more ships.”
In fact, Disney Cruise Line fans may have received good news.
Iger adds, “In a business that is extremely positive to us, we may look expansively…in that direction.”
Photo: Disney
“I’m not gonna give you much more of a sense of timing except that we’re hard at work in getting these things conceived and built.
“We’ve got a menu of things that will basically start opening in 2025, and there will be a cadence every year of additional investment and increased capacity.”
Allow me to translate what Bob Iger just said because it’s vital that you understand him here.
Photo: Getty
The CEO of Disney is promising that his company will invest in Disney Experiences for 2025 and beyond in a way that matters.
Remember how Disney opened Pandora — The World of Avatar, Toy Story Land, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in consecutive years?
Iger is lining up something similar as he plots the best way to maximize his $60 billion investment in park expansion.
That sounds like someone ready to announce some massive projects later this year, possibly at an event like the D23 Expo.
