Disney Hack Reveals Huge Genie+ Profits
Each quarter, The Walt Disney Company publishes a treasure trove of data about its business.
However, while Disney dutifully honors the government’s requests for transparency, it doesn’t give away the game.
Photo: Disney
Disney protects what it considers corporate secrets by only showing the information it wants competitors to know.
Then, a hacker accessed Disney’s Slack channels and captured 1.1 terabytes of hidden information.
The Walt Disney Company
Now, the Wall Street Journal has reported on the contents of this illicit data. So, we know more than Disney would like about its operations.
Yes, the Disney hack has revealed several business secrets. Here are a few Disney didn’t want you to know.
Disney Genie+ Earns More Than $250 Million a Year
According to the Wall Street Journal, a “spreadsheet exposed in the leak appears to detail revenue generated from (Disney) Genie+, the premium park pass launched in 2021.”
I have your attention now, don’t I?
Photo: Disney
Obviously, Disney Genie+ no longer exists, but this FastPass replacement operated from October 2021 and June 2024.
Technically, the service ended in July 2024, but the hacker infiltrated the data and downloaded it before then.
Disney Genie+
So, we have the revenue totals for 2.7 years of operations. In that timeframe, Disney Genie+ generated $724 million in revenue.
That total doesn’t include any applicable taxes, and it averages out to $268 million annually, give or take a couple of million.
Lightning Lane
Notably, the spreadsheet only shows data for Walt Disney World.
So, the overall total is much higher since we’re lacking Disneyland Resort data.
Disney Genie+
Since Josh D’Amaro earned his position as Chairman of Disney Experiences, the division has reported record margins.
Due to this hack, we’ve learned just how much of that success depends on the paid virtual queuing system.
Photo: Dr DIsney
What we now call Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Single Pass earn Disney Experiences more than $20 million a month at Disney World alone.
That’s why free FastPass is never coming back.
Lightning Lane
The reporting doesn’t clarify whether this total includes Lightning Lane, which we now call Lightning Lane Single Pass.
Presuming it doesn’t, that’s even more monthly revenue Disney’s digital queuing services earn.
Lightning Lane
Based on historical pricing, it’s fair to estimate that Disney averaged more than one million monthly purchases of the former Disney Genie+.
The data aligns with other comments Disney officials have made regarding the unexpectedly strong consumer support for the product.
Lightning Lane
MickeyBlog tracked many sellouts during the course of Disney Genie+, a behavior that hasn’t been prevalent with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Disney+ Has Become a Revenue Driver
On a quarterly and annual basis, Disney displays the revenue and losses for its Direct-to-Consumer division.
We know that Disney’s nascent streaming service has finally achieved a modest amount of profitability in the past two quarters.
Photo: Disney
The breakeven performances come on the heels of some jaw-dropping financial losses during the service’s early days.
Executives often provide additional context for the data, yet Disney rarely shows specific details.
Photo: Disney
At the moment, despite Disney’s recent successes, the path to streaming profitability remains fraught with peril.
The gigantic corporations battling in this field don’t want to reveal inside knowledge of their inner workings to their competitors.
Photo: Disney
So, Disney keeps its information hidden in plain sight…until now.
The hack reveals private spreadsheets from the fiscal second quarter of 2024.
Credit: Disney
At the time, Disney reported quarterly earnings of $5.642 billion in the DtC division.
We’ve now learned that “Disney+ generated more than $2.4 billion in revenue in the March quarter.”
Photo: Disney
That’s roughly 42.5 percent of all Disney streaming revenue for the quarter, emphasizing the company’s reliance on this service.
Along with Hulu, Disney+ is the anchor of all Disney’s future streaming plans.
Photo: DIsney+
The article credits Hulu as well by stating, “It underscores how significant a revenue contributor Hulu is.”
However, there’s no coinciding Hulu data revealed in the hack, at least not that the authors reported.
Hulu
The implication is that Hulu is an integral component in the remaining 57.5 percent of Disney’s streaming revenue.
We know that Hulu earns lots of money from ads and claims massive numbers of binge viewers.
Hulu banners
Meanwhile, if ESPN+ were doing extraordinarily well, Disney wouldn’t be introducing the so-called Flagship service in 2025.
So, Disney+ and Hulu have formed a dynamic one-two punch that bodes well for Disney’s future.
Other Hack Reveals
When I first reported on the Disney hack, I mentioned the needle-in-the-haystack element.
In this day and age, 1.1 terabytes of data is basically the size of eight installed video games. It’s not much.
Cinderella Castle
To gain anything of note, the hacker needed to get a bit lucky.
As you can tell from the above data, the infiltrator snagged some useful intel.
Magic Kingdom
Since the hack includes ill-gotten data, I haven’t read any of it personally.
However, the Wall Street Journal has combed through the leaked intel.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The reporters note that the hacker acquired detailed information regarding personnel on Disney Cruise Line.
We’re talking about passport details, home addresses, upcoming assignments (from the time), and more.
Photo: Disney
In addition, the hacker revealed some details regarding a small group of Disney’s restaurant reservations.
Here’s the quote: “One had names and contact information for a cluster of Disneyland guests with restaurant reservations.”
Roundup Rodeo BBQ
Since the hack involved Slack conversations, it also captured conversations during the last days of Bob Chapek as CEO.
These discussions include inflammatory topics like the Parental Rights in Education legislation and the Florida Feud.
Bob Iger
So, there’s a gossipy element to this hack. Its nature makes Disney vulnerable to criticisms regarding politics.
That’s the subject current CEO Bob Iger has spent 2024 trying to avoid.
Photo: Deadline
Still, if there were anything devastating to Disney, someone would have revealed it by now.
Thus, all the Disney hack has really done is show Disney’s private financials on topics like Disney+ and Disney Genie+.
Photo: DIsney+
Disney’s biggest business secret is that it’s doing quite well right now, recent theme park attendance notwithstanding.
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