Disney World Has Lost Nearly $550 Million Since 1999 Due to Hurricanes
In preparation for Hurricane Milton’s arrival, Disney announced that Walt Disney World would close early on October 9 and remain shuttered through October 10.
As Milton gathered strength in the Gulf of Mexico, with Florida in its sights, Goldman Sachs estimated that Disney would lose $150 to $200 million in revenue because of the storm. To reach that number, the financial institution estimated that Disney World would see a 6% drop in attendance this quarter and extrapolated from there.
Walt Disney World Entrance
Since 1999, Hurricane Milton marked the 10th time that Disney has had to close its Florida theme parks because of hurricanes.
“There Are So Many Unknowns”
In a new report from the Orlando Business Journal, John Gerner, Managing Director of Leisure Business Advisors, cautioned that the Goldman Sachs number may not be accurate.
“I wouldn’t want someone to make a financial decision based on these numbers because there are so many unknowns,” he said.
Photo: WESH
“The challenge for us in this industry is the lack of clear and reliable data. Even Disney might not know for sure exactly how much they’ve lost, and projecting what they will lose this week isn’t an exact science.”
Disney Has Lost $547 Million Due to Hurricanes
Dennis Speigel, CEO of International Theme Park Services, estimated that Disney has lost $547 million due to hurricanes over the last 25 years.
Spiegel has been tracking Disney’s storm-related losses since 1999 and understands the broad impact that a hurricane closure can have on Disney’s bottom line.
Photo: Travel and Leisure
“It takes a while to stretch the rope back up because it becomes a winding road of issues to deal with. There’s a lot to consider. Lost ticket sales revenue is just part of it. All the related hospitality earnings drop,” he explained.
Weather Has Become Increasingly Impactful
According to the analyst, the weather has played an increasingly significant factor in a theme park’s financial outlook.
Photo: GREGG NEWTON/AFP/Getty Images, Hurricane Matthew, 2022
“Walt Disney came to Florida because it had such good weather. Hurricanes weren’t much of a factor back then,” he said. “It used to be that in the theme park sector, we used weather as an excuse if something went wrong with revenue, but now, it’s not a joke.”
These days, weather is now factored into a standard profit-and-loss calculation.
Photo: Greg Angel/Spectrum News 13
“It’s one of the five most important intensities we look at,” Speigel explained.
Looking back at the history of Walt Disney World, it is clear that hurricanes have become an increasingly prevalent issue. Luckily, Disney showed, once again, that it can handle the storms and keep guests safe.
