Bob Iger says there are 'untapped stories just waiting to be brought to life' at Disney Parks with $42 billion going to expand capacity

Feb 07, 2024 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Wednesday February 7, 2024 5:20pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Speaking at today's Q1 2024 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger commented on the future of the company's theme park business.

Iger said, "Every one of our parks was profitable in Q1, giving us an incredibly solid foundation to build upon as we invest significantly to turbocharge growth in this business."

He continued, "As I've said before, we also have so many untapped stories just waiting to be brought to life in our parks across the globe as we continue to invest in this extraordinary business."

New Disney CFO Hugh Johnston expanded on future investments, saying, "We plan to invest approximately $60 billion into the business over the next 10 years, of which approximately 70% is earmarked for incremental capacity expanding investments around the globe, which we expect to attractive returns."

Disney announced last year its plans to accelerate and expand investment in its Parks, Experiences and Products segment to nearly double capital expenditures over the course of approximately 10 years to roughly $60 billion, including by investing in expanding and enhancing domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity.

Speaking in April 2023 at the Walt Disney Company Annual shareholder meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Disney plans to spend $17 billion over the next ten years, specifically at Walt Disney World, bringing 13,000 new jobs to the area.

In terms of timing, Iger said that the company is already hard at work at determining where new investments will be placed and what they will be. New additions will start opening in 2025, and there will be a cadence of additional investment and increased capacity every year.

In response to an analyst question about where and when we will see new investments, Iger said, "You can pretty much conclude that they will be all over, meaning every single one of our locations will be the beneficiary of increased investment and thus, increased capacity, including on the high seas where we're currently building three more ships and a business that is obviously extremely positive to us. We may look expansively in that direction. I'm not going to give you more of a sense of timing except that we're hard at work at getting these things basically conceived and built."

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Bocabear18 days ago

Look at the Dockside Diner at DHS... The Riverboat would at least fit the area as a set piece... Wether is could actually move or not...Just to have it on water in the proximity of TBA and BTMRR...It would really be the last piece of old Frontierland....

James Alucobond18 days ago

It would look completely nonsensical with how much they intend to narrow the waterways in the area.

Bocabear18 days ago

It could be parked at the TSI Raft dock. Give that area a gorgeous bit of scenery...

MisterPenguin18 days ago

Turn it into a parade float.

Gusey18 days ago

But where would it fit on the river? The closest river to TBA is the turn under the bridge right?

DisDude3318 days ago

But then it would be the deluxe ferrie and cost $20 to $50 per person.

Bocabear18 days ago

IF it is the closest thing to TBA at the front and they are frying Beignets....and it is right off the walkway past on your way to Auto Parts Mountain...they would be pretty busy....especally if you would not have to go all the way back through the TBA area to get them.... and a plus you could walk aroud the boat and have a seat in the shade...

doctornick18 days ago

Retrofitting the Belle for actual transportation seems like a bad idea to me - much better ways to achieve the benefit of increased transportation capacity. But I do wish the Liberty Belle can be retained in some capacity. Honestly, the most logical thing to me would be the actually retain some of the current RoA waterfront where it borders Liberty Square and across from CBJ and permanently dock the Belle. It can be used for some sort of meal service or even just as a walk through type attraction for ambiance.

JoeCamel18 days ago

It would be seasonal in 6 months

Bocabear18 days ago

They could park it in a small piece of the ROA they could leave in front of TBA and use it for Beignets/Julep vending or a DVC Kiosk...Upcharge special event flex space? It would at least look beautiful on the water as a set piece...but a sad end to a beautiful boat.

EricsBiscuit18 days ago

The LB only holds 450. It would be better suited to dinner cruises with the addition of restrooms and seating.

HauntedPirate19 days ago

Massive expense for little return.

UNCgolf19 days ago

It would, but I don't know that it would even fit on that river. It certainly wouldn't fit under the multiple bridges in the way.

MisterPenguin20 days ago

I'll put that on the list with a retrackd SSE and a retracked Space Mountain!!