Disney CEO Bob Iger says that theme park demand is softening from peak post-COVID travel

May 07, 2024 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Iger

Posted: Tuesday May 7, 2024 8:55am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

During today's earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger discussed recent trends in park attendance and financial performance.

Disney EO Bob Iger commented on attendance softening at the parks from peak-post COVID spike

Iger noted a shift towards normalization following the peak post-COVID attendance, although the parks division still achieved a 10% growth this quarter. Iger pointed out that future bookings remain robust, indicating potential for continued strong growth.

Looking ahead, Iger mentioned that despite some one-time expenses in the third quarter, adjusted operating income (OI) is expected to show solid growth—mid to high single digits in Q3 and double digits in Q4.

Iger told investors, "We still see in the bookings we look ahead towards indicate healthy growth in the business. So we still certainly feel good about the opportunities for continued strong growth." He continued, "I feel like the parks business is still doing very very well. We've got the best in the business in terms of product. People still have a strong desire to basically go on vacation and come to see us."

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JD801 day ago

https://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/walt-disney-world-resorts-information/news/27jun2024-unlock-free-park-hopper-benefits-with-disney-worlds-new-room-offers-for-fall-and-winter-2024.htm

Ayla1 day ago

It's a ticket promo they were/are? running. I got an email about it a few weeks ago and didn't really read it, so I'm not sure what the applicable dates are.

FigmentFan822 days ago

What free hopper upgrade?

JD802 days ago

That'll be different if a lot of people take the free hopper upgrade.

Sorcerer Mickey2 days ago

This time of year is typically slow. The fam and I make a weekend trip every year for my birthday and we stay at the higher-end hotels because they're much more affordable. AK Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, etc.

Touchdown2 days ago

Hop, MK mornings on party days are fantastic, DHS and Epcot are a little more crowded but not too bad, and worth dealing with so I can watch HEA on a non party night. However, MK mornings of parties can be wonderful with short waits through about 12-1pm.

FigmentFan822 days ago

Curious if anyone can answer this. Are the non MK parks getting slammed on party night days? My upcoming trip I've penciled out Epcot and DHS on party days and just hoping they won't be a mob scene of people avoiding MK for lack of a full day expereince.

Lilofan3 days ago

You picked a decent place to vacation in Mexico. The Puerto Aventuras all inclusive resorts are armed fortresses with Mexican law enforcement patrolling the area 24/7 where you need IDs to get in and out.

Basil of Baker Street3 days ago

Thousands of vacations are cheaper than Disney. Always has been.

Laketravis4 days ago

An all inclusive in Puerto Aventuras but definitely plan on exploring the area. Roundtrip non-stop air for two was $850 but when I booked thru Hyatt it was $2480 for the same flights AND seven nights club level ocean view king at the all inclusive. Way cheaper than WDW.

JoeCamel4 days ago

Make it to Tulum?

Laketravis4 days ago

Good to hear! I actually would have been there right now for a week but cancelled and am going to the Riveria Maya next week instead. Still have a couple of weeks at WDW scheduled for early November so I hope the crowd levels stay low.

wdisney90004 days ago

We looked at DVC as more of an extremely cost effective way to visit, not prepaid vacations or investment. Anyone who buys in thinking it's either of those is wrong. Our contract paid for itself a few years ago and we've visited many times since then and the only cost was our maintenance fees which totals to about a 60-70% discount off our room depending on when we visit. When we buy a second contract and rent out a few points from it, that will cover the cost of annual dues for both of our DVC contracts and that will eliminate our cost of annual dues and the cost of our resort stay will then be pretty much 100% discount. And we've used DVC to stay at BW, WL, AKL, SSR, BLT and BC. You don't have to only stay at your home resort. Another benefit of DVC is being able to purchase the Sorcerer AP which is a good discount and if we decide not to visit, I could easily rent our points and make appx $3k after annual dues expenses were paid. The person who attends a DVC sales pitch and is persuaded to finance a 400 point contract at Riviera would fall on the gullible side IMO.

Chi845 days ago

We didn't stay in our home resort for the first several years we owned DVC. We preferred Kidani until the kids became adults and wanted to be able to walk to Disney Springs for drinks, entertainment, etc. SSR is perfect for us now, although we recently stayed at Riviera. I would like to think most people who buy DVC know about and have factored in the maintenance fees and such. The other things you mention have gone up everywhere, although Disney does leave them in the dust when it comes to price increases. We never added onto our original contract, in large part because we were unsure of how long we would enjoy WDW. So far, everyone still loves our vacations. I don't think we're too financially inept or we wouldn't be taking the entire family of 10 to WDW every couple of years lol.