As Disney looks to settle into the new normal following the reopening of their theme parks, they have pulled back the curtain a bit with revised capital expenditures estimations for 2020.
As you might remember, back in May Disney forecast a savings of $900 million on capital expenditures for the rest of this fiscal year. We saw that reflected in a halt in construction projects once the parks closed, and a slow ramp up of critical projects like the new entrance at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the weeks leading up to reopening.
In the most recent earnings call, Disney revised that number to a savings of $700 million, indicating that they are spending more at the domestic theme parks than they previously thought they would.
Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy spoke about Disney’s plans for spending in the most recent earnings call.
Capital Expenditures – We have continued to refine our capital spending plan. We now expect total capex for 2020 to be $700 million lower than prior year, largely due to lower spending at our domestic parks and resorts.
These are certainly fluid times and we are proud of our management team and Cast Members for going above and beyond to position our company well for a very exciting future.
Of course, a spend of $200 million more than previously thought only carries through to the end of fiscal 2020, which is at the end of September. It’s also worth noting that this $700 million savings represents a lowered spending when compared to fiscal 2019, which included Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a massive project at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
That said, Disney didn’t plan on slowing down construction at their parks and resorts anytime soon. The Tron Lightcycle Run project was set to be a big draw for Magic Kingdom during the 50th Anniversary celebrations, and EPCOT was to receive a facelift unlike anything it’s seen before.
On the EPCOT front, Disney quietly removed some projects from The EPCOT Experience, a preview center for the park’s future. We caught the changes on reopening day and Disney released a statement acknowledging the postponement of the Mary Poppins attraction and Spaceship Earth overhaul shortly after we broke the news.
Other notable projects include the resumption of work at the Galactic Starcruiser Star Wars hotel, and the rumored cancelation of the Disney Vacation Club project – Reflections.
As always, we’ll continue to keep a close eye on the projects taking place around Walt Disney World!
“After seeing the outpouring of love and support for the beloved classic Splash Mountain, we realized we really stepped on our crank with that one, and can find much more meaningful ways to improve inclusivity without empty gestures,” McCarthy added. “Splash Mountain will remain in its current, long-standing format.” <– you left that part out