Early this morning in what appeared to be a chilly Idaho morning landscape, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke with CNBC’s David Faber about the future of Disney now that he has accepted a contract extension to be CEO through the end of 2026. While the talk was mostly focused on Disney’s movie and TV businesses, there was some time spent on the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products segment, which Iger continues to praise.

Expansion & Opportunity

Iger continued to present a bullish stance on the Parks & Resorts segment, saying that there are opportunities to “turbocharge” the business. Iger noted that the investments that the Company has made in the parks business “are really paying off”, pointing to Shanghai Disneyland as an example of how Disney has, over the years, invested in the parks business.

Iger said that he has “huge optimism” in the theme parks, echoing sentiments that he has shared before about being “bullish” about that segment of the company. While Iger talked about the opportunity to spin off linear programming on the TV side of things, theme parks were listed as a core part of The Walt Disney Company and Iger reiterated that he “really [believes] in the future of [theme parks]”.

Attendance Dips & Ticket Pricing

Iger was asked about a recent Wall Street Journal article that was titled “Disney World Hasn’t Felt This Empty in Years”. Of course, there is a difference between lower wait times and the parks feeling “empty”, which just isn’t the case. While we’ve been tracking lower wait times, and a particularly slow Fourth of July, we promise that the theme parks won’t be “empty” during your summer visit. Iger noted as much, saying that the WSJ article was “not accurate”, noting that there are many factors that go into the “near term issues” in the state of Florida.

Beyond wait times, BlogMickey.com has been tracking the dip in Tourist Development Tax for the past two months. In this morning’s interview, Iger noted that Disney has been tracking it too, and points to the downturns in tax collections as a sign that Florida as a whole, not just Disney, is experiencing a slowdown versus 2022.

Iger was also asked about Disney’s theme park pricing. Iger said that one of the things that he addressed when he returned as CEO late last year was pricing at the parks. Iger said that Walt Disney World is “where the Disney brand lives in its most sublime form” – high praise for a region where Disney just pulled the plug on a massive $1 billion office complex that could’ve defined decades to come in Florida.

While theme park fans are vocally against what feels like a quarterly increase in the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation, Iger boldly stated that “pricing is not an issue”.

Ron DeSanits’ Fight With Disney

Iger was also asked about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the fight that he has brought to Disney. Iger reiterated a stance that he has been consistent on – that DeSantis “decided to retaliate against the Company for a position the Company took on pending legislation in the state”. Iger continued by saying that while he was “not sure that it was handled very well, [Disney] was within its right to speak up on an issue”, noting that Disney was “constitutionally protected” by the First Amendment right to free speech.

Iger said that DeSantis’ retaliation against the Company in a way that would be harmful to the business “was not something that we could sit back and tolerate”.

In addressing some other outlandish claims by the Presidential hopeful, Iger said that “the last thing that I want for the Company is for the Company to be drawn into any culture wars”.

Iger said that Disney has seen “no sign…at all” of attendance impacts due to the ongoing fight with DeSantis.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!