In today’s earnings call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston gave a forecast of moderating demand at its theme parks moving forward. Johnston attributed lower demand to a global moderation of post-COVID travel.
Johnston said that bookings still reflect “healthy” demand, but not to the level of post-COVID demand where pent-up travel exploded at the domestic theme parks. It’s also possible that while bookings look good, they may be at discounted rates that don’t boost the bottom line. Johnston said that the moderation in demand will persist into Disney’s fiscal Q4, which means through the summer season and into early fall.
In terms of average wait times in the theme parks, we’re seeing a slight downtick from 2023, which was already down from 2022. Going into the summer season, Walt Disney World will eventually announce an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is anticipated to be the big draw. Other offerings like a drone show at Disney Springs, and an Encanto stage show at EPCOT will also be notable through the summer season, but those are not typically things that will drive attendance.
Out at Disneyland, hotel occupancy numbers were down in the previous quarter, while attendance and per-capita guest spending were up.
Overall, the Parks business is expected to be relatively flat in the next quarter when compared to a year ago.
For a look at today’s earnings report, check out our earlier article.
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!