Disney Bets Billions On Their Theme Parks To Power The Future

TV & Film

Apr 30

To expand their profitability, as well as enhance their ability to compete with other theme parks such as Comcast’s NBC Universal, which is launching a new Florida theme park in 2025, Disney, under the direction of the chairman of Disney Experiences, Josh D’Amaro, is planning a continued expansion of Disney Parks with new experiences and attractions with a $60 billion investment by the company. D’Amaro, who is being touted in some circles as a potential successor to Bob Iger after he finishes his interim term as Disney CEO in 2026, has at his disposal, a wealth of unexploited IP, as well as 1,000 acres of land to develop.

D’Amaro also has several challenges to contend with as well, including lingering consumer pain over pricing from the Covid pandemic that shuttered the parks for a year, some of the controversial decisions over former Disney CEO Bob Chapek such as the reservation system, as well as the paid add-on Genie+ skip line system, and workers pushing for increased wages and unionization. Additionally, he will have to contend with the aforementioned competition from Comcast’s NBC Universal. 70% of the planned investment of 60 billion dollars will go to new experiences in the parks and cruise lines, and 30% to tech, infrastructure, and maintenance. There are several new attractions set to open in 2025.

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Domestically, under the aegis of a plan known as “Disney Forward,” Disneyland and California Adventure will be expanded by additional construction on the existing land if approved by the Anaheim City Council, which is likely to include a Disneyland version of Disney World’s Animal Kingdom attraction, The World of Pandora, from the Avatar film franchise. The classic Splash Mountain ride in Disneyland and Disney World will be transformed into a new attraction with a Princess and the Frog theme.

Dino Land in Animal Kingdom will be transformed into Tropical Americas, featuring stories from Encanto and Indiana Jones wrapped in Mayan architectural theming. Internationally, The World of Frozen will be brought to Disneyland Paris. Fantasy Springs, featuring lands devoted to Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan will be opened at Tokyo Disneyland this Spring. A Zootopia-themed land opened in Shanghai Disneyland this past December and may also appear in other parks.

Disney is not only investing in the physical realm but also in cyberspace. Disney inked a 1.5 million dollar deal with Epic, the creators of Fortnite, this February to create an online universe with Disney IP.

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