Today was the quarterly earnings call for The Wat Disney Company. There is always a little bit of news of interest to theme park fans, but today was a bonanza.
Shanghai Disneyland has welcomed 7 million guests and is on track to greet 10 million guests in its first 365 days. It is also expected to pay off its debt later in 2017. Not too shabby. Paris Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland are reported to be doing better despite obstacles faced by both.
We knew Disneyland’s version of the Star Wars themed Land would open in 2019, but now we also know that Walt Disney World’s version is opening in 2019 as well. My guess is not the same date though as construction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is months behind the work at Disneyland. No mention of Toy Story Land, but it had been scheduled for a 2018 opening.
Pandora – The World of Avatar was scheduled to open in Spring of 2017, now we know that the grand opening will be on May 27th. It’s likely there will be preview days, possibly ticketed events before that.
The social media moms convention had a sneak preview of Rivers of Light tonight, but no official opening of the show was mentioned on the call. Rumors are that it will open this weekend or next.
Overall Disney’s theme park audience diminished by about 5%. Disney blames last year’s 60th Anniversary at Disneyland, Hurricane Matthew, and the timing of New Year’s Eve. But the good news is that those who are there are staying on property (hotel occupancy was at 91%, which is high) and people are generally spending more on food and other items while at the parks.
If you’re interested in listening to the whole call and Q&A session. Head to Disney’s Investor Relations page.
How do you feel about the direction Disney’s theme parks are going?
i have been a fan of Disney for many years, i love going to the park’s, watching Disney movies, etc., although there are some concerns I’ve had lately
the first, being Mickey, and Minnie’s new look, don’t get me wrong, “the big cheese”, and the Mrs . are 2 of my favorite characters, but the new face look, is what bothers me, i don’t really care for it, but who am i to ruin the magic?
secondly, the new opening show at Disney World, why do away with something that your guest’s have enjoyed for years, i watched the new opening on you tube, and was shocked to see it done at Cinderella’s castle, the train station was a better show
thirdly, the tiered ticket pricing, why not have a fixed price for all the parks instead of causing mass confusion?, thank goodness for magic your way :D
lastly, not enough info on Toy Story Land, or Star Wars Land, other Disney fansites have given very little information on the upcoming lands, all i’ve seen is what’s based on the concept art, and what’s been reported on various sites, if anything the 2018 opening for toy story land, and 2019 for Star Wars Land gives us hope for a fun time with Star Wars, and Toy Story character’s alike :D
Mike – I agree. I enjoy the Train entrance too. However, consider this. That crowd of people is trapped there. And within reach of any bad person focused on harm who has not yet gone thru security. Should the unthinkable happen, I’m sure it wouldn’t take long for the question to arise how Disney could have set up that kind of fish in a barrel situation. So, yes — it may be just that the train is down for refurb. But I’m wondering if it isn’t something more proactive then that.
Good, it’ll be open when we go this summer. I was getting a little concerned that it might not open until later in the year, since no opening date had been announced. Of course, we thought the same thing last summer about the Rivers of Light show, and, three trips to Florida later, we still haven’t seen it.
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