Disney Unveils Billions of Dollars in Theme Park Expansions
The Experiences division reveals specific plans for new rides and attractions that die-hard fans have been waiting on
ANAHEIM, Calif.—Villains given the run of the Magic Kingdom. A “Monsters, Inc.”-themed land at Disney’s DIS 0.29%increase; green up pointing triangle Hollywood Studios, complete with Disney’s first-ever suspended roller coaster, where riders zoom around with their legs hanging free. Four new cruise ships.
The scope and details of the tens of billions in planned investment in Disney’s Experiences unit came into clearer focus Saturday night.
The announcements came as part of Disney’s three-day D23 Expo, during a presentation that unfolded over nearly three hours at an arena near Disneyland in Anaheim. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the division and a short-list candidate to succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s chief executive, regaled theme park habitués with his vision for growth.
From the get-go, D’Amaro moved to fend off criticism, common among Disney fans in recent years, that the company doesn’t have much in the way of shovel-ready projects in the works.
“Everything we’re going to share with you tonight is an active development,” he told the crowd, which Disney counted at 12,000. “I just want to be clear to all the fans out there: This isn’t blue sky.”
The Experiences division that includes theme parks, cruises and videogames produced 69% of the entertainment giant’s operating income in fiscal 2023.
Bloggers and fans regularly dissect Disney’s development pipeline for its theme parks. This year the division is especially under the microscope. In the company’s past two quarterly earnings reports, weakening consumer demand has led to disappointing results in the Experiences division. This has hurt Disney’s share price and raised concerns that the broader theme-park industry may be on course for a reckoning.
Disney is under pressure to offer fans new, exciting attractions to justify recent increases to ticket prices and other rising costs. It also faces growing competition from Comcast’s Universal Studios business, which plans to open a new theme park near Walt Disney World in Florida next year.
At the last D23 Expo, in 2022, the parks panel largely featured ideas far from starting construction. Fans got more details to chew on this year.
Disney is teeing up two major expansions at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park. One is a long-rumored villains-themed land based on the less savory characters from Disney’s oeuvre. The other is a new section of Frontierland inspired by the Cars franchise that will include two new rides.
The two projects, D’Amaro said, “represent the biggest expansion in the park’s entire history.”
At nearby Animal Kingdom, Disney plans to redo a section of the park now focused on dinosaurs. The new Tropical Americas land will feature rides themed after the Indiana Jones franchise and Disney’s hit film “Encanto.”
The parks presentation and a Friday night showcase introducing Disney’s coming film slate were star-studded. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Avatar” director James Cameron and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda came onstage to promote new movies on Friday.
To hammer home D’Amaro’s promise to expand Disney’s cruise ship fleet to 13 vessels before 2031, 1990s R&B stars All-4-One performed the song “I Swear.”
Saturday evening also offered details of a new portion of the Hollywood Studios park that will transport visitors to the world of Monstropolis from the Monsters, Inc. films. One of the new rides in this land will be Disney’s first suspended roller coaster.
D23 Expo has grown into a corporate phenomenon. It is a massive pep rally aiming to give fans, who often come dressed as their favorite characters, the sense that they are a part of Disney’s creative planning process. It also helps the company gauge enthusiasm for each new product, movie and character it rolls out.
On Friday night, Iger opened the ceremonies with almost Olympic fanfare, appearing onstage to introduce a presentation of the company’s new film slate. It was his first appearance at a D23 Expo in five years—he came out of retirement in late 2022 to succeed former CEO Bob Chapek.
“Boy, did I miss you,” Iger told fans, who gave him a 20-second standing ovation.
As he finished his remarks, Auli‘i Cravalho, who voices Moana, the Polynesian princess with a sequel opening later this year, burst into a new song, accompanied by dozens of dancers and percussionists. It featured the line, “Finally we’re back to who we’re meant to be!”
When Disney announced last September that it was doubling its planned capital investments in the Experiences division over the next decade, to $60 billion, the news was thin on details.
The company’s shares fell by 3.6% on the day of the announcement. That accelerated a decline that prompted activist investor Nelson Peltz to say months later that he would seek a board seat at Disney. In the proxy fight that followed, Peltz said the parks needed updates. In April, Iger triumphed over Peltz when shareholders voted decisively to keep the investor off the board.
Beyond Walt Disney World, Disney has major expansions planned for its parks in California, France and China.
Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim will add a handful of rides based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cameron’s Avatar franchise and the Pixar film “Coco.”
Overseas, the first ride tied to “The Lion King” is being developed for the Disneyland Paris Resort. New Spider-Man-inspired rides are planned for Disney’s parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Executives didn’t share precise timelines for the projects across the globe during Saturday night’s presentation.