Disney has already made changes to its theme parks over the past few years, such as upgrades in animatronics and robotics, as well as adding new rides.
ADVERTISEMENTEntertainments group Disney is planning to invest $60 billion (€55.3 billion) in its theme parks over the next 10 years.
And some of that cash will go to Disney's iconic European park, Disneyland Paris, which will seeing upgrades to its entrance, as well as for key experiences such as Ahsoka. Paris park can expect to see an impressive array of experiences, such as the "Kingdom of Arendelle", a night time show called "Disney Symphony of Colours" and a re-imagining of the Disney Village.
Disney has long relied on its experiences segment, which includes its theme parks, resorts and cruise lines, to form the bulk of its revenue.
Known as Disney Experiences, the division also includes T-shirts, toys, console games, apps, books and more, through its subdivisions Disney Games, Disney Publishing and Disney Retail. In addition, it also encompasses the media and online streaming products such as Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Disney, National Geographic and 20th Century Studios.
However, the Disney parks still remain one of the main grossers for the company.
About 70% of the $60 billion is expected to help cruise lines, international and domestic parks offer new experiences. The remaining money will be used for infrastructure and technology needs, as well as for the repair and maintenance of current attractions.
Disney's parks around the world were badly hit by the pandemic, with prolonged lockdowns and tough local regulations. Even after they were relaxed, many visitors were still too anxious to go to any crowded tourist spots so revenues were hit further. Disney's hotels and cruise lines were also hit with the same problems.
However, the much-loved company used the period of quiet to think deeper about where it wanted its experiences division to go and has subsequently made several material changes.
These changes went a long way towards making up for lost revenue, once tourists began, post pandemic, to return to the parks. For the fiscal year 2023, Disney Experiences clocked in a record revenue of $32.5 billion (€29.9 billion), a 16% rise from the previous year. Operating income also surged 23% to $8.95 billion (€8.25 billion) during this time.
Regarding the experiences division rebounding post-pandemic, and reclaiming its late-2010s glory, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro said, as reported by CNBC: "Our results have been record-setting as recently as the first-quarter earnings. Record revenue, record margins, record operating income.
"So the recovery has been swift, it's been strong. But more importantly, I think the future looks incredibly bright for our segment- and the company, quite frankly."
What changes has Disney made to its parks?
Recently, Disney has made several animatronics and robotics upgrades, as well as focused more on immersive storytelling, across its parks. Furthermore, it has made improvements on crowd pleasers like the King Arthur Carousel. The Avengers Campus' construction was also kept going, while parks were closed to visitors during the pandemic.
Not only that, but the Florida Walt Disney World park also saw new rides being introduced, such as the "Tron" themed roller coaster, as well as a "Guardians of the Galaxy" themed ride. The Hong Kong Disneyland also opened the biggest "Frozen" themed attraction globally, called the World of Frozen.
Coming to services introduced lately, guests can now pay to jump to the front of the queue for specific rides. The company has also made improvements to its mobile ordering services.
