The Disney theme parks are constantly changing. In recent years, they have become the key asset of The Walt Disney Company, as cable TV subscribers and the associated money that the company earns from them have declined. Now, the company is going all in by investing over $60 billion in theme park expansion.
Today, we got a business update on The Walt Disney Company during their quarterly earnings call. There were a couple of different news announcements that matter to Disney fans. Let's dive into what we learned today.
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Disney World Has Biggest Q3 on Record
During the earnings call, Disney announced that Walt Disney World had the biggest Q3 on record. Note that the quarter being discussed here ran from March 30 to June 28, 2025. This includes the popular spring break period covered in our Mickey Visit Disney World Crowd Calendar and the beginning of summer.
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The period also includes the time when Universal's new Epic Universe theme park opened to the public, which is notable because some worried that the new park would cannibalize Disney guests. We are going to keep a close eye on this in the coming quarters as well. Disney CFO Hugh Johnston discussed this briefly on the call, saying, “in light of the fact that there is a competitive offering in the marketplace, the fact that attendance came in as well as it did is something that we feel terrific about.”
Notably, the “biggest” refers to the financial success of the resort and not attendance. In fact, the attendance is flat compared to the same period in the previous year. The success of the quarter for Disney is due to the increased amount of spending per guest. The occupancy rate of domestic Disney hotels was up, meaning that the hotel spending likely drove part of this increase. This could, of course, also be tied to continued Disney theme park ticket price increases.
This Walt Disney World success comes as Disney is focusing even more on growing the Disney theme parks business, by both reinvesting in the business to deliver new experiences that expand the number of visitors each year and increasing prices. Disney's increased focus on the theme parks, including its plans to invest $60 billion in new Disney theme park additions, will understandably lead to a focus on increasing the profitability of the parks. It's an area that I want to go more in-depth on to consider the long-term ramifications of new Disneyland rides and new Disney World rides, and how Disney will continue to balance expansion and price increases in the future.
Bookings Looking Ahead Are Strong
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston shared that bookings for the fourth quarter are up 6% and that the Disney Cruise Line bookings into next year are very strong.
Talking about Disney Cruise Line, Johnston said, “We are already basically half booked out for all of next year and the newer ships are even higher in that regard.” Disney Cruise Line recently launched the Disney Treasure Cruise ship (read my review of what's good and bad!), and they are getting ready for the debut of the new Disney Destiny Cruise ship for the US market and the Disney Adventure Cruise ship for the Asian market.
Disney CEO Bob Iger also chimed in, saying, “It is also one of the best experiences that we offer across our experiences business.” He also talked more specifically about the new Disney Adventure ship, saying, “it is essentially a floating ambassador for the Disney brand. If you have been on any of our ships, particularly the new ones, we use our IP built into the entire experience. And so I think this will create a great opportunity for us in Asia but particularly in Southeast Asia.”
The Disney Cruise Line business remains a big area of potential growth for Disney. They have multiple new ships coming in the following years. If you are a fan of Disney Cruise Line, expect more opportunities to sail on different ships in different locations over the coming years.
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Disney Parks Overall Quarter Success
Disney’s Experiences segment, the division that is home to the theme parks and consumer products businesses, reported $2.5 billion in operating income for Q3, up $294 million year-over-year. Domestic Parks & Experiences saw 22% growth, reaching $1.7 billion in operating income.
The domestic reporting includes Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line. Disney commented on the success of the quarter for the theme parks in a released statement:
“We recently celebrated Disneyland's 70th anniversary and Hong Kong Disneyland's 20th anniversary, and the ongoing celebrations are receiving tremendous receptions from our guests. We have expansions currently underway at every one of our theme parks globally, including a new World of Frozen land opening at Disneyland Paris in 2026, Villains and Cars themed areas coming to Magic Kingdom, a Monsters, Inc. area coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios, and an Avatar-themed destination coming to Disney California Adventure. This is in addition to a new theme park coming to Abu Dhabi.”
In addition to the per-guest spending mentioned above, the quarter also benefited from higher Disney Cruise Line volume from an increase in passenger cruise days and occupied room nights.
Lilo and Stitch Catching Up to Mickey Mouse in Popularity
Disney CEO Bob Iger opened the call by discussing a recent success of the quarter. He shared that Lilo and Stitch is on track to become Disney's second-largest licensed merchandise franchise this year behind only Mickey Mouse. This is more than a 70% revenue growth compared to last year.
This news comes after the recent success of the live-action Lilo and Stitch film. This is another sign that Disney won't be done with these live-action remakes. That movie helped to reinvigorate interest in this franchise and helped to push the characters to the top of the licensing list for Disney.
We also wonder if this recognized success could lead to another look at how Stitch is used in the theme parks. Perhaps we could see a new attraction or the return of the now-closed attraction in Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World. This is another area where I would not be surprised to get news. We also know that they are already at work on a sequel to the live-action movie.
ESPN Deal with NFL – Could Draft Come to Disney World?
Disney is moving forward to make a noteworthy deal with the NFL. They announced that ESPN will acquire NFL Network and certain other media assets owned and controlled by the NFL in exchange for a 10% equity stake in ESPN. This deal still needs regulatory approval.
Separately, ESPN and the NFL reached an agreement that includes expanded NFL highlight rights within multiple fan-engagement platforms, and more interactive features for ESPN's DTC offering and the ESPN App, including betting and fantasy. ESPN will also gain the ability to sell and bundle NFL+ Premium, which includes NFL Network and NFL RedZone, to its ESPN DTC subscribers, along with rights to additional non-exclusive preseason NFL games for its DTC offering, both starting in the 2025 season. An additional separate agreement extends ESPN's NFL Draft rights, with the ability to stream ESPN and ABC's draft coverage on ESPN DTC, Hulu, and Disney+.
Disney CEO Bob Iger actually quipped to The New York Times that he was “looking forward to the day when Roger [Goodell] announces a draft at one of the castles in our parks — wearing Mickey Mouse ears.” Not that we actually expect this any time soon, but Disney's increased influence with the NFL could lead to an even stronger relationship that allows for even more Disney synergy plays to knit together the brands. The winner of the NFL Super Bowl already goes to Disneyland or Disney World after a win. Maybe the draft should be there too?
Disney also announced that as part of the upcoming launch of the new ESPN standalone app, the service will become the exclusive U.S. home of WWE’s top live events, including “WrestleMania,” “SummerSlam,” “Royal Rumble,” and “Survivor Series.”
Other Big Disney Company News
Generally, it is important to understand how the rest of the Walt Disney Company is performing beyond the theme parks. It gives us a better understanding of where investments will be made in the future.
For instance, understanding that shifts in the linear TV business led the Disney theme parks to become the main profit driver for the entire company explains why Disney is increasing theme park prices and investing so much more in this area.
Total revenue rose 2% for Disney’s fiscal Q3 to $23.7 billion, a hair lighter than forecasts. Adjusted earnings per share were a big beat at $1.61, up from $1.39.
Disney Entertainment Division Focuses
Revenue for Disney’s entertainment segment was up 1% to $10.7 billion. This includes traditional TV networks, direct-to-consumer streaming, and films. The entertainment division suffered from a comparison to the previous quarter last year, which included the successful Inside Out 2 film, as well as the ongoing decline in linear television subscribers. These were offset by positive streaming results.
Across the media networks and streaming business, Disney seems focused on integrating the streaming services and linear TV whenever possible. They are working to bring the Hulu app into the Disney+ app so that it can become one unified offering. Iger discussed this generally, saying, “We are at a point, given the way we operate our businesses, where we do not look at being in the linear business and streaming business. We are in the television business. And what we are doing is giving our customers, our viewers, a chance to watch our programming as Hugh just said, wherever they are.” They also mentioned multiple big improvements to the Disney+ app rolling out soon.
There was also quite a big focus on ESPN, as I mentioned above, and making the launch of the new standalone service, which will be the first time that you can get all of ESPN without a cable subscription, successful.
Follow along with us here on Mickey Visit as we keep you up to date on the latest Disney theme park news and happenings that impact your park trips. We are in an exciting time for theme park fans and those watching the Disney company.
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