The Walt Disney Co. has “new stories to tell” its fans and is planning to invest approximately $60 billion into its theme parks and cruise lines over the next decade to do so. The company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that its planned investment – “accelerated and expanded” – is nearly double what it spent in the prior 10-year period.
Disney is confident in its plans, saying in a prepared statement that it’s seen growth following previous periods of significant investment, which included the additions of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, Avengers Campus at California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.
It’s also opening new Frozen-themed lands at its Hong Kong, Paris, and Tokyo properties, along with a Zootopia-themed land in Shanghai. And during a presentation at its Destination D23 event earlier this month, Disney made several parks announcements, including plans to create a new Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge in Magic Kingdom and the reimagining of the Test Track ride at Epcot.
Disney’s theme parks have been a top priority for Bob Iger since he returned in November to take over the CEO post from Bob Chapek.
While the company didn’t provide details on any specific plans it has for the $60 billion investment, it did say that “there is a deep well of stories” that haven’t been fully explored at its theme parks yet.
“We have a wealth of untapped stories to bring to life across our business,” said Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro. “Frozen, one of the most successful and popular animated franchises of all time, could have a presence at the Disneyland Resort. Wakanda has yet to be brought to life. The world of Coco is just waiting to be explored. There’s a lot of storytelling opportunity.”
He added, “We have an ambitious growth story that is supported by a proven track record and a bold vision for the future of our Parks business.”
Disney noted that it has significant room to expand its theme parks further, with more than 400 hectares of land for possible future development to expand theme park space across its existing sites. That’s equal to about seven new Disneyland parks.
Some of the company’s cruise line plans are already in place, as it previously announced that it will be adding two ships in fiscal 2025 and another in 2026.
Today, Disney has the largest physical footprint of any global theme park travel business, with 12 parks across six sites around the world. Its newest resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, opened in 2016. Disney Cruise Line visits 94 ports in 40 countries, and Disney’s industry-leading consumer products division brings Disney IP into fans’ homes across the globe.
Notably, Walt Disney World Resort is twice the size of the island of Manhattan, Disneyland is the most “Instagrammed” place on Earth, and tens of millions of guests travel on Disney’s transportation networks each year.
Disney also boasts seven of the top 10 most attended theme parks in the world, including Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park, which has been the #1 attended theme park on earth for decades. Disney Parks welcome approximately 100 million guests each year.
“We stand alone when it comes to scale,” said D’Amaro. “And while our scale is impressive, we have no shortage of space or regions of the world in which to tell new stories.”