ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney Co. executives boasted about another blockbuster quarter Wednesday at its theme parks even as they remained mum about the feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
During an earnings call, executives did not mention the widespread criticism levied at Disney for its response to Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay bill” in March — which intensified after the bill passed the Legislature and Disney CEO Bob Chapek vowed to fight it.
The entertainment giant’s fight with DeSantis intensified in mid-April, leading to the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and some conservatives calling for boycotts of the company in recent weeks.
Any effects of the April events on Disney’s finances won’t be seen until the company’s next quarter.
From early January through April 2, though, Disney’s parks division more than doubled revenue to more than $6.6 billion from almost $3.2 billion over the same time last year. Both Disneyland and Disneyland Paris were closed during 2021′s second quarter, and Disney’s other parks operated with capacity restrictions.
The division’s operating income increased to $1.8 billion, recovering from a loss of $400 million in 2021′s second quarter.
Chapek praised what he called the domestic theme parks’ “fantastic performance” so far this year.
“They continue to fire on all cylinders, powered by strong demand,” he said.
Without offering attendance figures, Walt Disney World and Disneyland had “many days” in the quarter where demand for the parks was higher than in 2019, said CFO Christine McCarthy. Still, Disney is continuing to limit visitors at its domestic parks using a reservation system set up during the pandemic so it can balance attendance with demand, she said.
“We continue to extend additional capacity,” she said, through returning entertainment such as last month’s return of character meet-and-greets to Disney World.
Higher admission, hotel, merchandise and food and beverage costs helped guest spending grow by over 40% in early 2021 compared with 2019′s second quarter, and by 20% from 2021′s, said Chapek and McCarthy.
That continued a trend of Disney guests spending more at the parks because of higher costs and the debut of its paid skip-the-line service, Genie+.
Personalized experiences also helped drive visitor spending, Chapek said. Demand for the immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel, which opened March 1 at up to $6,000 for two nights for four guests, is strong as the hotel has drawn “incredibly high” guest ratings.
Disney expects the hotel to be fully booked into the summer, through the end of the company’s third quarter.
Similarly, executives expect demand for Disney’s parks to remain strong through the rest of the year based on advance bookings and recent attendance levels, but inflation could affect crowds and spending into the summer and beyond, they said.
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