Walt Disney Co.’s real estate in Orange County helped push its third-quarter revenue up 26% to $21.5 billion for the Burbank-based media giant.
The entertainment company’s domestic theme parks, including Disneyland Resort in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Florida, posted revenue of $5.4 billion during the third quarter, up 104% from the prior-year quarter, during which Disneyland was only open for 65 days because of the pandemic.
“Operating income growth at our domestic parks and experiences was due to higher volumes and increased guest spending, partially offset by higher costs,” the company (NYSE: DIS) said on Aug. 10.
Occupancy at the company’s domestic hotels, which includes three properties in Anaheim, was 90% during the third quarter, marking “another sign of robust demand,” Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said during an earnings call.
Those OC properties include Disneyland Hotel, the Grand Californian and Paradise Pier Hotel.
Higher ticket prices and average daily hotel room rates bolstered guest spending in the third quarter, specifically the introduction of Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, which replaced the company’s previous FastPass options last year.
Disneyland Resort includes two theme parks, three hotels, the Downtown Disney shopping district and parking structures.
Shares for the company rose 6% in after-hours trading to about $120 following the earnings release, and were trading closer to $123 as of last week, for a company valuation of about $223 billion.
Project Itinerary
Walt Disney has several construction projects on the books in Anaheim, including a new Disney Vacation Club tower at the Disneyland Hotel. Construction on the 12-story, 344-unit tower went vertical this year, and is expected to be completed by 2023.
Disneyland Hotel is Orange County’s third-largest hotel with 973 rooms; the Grand Californian is fourth-largest with 948 rooms.
The company is also planning a multimillion-dollar renovation of its third hotel, the 481-room Paradise Pier Hotel, according to an update earlier this year by Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock.
Downtown Disney is currently undergoing a multiyear renovation project of its own that will see several retailers and the former AMC Theater replaced by a new entry portal and retail structures.
Announced tenants of the new retail component include Din Tai Fung—a popular dim sum restaurant that counts another local outpost at South Coast Plaza—and a new concept by Michelin Star Chef Carlos Gaytán.
At Disneyland, Walt Disney is preparing to renovate and retheme Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
The refurbished ride is based on the 2009 Walt Disney Animations Studios’ film “The Princess and the Frog,” and is expected to debut in late 2024. The original log ride opened at the Anaheim park in July 1989.
Disneyland Forward
Disneyland Resort is eyeing a much larger expansion that would add new attractions, hotels, retail and parking on land within the 500-acre resort owned by Walt Disney Co.
It kicked off a multiyear planning and entitlement process in March 2021 to update its existing approvals to allow for this long-term expansion, called Disneyland Forward.
It would be the largest expansion since the 1990s.
