We Think We Know Where a LOT of Disney's $60 Billion Investment Is Going

We learned A LOT about Disney’s plans for the future from their latest earnings call.

Hey there, Cinderella Castle!

During the Q2 2024 earnings call, we heard a lot about the growth The Walt Disney Company has experienced with its streaming platforms. We also heard about a big CHANGE coming to Disney+ soon! But we were really hoping for a new update on the possible growth and expansions happening at Disney’s theme parks, including some that might be funded by Disney’s $60 billion investment, which was announced last fall. One of the speakers on the call gave an update that hints at where a LOT of that $60 billion might be going!

Hugh Johnston, who is the senior executive vice president & CFO of The Walt Disney Company, recently joined CEO, Bob Iger, during the most recent Q2 earnings call of 2024. Johnston had some enlightening comments to share when asked about Disney’s commitment to invest $60 billion in the company’s Parks, Experiences, and Products division.

Magic Kingdom

This $60 billion investment is set to happen over the next 10 years, and it’s DOUBLE the investment made over the previous decade. When you think about everything that was added to the parks in the past 10 years (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, Avengers Campus, Pandora, and countless rides) that’s a significant change.

©Disney

Ever since Disney made the announcement, Disney fans have been wondering exactly where they’d actually put the money. We’ve heard some updates, including one from CEO Bob Iger, who said that, while a portion of that money has already been put to use — and even more of it allocated, some of it has not yet been designated because Disney wants to wait and decide what to do with it at a later time in order to allow space for new stories and ideas. There’s also the possibility of a new international theme park and of course all kinds of new lands, rides, and restaurants in existing parks.

Concept art of potential Magic Kingdom expansion including ‘Coco’ and Villains

But, after this recent quarterly earnings call, we think we’ve got an even better idea of what Disney plans to do with these funds. As the earnings call was winding down, a short Q&A was hosted for outstanding questions that may have needed more clarity from this past quarter’s announcements. When asked about the $60 billion investment, CFO Hugh Johnston said, “We know there are lots of opportunities to continue to grow investment.”

Johnston went on to comment briefly on the parks. He said that the theme parks have “terrifically high guest satisfaction scores” and Disney has “lots of opportunities to continue to grow attendance both domestically and internationally.”

However, Johnston’s response then shifted over to the Disney Cruise Line, and that’s what he discussed more than the parks. He said that Disney’s cruise division “is one that has an enormous number of opportunities for [Disney] over time.” Disney is “leaning more heavily into that business” with new ships and routes added to the fleet.

Disney Wish at Castaway Cay

Johnston said that Disney is “not investing capital, obviously, to achieve poor returns.” He continued, “We expect to get excellent returns out of the business.” He reported that Disney’s cruise ships have “the highest guest satisfaction scores in the company,” so Disney has concluded that “this is a business with a lot of runway left in it and that will deliver great returns to [Disney’s] shareholders.”

Helmsman Mickey on the Disney Magic

In short, Johnston talked a LOT about the Disney Cruise Line, and his focus on that aspect of the business leads us to believe that a significant portion of that $60 billion is going to go to the new ships that Disney has planned and potentially even more on the horizon.

Disney debuted the Disney Wish ship in 2022, and the Disney Treasure is setting sail on its maiden voyage in December 2024. Another brand-new Wish-class ship was announced earlier this year: The Disney Destiny. So it’s clear that the cruise line division has a lot coming up that could certainly eat up some of that big investment!

©Disney

We’re always talking about the latest announcements, changes, and updates from Disney so be sure to stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for more!

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Did you come to the same conclusion during Disney’s latest earnings call? Give us your take on things in the comments below!