food IS a theme park
WOW. It has been a huge week for Disney news.
Pandora
We got massive updates about Disney’s financial status (and what CEO Bob Iger thinks about a multitude of things), a massive update on Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, and SO much more. So take a second now and join us as we wrap up the biggest news stories from this week.
There has been some MASSIVE Disney news released lately and you might have missed some of it!
Walt Disney Company Headquarters ©LA Times
On February 8th, 2023, Disney held its earnings call and released its earnings report for the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year. You might be wondering, “why should I care about Disney’s financial standing or what they have to say about their revenues?” But you might be surprised! Along with key financial news, Disney also revealed some big updates that could impact movie fans, parkgoers, and more. So sit back, grab a soda (or your drink of choice), and let’s unpack all of this huge Disney news together.
Disney dropped some serious news bombs during its Q1 2023 earnings call.
Cinderella Castle
We learned the number of current Disney+ subscribers, how much Disney Parks have made, what three movies are getting sequels, and more. But we also learned about how the company wants to cut spending by $5.5 billion, as well as how it plans to do that.
Managing capacity — it’s something that has been discussed since the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be important to the Disney parks today.
Fantasyland
Oftentimes, things like the Park Pass system are heavily discussed when it comes to managing capacity, but things like Genie+ can also help balance where people are in the park. During Disney’s earnings call for their first quarter of fiscal year 2023, we got a number of updates related to things in the parks. But one key thing CEO Bob Iger discussed was managing capacity.
If you’ve been hit by a Disney World vacation bill that nearly made you cry or ever priced out a dream trip and thought “I can’t afford that!”, you’re probably not alone.
Magic Kingdom
Disney World vacations can be incredibly expensive. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great Disney trip on a budget — we’ve shared a number of resources and posts that can help you plan a magical vacation for MUCH less. But, given recent ticket price increases, the surge pricing associated with Genie+, and ever-increasing snack costs, you may still feel a bit of Disney sticker shock. So how does Disney’s current CEO, Bob Iger, feel about the increasing prices in the parks? We just got an answer.
Bob Iger returned as Disney’s CEO in November 2022 with a 2-year term and a clear mandate — reorganize the Company for success and find someone else to succeed you as CEO.
©Reuters | Disney CEO Bob Iger
Since that time, we’ve already seen Iger make some big moves. Certain executives have left the company, a massive restructuring was recently announced, Iger has expressed that he is really focused on making streaming profitable, and layoffs and other cost-cutting measures are on the way. But if you, like many others, have wondered just whether 2 years will be enough for Iger to do what he wants and if he’ll stay longer, there’s an update you need to know about.
If you love Disney movies it’s time to get EXCITED!
©Disney
Various new Disney movies are coming out soon or are already in the works at Disney including a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, a Peter Pan and Wendy film for Disney+, and a new animated movie called Wish. But now we’ve got even more MASSIVE Disney movie news!
Today is a BIG day for The Walt Disney Company.
Cinderella Castle
Today marks the FIRST quarterly earnings report and call since Bob Iger returned as CEO of the company (although note Bob Chapek was still the CEO for part of this fiscal quarter). The earnings call lets us know how the company is doing overall. We recently learned that Disney+ lost subscribers globally over the past quarter, but how are Disney’s Parks doing?
We just got some MAJOR updates from the Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney World
On February 8th, 2023, Disney released its earnings report for the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year (this covers a period from early October 2022 through December 2022). A lot has changed since the last report we got in November of 2022. Bob Chapek is no longer the CEO, Bob Iger has returned, Disney+ has launched its ad-supported tier, and some park perks are back. Chapek was still CEO for part of the period covered by this earnings call though, and Iger would have only had a few weeks to really change things. So how is the Company doing financially? Let’s find out.
Streaming has become a big part of Disney’s business but also a big point of contention when it comes to Disney’s finances.
©Disney
Back in November of 2022, we got an updated look at the Disney+ subscriber numbers but we also learned that Disney’s streaming business as a whole had a loss of nearly $1.5 BILLION. This tremendous loss, among other things, ultimately contributed to the ouster of Bob Chapek as CEO. Since that November report, Bob Iger has returned as CEO and Disney has officially launched its ad-supported Disney+ tier. So what is going on with Disney’s streaming business now? We found out.
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