Skift Take
Disney has a lot of plans for its theme parks — more hotels, attractions, price levels, and intellectual property tie-ins. As the current CEO prepares to depart in a year and a half, we're getting more curious about who will replace him, and what that person's vision will include.
It might be a small world, but Disney's universe still has plenty of room to grow.
During an earnings call late Thursday, Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Robert Iger hinted at plans to grow the theme park empire by adding more hotels in the U.S. and incorporating intellectual property in resorts around the world.
Those comments followed an announcement Wednesday that the company's latest park, Shanghai Disneyland, would add a new themed area based on Toy Story with three attractions and a character greeting area. Toy Story Land — versions of which are also being built in Orlando and California — is scheduled to open in 2018 in Shanghai.
Iger revealed during the earnings call that 4 million people visited the Shanghai park in its first four months.
"Some of you may infer from this early performance that we could achieve 10 million in attendance in the park's first year, a number we would be thrilled with," Iger said. "But we're not providing any annual guidance at this point."
Financial results for the first full quarter of operations at the $5.5 billion resort were ahead of expectations, chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said. Surprising some analy
