LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Walt Disney Company saw revenue continue to grow in the third quarter of the year, the company reported Wednesday, with theme park income and revenue up around the globe — except at Walt Disney World.
Disney reported revenue growth of 4% for the quarter, running April, May and June. Among the company’s parks, experiences and products division, revenue was up 13% to $8.3 billion. Disney attributed this to growth at its international theme parks, with Shanghai Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland, which benefitted from having more operating days than in 2022, when COVID-19 closures were still going on.
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Disneyland saw a modest increase in growth, but operating income was down at Walt Disney World in the third quarter. CEO Robert Iger attributed the drop to the softening of tourism market in Central Florida, pointing out that tourist tax collections in Orange County were down in the last three months.
Iger also said that post-pandemic tourism in general was leveling off. However, Iger also said Walt Disney World was still doing better than it did in 2019, before the pandemic shut everything down. Iger said WDW revenue was up 21% compared to quarter three of 2019, and operating income was up 29%. Iger said those numbers were adjusted to account for the decision to close the Disney Starcruiser Resort.
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Iger also said there were positive indicators for better attendance in the future, including strong demand for new annual passes, and positive guest reaction to recent changes made to the theme parks earlier this year.
Disney Cruise Line also had an increase in operating income, and Iger said in the next quarter the cruise line had a 98% booking rate.
Elsewhere, the company is looking at increasing prices for its two streaming services starting in October.
Ad-free Disney+ will cost $13.99 per month starting Oct. 12, an increase of 27% increase, while Disney+ with ads will remain $7.99 a month.
Ad-free Hulu subscriptions will increase to $17.99 a month. An ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle will cost $19.99.
The price changes come as Disney continues to struggle with subscriber losses. Disney reported 146.1 million Disney+ subscribers, a 7.4% decrease. The majority of subscriber losses came from its international service, Disney+ Hotstar.
Iger, who has been trying to restructure the company to save $5.5 billion in costs, says its film studios, which have also struggled in the past year, will focus on the quality of films and how much they cost, which could mean fewer titles.
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