Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Walt Disney Experiences, laid out an ambitious growth plan for the company’s theme parks at the D23 fan convention on Saturday, announcing plans for four new cruise ships and details on six new themed lands.
Upcoming plans include a new Disney Villain Land at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, a doubling of the size of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, and partnership details with Fortnite developer Epic Games.
“This is an unprecedented era of growth for us,” D’Amaro said.
The two new attractions at the Marvel Avengers Campus in California Adventure will be Avengers: Infinity Defense and the Stark Flight Lab, the company said.
California Adventure will also add a new “Avatar” experience at California Adventure based on the second film in the science fiction series, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” it said.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Disneyland Park in Anaheim next year, a show about the life of Walt Disney will open, featuring an audio-animatronic figure of the company’s founder.
Disney also revealed two attractions for the new Tropical Americas expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida. One follows Indiana Jones as he explores a Mayan temple. Another is inspired by the Disney animated film “Encanto” and follows the character Antonio on the day he received his magical gift. Tropical Americas is scheduled to open in 2027.
Actor Billy Crystal took the stage to announce a section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios dedicated to the Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” The section, referred to as “Land” in Disney theme park parlance, will include a suspended roller coaster that simulates zooming through the Laugh Factory’s door vault, just like the characters Mike and Sulley do in the film.
Pixar’s “Cars” film series is also coming to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, in a newly designed area of Frontierland, and two new attractions are planned. One of them will take guests on a thrilling off-road ride into the wilderness beyond the fictional setting of Radiator Springs. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year.
The crowd favorite among fans was D’Amaro’s statement that Disney would create a new area in the Magic Kingdom with two attractions, a restaurant and a shopping center dedicated to Disney’s villains.
These announcements show that the company will make $60 billion in investments, nearly doubling its spending over the next decade, to improve attractions at its 12 parks and increase cruise line capacity.
“Everything we’re sharing with you tonight is in active development,” D’Amaro said. “That means plans are drawn. That means things are moving. I just want to make it clear to all the fans out there that this is not a given.”
CRUISE FLEET IS EXPANDED
Disney also announced it will add four cruise ships to its growing fleet, capitalizing on an industry currently recovering from global shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company currently operates five cruise ships and has already announced four more, including one ship based in Tokyo and another that will set sail from Singapore in 2025. These new ships will begin operations between 2027 and 2031.
D’Amaro was joined on stage by the company’s creative leaders to discuss Disney’s collaboration with video game maker Epic Games. The company invested $1.5 billion in Epic earlier this year, giving Disney a stake in the developer of Fortnite and Unreal Engine.
Disney has announced new characters and stories for the online game, including Disney villains as well as characters from the Pixar superhero film “The Incredibles” and the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” about a lone bounty hunter from the Star Wars universe.
The Disney parks have become a reliable profit engine, helping to cushion the impact of declines in the traditional television business and losses in the video streaming business, which was still profitable last quarter.
The experience division, which includes parks, cruise ships and consumer goods, contributed 60 percent of the company’s operating profit last quarter, up from just 30 percent just a decade ago.
First published: August 11, 2024 | 11:14 p.m. IS
