The Walt Disney Company released its quarterly results this week, becoming the last publicly traded theme park operator to report. As anticipated, Disney gained market share, and the industry exited Q3 2024 with improved momentum heading into Q4 2024. As shown below, all major California parks saw year-over-year visitation gains in October. (Note: these figures exclude international visitors; when included, Disney's reported attendance for the quarter was approximately flat).
On its Q3 2024 update call, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated, “Domestically, we certainly feel like the consumer is strengthening. As I mentioned earlier, we saw growth in domestic parks and feel very positively about that.” This marks a shift from the softening noted in early August. Universal Studios Hollywood also performed well in October, benefiting from a strong Halloween Horror Nights season compared to earlier in the year when it was lapping last year’s successful Super Mario attraction.
The table below indicates that both domestic visitor numbers and hours spent at the parks were down for Orlando and Anaheim. However, reported revenue for Disney's U.S. Experiences segment increased by 3%, driven by higher per-capita spending and growth in the cruise business. This aligns with expectations, as rate increases likely contributed a 3%-4% boost, with the cruise segment providing an additional lift to per-capita spending and overall revenue. Historically, hours spent at the park have been a key driver of food, beverage, and merchandise spending.
