Walt Disney is planning so as to add an Avatar experience to Disneyland and explore other opportunities at its theme parks because it looks for more ways to appeal to its guests.
CEO Bob Iger said throughout the company’s first-quarter earnings call that the success of the newest Avatar film is spurring the creation of an Avatar experience at Disneyland in California. The movie, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is currently the fourth biggest film of all time globally with near $2.2 billion earned on the box office thus far.
While it’s unclear what form of Avatar experience can be created at Disneyland, Iger said that when Pandora – The World of Avatar was launched at Walt Disney World in Florida, it prompted more people to go to Animal Kingdom, the park where Pandora is positioned. Pandora includes two rides, Avatar – Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
“We’ve learned that once we spend money on increasing capability, the Star Wars lands could be example of that, Pandora was an ideal example of that, we will grow our business. The truth is, if you happen to have a look at the outcomes, once we put Pandora in Animal Kingdom, from 12 months to 12 months, they were stunning by way of what number of more people visited Animal Kingdom,” Iger explained.
Iger, who returned as CEO in November following a difficult two-year tenure by his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek, said that he has spoken with Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, to take a look at all the company’s franchises to see where Disney can spend money on them in its theme parks to extend capability while preserving guest satisfaction.
In one other effort to maintain guests completely satisfied, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said throughout the call that Disney managed to realize significant revenue and operating income growth within the quarter, despite purposefully lowering capability at its domestic theme parks during select peak holiday periods by roughly 20% versus pre-pandemic levels in an effort to prioritize the guest experience.
“Quarter-to-date, park attendance at each Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort are pacing above prior 12 months, and based on reservation bookings, we expect to see this trend proceed,” she said.
While Disney’s theme parks business has been performing well, many visitors over the past two years have been highly critical of increased prices and other moves that the corporate made, including the tip of the Magical Express bus service from the airport in Orlando, Fla., to Walt Disney World resorts, the implementation of the Genie planning and ride reservation system and its theme park reservation system.
Listening to guests’ concerns, Disney said last month that it was making several changes at its domestic theme parks, including some easier reservations.
Among the many changes: it should stop charging for overnight self-parking at its Walt Disney World resorts; Walt Disney World annual passholders will have the ability to go to the theme parks after 2 p.m. with no need a park reservation (except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom) and individuals buying its Genie+ service will receive digital downloads of their ride photos taken within the park on the day of their purchase for no additional charge.