Disney’s largest fan event, the D23 Expo, returns to Anaheim August 9-11. As always, D23 promises to deliver big presentations that will shape the company’s future over the next several years. The most highly-anticipated presentation is the Disney Parks & Experiences Showcase. What can we expect this year?
There’s always a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Disney’s Parks presentations. This year, that excitement increased with the presentation taking place in the Honda Center, and with many fans feeling Disney has to come out swinging to combat Universal’s EPIC Universe momentum. But, while all of that excitement is expected, the pressure on Disney is higher than ever.
Disney has to impress at this year’s Parks presentation. Arguably, this is the most important theme park presentation they will give in many years.
We believe Disney’s recent strategy of teasing fans with blue sky concepts that may or may not happen was misguided. To be fair, some of those announcements do appear to be panning out (like the DinoLand USA overhaul). But others, like the unclear Magic Kingdom plans, represent Disney’s trend of being unwilling to commit and greenlight substantial plans.
Concrete and approved plans have to be announced at D23 2024. The days of talking about ideas and possibilities needs to be over. Disney needs to announce (and begin) on new plans that add real capacity to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Adding capacity is much easier at Disney World than at Disneyland, but there are big opportunities (remember the E-ticket Avengers ride at DCA?) that could and should be developed.
Now that we’ve established Disney needs a big showing at this year’s D23, what would we consider “impressive” regarding the theme parks?
For our money, it’s all about capacity additions. The keyword here is additions. Disney has been more than happy to update and replace existing attractions in recent years rather than build new. That’s the most obvious with Cosmic Rewind, Runaway Railway, and most recently Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Of course, a couple new rides break that mold (TRON Lightcycle Run, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure), but the trend is still replace rather than build new.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom are the two parks that need the most love. It may seem silly that Hollywood Studios, the recipient of major park changes in Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, and Runaway Railway, still needs love, but that’s the case with its small roster of attractions. Animal Kingdom also has a limited roster of rides. Disney seems intent to remove and replace DinoLand USA, though that’d be a miss unless it actually boosts the total number of rides at the park.
Overall, Disney needs to commit and get some shovels in the ground. Even if Disney broke ground today it’d be years before anything new opens. They need to reinvest into the segment that’s making them the most consistent revenue these last several years. Disney’s parks need constant investment and need to provide guests with the feeling they’re getting value from the ever-rising prices. That value proposition has been taking a beating as perks are removed and prices increase.
Will this period of relative inactivity – the bulk of which lies in the years ahead – come back to bite Disney? How will guests respond as Universal rolls out what appears to be its most impressive offering in years? Hopefully this year’s D23 provides some clarity on Disney’s path forward.
