Walt Disney Co. reported an uptick in attendance at its theme parks, particularly at Walt Disney World, on Wednesday, bucking recent reports of declines in Central Florida tourism.
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For the third financial quarter, attendance was up 3% and guest spending was up 4% across the parks in Florida and California, the company reported. Executives pointed to the Cool Kids Summer promotions at Disney World for driving growth as well as the re-opening of attractions like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The gains are “almost entirely driven by our own organic actions, the investments that we’re making in the business, the marketing execution, all of what we’re doing to drive attendance growth, in particular in the domestic market,” Hugh Johnston, chief financial officer, said in a conference call with market analysts Wednesday.
In a letter to shareholders, the company said Disney World’s increases can be attributed to domestic tourists and annual passholders, as well as new experiences in the parks. There were headwinds from international attendance at the U.S. parks in the April-May-June period, but those headwinds moderated relative to the year-over-year impact in the second quarter, the company said. Disney does not break out figures for individual theme parks.
Quarterly revenue for Disney’s experiences segment, which includes its global parks and Disney Cruise Line, was almost $10 billion, an increase of 10%.
“It’s important, I think, to highlight that we’re performing significantly better than our competition, and in doing that, delivering strong volume and per-cap spending results,” Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said during the earnings call.
“We’re achieving this even during a period where there’s a fair amount of macro uncertainty,” he said. “The takeaway here is pretty clear: the consistent investments that we’ve made over time, combined with the fact that the experience Disney provides to its fans is truly differentiated and highly valued, and I think that should give you and the broader investing community confidence.”
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The company also noted attendance growth at Disneyland Paris after its opening of World of Frozen and the benefits of increased capacity of Disney Cruise Line with the introduction of two new ships to its fleet.
Wednesday’s conference call also covered the $1 billion box office figures from “Toy Story 5,” the performance of Disney+ and Hulu streaming services, the power of ESPN, the use of artificial intelligence and a freshly announced agreement with TikTok. In the latter, short-form videos from creators who opt in to the program will live on TikTok and on Disney+ and feature characters and stories from Disney brands such as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and others.
Overall, Walt Disney Co. had revenue of $25.2 billion in the quarter, an increase of 7%.
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The Disney results come on the heels of Orange County announcing its tourist-tax collections dipped in June, ending a record run of 14 months in June. Revenue totaled $33.5 million for the month, about $140,000 less than June 2025, according to a report from Comptroller Phil Diamond’s office, which tracks collections and spending of the Tourist Development Tax, a 6% surcharge on the cost of a hotel room and other short-term lodging options.
Parent companies of SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando recently reported attendance dips. Orlando-based United Parks & Resorts, which operates SeaWorld parks, Aquatica water park and Discovery Cove resort, said Tuesday that its quarterly attendance was 6.1 million guests, a decrease of 2.9% from a year earlier. Its total revenue was $483.3 million, a decrease of 1.4%.
Last month, Comcast, which operates Universal theme parks and attractions, reported softness in attendance, beginning in June, but its second-quarter revenue was up 2.7%. The drop was suspected to be because of “weakness in consumer sentiment and higher travel costs affecting demand,” co-CEO Michael Cavanagh said.
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