Bob Iger had a lot to say about the guest experience at the theme parks in terms of capacity during the question-and-answer portion of the Q1 FY23 Earnings Webcast. Basically, park reservations aren’t going anywhere, as we already knew, and Disney seems to be happy with the results.

Iger said the guest experience at the parks will be lessened with more people being let into the theme parks which is why they need to manage capacity very carefully. He used this quarter as an example. They decreased capacity, which increased the guest experience, and they still did financially well. Iger mentioned they have also shifted the mix of their capacity from annual passholders to once-in-a-lifetime visitors. Once-in-a-lifetime per capita spending is the big reason for the shift.

Iger pointed out some of the pricing initiatives were alienating consumers and the theme parks were perceived to not be accessible or affordable to many segments. The answer to this came back in January when Josh D’Amaro announced they would be significantly increasing the number of days that Disneyland offers their lowest-priced one-day, one-park ticket at $104. Iger said the reaction to that step and others taken has been positive.

A good takeaway from this question was their goal to invest in the future. At the beginning of the webcast, Iger mentioned they would be bringing an Avatar experience to Disneyland. Iger and Disney are aware that when they increase capacity in the parks they can grow the business and cited Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts along with Pandora – The World of Avatar as examples. Hopefully, this means there will be no shortage of new experiences in the parks in the years to come.

If you want more information for this quarter’s earning call, check out our recap article.

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