A LOT of big changes are in store for The Walt Disney Company as CEO Bob Iger wraps up 15 months of his second stint as chief of the company.

On Tuesday, March 5th, Iger met with analysts at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference to discuss highlights from the past 15 months as well as the next direction for the Company. While much of what he said were things we already knew based on his discussion of the four key building opportunities that Disney has for 2024, we did get some extra confirmation that Disney had some BIG plans in the future. Let’s talk about it!

To begin, Iger did address that The Walt Disney Company, like most other media giants, were met with extreme disruptions over the past few years. From a global pandemic to writer and actor strikes, it’s safe to say that most businesses faced hardships. Iger said that when he was asked to return to the Company in 2022, he realized right away that “it was a company that needed a lot of fixing.”

So, in order to do the fixing, Iger restructured the Company from inside out. We saw this with thousands of job layoffs last spring, which Iger said at the time was to reallocate finances to focus on streaming and the digitalization of the Company. Streaming was something that Iger said multiple times was his utmost priority.

At the Q1 earnings call for fiscal 2024, Iger shared that his focus on streaming would prove to be a success by Q4 of 2024. Because of a refocus on the production studios, creativity, the acquisition of Hulu, and a partnership with Warner Bros. and Fox, Iger is confident that the company is out of a “fixing” phase and entering a “building” phase.

So… What can we expect to see in this building phase? Well, Iger wants to turbocharge growth in the theme parks. Iger said, “We could build seven new, full lands around the world if we wanted.” While we already knew that Disney had expansion plans in place for both Disney World and Disneyland, it just makes a big difference to hear it confirmed by Iger!

We’re already expecting a DinoLand, U.S.A. re-theme in Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well as expansions that could include IP from Tangled, Frozen, and more! At the conference, Iger even mentioned that a Pandora-themed land like in Animal Kingdom could soon come to Disneyland.

He said that currently, Disney owns enough property to do so — and so much acreage near Disneyland California that the park could be expanded by 50 percent. On top of this, Disney is in the works of building three new cruise ships and expanding Disney Cruise Line, focusing on reaching an audience in Asia with the addition of the port in Singapore.

Iger assured listeners that there was plenty of intellectual property to mine, and just as much physical room to develop the ideas and bring them to life. Iger’s hope is that by expanding the theme parks and Cruise Line, there will be higher demand and therefore a higher return on capital.

As for when those lands and expansions will begin to take physical form… we’ll just have to wait and see. Already, we have massive changes coming to Disney World with a new section of Polynesian Village Resort underway as well as the upcoming opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We’re always on the lookout for more Disney news and updates, so make sure to follow along here so that you’re always in the loop and don’t miss a thing.

Looking for more ways that Disney World is growing? Click here! 

What themed lands would you like to see? Let us know in the comments! 

The post 7 NEW Theme Park Lands, 3 NEW Cruise Ships…Disney CEO Just Dropped Some BIG Hints About What’s to Come! first appeared on the disney food blog.