Hugh Johnston, Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company, talked about growth at Disney Parks and Experiences during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.
Disney Parks Attendance & Growth
Attendance at domestic Disney Parks grew 3% in Q3 2026, while global attendance increased 4%. Disney Experiences generated more than $3 billion in operating income, an increase of 20%, on nearly $10 billion in revenue. Average per-capita ticket revenue increased 5%.
“I think there was a belief going into Q3 earnings that we were gonna be challenged in Orlando,” Johnston said. “In fact, the numbers were quite the opposite.”
He believes that’s because of the strong IP they have to offer at Walt Disney World. He also explained that Disney has pivoted marketing and promotional activity to a domestic audience, which is going well.
Disney is also investing in park capacity. “We’re really seeing the attendance benefits of that, and those benefits are gonna keep accruing quarter after quarter and year after year as we continue to make those investments.”
The investments include expansions like Monstropolis, Tropical Americas, Piston Peak National Park, and Disney Villains Land at Walt Disney World; the Avengers Campus expansion and Coco ride at Disneyland Resort; and new ships coming to Disney Cruise Line.
One benefit of these new experiences is the expanded capacity. The other, Johnston explained, is additional value for consumers.
“I’m fond of the expression, price is what you pay, value is what you get,” said Johnston. “The fact is, by virtue of making these investments, we’re giving the consumer more value… And by virtue of delivering that value, our guest satisfaction scores continue to be very high.”
Disney is sensitive to ticket pricing, though. Johnston said they still aim to bring in young families, who tend to have less money.
“So we’re super sensitive to the fact that, particularly in the value times of the year, we keep those ticket prices relatively low so that we can actually encourage those young families to come in,” he said. But Disney hopes that as a family’s wealth builds over time and they gain financial flexibility, they can add premium offerings like Lightning Lane, higher-end dining, and VIP tours.
Johnston noted a lot of per cap growth comes from these add-on experiences, not ticket prices.
Regarding Disney Cruise Line specifically, Johnston said, “We can’t fill all the demands that we have right now.”
He went on, “We’ve launched a couple of ships in recent years, and those ships continue to sell out, and our capacity utilization continues at a high level, despite adding about 50% of guest rooms over the course of the last couple of years.”
He said they focus on three things when it comes to both cruises and parks: guest satisfaction, capacity utilization, and yield.
“And we’re doing very well on all of those fronts,” he concluded.
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