Visitor spending is up at Disney’s U.S. theme parks as average daily attendance has been only slightly below pre-pandemic levels of 2019 so far this fiscal year, Disney executives said Wednesday.
In a third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, CEO Bob Chapek and CFO Christine McCarthy attributed increased guest spending to ticket add-ons like skip-the-line service Genie+ and higher average hotel rates year-over-year. About 50% of park guests buy Genie+, Chapek said.
Disney’s third quarter began in early April, as its fight with Gov. Ron DeSantis over Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill intensified when the measure passed the Legislature in mid-March and Chapek said he would fight it. DeSantis and the Legislature dissolved Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District in April, and some conservatives encouraged boycotts of the company.
