Disney’s doubling down on its theme park expansion plans.
The company, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced Tuesday it planned to spend $60 billion over the next 10 years on capital expenditures at its Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division, which overseas all of its theme park holdings.
That’s double the amount it had previously planned to spend. The money will go toward “investing in expanding and enhancing domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity, prioritizing projects anticipated to generate strong returns.”
The expansion announcement comes just over a week after Disney announced a variety of planned updates and changes at its park, updating legacy attractions and unveiling what it called “the largest ever” expansion plans for the Magic Kingdom.
The area beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is being viewed for an expansion even bigger than Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Pandora – The World of Avatar. New attractions, restaurants and shows are all on the table, but the project, for now, remains undefined, with no real specifics as Imagineers research and plan what to do.
The Dinoland U.S.A. area of Animal Kingdom is also being reworked, with experiences inspired by the Encanto and Indiana Jones films. Look for a “tropical Americas” theme with a variety of biodiverse areas, just don’t look for it real soon. Disney didn’t give a time frame for its completion and Walt Disney Imagineering chief creative officer Bruce Vaughn noted “there’s a long way to go and a lot more to discover, but Imagineering teams in Florida are up to the challenge.”
The additional spend is also likely a response to Universal Studios, which in the midst of a massive expansion set for 2025.
Disney will unveil more details about the announcement at its investor day Tuesday.
While the company’s legal battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and problems with its streaming and television holdings have dominated headlines, Disney’s parks division has been a consistent moneymaker for the company. During the third quarter, it reported a 13% increase in revenue to $8.3 billion.
