Disney World just emerged from its first battle with Universal’s Epic Universe seemingly unscathed.
The park had a record early-summer quarter, Disney said in its latest earnings report on Wednesday. Disney revealed that revenue across its domestic experiences business, which includes its parks and cruises, rose 10% to $6.4 billion from late March to late June.
Disney executives said in prepared remarks they were “encouraged by the continued resiliency” of their US parks, particularly Walt Disney World, “given increased competition in the Orlando market.” Epic Universe opened in late May, two-thirds of the way through Disney’s quarter.
Universal’s parent company, Comcast, said last week that its theme park revenue rose 18.9% to $2.3 billion in the quarter ending June 30.
The best-ever showing for Disney World in the company’s fiscal third quarter was driven by both an uptick in attendance and a surge in per-capita spending, the company said.
Disney World’s “traffic was solid, up a little bit, and per-caps were up very, very solidly,” Disney financial chief Hugh Johnston said on CNBC on Wednesday. “Per-caps” refers to per-capita spending, or the amount of money a visitor spends at the park on average.
Four employees at Disney’s Florida parks have told BI in recent weeks that they hadn’t seen a noticeable increase in crowds this summer. This, along with Johnston’s comments, suggests per-capita spending is a big factor driving the strong performance.
Disney’s parks haven’t been weighed down by rising geopolitical tensions, as Johnston said on the call that there was “nothing material going on” with international attendance at Disney’s US parks.
A Disney spokesperson referred to Johnston’s comments on CNBC when asked for comment.
The Disney World vs Epic Universe battle looks like a win-win — so far
Although it may surprise some that Disney World stayed strong as rival Epic Universe opened, the new theme park could actually aid the Magic Kingdom, as Business Insider previously reported.
Two Disney-focused travel agents said their Disney bookings had risen at a double-digit rate this year, even though Epic Universe is also popular.
“A rising tide raises all boats,” Rob Stuart of the trip planning service Creating Magic Vacations told BI in July. “If they’re not locals, if they’re going to go to Epic Universe, they’re probably going to go to one of the Disney parks as well.”
Travel agent Jennifer Novotny of Upon a Star Travel said Tuesday that many of her clients were splitting visits across Epic Universe and Disney World. She said her Disney bookings were up about 12% this year.
However, Novotny wouldn’t be surprised if Epic Universe makes a mark on Disney World during the quarter spanning July, August, and September, which Disney won’t report results from until November.
“People want to go see what’s brand new; that’s natural,” Novotny said.
If there is any impact, it hasn’t dampened Disney’s bookings so far. Johnston said on the earnings call that forward bookings this quarter were tracking up 6%.
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