When the pandemic shut down theme parks, Disney and Universal had to work for several months after the reopening to fix the financial loss.
Disney is still making up that deficit and just started turning a profit again not too long ago. However, it seems that Universal Orlando has bounced back from the reopening with resounding success.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal shared in an earnings call today that last quarter for Universal Orlando Resort was the most profitable quarter EVER. Thanks to the earnings from Orlando, Universal’s theme parks division also had its most profitable quarter since the pandemic began.
So what time frame was this in? Well, the third quarter for Comcast Corp. (the owner of Universal and Universal Orlando) began in July and ended on September 30th. The revenue from Universal Orlando wasn’t specifically revealed during the call, but the company did share that total theme park revenue in Q3 was more than $1.4 billion.
No attendance numbers were given for the parks, but Comcast Corporation CEO Brian Roberts specifically noted “Our results at NBCUniversal continue to be driven by the ongoing recovery at our domestic theme parks, as well as the success of our linear and streaming media platforms.”
So what are things like over at Disney World right now? Well, Q3 was the first time that Disney Parks had posted a profit since the pandemic began. They came out of that quarter with a total of $4.3 billion in revenue, but only $356 million in operating income. Keep in mind that these numbers are for the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division, which includes more than just the theme parks themselves.
Of the $4.3 billion in revenue, $2.6 billion came from the domestic parks and $526 million from the international parks, with another $1.1 billion from consumer products. The income from domestic parks was about $2 million in Q3.
How does that compare to Disney’s past? Well, while Universal Orlando is breaking all-time records, Disney is still struggling to make it back up to the profits from 2019. During the same quarter in 2019, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products made a total of $6.575 billion in revenue. And in 2018, that number was $6.136 billion.
Specific numbers haven’t been shared for Disney World, but it doesn’t seem like the major Orlando resort is breaking any records right now. Either way, we’ll make sure to keep you updated with all the financial news when Disney shares their Q4 earnings soon! Stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest from Disney and Universal!
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Our family used to be passholders for 20+ years, stayed at their resorts at least six times per year and sailed annually on their ships, until this craziness started. Sorry to say that unless they change their draconian control over their guest, we will not be back. Already booked several onsite premium resort stays with Universal and again purchased annual passes. I’m happy to read that Universal is exceeding the mouse in revenue.
Disney parks are headed in a terrible direction and they simply don’t care about the way it used to be. Don’t care how many Disney parks commercials on tv with smiling people, they have lost their way. We went in the past year after a several year hiatus from Disney, just because we had Disney burnout. Could only do 3 day park tickets because of the high prices. Still have Disney burnout, just doesn’t feel the way it used to. I think we will try universal and SeaWorld next summer. We will stay near the area and not worrying about the high cost and parking at Disney resort. I wish the Disney family was still in control, instead of the greedy people running the business, not happy.
All that being said, we leave tomorrow for our 7 night stay on property….at UNIVERSAL. We have no park plans for Disney as of right now. We have a few restaurants booked, but no parks. We are leaving it open to see how we feel. This would be the complete reverse in situation just 5 years back. There’s been a change in who we give the bulk of our money to.
I don’t feel sorry for them. Someone needs to explain to them that you don’t earn your money back by raising your prices when the entire world was just out of work for God knows how long! If anything, you offer huge discounts for people to go to a happy place after such an ordeal. Show a wee bit of empathy. You don’t go out of your way to make your most loyal customers hate you! You don’t ditch your mainstay clientele for the “one and done” crowd who have enough money to go on much more extravagant vacations than just Disney. What happens when all of the people that WANT to go to Disney, have saved up and done that once in a lifetime trip and moved on to vacations they can afford? It’s like they just up and decided to kill repeat business in general. I truly don’t get their thinking.
Disney Parks has lost its way. It really is that simple.