NEWS: Bob Iger Says Disney Is Placing 'Pretty Big Bets' on Theme Park Expansions

We’re always on the hunt for the latest news about The Walt Disney Company.

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently spoke at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit and he shared some updates about the company. Let’s get into it!

Bob Iger participated in a question-and-answer session at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. He shared a bit about various aspects of the company during the session, so we’re sharing everything you need to know.

When it comes to streaming and Disney+, he gave some insight into the hiccups the company has had during its fledgling years, saying, “As we got into the streaming business in a very, very aggressive way — we tried to tell too many stories.”

This goes along with Iger’s previous announcement that Disney wants to focus more on its core brands and franchises. He noted that they’d be working to curate entertainment content, reassess certain markets, adjust their global content, adjust their pricing and promotion strategy, and fine-tune their advertising on streaming.

During the May 15th conference, Iger shared that as of late, he has “been telling everybody ‘good’ isn’t good enough — it has to be great.” What exactly he meant by that, he didn’t explain, but it could fall in line with Disney’s efforts to streamline content.

©Disney

As far as intellectual property (IP) in the Disney Parks goes, Iger explained just how popular the Zootopia franchise was in China, which is why they made the choice to put a Zootopia land in Shanghai Disneyland. It sounds like Disney is eager to put more IP into the parks located in the markets where that IP is most successful.

Iger continued, saying, “If you…analyze carefully how we achieve those returns on invested capital in the parks, it was all about the IP,” and that for years, new attractions and lands at the parks were either based on “very old IP or no IP.”

Once Cars Land and Toy Story Land proved to be successful, Iger says Disney “decided that almost all of our investment in the parks would be using that IP and it’s very clear what that delivered.”

Iger was also asked about Disney’s response to the 2025 opening of Universal Orlando’s new theme park, Epic Universe. Essentially, he claims to not be too stressed about it and said that when it comes to Disney World, they’re looking “to place some pretty big bets on” those parks and the expansion plans already in the works.

Epic Universe Concept Art ©Universal/Comcast

He did share that it was “fine” that Epic Universe would likely bring more visitors to Orlando and that while they’re mindful of what Universal is up to, it’s not something Disney is getting distracted by.

Iger again mentioned IP and said, “We should just continue on the path we’ve been on, mind the great IP.”

Overall, it sounds like Disney isn’t in any sort of hurry to stop adding more intellectual property and successful franchises to the parks, but if it means exciting expansions, new rides, and new restaurants to Disney World — we’re AllEars!

Stay tuned as we continue to bring you the latest Disney updates, tips, news, and more.