Disney parks investment strategy puts repeat visitors alongside expansion plans
Disney Experiences chief Thomas Mazloum outlined a two-track parks strategy, pairing major new lands with quicker updates for frequent guests.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Disney’s parks investment strategy will pair large, franchise-driven expansions with smaller updates for repeat visitors, Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum said, according to CNBC. The approach matters because Disney is pursuing about $60 billion in parks and cruise investment over 10 years while seeking to appeal both to occasional travelers and annual passholders.
Mazloum, who took over the parks business after Josh D’Amaro became Disney chief executive, told CNBC that Disney aims to weigh the different priorities of regular guests and less-frequent domestic and international visitors. Major lands and rethemed areas are intended to give occasional visitors a new reason to make a trip, while quicker changes are directed at highly engaged fans.
What is Disney’s parks investment strategy?
It is a two-track plan: build major attractions and lands tied to Disney franchises, while also making targeted changes to rides, characters and park areas that regular visitors can see sooner. Mazloum said Disney is putting guests at the center of its decisions, CNBC reported.
At Disney’s D23 showcase in Anaheim, Mazloum announced several of the nearer-term fan-focused changes. They include restoring movement to the yeti animatronic on Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, bringing Dreamfinder and Figment back to Epcot in Florida, and overhauling Tomorrowland in California.
The Expedition Everest repair revives a long-stationary animatronic known by fans as “Disco Yeti.” CNBC reported that the attraction opened in 2006 and the figure broke within months. Because it was difficult to reach inside the completed ride, Disney Imagineers used a strobe-light effect, known as B-mode, to suggest motion.
Which Disney park projects are planned for 2027?
CNBC reported that a refurbishment of the Carousel of Progress is expected to finish in late spring 2027. A Monsters, Inc.-themed land called Monstropolis is also expected to open that year.
Other work remains in development, including an expansion of Avengers Campus, Villains Land, a Cars-based retheming of Frontierland and a Tropical Americas area, CNBC reported. The report did not give opening dates for those projects.
How are Disney’s parks performing?
Mazloum pointed to Disney Experiences’ fiscal third-quarter performance as evidence for the strategy. CNBC reported that the division recorded nearly $10 billion in revenue, up 10% from a year earlier and a quarterly record.
The report also said domestic park attendance rose 3% and guest spending increased 4%. Disney attributed its attendance strength to its Cool Kids Summer promotion, which included children’s character encounters, dance parties, air-conditioned spaces and water-park admission on hotel check-in day for Disney resort guests.
Mazloum’s strategy sets that performance alongside a longer construction pipeline: use new intellectual-property attractions to attract infrequent visitors, while maintaining attention on details and updates that matter to repeat guests.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.