On October 4, 2023, Walt Disney revealed its plan to provide discounts on children's tickets for a limited time at its theme parks as part of an effort to increase visitor numbers.
Amusement parks worldwide faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, with closures and reduced attendance severely impacting the industry. However, Disney's theme park business has since made a strong recovery, becoming the primary source of profit for the media conglomerate and helping offset losses in its Disney+ streaming division. Recently, though, there have been indications of a slowdown in visitor numbers.
Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, mentioned in August during a third-quarter earnings conference call that the company had observed a "softening performance" at Walt Disney World, one of its key park locations in Orlando, Florida. Nevertheless, Iger emphasized that the parks remained a robust segment of their business and that Walt Disney World was still performing well above its pre-pandemic levels.
To further invest in and revitalize its parks business, Disney recently announced plans to nearly double its capital expenditure to approximately $60 billion over the next decade.
Starting from October 24, Disney will make children's tickets available at Disneyland Resort theme parks for as low as $50 for a single day. These tickets will be valid for use between January 8 and March 10 of the following year, according to a company blog post.
In addition to this offer, Walt Disney World will introduce a package deal on November 14 aimed at families, which will include discounted children's tickets for theme parks and dining plans. This package can be utilized from March 3 to June 30 the following year.
It's important to note that these offers are exclusively applicable to children between the ages of 3 and 9. Photo by Cd637, Wikimedia commons.