Disney says its theme parks generate $67 billion in annual U.S. economic impact

CNBC

a day ago

For decades Disney's domestic theme parks have been the growth engine for tourism, job creation and tax revenue in Southern California and Central Florida.
On Thursday, the company revealed its wider impact on the U.S. — reporting a national economic impact of $67 billion each year.
"Disney defines the themed entertainment business in America, and our presence is felt across the country," said Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, in a release. "Our destinations create economies far beyond the gates of our parks, and when we invest in the groundbreaking experiences that only Disney can deliver, growth follows."
The new report comes from economists at Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, which combined data collected about Disneyland's impact in California and Walt Disney World Resort's impact in Florida as well as additional nationwide spending spurred by the company.
Disney's economic impact report arrives on the heels of its announcement of a new theme park development in Abu Dhabi and the opening of rival Universal's Epic Universe in Florida. It also follows a recent bout of scrutiny over the company's ticket prices, which some critics say have priced out potential parkgoers.
The company looked at direct economic impact, including onsite spending at Disney parks as well as spending locally on things like restaurants, hotels and transportation, as well as indirect impacts like goods and services that are purchased from local businesses to support the parks. The study also took into account what it called induced impacts, meaning largely what Disney's employees spend their own paychecks on.
Tourism Economics determined that Walt Disney World Resort had a $40 billion economic impact across the state of Florida in fiscal year 2022, Disneyland Resort had a $16 billion impact on Southern California in fiscal year 2023, and combined the parks amount to a $10 billion annual economic impact on the rest of the country.
"With a nationwide impact of nearly $67 billion, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are key economic engines, not only in their respective regional economies, but also in the nationwide economy," said Michael Mariano, head of economic development with Tourism Economics and Oxford Economics.
The report also determined that Disney supports more than 400,000 jobs domestically, noting that 1 out of every 20 jobs in Orange County, California, and 1 out of every 8 jobs in Central Florida can be attributed to the company.
"One way I often think about these studies is that we're trying to measure what would be lost in the absence of these attractions and the numerous activities associated with the attractions," Mariano said. "So one way of looking at these results is what we would lose if we didn't have Disneyland Resort within the Southern California region and Walt Disney World Resort within the state of Florida?"
Disney has more expansion plans, with $30 billion in domestic capital expenditures expected through 2033.
This includes the largest-ever expansion of the Magic Kingdom, including a revamped section of Frontierland and new land themed around Disney's villains. A new tropical Americas land is coming to Animal Kingdom, featuring attractions based on "Encanto" and the Indiana Jones franchise. And Hollywood Studios is getting a "Monsters Inc." land.
Over in California, Avengers Campus at California Adventure is set to double in size and attractions based on "Coco" and "Avatar" are planned for Disneyland.